Frequently Asked Questions

Since we have more than 160 Yellow Pages publishers participating in YellowPagesOptOut.com, we have to get the right information out to them so they do not deliver a print directory to someone who does not want one.

Your email address will never be used for marketing or sold to a third party. We use email addresses to create an account for you in our system and to make sure the request is from a real person. So, a few, simple steps are necessary:

• When you register, a link and temporary password is returned to the email address you provided during registration.  When you make your directory choices, a confirmation email is also returned to the e-mail address you provided during registration. However, your e-mail address will never be used for marketing and never provided to a third party. 

• You may also later use your e-mail address to log back into YellowPagesOptOut.com should you wish to alter your directory delivery choices.

• Quite a few publishers are affiliated or partner with telephone companies so a phone number helps them to locate you in their records to ensure that they opt out the right home address. Publishers may also do phone surveys to verify opt-out compliance.
• Publishers need your address so they know where to stop delivery of a directory.

We’re actually an association that includes many Yellow Pages publishers. However, we provide this free & secure website though which more than 160 publishers participate. It’s a one-stop shop so people across the United States can limit or stop the delivery of print directories to their homes.

Information provided to YellowPagesOptOut.com will never be used for advertising or marketing.  It will only be used for purposes related to honoring the opt-out request.

Because of directories already in publication, it may take up to 12 weeks for publishers to process your opt-out requests.  So, while you may still receive a directory this year if you opt out close to the time of a delivery, you will not receive one the following year.

All major national publishers honor opt-outs permanently. At YellowPagesOptOut.com, we are committed to enabling all consumers to choose which directories are delivered to their homes or to stop delivery completely.

• The best way to ensure that directories are not delivered to people who do not want them is to have a singular, nationwide opt out website.  It lessens confusion and ensures everyone nationwide has a clear way to choose which directories they receive.
• We provide YellowPagesOptOut.com for free and that saves taxpayer money.
• We are committed to not using information for marketing or giving it to a third party.  That means your personal information is secure.
• For the industry, it ensures a unified, consistent approach to consumer choice that will integrate well with existing publisher systems.

Directory paper is made largely from waste wood that would otherwise go to landfills.  Lumber companies harvest trees for wood products like homes and furniture.  Waste such as wood chips and sawdust is sent to paper mills for directory paper.  In addition, publishers have reduced directory paper use by over 70 percent since 2007.  Further, the EPA reports that mechanical papers, including print phone directories, maintain a 67% recycling rate, about double the U.S. average for all products.  For more information, please take a look at our sustainability info at http://www.thelsa.org/Main/Sustainability.aspx.

In a 2013 survey by RingCentral that appeared in USA Today, 58% of working US adults said they used phone books at home, work or both.  This correlates to a study done by Burke, Inc., a global consulting firm, who found that 60% of their respondents referenced print phone directories in 2012.

YellowPagesOptOut.com has a unique multi-unit form that enables a building manager to order a reduced number of directories – or stop delivery altogether – so only those residents who want print directories will get them.

• Access the site at www.yellowpagesoptout.com.
• Register providing all required information including a valid phone number.
• You will receive an email containing a temporary password and link to the site.
• Use the link to return to the site and make directory choices or opt-out of all directories. You can stop delivery by choosing “0” or increase delivery up to “3” directories in some cases.
• Submit your selections.
• Receive a confirmation email for your records.