Virginia’s 10-Year Opt-Out Rule for Outbound Calling and Texting   

If a consumer told your company to stop calling in 2026, Virginia may require that request to be honored until 2036.

Under Virginia’s Telephone Privacy Protection Act, businesses must honor consumer opt-out requests for at least 10 years.

That includes text message opt-outs through replies such as STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE.

For outbound teams, the challenge is not understanding the rule. The challenge is making sure opt-out records follow consumers across CRMs, dialers, vendors, spreadsheets, and campaign lists.

Nearly six months after the law took effect, now is a good time to review whether your suppression process can keep up.

This article is for operational planning and is not legal advice.

Key Takeaways  

• Virginia requires opt-outs to be honored for at least 10 years.
• STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE text replies count as opt-out requests.
• Internal suppression files are just as important as DNC checks.
• Old CRM exports should be screened against current suppression records before outreach.
• Outbound teams should review data workflows now rather than after a complaint.

What Changed Under the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act  

The correct name is the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act. It is broader than a simple DNC registry rule.

Virginia Code § 59.1-514 covers unwanted telephone solicitations. The updated version says a telephone solicitor may not make a telephone solicitation after a person says they do not want solicitations from or on behalf of that seller.

Text message opt-outs also count. For a solicitation sent through text message, a reply with STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE counts as the opt-out request.

The law also says that request must be honored for at least 10 years.

That creates a long-term record keeping requirement. Your team cannot only check whether a number appears on the DNC registry before a campaign starts. You also need a process for internal opt-outs, text opt-outs, vendor updates, and suppression files.

Why “DNC Rule” Is Too Narrow  

A DNC registry check is one part of the process. Internal opt-outs are another part. Consent records, call notes, text replies, and suppression files also matter.

A person may not appear on every list your team checks. That same person may have already told your company, your vendor, or a seller tied to your campaign not to contact them. That request needs to follow the record for years.

The better question is, “Can we prove this number was checked against our current DNC and suppression process before outreach?”

Why Long-Term Opt-Out Management Creates Operational Risk  

Six months is enough time for process gaps to show up. A compliance manager may set the policy, but outreach usually happens across several systems. Sales may upload a lead list. Marketing may run a text campaign. A vendor may call aged leads. A collections group may separate account servicing from promotional outreach.

Virginia’s 10-year honor period raises risk for old data. A lead from 2024 may still sit inside a CRM. An old campaign export may still be stored on a shared drive. If a person opted out after that file was created, the old file needs a fresh check against current suppression records.

That gets harder when contact records live in more than one place. The CRM may show one status. The dialer may show another. A vendor file may have no opt-out field at all. A record can look complete with a name, phone number, email, address, and timestamp, but that does not answer the questions that matter before outreach:

• Is the number on an applicable DNC registry?
• Did the person opt out from calls?
• Did the person reply STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE to a text?
• Does the consent record match this outreach purpose?
• Did a vendor send back any opt-out updates?
• Does the current suppression file include this phone number?

Your team needs these answers before the next upload, not after a complaint. A one-time list scrub helps, but it does not fix a process that misses opt-outs. The list needs to be checked before outreach. The opt-out needs to be stored. The suppression file needs to stay current. Vendors need to send updates back. Old exports need a fresh check before anyone reuses them.

Why Virginia May Be a Warning Signal for Other States  

Virginia does not prove that every state will copy its 10-year opt-out rule. Florida and California have not adopted Virginia’s 10-year rule.

Florida is a risk signal because lawmakers considered SB 1516 in 2026. The bill focused on caller ID information, STIR/SHAKEN, and blocking calls or texts with manipulated caller ID. It was reported favorable by the Commerce and Tourism Committee, but later died in Regulated Industries on March 13, 2026. It was not a 10-year DNC honor rule.

California points to a related data issue. Its DROP program is tied to data broker deletion and opt-out requests. It is not a telemarketing DNC honor rule. It still matters for companies that buy, append, process, or use consumer contact data.

Other states do not need to copy Virginia to create more work for outbound teams. If your current process cannot handle one state-specific opt-out requirement, it may struggle as more states update rules around calls, texts, caller identity, and consumer data.

Before teams can apply DNC checks, consent records, and suppression files correctly, the contact data needs to be accurate enough to match across systems. Outdated, incomplete, or duplicated records can make opt-outs harder to apply consistently.

What Outbound Teams Should Review  

Real estate cold callers should start with lead source and suppression control. Common files include:

• Expired listings
• FSBO data
• Investor lists
• Absentee owner lists
• Vacant property leads
• Probate leads
• Skip traced files

Those records often move between agents, virtual assistants, CRMs, dialers, and outside vendors. That movement is where opt-outs get missed. A homeowner may opt out during one campaign, but the same phone number may reappear in another list later.

Financial services teams should review outreach purpose and consent record matching. Common outreach types include:

• Account servicing
• Refinance offers
• Insurance offers
• Credit products
• Reactivation
• Lead follow-up

Those are not the same contact purpose. A consent record that supports one message may not support another.

Collections teams should be careful when communication moves beyond account servicing. A workflow may include:

• Payment reminders
• Settlement offers
• Reactivation efforts
• Related offers

Account servicing and telephone solicitation are not always the same, so review the purpose of each campaign before outreach.

Across all three groups, ask one question: can your team connect the phone number, consumer record, opt-out date, lead source, consent record, and suppression status in one review process?

How Searchbug Can Help Teams Prepare  

Searchbug tools can support the list review and data quality side of this work. They do not replace legal review, consent governance, or your internal opt-out policy. They help you check and improve the contact data before outreach begins.

DNC Check  

Searchbug’s DNC Check can help teams screen phone numbers before outbound calling. For teams handling large lead files, vendor lists, old CRM exports, or campaign uploads, DNC Check gives your team a cleaner starting point before the list reaches sales, marketing, or a dialer vendor.

DNC Check should sit next to your internal suppression file. The DNC registry and your company opt-out list are not the same thing. DNC Check does not replace internal opt-out tracking.

You still need a suppression process that captures direct requests, text replies, vendor updates, and company-specific opt-outs. The DNC check helps reduce risk before outreach. Your internal records help show what your company already knows about that consumer’s contact preference.

Data Append  

Searchbug’s Data Append can help improve incomplete or outdated records before outreach. This is useful when your team has records with missing phone numbers, mismatched names, old addresses, or weak contact details. Cleaner records can make it easier to match people, phone numbers, addresses, and source data across systems.

Data Append should not be described as consent management. It does not create consent for outreach. It can support better record matching and list cleanup so your internal consent record and suppression process work with more accurate contact data.

Bad matching can create bad decisions. A misspelled name, stale address, or disconnected phone number can make it harder to connect the right record to the right suppression status.

A Practical Checklist Before the Next Campaign  

Before another campaign goes live, review the process that controls the list.

• Identify every place opt-outs are stored.
• Confirm that STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE replies are captured.
• Confirm that call opt-outs and text opt-outs reach the suppression file.
• Store Virginia opt-out records long enough for the 10-year honor requirement.
• Review whether vendors send opt-out updates back to your team.
• Screen call lists before upload.
• Match old campaign exports against current suppression files.
• Document the list source and campaign source.
• Keep the opt-out date, phone number, method, and related consumer record.
• Match each outreach purpose to the consent record.
• Make sure aged leads do not bypass current DNC and suppression checks.

Keep it simple. Run it every time.

No outbound campaign should launch until the list has been checked against the right DNC data, the current suppression file, and the consent records tied to that outreach purpose.

Build the System Before More Rules Add More Work  

Virginia’s 10-year opt-out requirement is ultimately a data management challenge.

The companies most likely to struggle are not necessarily the ones that misunderstand the law. They are the ones that cannot consistently connect opt-out records, suppression files, consent records, and contact data across multiple systems.

As more states continue updating rules around calls, texts, and consumer data, a repeatable compliance process becomes more important.

Before launching your next campaign, make sure your team can verify not only who can be contacted, but also who should not be contacted.

Searchbug can help with DNC Check and Data Append for cleaner list review and better contact data preparation. Start with a Free API Test Account with $10 credits. Not an API user? Bulk Data Processing may be a better fit for large files and one-time list cleanup.

TL;DR  

• Virginia’s Telephone Privacy Protection Act now requires opt-outs to be honored for 10 years.
• The rule covers calls and text messages, including STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE replies.
• Real estate, financial services, and collections teams should review their suppression process now.
• Searchbug’s DNC Check and Data Append can support cleaner list review before outreach.
• Start with a free API test account and $10 in credits.