TPS and CTPS screening for B2B calls, explained.

TPS screening means checking every number on a calling list against the Telephone Preference Service and the Corporate Telephone Preference Service before it is dialled, and removing any number that is registered. For B2B calling both registers matter: companies sit on the CTPS, while sole traders and some partnerships are treated like individuals and sit on the TPS. Both cover mobiles as well as landlines. In October 2026 there were around 13.5 million numbers on the TPS and around 1.07 million on the CTPS, and the registers change daily - which is why a list has to be screened again at least every 28 days, not once.

Which register covers whom

• The CTPS covers corporate subscribers: limited companies, PLCs, LLPs, Scottish partnerships, schools, hospitals, government departments and other public bodies. Corporate registrations are renewed each year.
• The TPS covers individuals - and, for business calling, sole traders and some partnerships, which are treated as individuals.
• Both registers are run by the Data and Marketing Association on behalf of the Information Commissioner’s Office, and registration is free for the subscriber.

Because the UK has around 4.3 million businesses with no employees, a large share of any broad business list is made up of sole traders, so a B2B list screened against the CTPS alone is not screened.

How a list is screened

1. Use a licensed source.

   The registers are licensed by the DMA. Either hold a licence and download the daily file, or use a list-cleansing service that does.

2. Screen before the list is loaded.

   Every number is checked against both registers before it reaches the dialler, not after the first calls.

3. Add your own do-not-call list.

   Anyone who has asked not to be called again is removed, whatever the registers say.

4. Screen again within 28 days.

   A new registration takes effect after 28 days, and the DMA’s guidance is to screen against the file at least every 28 days. A list checked in September is not a list checked today.

5. Keep the record.

   Note when each list was screened and against which file, so the answer is ready if anyone asks.

Mobiles in B2B calling

A mobile can sit on either register, depending on who the subscriber is. A director’s company mobile may be on the CTPS; a sole trader’s mobile, or a personal mobile used for work, may be on the TPS. The safe rule is simple: screen every number against both registers, whatever kind of number it is.

What screening does not cover

• Someone who has told you to stop. That request stands even if the number is not registered.
• Automated or recorded calls. These need specific prior consent; screening a list does not make them lawful.
• Email and text. Different rules apply, and a CTPS registration does not block marketing texts.
• Saying who you are. The caller must still name the business, show a number that can be called back and give an address if asked.

A business that has told you it is happy to hear from you can be called even if registered. Everything else that applies is set out in the UK B2B cold calling rules.

What getting it wrong costs

Since February 2026 the maximum fine for breaking the marketing rules is £17.5 million or 4 per cent of global turnover, whichever is higher. The ICO has issued 15 penalties for nuisance calls and texts since April 2025, totalling £2.37 million, and complaints about automated calls reached a five-year high in September 2026. The figures are collected in UK B2B cold calling statistics, 2026.

How we screen

Every calling list is cleansed against both the TPS and the CTPS with specialist list-cleansing software before anyone dials it, anyone who asks not to be called again is added to our do-not-call list and stays there, and we call the mobile of the person who decides rather than a switchboard. The detail is on how we screen calls against the TPS and CTPS, and how the calling itself works is on outsourced cold calling.

Sources: TPS Services, the Corporate Telephone Preference Service; DMA, preference services (TPS and MPS); TPSClear, the TPS register in numbers (October 2026 file loads); Data Soap, TPS vs CTPS (September 2026); Department for Business and Trade, Business population estimates 2025; ICO, October 2026.