Registered Caller

Everyone hates spam calls – even the telephone industry. The CTIA (an organization representing the U.S. wireless telephone industry) has established a service called “Registered Caller” to combat spam calls.

What is “registered caller”?

Registered Caller is a centralized phone number database and registry that lets legitimate callers register their phone numbers to help them improve their connected call rates.

Why is registered caller needed?

Here's the problem.

Everyone is trying to combat spam calls. Every day, you probably receive 5-10 spam calls. Mobile service providers and app providers create spam call blockers that block many of these calls.

But what happens to legitimate callers? What if your doctor's office is trying to contact you to confirm your appointment? Or your auto mechanic is calling you to tell you your car is ready to be picked up?

Unfortunately, if someone reports the phone numbers of these companies as “spam”, they will probably show up as a “spam” call on your mobile phone as many of the spam blockers are shared across networks and phone systems.

One way for legitimate companies to make sure their calls are not flagged as “spam” calls is to use the registered caller database. Other was are to use branded calls and/or STIR/Shaken.

And the good news is that all three of these approaches work well together!

How does registered caller work?

Here's how the registered caller database works.

Companies (such as brands, contact centers, doctors offices, hospitals, etc.) sign up at registeredcaller.com.

The company then registers one (or more) of their phone numbers that are used for outbound calls. Information about the phone numbers and their use may also be provided.

As phone calls with those registered numbers are made, voice service providers (like Verizon, T-Mobile, etc) query the registered caller database to see if the number is registered. If it is, the voice service provider skips any spam blocking or flagging and delivers the call to the party you are calling.

The general call flow of registered caller calls is shown below.