How does TPS work?
- Individuals register their landline or mobile number for free; registrations take effect after 28 days and do not expire.
- Companies license the TPS and CTPS files or use a screening bureau, then check numbers no more than 28 days before each call.
- A registered number may still be called if the person gave the company specific permission to call, which overrides the registration.
- Complaints from TPS registrants go to the TPS and can be passed to the ICO, which investigates repeat offenders.
A worked example
A Leeds accountancy firm asks a remote assistant to call 350 local sole traders about a year-end bookkeeping offer. Because the targets are individuals trading in their own names, the list is screened against both the TPS and CTPS, which removes 96 numbers. Twelve of the removed contacts are existing clients who previously ticked a box saying the firm could call about new services, so they are added back with the consent date noted. The assistant records the screening date in the campaign sheet so the list can be re-screened if calling runs past 28 days.
Where does TPS show up in your tools?
TPS status usually shows up as a flag column added by a screening bureau to the CSV before import, as a do-not-call property in Pipedrive or HubSpot, and as a suppression list loaded into the dialer, whether that is Aircall or RingCentral.
Common mistakes
- Screening only the TPS when calling small businesses, forgetting that sole traders and partnerships can register on either list.
- Treating screening as one-and-done: a list cleaned in January is out of date by March.
- Confusing the TPS with the Mailing Preference Service, which covers post, not phone.
Why does TPS matter?
A large share of UK households are TPS-registered, so an unscreened list produces complaints and wasted dials from the first hour. Screening is inexpensive and takes minutes, which makes skipping it hard to defend to the ICO. This is a plain-language summary, not legal advice.
How does AssistBPO handle TPS?
For UK outbound work, AssistBPO callers work only from lists screened against the TPS and CTPS within the previous 28 days, with lawful consent and do-not-call scrubbing recorded on the campaign sheet. Anyone who objects during a call is added to the client's internal suppression list before the next dial.