Outbound calling glossary: dialer, compliance and caller ID terms

A power dialer automatically dials the next lead as soon as an agent is free, ringing roughly one line per available agent, so agents stop dialing by hand and answered calls rarely wait for someone to pick up.

Why it matters: Power dialing sits between manual and predictive dialing. It removes the dead time of looking up and dialing each number, which matters most on fresh web leads and callback lists where speed to the lead counts. Because it paces lines to the number of free agents instead of a statistical forecast, it usually produces fewer abandoned calls than predictive pacing, though any line rung beyond the free agents can still produce one. The tradeoff is fewer conversations per agent hour than predictive dialing on large lists with low contact rates.

In EmberDial: Power is the default campaign mode. The dialer rings one line per free agent plus one extra, never more than the campaign's own concurrency limit, so a single free agent normally has two lines ringing. That extra line can occasionally produce an abandoned call, so power campaigns are paced on the abandon rate too: by default, if a campaign's 30-day rate rises above 2.5%, EmberDial halves the number of lines, and above 3% it dials one line at a time.

Related: Power vs predictive vs manual dialing

A predictive dialer rings more lines than there are free agents, using recent answer rates to predict how many calls it must place so that an agent is ready when someone picks up.

Why it matters: Predictive dialing gets the most conversations per agent hour on large lists with low contact rates, such as aged leads. Every extra line also raises the odds that two people answer at once and one of them is not connected to an agent, so the abandon rate is the number to watch. Predictive dialing is also the mode most often raised in ATDS and consent questions, so check your lead sources and consent records before you switch a campaign to it.

In EmberDial: A predictive dialing session starts at two lines and stays there until the session has 20 call outcomes. After that it uses a cautious (upper-bound) estimate of the pickup rate and can add at most one line per new outcome, up to eight lines and never above the campaign's own limit. By default, if the campaign's 30-day abandon rate reaches 2.5%, it is held to at most two lines; at 3% it dials one line at a time; and above 4.5%, once the 30-day window holds at least 50 answered calls and 10 abandoned calls, EmberDial pauses the campaign.

Related: Power vs predictive vs manual dialing

Preview dialing shows an agent the lead's record and lets the agent choose when to place the call, and manual (click-to-call) dialing means the agent starts every call, one at a time.

Why it matters: These modes trade speed for control. They suit high-value callbacks, leads that need research before the call, sensitive conversations, and situations where you want a clear record that a person started each call. Because one agent places one call, no one answers to silence and abandoned calls are not a concern. Expect far fewer dials per hour than power or predictive dialing, so many floors reserve these modes for specific lists or moments rather than a whole shift.

In EmberDial: Agents with dialpad access can dial a number from the cockpit dialpad. Before the call goes out, EmberDial checks that it is a valid US number, screens it against your internal DNC list (for agencies with a SAN on file, it also requires a current federal DNC scrub), applies a fixed 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday to Saturday calling window, the Texas, Alabama and Louisiana windows and the federal holiday block in the lead's local time, and applies the built-in state attempt caps. Unlike campaign dials, it does not re-check a lead's DNC.com screening result. Every attempt, placed or blocked, is written to an audit log with the user, the number and the reason. Owners can turn dialpad access on or off for each user.

Related: ATDS stance and click-to-call

The abandon rate is the share of live-answered calls that are not connected to a sales representative within two seconds of the person's completed greeting, and federal rules cap it at 3% per calling campaign over each 30-day period.

Why it matters: Abandoned calls are the main risk of predictive and aggressive power dialing. Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, a seller is protected from liability for abandoned calls only if it meets every part of the safe harbor: abandonment of no more than 3% of calls answered by a person, per campaign, measured over each 30-day period; letting unanswered calls ring for at least 15 seconds or four rings; playing a recorded message with the seller's name and phone number whenever no representative is available within two seconds; and keeping records that prove it. The FCC's version of the rule also requires an automated opt-out option in that message. The rate is calculated against calls answered by a live person, not total dials, so voicemails and no-answers don't dilute it.

In EmberDial: Abandon rate is tracked per campaign over a rolling 30 days. For pacing, a possible abandon that answering-machine detection hasn't resolved yet counts as a human abandon. By default, pacing slows once the rate passes 2.5% and drops to one line once it passes 3%, and the campaign pauses above 4.5% once the window holds at least 50 answered calls and 10 abandoned calls.

Sources: 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iv) and (b)(4); 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(6) and (a)(7)

Related: Power vs predictive vs manual dialing

Under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS, or autodialer) is equipment that can store or produce telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator and dial them.

Why it matters: Calling cell phones with an ATDS without the required consent is one of the TCPA's core violations, so for years plaintiffs argued that any dialer calling from a stored list counted. In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (April 1, 2021), the Supreme Court held that a device qualifies only if it has the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator. That narrowed the federal definition but did not settle every dialer question. Calls that use an artificial or prerecorded voice still need consent whatever the equipment, the do-not-call rules still apply, and state laws use their own wording: Florida covers an "automated system for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers," while Oklahoma and Maryland say "selection or dialing."

In EmberDial: EmberDial dials numbers your agency uploads or enters, and only with an agent signed in to an active session. Our position, and what it does not cover, is on the ATDS stance page. Whether a particular setup counts as an ATDS is a question for your counsel.

Sources: 47 U.S.C. 227(a)(1); Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, No. 19-511; Fla. Stat. 501.059(8)(a); 15 O.S. 775C.3; Md. Com. Law 14-4502(a)(3)

Local presence dialing shows the person you call a caller ID from their own area code, state or region instead of one distant number.

Why it matters: Teams use local presence because people are often more willing to answer a number that looks local, and many outbound dialers offer it. It is generally on safe ground when the number is real, belongs to your business and can take a call back. Federal law bars knowingly transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID with intent to defraud, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value, and the Telemarketing Sales Rule requires telemarketers to transmit a caller ID number. Oklahoma requires that a displayed number can receive calls and connect the caller back to the seller, and Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland bar displaying a different number from the one the call originates from to hide the caller's identity. Local presence is about relevance, not about cycling numbers to stay ahead of spam labels.

In EmberDial: Caller ID is picked from your agency's own number pool, never from another agency's numbers. For each call EmberDial picks a number with the lead's area code, then the same state, then the same Census region, then any active number, skipping numbers that are flagged or resting and, while other numbers have room, numbers at their daily dial limit. If none of your numbers is eligible, the call uses EmberDial's shared default caller ID. Each license includes 10 US local numbers pooled across the agency; extra numbers are $1 per number per month.

Sources: 47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(a)(8); Fla. Stat. 501.616(7); 15 O.S. 775C.3(B) and 775C.4(B); Md. Com. Law 14-4502(b)

Related: Pricing and included numbers Why calls show Spam Likely

STIR/SHAKEN is the framework US voice providers use to digitally sign and verify caller ID, and its attestation level (A, B or C) states how much the signing provider vouches for the caller's right to use the number shown.

• A (full attestation): the provider knows the customer and has verified that the customer is authorized to use the calling number.
• B (partial attestation): the provider knows the customer but cannot verify that the customer may use that number.
• C (gateway attestation): the provider is passing along a call from another network and cannot authenticate where it came from.

Why it matters: FCC rules adopted in 2020 required voice service providers to implement STIR/SHAKEN in the IP portions of their networks by June 30, 2021, and the FCC says the framework supports providers' blocking decisions and call labeling. For an outbound team, A attestation on your own numbers is the baseline: it tells the receiving network the number really is yours. It does not guarantee answers or prevent Spam Likely labels, because analytics also weigh how numbers are used and how recipients respond.

In EmberDial: Attestation is applied by the voice provider that originates the call, not chosen per call by a dialer. EmberDial picks caller ID from your agency's own number pool rather than letting agents type in a caller ID. EmberDial does not show a per-call attestation level today, so ask us in a demo how outbound calls are signed.

Sources: FCC: Combating spoofed robocalls with caller ID authentication; RFC 8588, section 4 (the A, B and C values, defined in ATIS-1000074)

Related: Why calls show Spam Likely

"Spam Likely" is shorthand for the warning labels that carriers and call-protection apps show on incoming calls their analytics judge to be probable spam, scams or telemarketing.

Why it matters: A label lowers the chance a prospect answers, and some subscribers also turn on blocking features (T-Mobile's Scam Block, for example, blocks calls flagged "Scam Likely"). The wording differs by network: T-Mobile shows "Scam Likely" and also uses labels such as "Telemarketing" and "Potential Spam." The same number can be labeled on one network and display cleanly on another, because networks use different analytics. Those providers don't publish their formulas, so treat any single checker as one view, not the verdict. Businesses can register outbound numbers with First Orion, Hiya and TNS at no cost through the Free Caller Registry; registration gives the analytics providers your details but does not guarantee a clean display.

In EmberDial: EmberDial shows each number's aggregate spam-risk rating from its telephony provider as Healthy, Watch or Flagged, and lets you rest a number, request a carrier review, or retire it and ask the EmberDial team for a replacement. EmberDial cannot remove a label that a carrier or app applies. See number reputation for how those statuses work.

Sources: T-Mobile: Help with scams and spam; Free Caller Registry; FCC call authentication

Related: Why your calls show Spam Likely, and what to do Number reputation workflow

Number reputation is how the carriers and analytics providers that screen calls currently judge a phone number you call from, based on its calling patterns and on how recipients respond to it.

Why it matters: Reputation decides whether your caller ID displays cleanly, carries a warning label or, in some cases, gets blocked. FCC rules let terminating providers block calls based on reasonable analytics, but a provider that blocks must give callers a free single point of contact for blocking-error complaints and must promptly stop blocking a number once it finds the block was wrong. Reputation is tracked number by number, so a floor that leans on a few numbers can see answer rates fall on those while the rest of the pool is fine. Spreading volume sensibly across a right-sized pool, and watching each number, beats replacing numbers after the damage is done.

In EmberDial: Each number shows Healthy, Watch or Flagged, based on the aggregate spam-risk rating (low, medium or high) from EmberDial's telephony provider; a number with no rating yet, or no check in the last 7 days, stays on Watch. A high rating takes a number out of rotation, and owners can check a number on demand. From a number's detail view you can request a carrier review (once every 14 days per number, and the carrier decides), rest it out of rotation, or retire it permanently and ask the EmberDial team for a replacement number.

Sources: 47 CFR 64.1200(k)(3) and (k)(8)

Related: Number reputation workflow

A do-not-call (DNC) list is a list of phone numbers a seller may not call for telemarketing, and outbound teams work with three kinds: the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry, state DNC lists and the seller's own internal list.

• National: telemarketing calls to registered numbers are prohibited unless an exception applies, such as the person's signed written agreement or an established business relationship. Sellers must screen against a version of the registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call.
• State: several states keep their own lists with their own fees and update schedules, including Texas and Indiana.
• Internal: when someone asks not to be called, you must record the request and stop. FCC rules require honoring it within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days, keeping it for 5 years, and keeping a written do-not-call policy available on demand.

Why it matters: An ignored "take me off your list" is one of the easiest ways to create a complaint, and it often happens when a second agent or a different campaign calls the same number.

In EmberDial: A Do Not Call disposition adds the number to your internal DNC list, which is checked before every dial in every campaign. Owners can edit a written internal DNC policy and download it as a PDF. Federal and state screening can run through your agency's own DNC.com account, or you can record that you screen outside EmberDial.

Sources: 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii) and (b)(3)(iv); 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2) and (d); Texas No-Call list (PUC-sponsored); Indiana Attorney General: telephone solicitors

Related: Compliance tooling

A SAN (subscription account number) is the unique account number the FTC issues to an organization that registers to access the National Do Not Call Registry, tied to the area codes it has selected for download.

Why it matters: Every seller that must use the registry needs its own SAN. A telemarketer or vendor can access the registry on a seller's behalf using that seller's SAN, but sellers may not split registry costs with other clients of the same vendor. Fees are per area code per year: the first five area codes are free, and for the fiscal year that began October 1, 2026, each additional area code costs $85, up to $23,425 for every area code nationwide. Qualifying exempt organizations get access free. Whoever screens, the list must be refreshed at least every 31 days.

In EmberDial: Your agency, as the seller, supplies its own SAN during compliance setup before production dialing, or records that it screens outside EmberDial. If your agency has a SAN on file, is not recorded as screening outside EmberDial, and has no federal screening result newer than 48 hours, EmberDial blocks dialing rather than call on stale data.

Sources: 16 CFR 310.8; FTC Q&A for telemarketers and sellers about the DNC provisions; FTC fiscal year 2027 fee announcement

Related: Compliance tooling

A consent certificate is an independent record created when a consumer submits a web form, documenting what the person saw and did so a seller can later show how consent to be called was given.

Why it matters: For telemarketing calls that need prior express written consent, such as calls using an autodialer or a prerecorded voice, FCC rules require a signed written agreement that authorizes the seller to make those calls, includes the phone number, and clearly discloses both that the person is authorizing such calls and that signing is not a condition of purchase. Lead buyers, especially insurance agencies buying web leads, use certificates to check that a vendor's lead came with that consent. TrustedForm issues a certificate URL; Jornaya issues a LeadiD token. Both are now ActiveProspect products, after Verisk sold Jornaya's parent business to ActiveProspect in January 2026. A TrustedForm certificate has a standard claim window of about 72 hours; after its claim window, only the TrustedForm account holders that claimed it can access it. The FCC's "one-to-one" consent rule, which would have limited each consent to a single seller, was vacated by the Eleventh Circuit on January 24, 2025, and the current text of 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9) does not include it.

In EmberDial: CSV imports auto-detect Jornaya and TrustedForm columns, store the token or URL on the lead with the import time, and log it in the compliance audit trail. EmberDial does not claim or retain certificates for you; do that in your TrustedForm or Jornaya account.

Sources: 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9); ActiveProspect TrustedForm API overview; Verisk: sale of Verisk Marketing Solutions to ActiveProspect; Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. 2025)

Related: Compliance tooling Final expense dialer

A calling window is the set of days and local times when a team may place telemarketing calls to a lead, and the federal baseline is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the called person's local time.

Why it matters: Time-of-day mistakes are easy when a floor in one time zone calls leads in several. The rule follows the lead's location, not the agent's, so the lead's time zone has to be right. Some states are stricter than the federal baseline: Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland end calls at 8 p.m., and Texas allows 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. on Sunday. A campaign window that is legal in one state can run an hour late in another.

In EmberDial: Each campaign has a calling window and calling days (by default 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday to Saturday), checked in the lead's local time using the lead's time zone, state or area code. Federal holidays are blocked by default. Texas, Alabama and Louisiana windows, including no Sunday calls for Alabama and Louisiana leads, are applied automatically on top of the campaign window. For other states, including Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland, set the campaign window to the strictest rule that applies, for example ending at 8 p.m.

Sources: 16 CFR 310.4(c); 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); Fla. Stat. 501.616(6); 15 O.S. 775C.4; Md. Com. Law 14-4502(c); Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 301.051

Related: Compliance tooling

"Mini-TCPA" is the informal name for state telemarketing laws that go beyond the federal TCPA and Telemarketing Sales Rule, often with earlier cutoffs, caps on repeat calls, broader autodialer definitions and a private right to sue.

Why it matters: These laws follow the lead's location, and several let consumers sue directly. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act lets a called party recover the greater of actual damages or $500, and a court may raise that to as much as three times for willful or knowing violations; Oklahoma's and Maryland's laws provide similar remedies. Oklahoma and Maryland presume that a call to an in-state area code reaches someone in the state. Exemptions differ: Oklahoma's 2022 act exempts licensed insurance agents soliciting within the scope of their license, while Florida keeps its 8 p.m. cutoff and three-call limit even for sellers it otherwise exempts, including insurance licensees.

In EmberDial: Attempt caps are built in for leads whose state on file is Florida, Oklahoma or Maryland (3 calls per 24 hours to the same phone number, counted across duplicate leads) or Maine (1 call per 8 hours). Calling hours for these states are set in your campaign window.

Sources: Fla. Stat. 501.059; Fla. Stat. 501.604; Fla. Stat. 501.616; Oklahoma HB 3168 (2022), enrolled; Maryland Stop the Spam Calls Act, Chapter 413 (2023); Md. Com. Law 14-4502 and 14-4503

Related: Compliance tooling

One-party consent means a call may be recorded when one participant, such as your agent, agrees, while all-party consent (often called two-party consent) means everyone on the call must agree before it is recorded.

Why it matters: Federal law is one-party, but a number of states require every party's consent. California, for example, makes it an offense to record a confidential communication without the consent of all parties, with fines of up to $2,500 per violation for a first offense. Interstate calls are where teams get caught: a floor in a one-party state calling a lead in an all-party state may not be able to rely on its home-state rule, so many teams simply disclose recording on every call, often with a short line at the start such as "This call is recorded for quality and training." State lists and their nuances change, so confirm yours with counsel.

In EmberDial: When a connected lead's state on file is California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania or Washington, the agent cockpit shows a recording-disclosure (REC) badge in the call header, and keeps showing it on live calls for the rest of that session. It is a reminder only; the agent still has to give the disclosure.

Sources: 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d); Cal. Penal Code 632

Related: Compliance tooling

A warm transfer hands a live call to another person, such as a licensed closer, only after that person is on the line and briefed, so the prospect is never dropped into a queue or voicemail.

Why it matters: Many insurance and telesales floors split the work between agents who qualify leads and closers who present and enroll. A warm handoff keeps the prospect's momentum and lets the closer start with context instead of re-asking questions. A cold (blind) transfer is quicker but can lose more prospects along the way. Count a transfer as a handoff, not a sale, and track what the closer's call produced separately. A warm transfer is also different from a supervisor whisper, where a manager speaks only to the agent during a live call.

In EmberDial: An agent can warm-transfer a live call to another agent in the agency or to an outside number. For phone transfers, the lead is placed on hold while the receiving person is called and hears a short spoken whisper about the call before both are connected; if that person doesn't answer, the lead comes off hold and the agent can try again. Agents receiving in the browser get an offer to accept within 30 seconds. Overlapping call legs during a transfer each count toward connected minutes. Managers can also listen in on live calls.

Related: Final expense dialer

A disposition is the outcome code an agent records when a call ends, such as no answer, callback, not interested, transferred, sold or do not call.

Why it matters: Dispositions decide what happens next: whether and when a lead is retried, whether a callback is scheduled, whether a number goes on the internal DNC list, and how you judge lists and lead vendors. Vague or catch-all codes, such as a single "contacted" outcome, make it impossible to tell a wrong number from a real conversation. Counting callbacks or transfers as sales overstates results, so keep activity outcomes separate from closed business.

In EmberDial: Each campaign has its own disposition list. A disposition carries a category (such as sold, callback, appointment, transfer, not interested or DNC), can add the number to the internal DNC list, and can set its own cooldown before the lead is dialed again. Callback and appointment outcomes create a scheduled follow-up. Outcomes also feed each lead vendor's 0 to 100 score, which EmberDial shows when you import that vendor's next file.

Related: Sales callback workflow

A callback is a follow-up call scheduled for a set date and time, usually because the prospect asked to talk later, and the term also covers returning a call from someone who rang your number back.

Why it matters: In insurance telesales, callbacks come up constantly: the spouse needs to be on the call, the prospect wants to check a payment date, or the first call ran out of time. A callback has to happen on time, with the earlier conversation in view, and it should still follow your calling windows, state attempt caps and any do-not-call request. A callback request signals interest, not a sale, so report it as its own outcome.

In EmberDial: Choosing a callback outcome asks for the follow-up date and time, plus notes on why you're calling back. The dialer's "My callbacks today" area lists scheduled callbacks, previewing up to four and linking to Appointments for the rest. When a callback is due, EmberDial puts the lead back into its campaign for the next free agent. Missed inbound calls show a notification with a call-back option where the notification supports it, and when a completed call has a transcript, agents can review what was said before the next call.

Related: Sales callback workflow

A concurrent calling license lets one person place calls at a time, however many people have logins, so a team pays for its peak number of simultaneous callers rather than for every user.

Why it matters: Many dialers price per named user or seat, which charges for part-time agents, managers and trainees even when they aren't calling. Concurrent licensing suits floors with shifts, part-timers or turnover, because capacity follows calling, not headcount. When you compare quotes, check what each license includes (numbers, minutes, add-ons) and whether a "seat" means a login or a live caller.

In EmberDial: One license supports one simultaneous caller and costs $99 per month. Agents keep their own logins and can share capacity across shifts: six agents with three calling at once need three licenses. Each license adds 10 US local numbers to the agency's shared pool, and extra numbers are $1 per number per month. Agent Assist, the optional on-screen guidance add-on, is $49 per enabled license per month and includes 3,000 assisted minutes.

Related: Pricing Dialer cost calculator

A connected minute is a minute of answered call time, as opposed to time spent dialing or ringing, and it is the unit EmberDial uses to bill calling usage.

Why it matters: Usage pricing varies widely. Some dialers bundle minutes into the seat price, and others charge for every minute a line is in use, so the same calling volume can produce very different bills. Knowing exactly what counts lets you estimate a bill from your own numbers: connected minutes per agent per day, times calling days, times concurrent callers.

In EmberDial: Connected minutes cost $0.02 each with no included minutes, so you pay from the first connected minute. Answered inbound and outbound US local and mobile calls count, including calls answered by voicemail; ringing and practice calls don't. Each answered external call leg counts for its own duration, so overlapping legs during a transfer or conference add together. For example, one license with 7,000 connected minutes in a month costs $99 + (7,000 × $0.02) = $239. International, premium, toll-free inbound and other high-cost routes are quoted separately.

Related: Dialer cost calculator Pricing