Overview
When you call prospects, how you handle compliance and caller reputation directly impacts whether your calls connect, get blocked, or put your business at risk. Regulations like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) in the U.S. and regional privacy laws set clear expectations for how and when you can contact people, while carriers and providers evaluate your calling behavior to determine whether your numbers may be flagged as spam.
Apollo provides built-in tools to help you stay compliant and maintain a healthy caller reputation, including opt-out controls, do not call (DNC) screening, location-based recording rules, business profile registration, and dialing safeguards. However, these tools are only effective when configured and used correctly.
Check out the following sections to understand how Apollo supports compliance and what actions you should take to reduce the risk of your number being flagged as spam, while keeping your outreach effective.
Manage Call Opt Outs
Under many marketing and privacy laws such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), people have the right to opt out of receiving marketing calls from your business. To ensure that you comply with these rules, Apollo's opt out tag allows you to block numbers from being called by your team via the dialer.
If you place a number on your team's internal opt out list, no one on your team can call them and Apollo greys out their number. If you attempt to dial them, Apollo informs you they requested not to be called.
You can tell a contact has opted out when !⃝ appears beside their name in search results.
Use the call restrictions filter to find people who have opted in to or out of calls. Click Show filters > Call restrictions > Opted out of calls, then choose yes or no to filter your results.
On each contact, Apollo informs you if they have opted out of calls.
You can opt contacts out, as well as opt them back in if necessary.
To opt a contact out of receiving calls via the dialer:
- Navigate to the contact's profile, and click ... > Opt out of calls.
- Click Confirm opt out.
You have now opted a contact out of calls.
You should only opt contacts back in to calls if they have given express consent to receive calls from you.
To opt a contact back in to receiving calls:
- Navigate to the contact's profile and click ... > Opt contact back into calls.
- Confirm you have the contact's consent and click Opt back in to calls.
You have now opted a contact in to calls.
Use Do Not Call (DNC) Screening
Do not call (DNC) screening helps you identify phone numbers that are restricted under national or regional registries. While opt outs apply to your internal contact list, DNC screening checks numbers against external registries to help you avoid contacting individuals who have opted out of telemarketing more broadly.
When enabled, Apollo flags Apollo-provided phone numbers that appear on supported DNC lists in regions including the US, UK, Germany, France, Canada, and Australia when prospecting. This includes both phone numbers previously provided to you by Apollo in saved contacts and numbers on a go-forward basis.
With the dialer, Apollo also flags customer-provided numbers on supported DNC lists at the time of dialing. In the 1:1 dialing experience, Apollo warns you if a number is on a DNC list, but it's up to you to determine whether you have a valid legal basis to call the number. In the parallel and power dialing experience, DNC-flagged numbers are skipped.
Your organization must also maintain its own internal version of a "do not call" list. This should include individuals who have expressly opted out of receiving calls from you. If a person you call asks to be put on this list, you must not make any further calls to them unless they affirmatively opt back into marketing calls.
To use DNC screening effectively:
- Ask your admin to enable DNC screening in Settings > Prospecting config.
- Look for
Do Not Callwhen viewing or requesting phone numbers. - Use the call restrictions filter to exclude DNC-flagged contacts from your call lists.
Apollo flags DNC numbers, but it's your responsibility to determine whether you have a valid legal basis to contact them.
Learn more about enabling and using DNC screening.
Follow Call Recording and Consent Rules
When recording calls, you are responsible for following local consent laws. In some regions, all participants must agree to be recorded before a call begins.
Apollo helps you manage recording regulations with location-based recording rules, which admin can use to control where call recording for your team is allowed based on regional regulations.
By default, Apollo disables call recording in regions with stricter consent requirements, including:
- Certain U.S. states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Washington
- Canada
- United Kingdom
- Ireland
- European Union countries
- Switzerland
- Australia
In these regions, when recording is enabled, a recording announcement is played by default to help you stay compliant.
To stay compliant:
- Ask for consent before recording calls, especially when you're unsure of local requirements.
- Review and update your recording rules in Settings > Dialer preferences.
- Create and apply additional rules if your team calls in regions with specific legal requirements.
Apollo attempts to detect a contact's location, but detection isn't guaranteed. Always obtain consent if you're unsure — or adopt a policy of asking for consent on every recorded call.
Learn more about configuring location-based recording rules.
Set Up Your Business Profile
When you place calls, carriers and recipients evaluate whether your number appears trustworthy. Without proper registration, your calls are more likely to be ignored or flagged as spam.
Apollo allows you to register a business profile when setting up a phone number. This profile shares verified business information with carriers and helps establish credibility for your calls.
Adding a business profile can:
- Improve answer rates by making your calls appear more legitimate
- Reduce the likelihood of your number being flagged as spam
- Support compliance with carrier and regional registration requirements
Business profile registration follows carrier and regulatory requirements for outbound calling. For more details, review Twilio's regulatory guidelines.
To set up a business profile, go to Settings > Phone numbers, select a number, and click Add business profile.
Once a business profile is submitted, it applies to all users dialing from that number's country — no need for each rep to configure it individually.
Learn more about adding a business profile.
Avoid High-Risk Numbers
High-risk numbers are phone numbers with a higher probability of low engagement, resulting in spam traps that affect your caller reputation. Avoid dialing high-risk numbers.
High-risk numbers typically include the following:
Toll fraud risk numbers
These numbers encourage spam calls and are often part of fraud schemes where the owners receive revenue for every minute of the call.
Special service numbers
These numbers include premium, shared-cost, and other special service numbers. Owners often charge higher rates when the call connects.
If you dial these types of numbers, you put the health and credibility of your caller reputation at risk.
Most regions have at least some high-risk numbers, but the level of risk in each location can vary. Through a sophisticated analysis that leverages anti-fraud databases and communication data points, Twilio, Apollo's third-party service provider, identifies and updates a list of high-risk number ranges. Apollo deactivates risky regions based on this list to help protect your account.
Additionally, when Apollo identifies high-risk numbers, Apollo warns you before you purchase the contact's number and before attempting to call the number from the dialer.
Consider reaching out via alternative channels, such as email or LinkedIn instead.
Apollo identifies three types of high-risk numbers:
Unsupported country
Apollo deactivates any country prone to security issues, with a track record of high-risk numbers, or with very high calling costs. You can't dial any contact from an unsupported country in Apollo. You can still view the number if you choose to spend credit. However, Apollo doesn't recommend you reach out to unsupported countries by phone.
Block: High risk of fraud
If Apollo identifies a number as particularly high-risk, you can't dial them in Apollo. You can still view the number if you choose to spend credit. However, Apollo doesn't recommend you reach out to unsupported countries by phone.
High risk of fraud
If Apollo suspects a number is high-risk, it notifies you but doesn't deactivate calling. You can still view and call these numbers from the dialer if you purchase them. However, Apollo recommends that you proceed with caution and only call the number if it's necessary.
Many varying factors influence the risk level of a number. Make sure you closely monitor your call performance and keep an eye on low engagement rates. If you notice any negative trends within specific regions, consider excluding said locations from your outreach entirely.
If your total addressable market is exclusive to a very narrow set of locations and excluding regions from your outreach is not an option, consider using a third-party validation tool to cross-check any numbers within locations where you've seen a low engagement rate.
Keep an eye on your recent call activity, create custom dashboards and reports to monitor call performance, and tailor the data you gather according to your priorities. If you don't want to create a dashboard from scratch, you can also leverage the Call Engagement Performance dashboard to view and analyze call engagement in your team. If you spot anomalies, take action to adapt your strategy, increase engagement rates, and protect your caller reputation.
The more you analyze your call data, take precautions, and adapt your strategy based on what is and isn't working for your team, the higher your engagement will be, and the less likely your numbers will fall victim to fraudulent spam traps.
Protect Your Caller Reputation
New phone numbers are provisioned through Apollo's telephony provider, Twilio. Numbers can be flagged by carriers if there is misuse. Because of this, it's important to actively manage how you use your numbers to maintain a strong caller reputation.
Your caller reputation determines whether your calls connect, get labeled as spam, or are blocked entirely. Carriers evaluate how your numbers are used over time, including call volume, patterns, and recipient behavior.
Apollo and its telephony provider register numbers and apply safeguards to help reduce spam flagging, but no system can guarantee that calls won't be flagged. Your dialing behavior plays a major role in maintaining a healthy reputation.
To protect your caller reputation:
- Distribute call volume: Use multiple phone numbers and rotate them to avoid overusing a single number.
- Keep volume consistent: Avoid sudden spikes in call activity. Gradually increase dialing volume over time.
- Replace flagged numbers: If a number becomes ineffective or flagged, get a new phone number and stop using the old number.
- Avoid risky dialing behavior: Don't repeatedly call the same contact in a short period or dial large volumes of low-quality numbers.
- Call at appropriate times: Only call contacts during legally permitted hours based on their local time zone. In the U.S., this generally means between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. Use Apollo's timezone filter to segment contacts by time zone or local time so you only dial within compliant windows.
- Follow provider policies: Comply with Twilio's acceptable use policy to avoid restrictions or number termination.
Strong caller reputation comes from consistent, responsible dialing. Monitor your call performance and adjust your strategy if you notice lower connect rates or increased spam labeling.
For additional guidance, review your recent call activity and use reports to identify trends and improve performance.
Understand and Follow Calling Regulations
Before you start dialing, make sure you follow all applicable calling laws. Apollo offers built-in do not call and compliance checks, but you should always confirm consent and screening settings in any third-party dialers you use.
| Understand the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) | Comply with Twilio policies | Stop before you voicemail drop |
| Be mindful of privacy laws | Third-party dialers |
Understand the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a U.S. regulation that governs sales phone calls and text messages using automated dialers and pre-recorded messages, otherwise known as robocalls. By law, as a caller, you must receive informed prior written consent from an individual before using an autodialer or pre-recorded message to contact them.
For each call or text made in violation of the TCPA Act, you can be fined a $500 or higher penalty. As a result, TCPA lawsuits have become the basis for many multi-million dollar class action lawsuits.
International laws have similar restrictions to the TCPA, like the Spam Act in Australia and the Unsolicited Telecommunications Ruleset in Canada. If your business makes sales calls outside the US, ensure you know what rules apply and comply.
Comply with Twilio policies
To help boost your credibility and visibility when dialing, Apollo admins should add a business profile when setting up a phone number on Apollo. The profile applies to your whole team when dialing from the country where the number is registered. Apollo recommends adding a business profile, as it can increase engagement and improve conversion rates when cold calling.
Additionally, follow guidance from Twilio, Apollo's third-party dialer provider, including their acceptable use policy, rules on call content, prohibited activities, and other restrictions. Violating these policies may cause Twilio to terminate your phone number in the dialer.
Stop before you voicemail drop
In the US, you must obtain consent before using a pre-recorded voicemail. If you use voicemail drops, ensure you gain consent from the people you call.
Be mindful of privacy laws
If Apollo notifies you that a contact has requested to be removed from the Apollo database, you should not contact them unless you have a separate legal basis to do so.
Third-party dialers
Although Apollo doesn't offer an autodialer in its platform, you may integrate with third-party autodialers via Apollo API. If you integrate with a third-party autodialer, ensure that the individuals you call:
- Have expressly consented to receiving auto-dialed calls from you.
- Are not on any DNC lists.
Even if you've enabled DNC screening in Apollo, do not call tags may not appear in your third-party dialers. You are responsible for complying with all applicable laws when using these platforms. Confirm with your third-party dialers whether DNC screening or other compliance features are available.
Next Steps
Now that you've got the fundamentals down, here are a few ways to keep your calls compliant and your caller reputation strong.
| Cold Call Best Practices | Want to improve outcomes while staying compliant? Build a smarter cold calling strategy to increase connect rates without risking your reputation. |
|---|---|
| Enable Do Not Call (DNC) List Screening In Apollo | Need tighter controls before dialing? Turn on DNC screening to automatically flag restricted numbers and reduce compliance risk. |
| Set Dialer Preferences | Calling across regions? Configure dialer preferences to align recording rules and safeguards with local regulations. |
| Get An Apollo Phone Number | Trying to boost answer rates? Set up and register your phone numbers to improve trust with carriers and reduce spam flags. |
| Record And Leave Voicemail Drops | Using voicemail in your outreach? Record and leave voicemail drops to streamline follow-up while staying aligned with consent requirements. |