Top 10 DNC Scrubbing Tools of 2026
A bad email address bounces. A call, a text or a voicemail drop to the wrong number can become a TCPA claim. If your cold email cadence now has phone steps, these are the ten Do Not Call scrubbing tools we would shortlist, compared on the lists they check, litigator flags, how they bill and how you can try them.
TRY EMAILCHASER FREECold email teams add phone steps to reach the prospects who went quiet on email. The rules change the moment they do. Email answers to CAN-SPAM's opt-out rules, while calls, texts and voicemail drops are where the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule come in, and a person on the National Do Not Call Registry who gets more than one telemarketing call in a year can claim up to $500 per call.
A DNC scrubbing tool checks each number on your list against the National Do Not Call Registry, state lists and, in most of the tools below, a list of known TCPA litigators, then tells you which numbers to drop before anyone dials. Here are the ten we would look at in 2026, what each one checks, how each one bills, and the kind of team each one suits.
One call to a registered number can cost up to $1,500.
- Up to $500 per call, and up to 3 times that ($1,500) when the violation is willful or knowing, for a person on the registry who gets more than one call in 12 months.
- 31 days: the Telemarketing Sales Rule's safe harbor expects you to call from a version of the registry no more than 31 days old.
- 10 states run their own Do Not Call lists on top of the national registry: Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming (theDNCproject's count).
- About $0.05 per matched number on 1Lookup's Starter plan, and $0 for a number that matches no list: scrubbing 1,000 numbers costs $50 at most.
Sources: 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5), 16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv) and 310.6(b)(7), theDNCproject and 1Lookup's phone scrub page, read 13 October 2026.
We ranked each tool on five things that keep phone steps out of trouble.
Each tool was weighed on the five things that decide whether a scrub keeps your phone steps out of trouble:
- Lists checked: the National Do Not Call Registry, state lists, your own internal list, and wireless or reassigned-number data.
- Litigator flags: whether known serial TCPA plaintiffs are caught before they reach your dialer.
- Billing: per number checked, per match, a subscription or a quote, and whether the price is on the page before you sign.
- How a list runs: a CSV upload for one-off lists, and an API to scrub inside your sequencer or dialer.
- A free start you can test on a real list.
These are the 10 DNC scrubbing tools worth a look in 2026.
Our pick for cold email teams adding phone steps
1. 1Lookup
1Lookup's phone scrub checks a US number against the National Do Not Call Registry, state lists where available and known TCPA litigators, and answers with a decision: approve, review or block. It bills only when a number matches a list, so the clean part of your list costs nothing to scrub.
- 10 credits per matched number, about $0.05 on Starter and $0.04 on Growth, and nothing when a number matches no list.
- A litigator flag for serial TCPA plaintiffs, frequent complainers and the attorneys who file for them, always returned as BLOCK.
- Line type (mobile, landline or VoIP) comes back in the same answer, so you can route calls, texts and voicemail drops without a second lookup.
- Upload a CSV on the dashboard's Do Not Call check page, or call the API one number at a time from your sequencer. A free DNC check on the site shows one number's registry status with no signup.
- The same credits run phone validation (1 credit) and live HLR checks (5 credits). Plans start with a 7-day free trial, and Starter is $99 a month for 20,000 credits.
Best for: Cold email teams adding calls, texts or voicemail drops who want the scrub, line type and validation on one bill.
Best for contact centers that need exemptions handled
2. DNC.com
DNC.com, from Contact Center Compliance, scrubs against federal and state Do Not Call rules with their exemptions applied, flags wireless, VoIP and disconnected numbers, and checks your internal list.
- A separate batch litigator scrub of serial TCPA plaintiffs.
- Files go in through the web, SFTP or an API.
- Month to month with no long-term contract, priced by monthly scrub volume; its pages show no prices.
Best for: Contact centers and compliance teams that want exemptions applied for them.
Best for enterprise consent management
3. PossibleNOW
PossibleNOW sells Do Not Call compliance as part of a wider consent and preference platform. Its DNC solution covers state, federal, company-specific and wireless lists.
- The FCC Reassigned Numbers Database and a TCPA litigator list are optional features.
- Bulk scrubbing runs through an interface built on its own API.
- Sold through demos, with a trial account on request; its pages show no prices.
Best for: Enterprises managing consent across many channels and brands.
Best for litigation-risk data
4. Blacklist Alliance
The Blacklist Alliance focuses on litigation risk: its researchers read TCPA lawsuits and add the numbers behind them to its Litigation Firewall, which you scrub against through an API.
- Its data is split into feeds by an accuracy-versus-risk score, so you choose how strict the suppression is.
- The same API also scrubs your internal list, the National Do Not Call Registry and select state registries.
- Sold as a subscription through demos; its pages show no prices.
Best for: High-volume callers whose biggest worry is serial plaintiffs.
Best for occasional lists with no contract
5. theDNCproject
theDNCproject scrubs a calling list against the National Do Not Call Registry, refreshed daily, all 10 state lists, known litigators and mobile numbers, from a simple upload.
- Covers Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming.
- Flags mobile against landline before you dial.
- Try 10 numbers free, with no contracts; a calculator on its home page prices a scrub by the number of records.
Best for: Small teams scrubbing an occasional list without signing up for a plan.
Best for real estate teams that also skip trace
6. Tracerfy
Tracerfy is a skip tracing platform for real estate investors, and its DNC scrub checks the federal registry, state lists and TCPA litigator records, with mobile or landline for each phone.
- 1 credit per phone, $0.02 each, from the same balance as its skip tracing.
- Purchased credits never expire; monthly plan credits reset each billing cycle.
- A web upload or the API.
Best for: Real estate investors who skip trace owners and scrub the phones in one place.
Best for DNC flags and line type in one pass
7. Landline Remover
Landline Remover's number check returns the line type and carrier and includes a Do Not Call type and a litigator flag at no extra cost, which makes it a low-cost first pass on a texting or voicemail list.
- $0.0020 per check (10,000 for $20), and $0.0019 at 100,000 credits or more.
- No subscription or monthly minimum, and credits never expire.
- 10 free credits to start, with no credit card.
Best for: Budget-minded teams that want DNC flags and line type from one check.
Best for low prices per lookup at volume
8. RealValidito
RealValidito sells DNC lookups and phone lookups on pay-as-you-go credits. Its DNC lookup also checks the TCPA litigator list and six state lists at no extra cost.
- State lists for Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Colorado and Wyoming, plus the litigator list.
- 100 free DNC lookup credits at signup with no credit card, then $10 for 1,000, falling to $0.0006 a lookup at 5 million.
- API calls, web lookups and CSV uploads share one credit pool, with no subscription and no expiry.
Best for: Teams scrubbing large SMS and calling lists who want a low price per lookup.
Best for DNC status plus connected status
9. RealPhoneValidation
RealPhoneValidation pairs its phone validator, which flags disconnected and unreachable numbers, with a DNC check that goes beyond the national registry.
- National, state and DMA do not call lists, plus whether a number is tied to a known litigator.
- One number through the API, or an uploaded list.
- The first 100 validations free for qualified businesses; pay as you go after that, or prepaid volume pricing by quote.
Best for: Call centers that want connected status and DNC status from one vendor.
Best for DNC status plus reassigned-number checks
10. Searchbug
Searchbug's phone API returns Do Not Call status with the line type, carrier and whether a number is active or disconnected, and a separate API checks the FCC Reassigned Numbers Database.
- Its pages describe no check against known litigators, so pair it with a litigator scrub if you call consumers.
- The API, a bulk API request or a file upload.
- A prepaid balance of $10 to $5,000 charged per successful query, or a one-year plan with a $2,400 minimum annual commitment.
Best for: Teams that also use people-search data and need reassigned-number checks.
Here is what each tool checks and how it bills.
| # | Tool | Lists checked | Litigator flag | How it bills | Free start |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1Lookup | National registry, state lists where available | Yes | Per matched number, about $0.05 | 7-day trial, free DNC check |
| 2 | DNC.com | Federal and state with exemptions, internal, wireless | Yes, separate scrub | Monthly by volume | None listed |
| 3 | PossibleNOW | State, federal, company, wireless | Optional | Demo and quote | Trial on request |
| 4 | Blacklist Alliance | Own litigation data, national, select states | Yes | Subscription | None listed |
| 5 | theDNCproject | National, 10 states, mobile | Yes | Priced per list | 10 numbers |
| 6 | Tracerfy | Federal, state, litigators | Yes | $0.02 per phone | None listed |
| 7 | Landline Remover | DNC type with line type | Yes | $0.0020 per check | 10 credits |
| 8 | RealValidito | DNC data, 6 state lists | Yes | From $0.01 a lookup | 100 DNC credits |
| 9 | RealPhoneValidation | National, state, DMA | Yes | Pay as you go or quote | 100 validations |
| 10 | Searchbug | DNC status, reassigned numbers | Not described | Prepaid balance | Sandbox test account |
Prices and free starts as published on each vendor's own pages, read 13 October 2026.
The right scrub depends on who your phone steps reach.
Start with who your phone steps reach. Most calls to a business are exempt from the Telemarketing Sales Rule, but a B2B list rarely holds only work lines: many direct dials are personal mobiles, and the registry protects those. So scrub every list against the national registry, the state lists and known litigators, and keep the scrub date with the list.
Then pick by how you work. A contact center with exemptions to manage will be at home with DNC.com or PossibleNOW. A team whose biggest worry is serial plaintiffs should look at the Blacklist Alliance. A cold email team that adds a call or a voicemail drop after its email steps wants a scrub priced per match, with line type and validation on the same credits, which is why 1Lookup is our pick.
And scrub at the right moments: when the list is built, and again before the first phone step if that scrub is more than 31 days old. Drop every number that comes back blocked, keep your own opt-out list current, and let the email steps keep working everyone else.
Related reading: the best phone number validation tools, the best ringless voicemail providers, and cold email laws by country. 1Lookup ranks the best DNC scrubbing services and the best phone validation and HLR lookup APIs in more depth.
Cold email teams ask these questions about DNC scrubbing.
What is the best DNC scrubbing tool for cold email teams in 2026?
For teams adding calls, texts or voicemail drops to a cold email cadence, we pick 1Lookup: its phone scrub checks the National Do Not Call Registry, state lists where available and known TCPA litigators, returns approve, review or block with the line type, and charges 10 credits (about $0.05 on Starter) only when a number matches. DNC.com and PossibleNOW suit large contact centers, and the Blacklist Alliance specializes in litigator data.
What is DNC scrubbing?
DNC scrubbing checks each phone number on a calling list against Do Not Call lists (the National Do Not Call Registry, state lists and your own internal list) and removes or flags the matches before anyone calls, texts or drops a voicemail. Many tools also flag known TCPA litigators.
Do B2B teams need to scrub against the Do Not Call Registry?
Most calls to a business are exempt from the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)), but B2B lists mix work lines with personal mobiles, and the registry protects personal numbers. Scrubbing a whole list costs little next to a claim of up to $500 per call. Confirm the rules for your own case with counsel.
How often should I scrub my calling list?
At least every 31 days. The Telemarketing Sales Rule's safe harbor expects you to call from a version of the registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call (16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv)). In practice, scrub when a list is built and again before the first phone step if that scrub is more than a month old.
What is a TCPA litigator scrub?
Some people file TCPA lawsuits as a business: serial plaintiffs, frequent complainers and the attorneys who work with them. A litigator scrub flags their numbers so they never reach your dialer, on top of the Do Not Call lists. Nine of the ten tools on this list describe one; Searchbug's pages do not.
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