Safe Harbor Demystified

According to Cornell Law School’s Legal Information Institute, a “Safe Harbor” is “a provision granting protection from liability or penalty if certain conditions are met. A safe harbor provision may be included in statutes or regulations to give peace of mind to good-faith actors who might otherwise violate the law on technicalities beyond their reasonable control.”

In the context of telemarketing, Safe Harbor is often a subject of confusion. This is unfortunate as understanding Safe Harbor and the multilayered rules and statutes that govern it is essential to successful compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), and both state and federal Do Not Call (DNC) Lists.

One common misconception is that there is only one kind of Safe Harbor when in fact, for the purposes of telemarketing, there are five: the National DNC Safe Harbor, the Call Abandonment Safe Harbor, the Ported Wireless Safe Harbor, and the former and current Reassigned Number Safe Harbors.

This guide explains these Safe Harbors and offers recommendations about precautions marketers can take.

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