The Federal Trade Commission yesterday released its National Do Not Call Registry Data Book for Fiscal Year 2025, offering one of the clearest annual snapshots of how consumers are managing inbound call preferences. For an industry that engages with consumers primarily by phone, the trends are impossible to ignore.
Overall complaints rose this year, yet the report highlights a meaningful long-term shift: unwanted call complaints remain about 48% lower than FY 2021, when the FTC received close to 5 million reports about unwanted calls. That decline provides important context for collection operations evaluating contact strategies, consent management, and dialer throughput.
What consumers want: Fewer unwanted calls
More than 4.7 million phone numbers were added to the National Do Not Call Registry in FY 2025, bringing total active registrations to roughly 258.5 million, a modest but steady increase of nearly 2% year over year. Several states continue to maintain notably high participation rates, with New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Kansas ranking at the top for registrations per 100,000 people.
Robocalls driving complaints: Despite overall complaint reductions since 2021, robocalls remain the primary source of violations. FY 2025 once again showed prerecorded calls far outpacing live-caller complaints across nearly every state. In states like Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, Illinois, and Florida, complaint volumes exceeded 900 complaints per 100,000 residents.
The most frequently reported topics also remained consistent with prior years:
- Reducing debt
- Imposter scams
- Medical and prescription issues
Notably, “debt reduction” remains a top-reported topic even though legitimate debt collection calls are categorized separately and excluded from these tallies. That continued confusion among consumers highlights the importance of caller ID clarity, disclosures, and strong consent practices.
For organizations that rely on outbound calling, several strategic implications emerge:
- Registration growth signals rising consumer sensitivity. Contact strategies need to prioritize compliance controls, opt-out workflows, and omnichannel alternatives.
- State-level variations matter. High-complaint states may require more careful calibration of calling frequency and number management.
- Robocall scrutiny isn’t going away. Even legal prerecorded messages in the collections space must be carefully managed within TCPA and state-specific constraints.
- Clear differentiation from scams is essential. With imposter and “debt reduction” calls dominating complaints, legitimate financial services calls must stand out through authentication cues, consistent branding, and trust-building.
