What is the Telephone Preference Service?
Wahid Musawi · Co-founder · TelesalesUpdated 31 Aug 2026The Telephone Preference Service is the UK’s official do-not-call register. Registering a number, free, at tpsonline.org.uk, makes most live marketing calls to it unlawful unless the person has consented. The corporate TPS does the same for business numbers. Marketers must screen their lists against both; that duty sits with the caller, not the person registered.
How it works, both directions
For the public: registration is free, applies to live marketing calls, and takes effect after 28 days; it does not stop scams, which ignore the law by definition, nor calls you consented to. For marketers: screen every list against the TPS and CTPS before dialling, keep your own suppression list of direct objections, and refresh screening regularly, because the register changes daily.
The corporate TPS, the half people miss
B2B callers sometimes assume business numbers are fair game. They are not: the corporate TPS covers businesses that registered, and PECR applies to them too. A B2B campaign that skips CTPS screening is not aggressive, it is unlawful, which is one of the six questions worth asking any provider you are comparing.
Why a selling platform tells you this
Because the register is the floor this platform is built on: numbers are screened before the dialer will connect a call. A seller here never has to wonder whether the list was clean, and a brand never has to take a provider’s word for it, the screening is in the pipe, and the recordings are attached to the sales.
The TPS stops lawful marketers. Fraud calls ignore it, so registration reduces marketing calls, not scams; report those to Action Fraud. And this page will not tell anyone how to work around the register, because that is both unlawful and terrible selling.
Related questions, answered short
Is the Telephone Preference Service legitimate?
Yes. It is the UK’s official opt-out register, operating under PECR, and registration at tpsonline.org.uk is free. Paid “call blocking registration” services reselling it are the thing to be wary of, not the TPS itself.
Is the TPS free?
Completely, for individuals and for businesses on the corporate TPS. Anyone charging to register a number is selling something the register gives away.
Does the TPS stop scam calls?
No. It binds lawful marketers, and fraud ignores the law by definition. Registration cuts legitimate marketing calls; scam calls are a matter for call blocking and reporting to Action Fraud.