FTC Consumer Alert

Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection Division of Consumer & Business Education

Unsolicited Mail, Telemarketing and Email: 

Where to Go to “Just Say No”

Tired of having your mailbox crammed with unsolicited mail, including preapproved credit card 

applications? Fed up with getting telemarketing calls just as you’re sitting down to dinner? Fuming 

that your email inbox is chock-full of unsolicited advertising? The good news is that you can cut down 

on the number of unsolicited mailings, calls, and emails you receive by learning where to go to “just 

say no.”

Consumer Reporting Companies 

If you decide that you don’t want to receive prescreened offers of credit and insurance, you have two 

choices: You can opt out of receiving them for five years or opt out of receiving them permanently. 

To opt out for five years: Call toll-free 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688) or visit 

www.optoutprescreen.com. The phone number and website are operated by the major consumer 

reporting companies.

To opt out permanently: You may begin the permanent Opt-Out process online at 

www.optoutprescreeen.com. To complete your request, you must return the signed Permanent OptOut Election form, which will be provided after you initiate your online request. 

When you call or visit the website, you’ll be asked to provide certain personal information, including 

your home telephone number, name, Social Security number, and date of birth. The information you 

provide is confidential and will be used only to process your request to opt out.

If you don’t have access to the Internet, you may send a written request to permanently opt out to each 

of the major consumer reporting companies. Make sure your request includes your home telephone 

number, name, Social Security number, and date of birth.

Experian

Opt Out

P.O. Box 919

Allen, TX 75013

TransUnion

Name Removal Option 

P.O. Box 505 

Woodlyn, PA 19094 

Equifax, Inc.

Options

P.O. Box 740123

Atlanta, GA 30374

Innovis Consumer 

Assistance

P.O. Box 495

Pittsburgh, PA 15230

Direct Marketers

Telemarketing

The federal government’s National Do Not Call Registry is a free, easy way to reduce the 

telemarketing calls you get at home. To register your phone number or to get information about 

the registry, visit www.donotcall.gov, or call 1-888-382-1222 from the phone number you want to 

register. You will get fewer telemarketing calls within 31 days of registering your number. Telephone 

numbers on the registry will only be removed when they are disconnected and reassigned, or when 

you choose to remove a number from the registry.
Mail

The Direct Marketing Association’s (DMA) Mail Preference Service (MPS) lets you opt out of 

receiving unsolicited commercial mail from many national companies for five years. When you 

register with this service, your name will be put on a “delete” file and made available to directmail marketers and organizations. This will reduce most of your unsolicited mail. However, your 

registration will not stop mailings from organizations that do not use the DMA’s Mail Preference 

Service. To register with DMA’s Mail Preference Service, go to www.dmachoice.org, or mail your 

request with a $1 processing fee to:

DMAchoice

Direct Marketing Association

P.O. Box 643

Carmel, NY 10512

Email

The DMA also has an Email Preference Service (eMPS) to help you reduce unsolicited commercial 

emails. To opt out of receiving unsolicited commercial email from DMA members, visit 

www.dmachoice.org. Registration is free and good for six years. 

Department of Motor Vehicles

The Drivers Privacy Protection Act allows states to distribute personal information only to law 

enforcement officials, courts, government agencies, private investigators, insurance underwriters, and 

similar businesses — but not for direct marketing and other uses.

If You Have a Complaint

The FTC works to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and 

to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint or get free 

information on consumer issues, visit ftc.gov or call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357); 

TTY: 1-866-653-4261. Watch a video, How to File a Complaint, at ftc.gov/video to learn more. 

The FTC enters consumer complaints into the Consumer Sentinel Network, a secure online database 

and investigative tool used by hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. 

and abroad.

March 2011