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November 3, 2026 · By Piyush Sahoo India’s do not call registry records what each phone user wants from commercial calls and SMS. NDNC was its original name, DND is the everyday name, and NCPR is the name in the regulator’s FAQ. You register free through 1909, and promotional traffic you’ve blocked must stop within 24 hours. This guide gives you the current codes and explains what the registry can and can’t stop. It also shows how to complain, and what a business must do before it dials. It reflects India’s telecom regulator (TRAI) documents read on November 3, 2026, and it’s general information rather than legal advice.
Key takeaways
  • DND controls registered commercial traffic. It can’t see a spammer using an ordinary mobile number, so you need to report those calls.
  • Your number is open by default. TRAI says more than 1.12 billion subscribers have registered no preference.
  • Many online guides are out of date. Current rules list eight sectors, a 24-hour effect, and a 7-day complaint window.
  • The September 2026 amendment changes the options. The old “fully blocked” setting moves to BLOCK PROMO, and you gain an appeal route.
  • Businesses carry the risk. Repeat violations can disconnect every telecom resource a sender holds for a year.

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Are DND, NDNC and NCPR different?

They’re three names for one opt-out system, and each comes from a different stage of its history. The older registry was a national database of numbers that had opted out. The system changed shape under the Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR). Those rules define the preference register as a distributed ledger, and each operator must run its own facility for recording your choices. So you deal with your operator, while TRAI writes the rules.

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How does the registry work?

Think of the registry as a set of instructions that runs before a commercial call reaches you. A business can’t simply check a list once and forget it. Under TCCCPR, scrubbing means comparing its target numbers with both the preference and consent ledgers. Flow diagram. You set a preference through 1909, USSD, the TRAI DND app or your operator, and your operator records it within 24 hours. When a business places a promotional call on a 140 number or sends a promotional SMS, the first check is explicit digital consent. If consent exists, it can reach you. If not, the second check asks whether you blocked that sector, mode, time band or day. If you did, it's blocked. If you didn't, it can reach you. Flow diagram. You set a preference through 1909, USSD, the TRAI DND app or your operator, and your operator records it within 24 hours. When a business places a promotional call on a 140 number or sends a promotional SMS, the first check is explicit digital consent. If consent exists, it can reach you. If not, the second check asks whether you blocked that sector, mode, time band or day. If you did, it's blocked. If you didn't, it can reach you. Three details surprise most people:

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What does DND stop, and what does it miss?

DND separates selling from everything else. It doesn’t try to stop every call you’d rather not take. Table comparing two choices. With all promotions blocked, property and bank loan offers on 140 numbers are blocked. With only real estate blocked, the property offer is blocked and the bank loan offer can reach you. Under both choices, promotions you gave digital consent for, OTPs and alerts, 1600 bank service calls and government messages can reach you. A sales call from an ordinary 10-digit number skips the check and should be reported. Personal calls are not covered. Table comparing two choices. With all promotions blocked, property and bank loan offers on 140 numbers are blocked. With only real estate blocked, the property offer is blocked and the bank loan offer can reach you. Under both choices, promotions you gave digital consent for, OTPs and alerts, 1600 bank service calls and government messages can reach you. A sales call from an ordinary 10-digit number skips the check and should be reported. Personal calls are not covered. Your OTPs are safe under a promotional block. The 2026 amendment names OTPs for app login, password reset, and two-factor authentication as service messages. It also says BLOCK PROMO doesn’t block service, transactional, or government communications. Sales calls from ordinary mobile numbers are the real gap. TRAI’s rules restrict telemarketing from normal 10-digit numbers, but those callers bypass the regulated system, so a registry check never runs. Reporting is your main tool here.

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How to register, change or remove DND

You can register, change, or remove a preference free of cost by SMS, call, USSD, app, or web portal. Do this from the number you want to protect, because each number is registered separately. The codes below come from the schedules in TRAI’s regulations. If you’d rather not remember codes, use the TRAI DND app or your operator’s app or website. Your operator must acknowledge within 15 minutes with a reference number. Keep that reference until the block has worked.

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Which setting should you choose?

The mode, time, and day codes come from the May 2026 consolidated text. Its disclaimer says the gazetted text prevails, so follow your operator’s prompts if they differ.

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Old advice you can ignore

Search results for DND still repeat rules that have since changed. Guides dated 2018, 2021, and 2024 were written for those earlier rules. TRAI’s FAQ page also showed older wording when we read it.

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What changes under the 2026 amendment?

TRAI notified the Third Amendment on September 18, 2026. Most of it starts 30 days after Gazette publication, and other parts start after 60 or 90 days. We couldn’t confirm the publication date, so check with your operator or TRAI whether a given change is live. For phone users, three changes matter most:

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How to complain about spam calls and SMS

Complain as soon as you can, and always within seven days. A complaint filed later is closed and kept only as a report. A valid complaint needs only four things: your number, the sender’s number, the date, and a short description. TRAI’s FAQ gives this SMS format for 1909: The UCC, XXXXXXXXXX, dd/mm/yy, with the sender’s number or header in place of the Xs. Operator apps must also accept screenshots and can read call logs with your permission. Timeline. On day 0 you get the unwanted call or SMS. By day 7 you complain through 1909, the TRAI DND app or your operator. Within 15 minutes your operator gives you a reference number. The operators then investigate. You can appeal within 15 days of hearing the outcome. Below it, a sender ladder: 5 or more unique complaints in 10 days lead to a first violation with outgoing services barred for 15 days, and a repeat violation leads to all numbers disconnected for one year and blacklisting. A faster trigger of 3 or more complaints with an AI flag phases in under the 2026 amendment. Timeline. On day 0 you get the unwanted call or SMS. By day 7 you complain through 1909, the TRAI DND app or your operator. Within 15 minutes your operator gives you a reference number. The operators then investigate. You can appeal within 15 days of hearing the outcome. Below it, a sender ladder: 5 or more unique complaints in 10 days lead to a first violation with outgoing services barred for 15 days, and a repeat violation leads to all numbers disconnected for one year and blacklisting. A faster trigger of 3 or more complaints with an AI flag phases in under the 2026 amendment. If you hear nothing, the amendment still leaves you a route. When 15 days pass with no word, you get the next 15 days to appeal. Fraud needs a different route. Report suspected scams, such as fake KYC calls or impersonation, on Chakshu at Sanchar Saathi, within 30 days. If you’ve already lost money, Chakshu points you to the 1930 cybercrime helpline. Chakshu also takes spam reports and says it investigates those made within 30 days, but TRAI’s seven-day limit still applies to complaints through your operator.

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Is the registry working?

TRAI’s latest quarterly report gives a useful but mixed picture. Four share bars for April to June 2026, from TRAI press release 111/2026. 16 percent of subscribers have registered a preference, 224 million of 1.348 billion. About 11 percent of 140-series calls were blocked by DND preferences, 1.48 billion of 13.16 billion. About 51 percent of complaints were actionable, 0.553 million of 1.085 million. 89 percent of complaints came through the TRAI DND app, 0.966 million of 1.085 million. Four share bars for April to June 2026, from TRAI press release 111/2026. 16 percent of subscribers have registered a preference, 224 million of 1.348 billion. About 11 percent of 140-series calls were blocked by DND preferences, 1.48 billion of 13.16 billion. About 51 percent of complaints were actionable, 0.553 million of 1.085 million. 89 percent of complaints came through the TRAI DND app, 0.966 million of 1.085 million. All of these figures come from TRAI’s report for April to June 2026, and the 11% and 51% shares are our own arithmetic. We assume that blocked calls are counted within the 13.16 billion, because TRAI doesn’t show that split. Here’s how we read them:
  • The block works where it can see. Preferences stopped about 1.48 billion promotional calls and 7.30 billion promotional SMS in one quarter.
  • Most subscribers haven’t used it. Registration stands at 16%, so most numbers remain open to registered promoters during default hours.
  • Traffic outside the system is large. Operators’ AI systems flagged 22.99 billion incoming calls as suspected spam in the same period.
  • Enforcement is real. Operators barred 137,053 resources for 15 days, disconnected 46,786 for a year, and blacklisted 263 senders.

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What must a business do?

If you run sales or service calls in India, DND is an operating rule for your campaigns. Start with the purpose of the call, because that decides everything else. Decision map. If any part of the call or SMS promotes a product or service, it's promotional. Stop if the person opted out or complained, because you can't ask for consent again for 90 days after an opt-out. Otherwise, with explicit digital consent it can be delivered despite DND, and without it only to people who haven't blocked your sector, mode, time or day. Send from a 140 number or promotional header, never an ordinary 10-digit number. If nothing promotes, it's service or transactional. Calls about something the customer already uses are service calls and need no explicit consent. Completing a purchase in progress needs explicit consent valid for 7 days. Keep it free of offers. Banks, regulated finance and government use a 1600 number. Decision map. If any part of the call or SMS promotes a product or service, it's promotional. Stop if the person opted out or complained, because you can't ask for consent again for 90 days after an opt-out. Otherwise, with explicit digital consent it can be delivered despite DND, and without it only to people who haven't blocked your sector, mode, time or day. Send from a 140 number or promotional header, never an ordinary 10-digit number. If nothing promotes, it's service or transactional. Calls about something the customer already uses are service calls and need no explicit consent. Completing a purchase in progress needs explicit consent valid for 7 days. Keep it free of offers. Banks, regulated finance and government use a 1600 number. These points catch teams out most often:

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How Vobiz handles DND

Vobiz builds these checks into outbound traffic and gives you the records to respond to a complaint. Campaign calls and messages reach real people and are billed to your account. Run them with your own Auth ID and Auth Token, and confirm your numbers and consent records first. To plan a compliant rollout, talk to the Vobiz team.

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Frequently asked questions

In everyday use, yes. NDNC stands for National Do Not Call, the registry’s original name. TRAI’s consumer FAQ calls it the National Customer Preference Register, or NCPR, also known as the DND registry. DND stands for Do Not Disturb. All three names point to the same opt-out system.
TRAI’s consolidated regulations say your preference must take effect within 24 hours. Your operator must also acknowledge the request within 15 minutes and give you a reference number. Many guides, and TRAI’s own FAQ page, still mention seven days, which reflects older wording.
Your operator must send you a confirmation and final status when you register, so keep that message. To change your settings later, use the TRAI DND app, your operator’s app or website, or call or SMS 1909 from that number. Registering and changing preferences is free.
No. TRAI’s 2026 amendment classes OTPs and balance alerts as service messages, and its BLOCK PROMO option does not block service, transactional, or government communications. If an OTP doesn’t arrive, DND is unlikely to be the cause, so check with the sender or your operator.
DND works on registered commercial traffic. Spammers using ordinary 10-digit numbers operate outside that system, so the check never sees them. Other callers may hold your consent or fall in a sector you haven’t blocked. Complain within seven days through 1909, the TRAI DND app, or your operator.
Sometimes. A business can make service calls to its own customers. It can make a promotional call to a blocked number only with that person’s explicit digital consent. Otherwise, a registered promotional call is stopped, and an unregistered one counts as unsolicited and can lead to action against the sender.

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Further reading on Vobiz

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Sources

Indian regulators and government Other guides

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