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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 36 / Thursday, February 25, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
47 CFR Part 64
CG Docket No. 02278; FCC 20186; FRS
17388

Limits on Exempted Calls Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
Federal Communications Commission.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

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 Acts 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.

SUMMARY:

Effective March 29, 2021 except for the amendments to 64.1200a3ii through v, b2 and b3, 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
3382797 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 4182918, or Cathy.Williams@
fcc.gov.
DATES:

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This is a summary of the Commissions Report and Order, document FCC 20186, adopted on December 29, 2020, released on December 30, 2020. The full text of document FCC 20186 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 FCCs Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau at 202
4180530 voice. The amendments to 64.1200a3ii through v, b2 and b3, 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.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS
COMMISSION

Congressional Review Act The Commission sent a copy of document FCC 20186 to Congress and the Government Accountability Office pursuant to the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801a1A.
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 10413. In addition, the Commission notes that pursuant to the Small Business Paperwork Relief Act of 2002, Public Law 107198, see 44
U.S.C. 3506c4, 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 227b2B 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.

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A. Codifying Exemptions 2. First, the Commission codifies all existing exemptions under section 227b2C of the TCPA for calls to wireless numbers in the Commissions rules to make the requirements more clear and easy to understand for both callers and called parties.
B. Section 227b2B 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
Acts 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 Acts 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
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