The Reassigned Numbers Database (RND), explained

The Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) is the FCC-established database of US phone numbers that were permanently disconnected, with the date of the most recent disconnection. Before calling or texting someone who gave consent, you can ask it whether the number has been disconnected since that date. A correct "no" answer may give you a limited TCPA safe harbor.

This is not legal advice. It summarises public FCC rules and the RND administrator's documentation as they stood on 25 September 2026. TCPA exposure depends on your facts, so consult your counsel before you rely on any of it.

#Why does a reassigned number create risk?

A number that someone gave you with consent can later belong to a stranger. Carriers recycle disconnected numbers, and the new subscriber never agreed to hear from you.

The scale is large. When the FCC created the database in its Second Report and Order of 13 December 2018 (FCC 18-177), it estimated that "approximately 35 million numbers are disconnected and made available for reassignment" each year (FCC, 2018). Every one of them can sit in a CRM or a marketing list long after its owner changed.

Calling or texting the new subscriber with an autodialer or a prerecorded voice can breach the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. The consent you hold belongs to the previous subscriber. The TCPA lets people sue for $500 per violation, and a court may increase that up to three times for wilful or knowing violations under 47 U.S.C. §227(b)(3) (LII, 2026). Across a campaign, a small share of reassigned numbers can therefore turn into real exposure, besides annoying people who never asked for your messages.

#What exactly does the RND contain?

It holds one fact per number: the most recent date on which it was permanently disconnected. It holds no names, addresses or current owners.

Under 47 CFR 64.1200(l), every provider that gets US numbers from the numbering administrator must keep records of the most recent permanent disconnection of each number and report them to the database administrator on the 15th of every month (eCFR, 2026). For toll-free numbers, the FCC put the reporting duty on the Toll Free Numbering Administrator (FCC 18-177, paragraph 23).

The rule defines "permanently disconnected" narrowly. A number counts when the subscriber has permanently given it up, or the provider has permanently reversed the assignment. A ported number is not permanently disconnected, because it still belongs to the same person on a different network. A temporary suspension for an unpaid bill doesn't count either, according to the administrator's FAQ.

According to the RND administrator's FAQ, large and medium providers began reporting on 15 April 2021, small providers on 15 October 2021, and the database held "over 361 million geographic and toll-free numbers" when we checked it on 25 September 2026 (RND FAQ, 2026).

#How does a query work, and what do the answers mean?

You send a number and a date, usually the date you last knew the number belonged to your customer (typically when consent was given). The database answers yes, no or no data.

The table follows the definitions on the administrator's About page (RND, 2026). The 27 January 2021 cut-off matters for old lists. If your consent dates from before that date, the database can't vouch for the whole period, so you get "no data". One practical answer is to re-confirm consent with those customers through a channel that is not an autodialed call or text.

Queries can be run in the web interface (up to 50 numbers), by file upload or SFTP (up to 1,000,000 numbers per file) or by API (up to 1,000 numbers per request), according to the administrator's querying page.

#What is the RND safe harbor?

It is a narrow defence, written into 47 CFR 64.1200(m). You aren't liable for calling a reassigned number if you prove two things. First, that you queried the most recent version of the database and got a "no" for the number and the date consent was obtained. Second, that your call happened because the database wrongly returned "no" (eCFR, 2026).

Three details are easy to miss:

• The burden is yours. The rule says the caller bears "the burden of proof and persuasion". Keep the query, the date you sent, the answer and the time of the call.
• It only covers database errors. If the database said "yes" and you called anyway, there is no safe harbor.
• It only covers the FCC database. In FCC 18-177 (paragraph 57), the Commission declined to extend the safe harbor to other commercial databases. A private reassigned-number product may still be useful, but it doesn't give you this defence.

Timing matters as well. Providers must age a disconnected number before reassigning it. Under 47 CFR 52.15(f)(1)(ii), residential numbers are aged for at least 45 and at most 90 days, and business numbers for at least 45 and at most 365 days (eCFR, 2026). The FCC chose 45 days so that monthly reports reach the database before a number can be handed to someone new. A query run shortly before each campaign therefore catches most reassignments. A query from last year does not.

#Who has to use the RND, and what does it cost?

Nobody has to. The administrator's FAQ states that "use of the RND is not mandatory" (RND FAQ, 2026). The incentive is the safe harbor and fewer calls to the wrong person.

Access is a prepaid subscription for registered callers or their agents, available since 1 November 2021. The pricing table on reassigned.us (a graphic dated 2 July 2025, retrieved 25 September 2026) lists twelve tiers (Tier 1 to Tier 10, plus 3A and 4A), from $0.008 per query at the smallest to $0.00056 at the largest (RND pricing, 2025):

Three-, six- and twelve-month terms multiply the query allowance. Twelve-month plans carry a listed discount of 10% (tiers 1–6) or 15% (tiers 7–10). Prices change, so check the site before budgeting.

#Where does the RND fit next to validation and carrier checks?

The RND answers one question: has this number changed hands since my consent date? Other checks answer different questions, and a clean contact process usually needs more than one.

MobileValidate does not sell RND queries and our checks don't provide the RND safe harbor. What we offer sits next to it. The US and Canada carrier lookup (bulk jobs) and the global carrier lookup return the current carrier and line type. That helps you route SMS only to mobile numbers, spot landlines that can't receive texts and find numbers whose type changed, which is itself a hint that something happened to the line. Invalid and duplicate inputs are flagged for free, and inconclusive results aren't charged.

#What does a practical pre-campaign workflow look like?

A simple order keeps costs low and puts each check where it helps most:

1. Normalize and dedupe. Convert every number to E.164 and remove duplicates. Our bulk cleaning guide shows how.
2. Apply your own suppression lists first. Opt-outs, revocations and internal do-not-call records. They are free and they are legally the most important.
3. Query the RND with each number and its consent date. Drop or re-confirm every "yes". Flag "no data" rows with old consent for re-confirmation.
4. Run a carrier and line-type check on what remains, to choose SMS or voice and to catch non-mobile numbers before you pay for messages.
5. Store the evidence. Keep the RND answer, the query date and your consent record next to each contact, so you can meet the safe-harbor burden if you ever need it.
6. Repeat before each campaign. Numbers are aged for as little as 45 days, so a result has a short shelf life.

For one-off checks, such as a support agent calling back an old lead, the same logic applies in miniature: check your opt-out list, then the RND, then the line. Our guide to checking whether a number is active covers the network side.

#What are the common mistakes?

• Treating a working number as the same subscriber. A number that rings or receives SMS may belong to someone new. Only the RND answers the reassignment question.
• Querying with today's date. The query date should be the date you last knew the number belonged to your customer, usually the consent date. Today's date asks a different and less useful question.
• Forgetting ported numbers. Porting isn't disconnection. A ported number keeps its owner, so it won't show as reassigned. That's correct, but it means carrier changes alone say nothing about ownership.
• Relying on a private database for the safe harbor. Only the FCC database qualifies under 47 CFR 64.1200(m).
• Not keeping records. Without the query result and timestamp, the safe harbor is hard to prove.

The broader consent picture, including revocation rules whose main parts took effect on 11 April 2025, is covered in our upcoming TCPA compliance checklist for SMS senders.

#What are the key takeaways?

• The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database records the latest permanent-disconnection date of US geographic and toll-free numbers. It answers yes, no or no data for a number and a date.
• A "no" that turns out to be wrong can give a narrow TCPA safe harbor under 47 CFR 64.1200(m). You carry the burden of proof, and only the FCC database qualifies.
• Consent dates before 27 January 2021 return "no data". Re-confirm consent for those contacts.
• Access is a prepaid subscription. Published prices range from $0.008 to $0.00056 per query (table dated July 2025).
• Carrier and line-type lookups complement the RND but don't replace it. MobileValidate doesn't sell RND queries.
• This is guidance, not legal advice. Consult counsel for your own program.