Frequently asked questions

As a company/organisation, you are governed by the DNCM legislation when you carry out commercial direct-marketing campaigns via telephone aimed at either customers or prospects, i.e. potential customers. When, for example, organisations contact people with campaigns to raise money for charities or to attract members, this is categorised as direct marketing. But ‘contacting’ is not always categorised as direct marketing. For example:
- a business that contacts a client to confirm an appointment;
- a business that informs a client about a potential problem with a product they have purchased.

Yes, you have to pay for a licence for the Do Not Call Me list. The price of a licence is dependent on the number of employees (either fewer than or exactly 250 employees, or more than 250 employees), as well as on the type of company:
- Advertiser: a party that wishes to approach consumers/businesses with a campaign;
- Service provider: a party commissioned by an advertiser to process call databases and/or carry out a telephone campaign (call centre, data company)

Service providers: €1,500 per year, or €720 per year if fewer than or exactly 250 employees
Advertisers: €2,200 per year, or €760 per year fewer than or exactly 250 employees

Advertisers can also opt for a 1-month licence: €80

All our prices exclude 21% VAT.

Create an account via this link.

The price of the licence is determined by the type of company (advertiser >< service provider) and the size of your company (see ‘Licence Prices’ question for more details).

Upon receipt of both your order and payment, DNCM vzw will activate your access to the list.

Your annual licence will automatically be renewed each year for the duration of one year, unless you cancel your DNCM licence by email or through your online account no later than one month before the due date.

If you are already a DNCM vzw customer (that is: if you have already purchased a Do Not Call Me licence), you can log in to our website and purchase a licence via your profile.

If you are not yet a customer, you first need to register your company on our website.
You can do so via this link. So you first need to create an account.

The price of the licence is determined by the type of company (advertiser >< service provider) and the size of your company (see ‘Licence Prices’ question for more details).

Upon receipt of both your order and payment, DNCM vzw will activate your access to the list.

Your annual licence will automatically be renewed each year for the duration of one year, unless you cancel your DNCM licence by email or through your online account no later than one month before the due date.

DNCM stands for Do Not Call Me. This non-profit organisation unites telecom operators and professional organisations such as Customer Contact, BAM, UBA and Safeshops. A Royal Decree of 28 June 2015 designated Do Not Call Me vzw as the central administrator of this list. DNCM vzw was simultaneously tasked with administering access to the list and protecting the accompanying personal data.

No, you can’t. Your annual licence is automatically renewed each year for the duration of one year, unless you cancel your DNCM licence by email or through your online account no later than one month before the due date. No later than two months before the end date of the licence, DNCM vzw undertakes to inform you about the possibility of cancelling your licencing agreement and of the fact that, in the absence of a reaction within the term set out in the Terms and Conditions, your licence will automatically be renewed as set out in the Terms and Conditions.

In the framework of the Do Not Call Me list, an ‘advertiser’ is a party that approaches consumers by telephone or in whose name customers are approached for commercial purposes. And within the framework of the Do Not Call Me list, a ‘service provider’ is a party that works for the advertiser, such as a call centre or data processing firm. The service provider carries out the telephone campaign or is commissioned by the advertiser to process the call databases.

The price of the licence is dependent on the number of employees (either fewer than or exactly 250 employees, or more than 250 employees), as well as on the type of company:
- Advertiser: a party that wishes to approach consumers/businesses with a campaign;
- Service provider: a party commissioned by the advertiser to process call databases and/or carry out a telephone campaign (call centre, data company).

Service providers: €1,500 per year, or €720 per year if fewer than or exactly 250 employees
Advertisers: €2,200 per year, or €760 per year if fewer than or exactly 250 employees

Advertisers can also opt for a 1-month licence: €80

All our prices exclude 21% VAT.

Please refer to our general terms and conditions.

Upon purchase of the licence, you can choose how you would prefer to receive the Do Not Call Me/DNCM database.

The following methods automatically become available to you:
- Download of the database via your online account;
- A Search function allows you to check whether a specific number is included in the Do Not Call Me list

Additional methods can be arranged upon request (via your online account):
- SFTP integration
- API integration

The DNCM database is a .txt file that contains both phone numbers and their registration date. You can consult the layout of the file here.

This is certainly possible. Agents of The Economic Inspectorate General Management are the ones who inspect compliance with the provisions of book VI and book XIV. They may do so as a result of a complaint or on their own initiative. You must be able to demonstrate that you have consulted and checked the Do Not Call Me list.

Sanctions range from a warning to effective fines of up to €80,000.

The DNCM database is a .txt file. It only contains phone numbers and their registration date. You can download the layout of the file here.

No, this is not permitted. Our Terms and Conditions state that the Do Not Call Me list may not be shared with or sold to third parties that do not hold a valid user licence. Any unauthorised use of the Do Not Call Me list, by the customer or on their behalf, will result in a claim for compensation. Please refer to our Terms and Conditions (see page 3 "Misuse")

Yes, you are legally obliged to deduplicate your contact list with the Do Not Call Me list if you are a Belgian advertiser and are calling Belgian telephone subscribers.

No, the list only contains Belgian numbers, both landline and mobile phone numbers.

The Do Not Call Me list only applies to commercial campaigns, not to the provision of information. If you, for example, want to contact a customer about a delivery or a technical problem, this is allowed.

If the calls are of a non-commercial nature, i.e. to provide information, offer technical assistance, etc.

If your customer has given their explicit permission, i.e. an opt-in. You are obliged to store this in your database, together with the date on which your customer gave their permission.

In principle, you do not need an opt-in if you wish to approach customers or prospects. But you must deduplicate your contact list with the Do Not Call Me list. For text message and email campaigns, you do require an opt-in. Click here to ensure you are in compliance with the law.

You can always modify your (own) company details, with the exception of your username and login. You can modify your details by logging into your online account and making the necessary adjustments.

There is no obligation to do so. In Belgium, this obligation lies with telecom operators: they take care of communication to their subscribers. Should a subscriber ask for this or should you receive a complaint from a subscriber, you may of course always refer them to the Do Not Call Me list or the ‘Complaints’ section on our website.

The Do Not Call Me list only applies to phone calls. Text message campaigns fall under the Electronic Communication legislation, which means they require an opt-in. The same applies to email campaigns.

In this case, their registration on the list takes priority, meaning you may no longer contact the subscriber. That is why it is important to keep track of opt-in dates in your database. The Privacy Commission considers that the most recent action of a consumer/subscriber takes priority. If, in other words, a subscriber registers on the Do Not Call Me list and opts in afterwards, their opt-in takes priority instead.

Yes, because the Do Not Call Me legislation applies to all telephone subscribers, which means it applies to both B2C and B2B campaigns.

You must delete all numbers on the Do Not Call Me list from your contact list – whether they belong to customers or prospects, and whether they are business or private numbers. You may in other words no longer contact existing customers on the Do Not Call Me list for telephone direct-marketing campaigns. However, you are allowed to contact a customer if they have given explicit permission for this.

Every Belgian telephone subscriber – individuals as well as companies – can add their number (landline or mobile) to the list.

The ‘Robinson Phone’ list ceased to exist in 2014, when it was replaced by the Do Not Call Me list. At that time, all numbers from the ‘Robinson Phone’ list were incorporated into the Do Not Call Me list.

As a company, you can perform with the API up to 20 checks per minute.