---
title: "Phone safety flags, connect grades, and which mobiles are billed"
description: "What the dnc flags, connect_grade, and tcpa_notice on every phone result mean, and when a mobile is free."
url: https://wholayer.com/help/phone-safety-flags
---

# Phone safety flags, connect grades, and which mobiles are billed

> What the dnc flags, connect_grade, and tcpa_notice on every phone result mean, and when a mobile is free.

Category: Data API and MCP

Every phone result, from `POST /v1/phones/lookup`, `mobile` in `/v1/people/enrich`, or the `lookup_phone` and `enrich_person` MCP tools, includes:
- `line_type` and `carrier` from a live carrier check.
- `dnc`: `federal` (National Do Not Call Registry), `state` (state lists), and `reassigned` (disconnected since your consent date), each `true`, `false`, or `null` when not checked. `dnc.status` says `checked`, `partial`, or `not_checked`, and `dnc.note` explains any null. We never fill in a flag we didn't check.
- `connect_grade` from A to D: A is a mobile line not reassigned since your consent date, B is a mobile line we couldn't check for reassignment, C means the line type is unknown, and D is VoIP. It's about reaching the person, not permission to call.
- `tcpa_notice`: WhoLayer never calls or texts anyone, and calling or texting needs the consent the TCPA and state laws require.

## Reassigned numbers
Send `consent_date` (YYYY-MM-DD), the day you got the person's consent or last verified the number. When the reassigned-number check is switched on, we check whether the number was disconnected since then. A reassigned number is withheld and you aren't charged.

## Which mobiles are billed
You pay 5 credits only for a connectable mobile:
- Landlines and invalid numbers are never returned or charged.
- Reassigned numbers are withheld and not charged.
- VoIP numbers come back free (`billed: false`) while your workspace's free allowance lasts. It grows with the mobiles you're billed for over the last 30 days. Past that, VoIP is charged like a mobile.

## Before you call
These flags help, but they don't grant permission. Get consent where the law requires it, honor Do-Not-Call lists and your own opt-outs, and don't use autodialed or prerecorded calls or texts without consent. A `null` flag means "not checked", not "OK to call".

## Try it with a test key
Test keys return fictional numbers. Put `sandbox-voip`, `sandbox-landline`, `sandbox-reassigned` (with a `consent_date`), or `sandbox-dnc` in the name or email you send to see each case.

## Related

- [Data API quickstart](https://wholayer.com/help/api-quickstart.md)
- [API error codes and what to do](https://wholayer.com/help/api-errors.md)
- [Read our compliance rules from the API](https://wholayer.com/help/compliance-policy-api.md)