Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 11443 

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS 

COMMISSION 

47 CFR Part 64 

[CG Docket No. 02–278; FCC 20–186; FRS 

17388] 

Limits on Exempted Calls Under the 

Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 

1991 

AGENCY: Federal Communications 

Commission. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: In this document, the 

Commission takes steps to implement of 

the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall 

Abuse Criminal Enforcement and 

Deterrence Act (TRACED Act). First, the 

Commission codifies the Telephone 

Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) 

exemptions for calls to wireless 

numbers into the rules to make those 

exemptions more clear and 

understandable for both callers and 

consumers. Second, the Commission 

amends the TCPA exemptions for 

artificial or prerecorded voice calls 

made to residential telephone lines so 

each satisfies the TRACED Act’s 

requirements to identify who can call, 

who can be called, and any call limits. 

The Commission adopts limits on the 

number of calls that can be made under 

the exemptions for non-commercial 

calls to a residence; commercial calls to 

a residence that do not include an 

advertisement or constitute 

telemarketing; tax-exempt nonprofit 

organization calls to a residence; and 

Health Insurance Portability and 

Accountability Act (HIPPA)-related calls 

to a residence. In addition, callers must 

have mechanisms in place to allow 

consumers to opt out of any future calls. 

This action will empower consumers to 

further limit the number of unwanted 

robocalls made under any TCPA 

exemption. 

DATES: Effective March 29, 2021 except 

for the amendments to § 64.1200(a)(3)(ii) 

through (v), (b)(2) and (b)(3), and (d), 

which are delayed indefinitely. The 

Commission will publish a document in 

the Federal Register announcing the 

effective date of these amendments. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Richard D. Smith of the Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (717) 

338–2797 or Richard.Smith@fcc.gov. For 

information regarding the PRA 

information collection requirements 

contained in the PRA, contact Cathy 

Williams, Office of Managing Director, 

at (202) 418–2918, or Cathy.Williams@

fcc.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This is a 

summary of the Commission’s Report 

and Order, document FCC 20–186, 

adopted on December 29, 2020, released 

on December 30, 2020. The full text of 

document FCC 20–186 is available 

online at https://docs.fcc.gov/public/ 

attachments/FCC-20-186A1.pdf. To 

request this document in accessible 

formats for people with disabilities (e.g., 

Braille, large print, electronic files, 

audio format) or to request reasonable 

accommodations (e.g., accessible format 

documents, sign language interpreters, 

CART), send an email to fcc504@fcc.gov 

or call the FCC’s Consumer and 

Governmental Affairs Bureau at (202) 

418–0530 (voice). The amendments to 

§ 64.1200(a)(3)(ii) through (v), (b)(2) and 

(b)(3), and (d) are delayed indefinitely 

as they contain information collection 

requirements under the Paperwork 

Reduction Act (PRA) which must first 

be approved by the Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB). 

Congressional Review Act 

The Commission sent a copy of 

document FCC 20–186 to Congress and 

the Government Accountability Office 

pursuant to the Congressional Review 

Act, 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1)(A). 

Final Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

Analysis 

The Report and Order contains 

modified information collection 

requirements which are not effective 

until approval is obtained from OMB. 

The Commission, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

burdens, invites the general public to 

comment on the information collection 

requirements contained in the Report 

and Order as required by the PRA of 

1995, Public Law 104–13. In addition, 

the Commission notes that pursuant to 

the Small Business Paperwork Relief 

Act of 2002, Public Law 107–198, see 44 

U.S.C. 3506(c)(4), the Commission 

previously sought specific comment on 

how the Commission might further 

reduce the information collection 

burden for small business concerns with 

fewer than 25 employees. 

Synopsis 

1. In the Report and Order, the 

Commission adopts measures to 

implement section 8 of the TRACED Act 

to ensure that any exemption adopted 

under sections 227(b)(2)(B) or (C) of the 

TCPA includes requirements for: (1) The 

classes of parties that may make such 

calls; (2) the classes of parties that may 

be called; and (3) the number of such 

calls that may be made to a particular 

called party. 

A. Codifying Exemptions 

2. First, the Commission codifies all 

existing exemptions under section 

227(b)(2)(C) of the TCPA for calls to 

wireless numbers in the Commission’s 

rules to make the requirements more 

clear and easy to understand for both 

callers and called parties. 

B. Section 227(b)(2)(B) Exemption 

Restrictions 

1. Non-Commercial Calls to a Residence 

3. Callers. The Commission has 

exempted calls ‘‘not made for a 

commercial purpose’’ from the 

prohibition on artificial or prerecorded 

voice messages to residential telephone 

lines. The Commission concludes that 

this exemption satisfies the TRACED 

Act’s requirements with respect to ‘‘the 

classes of parties that may make such 

calls.’’ The class of parties that may 

make such calls is limited to callers that 

are not calling for a commercial 

purpose. The Commission has 

indicated, for example, that this 

exemption includes calls conducting 

research, market surveys, political 

polling, or similar noncommercial 

activities. The purpose of such calls is 

not to advertise or market a commercial 

product or service. 

4. Called parties. The exemption for 

calls ‘‘not made for a commercial 

purpose’’ satisfies the TRACED Act’s 

requirement with respect to the ‘‘classes 

of parties that may be called’’ because 

this exemption applies only to calls 

made to residential telephone lines. 

Thus, only residential telephone users 

may be called under this exemption. 

5. Number of calls. The TRACED Act 

requires the Commission to limit ‘‘the 

number of such calls that a calling party 

may make to a particular called party.’’ 

The Commission therefore amends its 

rules to limit the number of calls that 

can be made to a particular residential 

line pursuant to the exemption for calls 

‘‘not made for a commercial purpose’’ to 

three artificial or prerecorded voice calls 

within any consecutive 30-day period. 

These limits give non-commercial 

callers several opportunities over a 

month-long period to convey their 

message and to obtain consent for future 

calls. The Commission selected this 

limit as an appropriate balance in the 

context of federal debt collection calls, 

based on support in the record, while 

recognizing that there was no consensus 

what the exact number should be. These 

limits strike the appropriate balance 

between these callers reaching 

consumers with information and 

reducing the number of unexpected and 

unwanted calls consumers currently 

receive. The Commission intends to 

11444 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

monitor these limits to determine 

whether they may require adjustment in 

the future. 

6. The Commission emphasizes that 

callers can simply get consumer consent 

to make more than three noncommercial calls using an artificial or 

prerecorded voice within any 

consecutive 30-day period. As the 

numerical limitations only apply to 

artificial or prerecorded calls to 

residential numbers, and not live agent 

calls, the impact on callers is limited. 

7. Opt-out Requirement. The 

Commission’s rules require that 

residential telephone subscribers be 

permitted to opt out of artificial and 

prerecorded voice calls that contain 

telemarketing messages. Under these 

rules, a consumer who wants to avoid 

further artificial or prerecorded 

telemarketing calls can ‘‘opt out’’ by 

dialing a telephone number (required to 

be provided in the artificial or 

prerecorded voice message) to register 

his or her do-not-call request in 

response to that call. The rules also 

require that, in every case where an 

artificial or prerecorded voice telephone 

message includes or introduces an 

advertisement or constitutes 

telemarketing and is delivered to a 

residential telephone line, the caller 

must provide an automated, interactive 

voice- and/or key press-activated optout mechanism for the called person to 

make a do-not-call request. 

8. To effectuate an opt-out 

mechanism, noncommercial callers 

must comply with the requirements of 

§§ 64.1200(b) and (d) of the 

Commission’s rules, which govern the 

process for handling do-not-call 

requests. 

2. Commercial Calls to a Residence That 

Do Not Constitute Telemarketing 

9. Callers. The Commission has 

exempted calls ‘‘made for a commercial 

purpose but [that] do[ ] not include or 

introduce an advertisement or constitute 

telemarketing’’ from the prohibition on 

using an artificial or prerecorded voice 

message to call residential telephone 

lines. If these calls do not contain 

advertising or solicit the purchase of 

goods or services and otherwise 

conform to the requirements of the 

TRACED Act, the Commission 

concludes they should remain exempt 

from the TCPA prohibitions as the 

record shows consumers generally want 

and expect them. 

10. Called parties. The Commission 

further concludes that the exemption for 

commercial calls already satisfies the 

TRACED Act’s requirement with respect 

to the ‘‘classes of parties that may be 

called’’ because this exemption applies 

only to calls made to residential 

telephone lines. 

11. Number of calls. The Commission 

limits the number of calls that can be 

made pursuant to the exemption for 

commercial calls to three artificial or 

prerecorded voice calls within any 

consecutive 30-day period. The 

Commission incorporates by reference 

the discussion relating to the number of 

calls that can be made pursuant to the 

exemption for calls not made for a 

commercial purpose, as well as the 

discussion on the timeframe and 

effective date for implementation 

mechanisms to comply with these 

requirements. 

12. Opt-Out Requirement. The 

Commission also requires callers to 

allow recipients of artificial and 

prerecorded voice message calls made 

pursuant to the exemption for 

commercial calls to opt out of such calls 

using either of the mechanisms 

described in the Commission’s rules. 

The Commission incorporates by 

reference the analysis relating to the 

adoption of an opt-out mechanism for 

non-commercial calls to residential 

telephone numbers. 

3. Tax-Exempt Nonprofit Organization 

Calls to a Residence 

13. Callers. The Commission has 

exempted calls made by or on behalf of 

a tax-exempt nonprofit organization 

from the prohibition on using an 

artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver 

a message to a residential telephone 

line. The Commission agrees that this 

exemption remains in the public 

interest and should be retained subject 

to conformance with the requirements 

of the TRACED Act. 

14. Called parties. The Commission 

concludes that the exemption for taxexempt nonprofit organizations already 

satisfies the TRACED Act’s 

requirements with respect to the 

‘‘classes of parties that may be called’’ 

because this exemption applies only to 

calls made to residential telephone 

lines. 

15. Number of calls. The Commission 

limits the number of calls that can be 

made pursuant to the exemption for 

calls by tax-exempt nonprofit 

organizations to three artificial or 

prerecorded voice calls within any 

consecutive 30-day period. The 

Commission incorporates by reference 

the discussion relating to the number of 

calls that can be made pursuant to the 

exemption for calls not made for a 

commercial purpose, as well as the 

discussion on the timeframe and 

effective date for implementing 

mechanisms to comply with these 

requirements. 

16. Opt-Out Requirement. The 

Commission also requires callers to 

allow recipients of artificial and 

prerecorded voice message calls made 

pursuant to the exemption for taxexempt nonprofit organizations to opt 

out of such calls using either of the 

mechanisms described in the 

Commission’s rules. The Commission 

incorporates by reference the analysis 

relating to the adoption of an opt-out 

mechanism for non-commercial calls to 

residential telephone numbers. 

4. HIPAA Calls to a Residence 

17. Callers. The Commission has 

exempted HIPAA-related calls that 

deliver a healthcare message from the 

prohibition on using an artificial or 

prerecorded voice to deliver a message 

to residential telephone lines. The 

Commission concluded that such calls 

serve a public interest purpose: To 

ensure continued consumer access to 

healthcare-related information. The 

Commission finds that the record shows 

that the exemption continues to benefit 

consumers and should be retained 

subject to compliance with the 

requirements of the TRACED Act. The 

exemption satisfies the TRACED Act’s 

requirements with respect to the 

‘‘classes of parties that may make’’ such 

calls (calls ‘‘made by, or on behalf of, a 

‘covered entity’ or its ‘business 

associate’ as those terms are defined in 

the HIPAA Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 

160.103’’). 

18. Called parties. The Commission 

also concludes that the exemption for 

HIPAA-related calls satisfies the 

TRACED Act’s requirements with 

respect to the ‘‘classes of parties that 

may be called’’ because this exemption 

applies only to calls made to residential 

telephone lines. 

19. Number of calls. The Commission 

amends its rules to limit the number of 

calls that can be made pursuant to the 

exemption for HIPAA-related calls to 

one artificial or prerecorded voice call 

per day up to a maximum of three 

artificial or prerecorded voice calls per 

week. The Commission notes that this 

limitation is identical to the condition 

imposed on healthcare calls to wireless 

numbers that are exempted under 

section 227(b)(2)(C) of the TCPA. 

20. The Commission imposed this 

same limit on exempted HIPAA calls to 

wireless telephone numbers five years 

ago and has no credible evidence it has 

unduly restricted healthcare providers’ 

ability to communicate with their 

patients. The Commission incorporates 

by reference the discussion relating to 

the number of calls that can be made 

pursuant to the exemption for calls not 

made for a commercial purpose, as well 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 11445 

as the discussion on the timeframe and 

effective date for implementing 

mechanisms to comply with these 

requirements. 

21. Opt-Out Requirement. The 

Commission also requires callers to 

allow recipients of artificial and 

prerecorded voice message calls made 

pursuant to the HIPAA exemption to opt 

out of such calls using either of the optout mechanisms described in the 

Commission’s rules. The Commission 

incorporates by reference the analysis 

relating to the adoption of an opt-out 

mechanism for non-commercial calls to 

residential telephone numbers. 

5. Implementation and Effective Date 

22. The Commission recognizes that 

implementation of the numerical limits 

and opt-out requirements may present 

some burdens to callers and therefore 

establishes a six-month period to do so 

before the new requirements take effect. 

23. The technology needed for 

compliance with the Commission’s optout requirements is commonplace and 

easily accessible; the Commission’s 

rules have required certain callers to 

utilize the available tools and 

equipment since 2012. Therefore, based 

on a review of the record and these 

considerations, the appropriate time for 

implementation of these amended rules 

is six months. The requirements that 

callers comply with a three-call limit 

within any consecutive 30-day period, 

and the HIPAA exemption restriction of 

one call per day up to three calls per 

week, and opt-out requests from 

consumers implicate the PRA. Thus, the 

six-month period before compliance is 

required will commence upon 

publication in the Federal Register of 

OMB approval of the rules. 

C. Section 227(b)(2)(C) Exemptions 

1. Package Delivery Calls to a Wireless 

Number 

24. The Commission has exempted 

package delivery calls to wireless 

consumers subject to several conditions. 

See Cargo Airline Association Petition 

for Expedited Declaratory Ruling, CG 

Docket No. 02–278, Order, published at 

80 FR 15688, March 25, 2015. The 

record shows that the exemption 

continues to serve the public interest 

and that the conditions on such calls 

satisfy section 8 of the TRACED Act. As 

a result, the Commission concludes that 

no further action is required to bring 

this exemption into compliance with 

section 8 of the TRACED Act. 

2. Financial Institution Calls to a 

Wireless Number 

25. The Commission has exempted 

calls made by financial institutions to 

wireless consumers subject to several 

conditions. See Rules and Regulations 

Implementing the Telephone Consumer 

Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 

02–278, WC Docket No. 07–135, 

Declaratory Ruling and Order, 

published at 80 FR 61129, October 9, 

2015. The Commission noted that calls 

by financial institutions regarding 

fraudulent transactions, security data 

breaches, and identity theft are 

‘‘intended to address exigent 

circumstances in which a quick, timely 

communication with a consumer could 

prevent considerable consumer harms.’’ 

This exemption has been in place for 

five years, and the Commission finds 

that it remains in the public interest and 

that the conditions on such calls satisfy 

section 8 of the TRACED Act. As a 

result, the Commission concludes that 

no further action is required to bring 

this exemption into compliance with 

section 8 of the TRACED Act. 

3. Healthcare Provider Calls to a 

Wireless Number 

26. The Commission has exempted 

certain healthcare provider calls to 

wireless consumers subject to several 

conditions. See Rules and Regulations 

Implementing the Telephone Consumer 

Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 

02–278, WC Docket No. 07–135, 

Declaratory Ruling and Order, 

published at 80 FR 61129, October 9, 

2015. The Commission found that calls 

for which there is an exigency and that 

have a healthcare treatment purpose 

such as appointment and exam 

confirmations and reminders, wellness 

checkups, hospital pre-registration 

instructions, lab results, prescription 

notifications, and home healthcare 

instructions provide vital, time-sensitive 

information patients welcome, expect, 

and often rely on to make informed 

decisions. This exemption has been in 

place for five years, and the Commission 

finds that it remains in the public 

interest and that the conditions on such 

calls satisfy section 8 of the TRACED 

Act. The Commission concludes that no 

further action is required to bring this 

exemption into compliance with section 

8 of the TRACED Act. 

4. Inmate Calling Service Calls to a 

Wireless Number 

27. The Commission has exempted 

calls from inmate phone service 

providers subject to several conditions. 

See Rules and Regulations 

Implementing the Telephone Consumer 

Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 

02–278, WC Docket No. 07–135, 

Declaratory Ruling and Order, 

published at 80 FR 61129, October 9, 

2015. The Commission found such calls 

to be beneficial, provided they do not 

include any telemarketing and are solely 

intended to arrange for the billing of a 

specific collect call that an inmate caller 

has already attempted to initiate. This 

exemption has been in place for five 

years, and the Commission finds that it 

remains in the public interest and that 

the conditions on such calls satisfy 

section 8 of the TRACED Act. As a 

result, the Commission concludes that 

no further action is required to bring 

this exemption into compliance with 

section 8 of the TRACED Act. 

D. Additional Matters 

28. Several commenters request 

amendments to various TCPA 

exemptions for reasons that extend 

beyond the scope of section 8. To the 

extent that there are open proceedings 

on related subject matters, the 

Commission encourages these parties to 

direct their comments to those 

proceedings. 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

29. As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980, as amended, 

RFA, an Initial Regulatory Flexibility 

Analysis (IRFA) was incorporated in the 

notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) 

in this docket, published at 85 FR 

64091, October 9, 2020. The 

Commission sought written public 

comment on the proposals in the NPRM, 

including comment on the IRFA. The 

Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis 

FRFA conforms to the RFA. 

A. Need for, and Objectives of, the 

Report and Order 

30. In the Report and Order, the 

Commission takes action to implement 

section 8 of the TRACED Act, to ensure 

that any exemption adopted pursuant to 

sections 227(b)(2)(B) and (C) of the 

TCPA contains requirements for: (1) The 

classes of parties that may make such 

calls; (2) the classes of parties that may 

be called; and (3) the number of such 

calls that may be made to a particular 

called party. 

31. The TRACED Act requires the 

Commission, no later than December 30, 

2020, to ‘‘prescribe such regulations or 

amend such existing regulations, as 

necessary to ensure that [any] such 

exemption [issued under sections 

227(b)(2)(B) or (C) of the TCPA] contains 

each requirement [listed in section 8(a) 

of the TRACED Act].’’ Section 8(b) of 

the TRACED Act provides that ‘‘[t]o the 

extent such an exemption contains such 

a requirement before such date of 

enactment, nothing in this section or the 

amendments made by this section shall 

be construed to require the Commission 

11446 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

to prescribe or amend regulations 

relating to such requirement.’’ 

32. The Report and Order confirms 

that the conditions imposed by the 

Commission by order for exemptions 

under section 227(b)(2)(C) of the TCPA 

for calls to wireless numbers satisfy the 

TRACED Act’s section 8 requirements, 

and the only action necessary is to 

codify those exemptions in the rules. 

The Commission does not adopt 

additional rules or reporting and 

recordkeeping requirements in that 

context. 

33. With respect to the exemptions for 

artificial and prerecorded voice message 

calls to residential numbers, the Report 

and Order retains all existing 

exemptions and adopts certain 

conditions on such calls. Specifically, to 

satisfy the TRACED Act’s requirement 

regarding ‘‘the number of such calls that 

a calling party may make to a particular 

called party,’’ the Report and Order 

amends the Commission’s rules to 

generally limit the number of exempted 

calls that can be made to a particular 

residential line to three calls within any 

consecutive 30-day period. For HIPAArelated calls to a residence, however, the 

Commission amends the rules to limit 

the number of calls that can be made 

pursuant to this exemption to one 

artificial or prerecorded voice call per 

day up to a maximum of three artificial 

or prerecorded voice calls per week. The 

adopted rules also allow recipients of 

artificial and prerecorded voice message 

calls to residential numbers to opt out 

of future calls. Such residential 

subscribers may do so by dialing a 

telephone number (required to be 

provided in the prerecorded message) to 

register his or her do-not-call request in 

response to that call or by using an 

automated, interactive voice- and/or key 

press-activated opt-out mechanism to 

make a do-not-call request. Thus, the 

amended rules will bring these 

exemptions into line with the 

Commission’s treatment of exempted 

calls to wireless numbers. To effectuate 

an opt-out mechanism, callers must 

comply with the requirements of 

§ 64.1200(b) and (d) of the 

Commission’s existing rules, which 

govern the process for handling do-notcall requests. 

34. In so doing, the Report and Order 

implements the requirements of the 

TRACED Act and, at the same time, 

minimizes any compliance burdens for 

both small and large entities that make 

calls pursuant to one of the exemptions 

in the law. 

B. Summary of Significant Issues Raised 

by Public Comments in Response to the 

IRFA 

35. In the NPRM, the Commission 

solicited comments on how to minimize 

the economic impact of the new rules 

on small businesses. There were no 

comments filed that specifically 

addressed the rules and policies 

proposed in the IRFA. Three 

commenters, however, focused on the 

challenges certain entities would face in 

complying with the opt-out 

requirements given their small staffs 

and limited resources. The Credit Union 

National Association (CUNA) argues 

that the opt-out proposals would impose 

significant burdens for many credit 

unions that do not engage in 

telemarketing, and thus would have had 

no reason to create and maintain do-notcall lists. CUNA states that nearly 40 

percent of all credit unions employ five 

or fewer full-time employees, 

approximately 25 percent have less than 

$10 million in assets, and over twothirds have less than $100 million in 

assets. The Illinois Credit Union states 

that an opt-out requirement would be 

burdensome for smaller institutions 

which have limited staff and resources, 

and the Professional Association for 

Customer Engagement similarly states 

that many healthcare providers are 

smaller entities that do not have the 

financial resources to implement an 

automated do-not-call system with a 

toll-free number. 

C. Response to Comments by the Chief 

Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration 

36. Pursuant to the Small Business 

Jobs Act of 2010, which amended the 

RFA, the Commission is required to 

respond to any comments filed by the 

Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small 

Business Administration, and to provide 

a detailed statement of any change made 

to the proposed rules as a result of those 

comments. The Chief Counsel did not 

file any comments in response to the 

proposed rules in this proceeding. 

D. Description of Projected Reporting, 

Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 

Requirements for Small Entities 

37. The Report and Order does not 

adopt any additional conditions on calls 

made to wireless numbers pursuant to 

the exemptions adopted under section 

227(b)(2)(C) of the TCPA, but instead 

concludes that the exemptions already 

meet the requirements of the TRACED 

Act. With respect to the exemptions for 

calls to residential numbers, the Report 

and Order adopts a numerical limit of 

three calls within a consecutive 30-day 

period that an entity may make 

pursuant to three of the four 

exemptions. The one exception is for 

HIPAA-related calls to a residence 

where the Commission amends the rules 

to limit the number of calls that can be 

made pursuant to this exemption to one 

artificial or prerecorded voice call per 

day up to a maximum of three artificial 

or prerecorded voice calls per week. The 

Commission explained that this 

limitation is identical to the condition 

imposed on healthcare calls to wireless 

numbers that are exempted under 

section 227(b)(2)(C) of the TCPA. 

38. The Commission’s ruling therefore 

satisfies the requirements of the 

TRACED Act while bringing the 

exemptions for calls made to residential 

telephone numbers in line with the 

treatment of exempted calls to wireless 

numbers. The adopted limitation will 

reduce the number of intrusive or 

unwanted robocalls consumers receive 

at their homes while still allowing 

legitimate businesses to provide services 

and information consumers want. The 

Report and Order also requires entities 

making artificial or prerecorded voice 

calls to residential numbers pursuant to 

any of the exemptions to honor opt-out 

requests from consumers who wish to 

avoid future calls. In such cases, a caller 

will need to have opt-out mechanisms 

in place to accept do-not-call requests 

and to record and track such opt-out 

requests in order to avoid making any 

additional calls to those consumers. If 

the caller makes a call using an artificial 

or prerecorded voice message, they must 

provide a telephone number in the 

message to allow a consumer to register 

his or her do-not-call request in 

response to that call. The Commission’s 

existing rules also require that, in every 

case where an artificial or prerecorded 

voice telephone message includes or 

introduces an advertisement or 

constitutes telemarketing and is 

delivered to a residential telephone line, 

the caller must provide an automated, 

interactive voice and/or key pressactivated opt-out mechanism for the 

called person to make a do-not-call 

request. Entities will have up to 30 days 

to honor a residential subscriber’s donot-call request and ensure that they no 

longer call such residential subscriber’s 

telephone number. While these rules 

will necessitate that entities keep 

records associated with the number of 

calls they make to a particular called 

party and to track opt-out requests from 

consumers, entities are not required to 

routinely report these records to the 

Commission. These requirements will 

apply to both large and small entities 

alike that make calls to residential 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 11447 

consumers pursuant to one of the 

exemptions carved out from the 

Commission’s rules. 

E. Steps Taken To Minimize Significant 

Economic Impact on Small Entities, and 

Significant Alternatives Considered 

39. The RFA requires an agency to 

describe any significant alternatives that 

it has considered in reaching its 

proposed approach, which may include 

the following four alternatives (among 

others): (1) The establishment of 

differing compliance or reporting 

requirements or timetables that take into 

account the resources available to small 

entities; (2) the clarification, 

consolidation, or simplification of 

compliance or reporting requirements 

under the rule for small entities; (3) the 

use of performance, rather than design, 

standards; and (4) an exemption from 

coverage of the rule, or any part thereof, 

for small entities. 

40. The Commission considered 

feedback in response to the NPRM in 

crafting the final order. The Commission 

evaluated the comments with the goal of 

removing regulatory roadblocks and 

giving industry the flexibility to 

continue to make calls pursuant to any 

exemption previously carved out by the 

Commission while still protecting the 

interests of consumers who do not want 

to receive unlimited calls from such 

entities and allowing consumers to opt 

out of future calls from such entities. 

For example, the Commission retained 

all existing exemptions for calls to 

residential numbers, concluding that 

such exemptions satisfy the TRACED 

Act’s requirements regarding the classes 

of parties that may make such calls and 

the classes of parties that may be called. 

The Commission also considered the 

benefits to consumers of adopting a 

numerical limit on the number of calls 

made to them and weighed those 

benefits against the costs to entities to 

ensure they make no more than three 

calls per 30-day period to each 

residential number and allow 

consumers to opt out of future calls. The 

Commission concluded that such 

conditions fulfilled the TRACED Act’s 

directive that any exemption contain 

requirements with respect to the 

number of calls that may be made to any 

particular number. While entities that 

are exempted under the rules will need 

to keep internal records to ensure they 

do not call residential consumers more 

than three times within any consecutive 

30-day period and avoid calling those 

consumers who have made a do-not-call 

request altogether, the Commission did 

not require that any records of 

compliance with these requirements be 

routinely reported to the Commission. 

41. In response to comments on the 

timing necessary for entities that 

currently take advantage of exemptions 

from the TCPA to implement any new 

limitations on such exemptions, the 

Report and Order delays 

implementation of the new three-callper-30-day period (or three calls per 

week for HIPAA calls) and opt-out 

requirements for six months. Thus, the 

rules will not become effective until six 

months from the date of publication in 

the Federal Register of OMB approval of 

the information collection requirements 

associated with the new rules. This 

delay considers the potential 

compliance costs for small businesses 

that several commenters argued would 

result from the need to implement new 

procedures to comply with the do-notcall requirements. Small businesses may 

avoid any additional compliance costs 

entirely by declining to make such calls 

unless they first obtain prior express 

consent from consumers. 

List of Subjects in 47 CFR Part 64 

Communications common carriers, 

Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Telecommunications, 

Telephone. 

Federal Communications Commission. 

Marlene Dortch, 

Secretary, Office of the Secretary. 

Final Rules 

For the reasons discussed in the 

preamble, the Federal Communications 

Commission amends 47 part 64 as 

follows: 

PART 64—MISCELLANEOUS RULES 

RELATING TO COMMON CARRIERS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 64 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 47 U.S.C. 154, 201, 202, 217, 

218, 220, 222, 225, 226, 227, 227b, 228, 

251(a), 251(e), 254(k), 262, 403(b)(2)(B), (c), 

616, 620, 1401–1473, unless otherwise noted; 

Pub. L. 115–141, Div. P, sec. 503, 132 Stat. 

348, 1091. 

■ 2. Amend § 64.1200 by revising 

paragraph (a)(1)(iv) and adding 

paragraph (a)(9) to read as follows: 

§ 64.1200 Delivery Restrictions. 

(a) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) A person will not be liable for 

violating the prohibition in paragraph 

(a)(1)(iii) of this section when the call is 

placed to a wireless number that has 

been ported from wireline service and 

such call is a voice call; not knowingly 

made to a wireless number; and made 

within 15 days of the porting of the 

number from wireline to wireless 

service, provided the number is not 

already on the national do-not-call 

registry or caller’s company-specific donot-call list. A person will not be liable 

for violating the prohibition in 

paragraph (a)(1)(iii) of this section when 

making calls exempted by paragraph 

(a)(9) of this section. 

* * * * * 

(9) A person will not be liable for 

violating the prohibition in paragraph 

(a)(1)(iii) of this section for making any 

call exempted in this paragraph (a)(9), 

provided that the call is not charged to 

the called person or counted against the 

called person’s plan limits on minutes 

or texts. As used in this paragraph (a)(9), 

the term ‘‘call’’ includes a text message, 

including a short message service (SMS) 

call. 

(i) Calls made by a package delivery 

company to notify a consumer about a 

package delivery, provided that all of 

the following conditions are met: 

(A) The notification must be sent only 

to the telephone number for the package 

recipient; 

(B) The notification must identify the 

name of the package delivery company 

and include contact information for the 

package delivery company; 

(C) The notification must not include 

any telemarketing, solicitation, or 

advertising content; 

(D) The voice call or text message 

notification must be concise, generally 

one minute or less in length for voice 

calls or 160 characters or less in length 

for text messages; 

(E) The package delivery company 

shall send only one notification 

(whether by voice call or text message) 

per package, except that one additional 

notification may be sent for each 

attempt to deliver the package, up to 

two attempts, if the recipient’s signature 

is required for the package and the 

recipient was not available to sign for 

the package on the previous delivery 

attempt; 

(F) The package delivery company 

must offer package recipients the ability 

to opt out of receiving future delivery 

notification calls and messages and 

must honor an opt-out request within a 

reasonable time from the date such 

request is made, not to exceed 30 days; 

and, 

(G) Each notification must include 

information on how to opt out of future 

delivery notifications; voice call 

notifications that could be answered by 

a live person must include an 

automated, interactive voice- and/or key 

press-activated opt-out mechanism that 

enables the called person to make an 

opt-out request prior to terminating the 

call; voice call notifications that could 

be answered by an answering machine 

11448 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 

or voice mail service must include a 

toll-free number that the consumer can 

call to opt out of future package delivery 

notifications; text notifications must 

include the ability for the recipient to 

opt out by replying ‘‘STOP.’’ 

(ii) Calls made by an inmate collect 

call service provider following an 

unsuccessful collect call to establish a 

billing arrangement with the called 

party to enable future collect calls, 

provided that all of the following 

conditions are met: 

(A) Notifications must identify the 

name of the inmate collect call service 

provider and include contact 

information; 

(B) Notifications must not include any 

telemarketing, solicitation, debt 

collection, or advertising content; 

(C) Notifications must be clear and 

concise, generally one minute or less; 

(D) Inmate collect call service 

providers shall send no more than three 

notifications following each inmate 

collect call that is unsuccessful due to 

the lack of an established billing 

arrangement, and shall not retain the 

called party’s number after call 

completion or, in the alternative, after 

the third notification attempt; and 

(E) Each notification call must include 

information on how to opt out of future 

calls; voice calls that could be answered 

by a live person must include an 

automated, interactive voice- and/or key 

press-activated opt-out mechanism that 

enables the called person to make an 

opt-out request prior to terminating the 

call; voice calls that could be answered 

by an answering machine or voice mail 

service must include a toll-free number 

that the consumer can call to opt out of 

future notification calls; and, 

(F) The inmate collect call service 

provider must honor opt-out requests 

immediately. 

(iii) Calls made by any financial 

institution as defined in section 4(k) of 

the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 

15 U.S.C. 6809(3)(A), provided that all 

of the following conditions are met: 

(A) Voice calls and text messages 

must be sent only to the wireless 

telephone number provided by the 

customer of the financial institution; 

(B) Voice calls and text messages must 

state the name and contact information 

of the financial institution (for voice 

calls, these disclosures must be made at 

the beginning of the call); 

(C) Voice calls and text messages are 

strictly limited to those for the following 

purposes: transactions and events that 

suggest a risk of fraud or identity theft; 

possible breaches of the security of 

customers’ personal information; steps 

consumers can take to prevent or 

remedy harm caused by data security 

breaches; and actions needed to arrange 

for receipt of pending money transfers; 

(D) Voice calls and text messages 

must not include any telemarketing, 

cross-marketing, solicitation, debt 

collection, or advertising content; 

(E) Voice calls and text messages must 

be concise, generally one minute or less 

in length for voice calls (unless more 

time is needed to obtain customer 

responses or answer customer 

questions) or 160 characters or less in 

length for text messages; 

(F) A financial institution may initiate 

no more than three messages (whether 

by voice call or text message) per event 

over a three-day period for an affected 

account; 

(G) A financial institution must offer 

recipients within each message an easy 

means to opt out of future such 

messages; voice calls that could be 

answered by a live person must include 

an automated, interactive voice- and/or 

key press-activated opt-out mechanism 

that enables the call recipient to make 

an opt-out request prior to terminating 

the call; voice calls that could be 

answered by an answering machine or 

voice mail service must include a tollfree number that the consumer can call 

to opt out of future calls; text messages 

must inform recipients of the ability to 

opt out by replying ‘‘STOP,’’ which will 

be the exclusive means by which 

consumers may opt out of such 

messages; and, 

(H) A financial institution must honor 

opt-out requests immediately. 

(iv) Calls made by, or on behalf of, 

healthcare providers, which include 

hospitals, emergency care centers, 

medical physician or service offices, 

poison control centers, and other 

healthcare professionals, provided that 

all of the following conditions are met: 

(A) Voice calls and text messages 

must be sent only to the wireless 

telephone number provided by the 

patient; 

(B) Voice calls and text messages must 

state the name and contact information 

of the healthcare provider (for voice 

calls, these disclosures would need to 

be made at the beginning of the call); 

(C) Voice calls and text messages are 

strictly limited to those for the following 

purposes: appointment and exam 

confirmations and reminders, wellness 

checkups, hospital pre-registration 

instructions, pre-operative instructions, 

lab results, post-discharge follow-up 

intended to prevent readmission, 

prescription notifications, and home 

healthcare instructions; 

(D) Voice calls and text messages 

must not include any telemarketing, 

solicitation, or advertising; may not 

include accounting, billing, debtcollection, or other financial content; 

and must comply with HIPAA privacy 

rules, 45 CFR 160.103; 

(E) Voice calls and text messages must 

be concise, generally one minute or less 

in length for voice calls or 160 

characters or less in length for text 

messages; 

(F) A healthcare provider may initiate 

only one message (whether by voice call 

or text message) per day to each patient, 

up to a maximum of three voice calls or 

text messages combined per week to 

each patient; 

(G) A healthcare provider must offer 

recipients within each message an easy 

means to opt out of future such 

messages; voice calls that could be 

answered by a live person must include 

an automated, interactive voice- and/or 

key press-activated opt-out mechanism 

that enables the call recipient to make 

an opt-out request prior to terminating 

the call; voice calls that could be 

answered by an answering machine or 

voice mail service must include a tollfree number that the consumer can call 

to opt out of future healthcare calls; text 

messages must inform recipients of the 

ability to opt out by replying ‘‘STOP,’’ 

which will be the exclusive means by 

which consumers may opt out of such 

messages; and, 

(H) A healthcare provider must honor 

opt-out requests immediately. 

* * * * * 

■ 3. Delayed indefinitely, further amend 

§ 64.1200 by revising paragraphs 

(a)(3)(ii) through (v), (b)(2) and (3) and 

(d) to read as follows: 

§ 64.1200 Delivery Restrictions. 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(ii) Is not made for a commercial 

purpose and the caller makes no more 

than three calls within any consecutive 

30-day period to the residential line and 

honors the called party’s request to opt 

out of future calls as required in 

paragraphs (b) and (d) of this section; 

(iii) Is made for a commercial purpose 

but does not include or introduce an 

advertisement or constitute 

telemarketing and the caller makes no 

more than three calls within any 

consecutive 30-day period to the 

residential line and honors the called 

party’s request to opt out of future calls 

as required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of 

this section; 

(iv) Is made by or on behalf of a taxexempt nonprofit organization and the 

caller makes no more than three calls 

within any consecutive 30-day period to 

the residential line and honors the 

called party’s request to opt out of 

future calls as required in paragraphs (b) 

and (d) of this section; or 

Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations 11449 

(v) Delivers a ‘‘health care’’ message 

made by, or on behalf of, a ‘‘covered 

entity’’ or its ‘‘business associate,’’ as 

those terms are defined in the HIPAA 

Privacy Rule, 45 CFR 160.103, and the 

caller makes no more than one call per 

day to each patient’s residential line, up 

to a maximum of three calls combined 

per week to each patient’s residential 

line and honors the called party’s 

request to opt out of future calls as 

required in paragraphs (b) and (d) of this 

section. 

* * * * * 

(b) * * * 

(2) During or after the message, state 

clearly the telephone number (other 

than that of the autodialer or 

prerecorded message player that placed 

the call) of such business, other entity, 

or individual. The telephone number 

provided may not be a 900 number or 

any other number for which charges 

exceed local or long distance 

transmission charges. For telemarketing 

messages and messages made pursuant 

to an exemption under paragraphs 

(a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this section to 

residential telephone subscribers, such 

telephone number must permit any 

individual to make a do-not-call request 

during regular business hours; and 

(3) In every case where the artificial 

or prerecorded-voice telephone message 

is made pursuant to an exemption under 

paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this 

section or includes or introduces an 

advertisement or constitutes 

telemarketing and is delivered to a 

residential telephone line or any of the 

lines or telephone numbers described in 

paragraphs (a)(1)(i) through (iii) of this 

section, provide an automated, 

interactive voice- and/or key pressactivated opt-out mechanism for the 

called person to make a do-not-call 

request, including brief explanatory 

instructions on how to use such 

mechanism, within two (2) seconds of 

providing the identification information 

required in paragraph (b)(1) of this 

section. When the called person elects 

to opt out using such mechanism, the 

mechanism must automatically record 

the called person’s number to the 

caller’s do-not-call list and immediately 

terminate the call. When the artificial or 

prerecorded-voice telephone message is 

left on an answering machine or a voice 

mail service, such message must also 

provide a toll free number that enables 

the called person to call back at a later 

time and connect directly to the 

automated, interactive voice- and/or key 

press-activated opt-out mechanism and 

automatically record the called person’s 

number to the caller’s do-not-call list. 

* * * * * 

(d) No person or entity shall initiate 

any artificial or prerecorded-voice 

telephone call pursuant to an exemption 

under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of 

this section or any call for telemarketing 

purposes to a residential telephone 

subscriber unless such person or entity 

has instituted procedures for 

maintaining a list of persons who 

request not to receive such calls made 

by or on behalf of that person or entity. 

The procedures instituted must meet the 

following minimum standards: 

(1) Written policy. Persons or entities 

making artificial or prerecorded-voice 

telephone calls pursuant to an 

exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) 

through (v) of this section or calls for 

telemarketing purposes must have a 

written policy, available upon demand, 

for maintaining a do-not-call list. 

(2) Training of personnel. Personnel 

engaged in making artificial or 

prerecorded-voice telephone calls 

pursuant to an exemption under 

paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this 

section or who are engaged in any 

aspect of telemarketing must be 

informed and trained in the existence 

and use of the do-not-call list. 

(3) Recording, disclosure of do-notcall requests. If a person or entity 

making an artificial or prerecordedvoice telephone call pursuant to an 

exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) 

through (v) of this section or any call for 

telemarketing purposes (or on whose 

behalf such a call is made) receives a 

request from a residential telephone 

subscriber not to receive calls from that 

person or entity, the person or entity 

must record the request and place the 

subscriber’s name, if provided, and 

telephone number on the do-not-call list 

at the time the request is made. Persons 

or entities making such calls (or on 

whose behalf such calls are made) must 

honor a residential subscriber’s do-notcall request within a reasonable time 

from the date such request is made. This 

period may not exceed 30 days from the 

date of such request. If such requests are 

recorded or maintained by a party other 

than the person or entity on whose 

behalf the call is made, the person or 

entity on whose behalf the call is made 

will be liable for any failures to honor 

the do-not-call request. A person or 

entity making an artificial or 

prerecorded-voice telephone call 

pursuant to an exemption under 

paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this 

section or any call for telemarketing 

purposes must obtain a consumer’s 

prior express permission to share or 

forward the consumer’s request not to 

be called to a party other than the 

person or entity on whose behalf a call 

is made or an affiliated entity. 

(4) Identification of callers and 

telemarketers. A person or entity 

making an artificial or prerecordedvoice telephone call pursuant to an 

exemption under paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) 

through (v) of this section or any call for 

telemarketing purposes must provide 

the called party with the name of the 

individual caller, the name of the 

person or entity on whose behalf the 

call is being made, and a telephone 

number or address at which the person 

or entity may be contacted. The 

telephone number provided may not be 

a 900 number or any other number for 

which charges exceed local or long 

distance transmission charges. 

(5) Affiliated persons or entities. In 

the absence of a specific request by the 

subscriber to the contrary, a residential 

subscriber’s do-not-call request shall 

apply to the particular entity making the 

call (or on whose behalf a call is made), 

and will not apply to affiliated entities 

unless the consumer reasonably would 

expect them to be included given the 

identification of the caller and (for 

telemarketing calls) the product being 

advertised. 

(6) Maintenance of do-not-call lists. A 

person or entity making artificial or 

prerecorded-voice telephone calls 

pursuant to an exemption under 

paragraphs (a)(3)(ii) through (v) of this 

section or any call for telemarketing 

purposes must maintain a record of a 

consumer’s request not to receive 

further calls. A do-not-call request must 

be honored for 5 years from the time the 

request is made. 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2021–01190 Filed 2–24–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6712–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE 

National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

Administration 

50 CFR Part 679 

[Docket No. 210217–0022] 

RIN 0648–XY116 

Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic 

Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and 

Aleutian Islands; Final 2021 and 2022 

Harvest Specifications for Groundfish 

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries 

Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 

Commerce. 

ACTION: Final rule; harvest specifications 

and closures. 

SUMMARY: NMFS announces final 2021 

and 2022 harvest specifications,