The claim
Prescreened offers of credit or insurance are built from lists that consumer reporting agencies provide for transactions the consumer did not start. Under 15 U.S.C. § 1681b(e), a consumer may elect to have their name and address excluded from those lists. An election made through the agencies' notification system, which includes a toll-free number, is effective for the 5-year period beginning 5 business days after the consumer notifies the agency. An election made by submitting a signed notice of election form stays effective until the consumer notifies the agency otherwise. Under § 1681m(d), each written prescreened solicitation must include a clear and conspicuous statement of this right, with the address and toll-free number of the notification system. The FTC names that system: optoutprescreen.com and 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688), operated by the major credit bureaus.
The receipt
A consumer may elect to have the consumer's name and address excluded from any list provided by a consumer reporting agency under subsection (c)(1)(B) in connection with a credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated by the consumer, by notifying the agency in accordance with paragraph (2) that the consumer does not consent to any use of a consumer report relating to the consumer in connection with any credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated by the consumer.
A consumer shall notify a consumer reporting agency under paragraph (1)— (A) through the notification system maintained by the agency under paragraph (5); or (B) by submitting to the agency a signed notice of election form issued by the agency for purposes of this subparagraph.
(i) subject to subparagraph (C), during the 5-year period beginning 5 business days after the date on which the consumer notifies the agency of the election, in the case of an election for which a consumer notifies the agency only in accordance with paragraph (2)(A); or (ii) until the consumer notifies the agency under subparagraph (C), in the case of an election for which a consumer notifies the agency in accordance with paragraph (2)(B);
the consumer has a right to prohibit information contained in the consumer's file with any consumer reporting agency from being used in connection with any credit or insurance transaction that is not initiated by the consumer; and (E) the consumer may exercise the right referred to in subparagraph (D) by notifying a notification system established under section 1681b(e) of this title.
opt out for five years: Go to optoutprescreen.com or call 1-888-5-OPT-OUT (1-888-567-8688). The major credit bureaus operate the phone number and website.
What the rule doesn't cover
The election covers lists that consumer reporting agencies provide for prescreening. The FTC says it will stop only prescreened offers based on lists from the major credit bureaus, and that offers based on lists from other sources, mail from companies you already do business with, and offers that are not based on prescreening are not stopped by it.
The statute says an election takes effect 5 business days after the consumer notifies the agency. The FTC adds that it may take several weeks before prescreened offers stop, because some companies may have received the information before the request was processed. This page does not say whether opting out, or staying in, fits a particular person; it covers what the law provides.
What you can do
A prescreened offer is the document to look at. 12 CFR § 1022.54 requires a person covered by that rule to include a short notice with the toll-free opt-out number and a long notice headed "PRESCREEN & OPT-OUT NOTICE."
The FTC's prescreened offers page says the same website or toll-free number is used to opt back in, and that a permanent election is completed by signing and returning the Permanent Opt-Out Election form.
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Sources: 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681b(e), 1681m(d) (govinfo.gov, 2024 ed.) · 12 CFR § 1022.54 (Regulation V, on eCFR) · FTC: prescreened offers of credit and insurance
Sources last checked: October 18, 2026.
Everything here is consumer information — not financial or legal advice. It covers what a rule says and where to find it; the decisions stay yours.