Telemarketer Registration

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Under Wis. Stat. § 100.52, "Telephone solicitations," the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection registers telephone solicitors who initiate a telephone conversation or text message to a Wisconsin resident for the purpose of encouraging the recipient of the telephone call or text message to purchase property, goods or services.  A tele​phone solicitor is a person or busin​ess, other than a nonprofit organization, that employs or contracts with an individual to m​ake a telephone solic​itation.

The registration year begins December 1 and ends November 30. There are two ways to register as a telephone solicitor:

  • Register online through the DATCP website, or
  • Submit a completed telephone solicitor registration form to DATCP

Registration forms are available in DATCP's telephone solicitor registration packet, which can be downloaded for free. You can also contact DATCP by phone or email​ to request a physical copy be mailed to you. The Bureau of Consumer Protection's mailing address is:

DATCP ​Bureau of Consumer Protection
PO Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911​

DATCP adopted rules to implement the telemarketing Do Not Call program. The effective date for this rule (Chapter ATCP 127, Subchapter V, Wis. Admin. Code, "Telephone Solicitations; State Do-Not-Call Registry") was December 1, 2002. If you would like a copy of the rules or statutes, please visit legis.wisconsin.gov.​

If you are a business registering as a telemarketer in Wisconsin, you must register with both ​the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Wisconsin Telephone Solicitor Program.


​Frequently Asked Questions

Under Wis. Stat. § 100.52(3) and (4)(b)1., and under Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 127.81(1)(a), a company must register as a telephone solicitor if the company makes “telephone solicitations” to residential telephone customers in Wisconsin. Under Wisconsin law, the term “telephone solicitation” means making an unrequested telephone call or sending an unrequested text message to an individual’s personal telephone number for the purpose of encouraging the recipient to purchase something.

If a company makes “telephone solicitations” within the meaning of Wisconsin law, then that company must register as a telephone solicitor with the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 100.52(3), Wis. Stat. § 100.52(4)(b)1., and Wis. Admin. Code § ATCP 127.81(1)(a).
Both parties are responsible for complying with the laws applicable to their respective activities. Moreover, a third party service provider who accesses the FTC’s DNC Registry on behalf of another entity must certify the organization they represent will comply with the requirements of the FTC’s DNC Registry. Refer to 16 CFR § 310.8(e).​
“Scrubbing” is the practice of using the FTC’s DNC Registry to remove telephone numbers that appear on the registry from a company’s calling lists and databases. A DNC scrubber helps businesses stay compliant with federal requirements and avoid DNC violations.

Federal law prohibits anyone — including a company that provides “scrubbing” services to other companies — from using information obtained from the FTC’s DNC Registry to ultimately benefit a seller of goods or services who does not have its own current Subscription Account Number (SAN) for accessing the FTC’s DNC Registry.

Wisconsin Stat. § 100.52(4)(b)(3) prohibits a telephone solicitor from using or possessing a copy or updated version of the state do-not-call registry that the telephone solicitor obtained in violation of federal law. Thus, a company violates Wisconsin law if it does not have its own SAN for accessing the FTC’s DNC Registry and does have a “scrubbed” list of Wisconsin telephone numbers that it uses when making telephone solicitations to Wisconsin residents. For purposes of Wisconsin law, the term “telephone solicitation” means initiating an unsolicited telephone call or text messages to a Wisconsin resident as part of a plan to sell goods or services.

If you are a business that does not have its own SAN, possesses a “scrubbed” list of Wisconsin telephone numbers, and is not registered with Wisconsin as a telephone solicitor, please provide us with written assurance that you are not making telephone solicitations to Wisconsin residents and explain your reason for possessing a “scrubbed” list of Wisconsin telephone numbers. Your written assurance may be sent electronically to DATCPWINoCall@wisconsin.gov or mailed to:

DATCPWINoCall
PO Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911.

Likewise, if you are a business with its own SAN, you access telephone numbers with Wisconsin area codes on the FTC’s DNC Registry, and you are not registered with Wisconsin as a telephone solicitor, please provide us with written assurance that you are not making telephone solicitations to Wisconsin residents and explain how you use the Wisconsin telephone numbers that are listed on the FTC’s DNC Registry. Your written statement may be sent electronically to DATCPWINoCall@wisconsin.gov or mailed to:

DATCPWINoCall
PO Box 8911
Madison, WI 53708-8911
Under Wis. Stat. § 100.52 and Wis. Admin. Code ch. ATCP 127, subch. V, if a Wisconsin consumer’s telephone number is listed on the state do-not-call registry, a business may nonetheless make an outgoing call to that number as part of plan to encourage the consumer to purchase products, goods, or services if at least one of the following three conditions is met:

​​1) The business has written evidence that the consumer affirmatively requested a call to discuss purchasing products, goods, or services.

2)The consumer is a former client, and the call is made to determine whether the former client mistakenly allowed a contractual relationship to lapse.

3) The consumer is a “c​urrent client,” which means the consumer “has a current agreement to receive, from the telephone caller or the person on whose behalf the call is made, property, goods, or services of the type promoted by the telephone call.”

Under Wisconsin’s telephone solicitation laws, a consumer is not a “current client” of a business simply because that consumer previously purchased something from the business sometime during the preceding 18 months. Such a prior purchase is sufficient to satisfy the federal law’s “established business relationship” exception that permits calling a number on the federal do-not-call registry.However, a completed purchase during the prior 18 months is not enough to satisfy Wisconsin law’s “current client” exception that it permits calling a number on the state do-not-call registry, and there is no federal preemption of state do-not-call laws.​
Wisconsin currently has eight​ area codes in service: 262, 274, 353, 414, 534, 608, 715, and 920.​​
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​​​​​​Take ​Actio​​​n​​

register​ online

​dow​nload form


Contact Us

WI Telephone Solicitor Registration Program
(608) 224-4999
DATCPWINoCall@wisconsin.gov

Hours of Operation: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday–Friday

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