Using the RND can give you a safe harbor from liability for certain calls/texts under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The TCPA and the Commission’s rules regulate some kinds of telephone calls/texts. For certain calls, including those made with an autodialer or those using an artificial or pre-recorded voice, the caller needs to get the prior express consent of the called party. But if the person you think you’re calling gives up their phone number and that number is reassigned to someone else, you’ll reach the wrong person, someone you probably don’t have consent to call. The RND is helpful because it gives you a way to check to see if the person you want, and have consent to contact, is still at that number. If someone files suit under the TCPA, you can respond by showing that you had obtained consent to contact the number and that you checked the latest update of the RND before calling/texting and it said the number had not been reassigned after you obtained consent.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), in the Fair Debt Collection Protection Act (Regulation F) has also noted the FCC’s RND in the rule as qualifying as a complete and accurate database for debt collectors to confirm a telephone number has not been reassigned before sending a text. Checking the RND can provide defense from the unintentional disclosure of third-party information.