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Overview

These are the regulatory requirements for voice calls to US numbers on Vobiz. The rules are governed by the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) under the TCPA, and by the FTC for Do Not Call enforcement.
TCPA applies based on where the recipient is located — not the sender. Any business calling US mobile or residential numbers using automated systems must comply, regardless of where the business operates.
For a full TCPA explainer see What Is TCPA?. For US SMS compliance see US SMS Regulations.
Written consent must be a signed agreement — physical or electronic — that clearly authorises the specific sender to contact the consumer by automated means. Pre-checked boxes and bundled consent within terms of service do not meet the standard. AI voice calls: The FCC confirmed in February 2024 that AI-generated voices fall under TCPA’s artificial voice restriction. Any outbound AI voice agent call to a US consumer requires prior express written consent.

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Do Not Call (DNC) rules

  • National DNC Registry: Scrub all contact lists against the FTC’s National Do Not Call Registry before every outbound campaign. Numbers registered for 31+ days are off-limits for marketing calls.
  • Internal DNC list: Maintain your own suppression list of consumers who have requested no further contact. Must be honoured indefinitely — no expiry.
  • B2B exception: DNC rules primarily apply to residential and mobile numbers. Business-to-business calls have more flexibility, but ATDS and pre-recorded voice rules still apply.

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Calling hours

Calls to US residential and mobile numbers are restricted to the recipient’s local time: Calls outside this window are a TCPA violation regardless of consent.

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STIR/SHAKEN caller ID authentication

STIR/SHAKEN is the FCC-mandated framework for cryptographically signing caller ID on US calls. All US carriers are required to implement it. Attestation levels: Calls with low attestation (B or C) are more likely to be labelled as potential spam by receiving carriers and call-screening apps (Hiya, First Orion, TNS). For US outbound calling at scale, A-level attestation on Vobiz numbers produces the best answer rates. Caller ID best practices for US outbound:
  • Use phone numbers registered to your business entity — not shared or pooled numbers
  • Maintain consistent caller ID per campaign — number churn triggers spam scoring
  • Register your numbers with major analytics platforms (Hiya, First Orion) if running high-volume campaigns

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Robocall rules — TRACED Act

The TRACED Act (2019) strengthened TCPA enforcement and added:
  • Call authentication mandate: All US carriers must implement STIR/SHAKEN
  • Increased penalties: FCC can issue forfeitures without a warning for robocall violations
  • Provider obligations: US carriers must block calls identified as illegal robocalls and implement call traceback

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AI voice agent compliance checklist

  • Obtain prior express written consent before any AI agent outbound call to a US consumer
  • Scrub contacts against National DNC Registry before every campaign run
  • Maintain an internal suppression list; honour all opt-out requests
  • Restrict calls to 8am–9pm in the recipient’s local time zone
  • Use numbers with A-level STIR/SHAKEN attestation for best deliverability
  • Configure webhook handlers for call status — log AMD results, opt-outs, and complaints
  • Review consent language and campaign practices with US legal counsel

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Vobiz and US calling

Vobiz provides US local, mobile, and toll-free numbers with A-level STIR/SHAKEN attestation on numbers originating from the Vobiz network. For US outbound AI calling:
  • Use Vobiz US numbers (not BYOC) for the highest attestation level
  • AMD is available per-call via machine_detection=Enable — reduces TCPA exposure by ensuring AI agents only engage live humans
  • Webhook delivery reports include AnsweredBy, call duration, and disposition — required for compliance logging