FSBOs on the "Do Not Call" list

Can I legally call someone who is selling their house "for sale by owner" if they are
on the federal "Do Not Call" list?

No. An agent can call a FSBO under limited circumstances based on a ruling by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The FCC ruled that realtors can call FSBOs who have a sign in their front yard with a telephone number on it, ONLY if they have a client who is interested in purchasing the seller’s property.

The FCC’s ruling states: “[as] with any entity making calls that constitute “telephone solicitations,” a real estate agent, insurance agent, or newspaper is precluded from calling consumers registered on the national do-not-call list, unless the calls would fall within one of the specific exemptions provided in the statute and rules. Therefore, we clarify that a telephone solicitation would include calls by real estate agents to property owners for the purpose of offering their services to the owner, whether the property listing has lapsed or not. We find, however, that calls by real estate agents who represent only the potential buyer to someone who has advertised their property for sale, do not constitute telephone solicitations, so long as the purpose of the call is to discuss the potential sale of the property to the represented buyer. The callers, in such circumstances, are not encouraging the called party to purchase, rent or invest in property, as contemplated by the definition of ‘telephone solicitation.’ They are instead calling in response to an offer to purchase something from the called party.”