What NCPR / NDNC is
The National Customer Preference Registry (NCPR — formerly called the National Do Not Call registry, NDNC) is TRAI's consumer opt-out database. Any Indian phone subscriber can register their number to block one or more categories of commercial calls. As of late 2024 the registry holds approximately 85 million numbers.
Calling a registered number for a category they've blocked is a TRAI violation — per-call fines of ₹500–₹10,000 depending on offence count, plus a permanent black mark on your DLT header. Carriers also throttle outbound from offenders aggressively.
The 7 NCPR preference categories
Subscribers register for one or more of these. Cualify does not distinguish categories yet: a number on its DND list is skipped for every kind of call.
- 1. Banking / financial products / insurance / credit cards
- 2. Real estate
- 3. Education
- 4. Health
- 5. Consumer goods + automobiles
- 6. Telecom / IT / broadcasting / entertainment
- 7. Tourism / leisure
Plus an "all categories" blanket opt-out — the most common choice. ~70% of NCPR registrants picked the blanket option.
How Cualify checks numbers today
Right before every campaign call, Cualify checks the number against two lists and skips the call on a match. A skipped number is never dialled, so it costs nothing.
- Cualify's DND list. A system-wide list of numbers Cualify will not dial for any customer.
- Your opt-outs. Any contact in your organisation marked do-not-contact. The block covers that number on every list, not only the one it was marked on.
What this is not, yet: Cualify does not currently receive a live NCPR feed, so its DND list is not a full copy of the registry. Until a feed is connected, keep scrubbing your lists against NCPR as your DLT registration requires.
Transactional calls
NCPR only applies to promotional and service-explanatory categories. Transactional calls (OTP delivery, EMI reminders, appointment confirmations, fraud alerts) are exempt — TRAI considers these necessary service communications.
Cualify does not use that exemption to skip its own checks: a number on its DND list or marked do-not-contact is skipped whatever the call type. Labelling a promotional campaign as transactional to get round NCPR is a TRAI violation. Don't do it.
Recording your own opt-outs
When someone asks not to be called again, mark their contact do-not-contact: send do_not_contact: true for that number to POST /api/v1/contacts (see the REST API). From the next campaign dial on, Cualify skips that number for your organisation, on every list.