Cellphone calling rule

The cellphone calling rule is the principle that mobile numbers get extra protection. Under the U.S. TCPA, you generally cannot use an autodialer or a prerecorded message to call a cell phone unless you already have the person's consent. Landlines have looser rules, so the line between a wireless number and a wired one genuinely matters to how you are allowed to dial it. The reasoning is that mobile owners historically paid per minute and carry the phone everywhere, so an unwanted call is more intrusive and more costly than one to a desk.

For most marketing, the consent you need is Express written consent — a clear, recorded agreement from the person that they want these specific calls, with proof you can produce later. Without it, dialing a mobile with Predictive dialing is the exact pattern that draws complaints and lawsuits. Some operators route uncertain or known-mobile numbers to Manual dialing (click to dial) instead, where a human physically clicks to start each call, because that changes the legal analysis of whether an autodialer was used at all.

Doing it in VICIdial

The clean workflow is to flag wireless numbers in your lead data, scrub against the National DNC Registry, and only auto-dial cell numbers for which you hold documented consent. Keep that proof attached to the lead so you can show it if challenged. You can split a list so mobiles land in a manual campaign and landlines in a predictive one, which lets agents keep moving without putting your auto-dialing at risk. Sloppy cell-phone handling is the single most common thing a DNC litigator looks for, so treating mobiles as a separate, consent-gated pool is the safer build. Because numbers move between landline and wireless over time, recheck the type on a regular schedule rather than trusting the label you imported months ago. This is operational guidance, not legal advice.