Voice Call Compliance in India

Key Rules for Voice Calls in India

Promotional voice calls in India fall under TRAI's TCCCPR framework: they must use designated number series, honour DND preferences and carry approved content, while service and transactional calls require proper customer consent.

• Promotional calls must come from the designated promotional number series and respect DND preferences recorded by customers.
• TRAI's rules prohibit unregistered telemarketers from making commercial calls from regular 10-digit numbers, and violations can lead to disconnection.
• Service and transactional calls require the customer's consent or an existing relationship.

Practical Checklist

• Check whether the call is promotional or a service call, as the rules differ.
• Use permitted calling numbers and caller ID, and never hide or spoof the calling number.
• Screen numbers against any national do-not-call register before promotional campaigns.
• Call only within permitted hours in the recipient's time zone and keep recorded messages short.
• Offer an easy way to stop further calls and record call consent where required.

Contact data

Format numbers in international E.164 format with the +91 country code, remove duplicates and invalid numbers, and keep consent records linked to each number.

Digital Habits and Channels in India

India has over a billion mobile connections and is WhatsApp's largest market, so WhatsApp, SMS and voice all play a big role in reaching customers. Commercial SMS and calls are governed by TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR) 2018, which created the DLT system where businesses register as entities, register headers (sender IDs) and content templates, and record consent. Since October 2024, links, APKs and call-back numbers in SMS must be whitelisted on DLT, and messages with unregistered URLs are blocked.

TRAI's February 2025 amendment requires promotional voice calls to use the 140 number series and service and transactional calls to use the 1600 series, and allows customers to report spam calls and messages within seven days of receipt. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023, with the DPDP Rules notified on 13 November 2025, introduces consent and notice requirements that apply in phases, with most obligations taking effect by May 2027. UPI is used for most digital payments.

Advertising Alongside Messaging

Ad campaigns should follow Google and Meta advertising policies, the ASCI code for advertising content and influencer disclosures, and sector rules for areas such as healthcare, finance and real estate (for example, RERA registration details for property ads).

This guide is general information, not legal advice, and reflects our understanding as of October 2026. Rules change, so we check current requirements for India before every launch.