- Cold calling is legal in every state; B2B calls to business lines face the fewest rules.
- Since April 2025, opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days, down from 30 days.
- AI-generated voices count as "artificial" voices: AI calls to cell phones need consent.
- Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and Pennsylvania have stricter hours, and Pennsylvania's tightened in October 2026.
- Scrub cell numbers against the Do Not Call Registry even for B2B calls.
Not legal advice. This guide summarizes federal and state telemarketing rules as of October 19, 2026 for sales teams. Laws change, courts disagree, and how a rule applies depends on who you call and what you sell. Talk to a lawyer before you launch or change a calling program.
Is cold calling legal?
Yes. Cold calling is legal in every US state. B2B cold calls to business lines face the fewest rules. Calls to consumers and to cell phones are regulated by the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule and the National Do Not Call Registry, and many states add their own calling hours, do-not-call lists, registration and recording-consent rules.
What changed in 2025 and 2026
- Opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days, down from 30 days, for both company do-not-call requests and robocall/text consent revocations (effective April 11, 2025; 47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3)).
- The FCC's "one-to-one consent" rule is gone. The 11th Circuit vacated it in January 2025 and the FCC removed it from its rules effective August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42137).
- New opt-out rules are coming. In FCC 26-67 (adopted September 30, 2026), the FCC replaced the delayed "revoke-all" rule: callers may designate an exclusive opt-out method if they disclose it clearly, and an opt-out from a marketing robocall or text covers all future marketing robocalls and texts from that caller. It takes effect 30 days after Federal Register publication, which hadn't happened as of October 19, 2026 (FCC 26-67).
- Courts no longer have to follow the FCC's reading of the TCPA. After McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (U.S. Supreme Court, June 2025), courts decide for themselves. The 7th Circuit then held that texts aren't "calls" for private do-not-call suits (July 2026), and some courts have questioned whether cell phones count as "residential" lines. Expect different answers in different courts.
- Do Not Call Registry fees rose to $85 per area code a year (first five free, $23,425 maximum) from October 1, 2026 (91 FR 54947).
- More states passed their own telemarketing laws: Texas SB 140 (September 2025), Virginia SB 1339 and Oregon HB 3865 (January 2026) and Tennessee HB 2408 (July 2026). They're summarized below.
Federal rules every rep should know
Two federal regimes govern cold calls: the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), enforced by the FCC and through private lawsuits, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR).
Calling hours
No telemarketing calls to a residential subscriber before 8am or after 9pm in the called person's local time (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); the TSR has the same window). Several states set narrower windows, listed in the state table below.
The National Do Not Call Registry
- You can't make telephone solicitations to residential numbers on the Registry unless the person gave you permission or has an established business relationship with you: a purchase in the last 18 months or an inquiry in the last 3 months.
- To use the safe harbor, scrub your lists against a version of the Registry no more than 31 days old, keep written procedures and an internal do-not-call list, and train your reps.
- Access costs $85 per area code a year, with the first five area codes free. The Registry held about 258.5 million numbers at the end of FY2025 (FTC Data Book).
Your company's own do-not-call list
- Keep a written do-not-call policy and train everyone who calls.
- Give your name, your company's name and a phone number or address to reach you.
- Honor a do-not-call request within 10 business days and keep honoring it for 5 years.
Autodialers, prerecorded messages and AI voices
- Calls to a cell phone using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice need the person's prior express consent, and prior express written consent if the call is telemarketing. This applies whether the cell phone is used for business or personal calls.
- Since Facebook v. Duguid (2021), an "autodialer" means equipment that generates random or sequential numbers, so most list-based sales dialers aren't autodialers. The prerecorded and artificial-voice rule applies no matter which dialer you use.
- AI-generated voices count as "artificial" voices under the TCPA (FCC 24-17, February 2024). An AI agent calling a real prospect's cell phone needs prior express consent, and written consent for telemarketing. California also requires automated prerecorded calls to disclose when the message was made with AI (AB 2905, effective 2025).
- Practicing against an AI prospect, as in Cold Call Gym, is different: you call the AI, and no real prospect is contacted.
Voicemails
A voicemail a rep leaves live, after dialing manually, isn't a prerecorded call. Dropping a prerecorded or AI-generated message into a cell phone's voicemail, through "ringless voicemail" or a voicemail-drop button, is treated as an artificial or prerecorded-voice call and needs consent (FCC 22-85). Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland name voicemail explicitly in their laws.
Text messages
Marketing texts are treated like calls under the TCPA's autodialer rules, and many state laws (Texas, Oregon, Virginia, Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland) now cover texts directly. Since 2025 a wave of lawsuits has targeted marketing texts sent before 8am or after 9pm. Get written consent before texting prospects, and honor "STOP".
The Telemarketing Sales Rule and B2B calls
Calls to businesses are mostly exempt from the TSR, but since 2024 its bans on misrepresentations and false or misleading statements apply to B2B calls too, and sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies remain covered (16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)). Consumer telemarketers must also keep call records for 5 years.
B2B vs B2C: what actually applies to you
Federal do-not-call and calling-hour rules protect "residential subscribers." Calls to a business landline fall outside them, which is why B2B calling has more room. The gray area is the prospect's cell phone: the FCC presumes wireless numbers on the Registry are residential, courts often treat a phone used for both work and personal calls as residential, and the cell-phone rules on autodialers and artificial voices apply regardless of business use.
| Rule | Business landline | Prospect's cell phone | Consumer (B2C) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calling hours (8am–9pm) | No (but be reasonable) | Usually yes: courts often treat cell phones used personally as residential | Yes |
| National Do Not Call Registry | No | Often yes; scrub cell numbers to be safe | Yes |
| Company do-not-call requests | Honor them anyway; many state laws require it | Yes | Yes |
| Autodialer, prerecorded or AI voice | Federal residential-line ban doesn't apply; state laws may | Needs prior express (written, for marketing) consent | Needs prior express written consent |
| Misrepresentation ban (TSR) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| State telemarketing laws | Most exclude B2B; Florida's hours and call-frequency limits and Maryland's do not | Often apply | Apply |
The safe default for B2B teams: scrub cell numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry, call between 8am and 9pm in the prospect's time zone (narrower in states like Florida, Pennsylvania and Connecticut; see the table below), honor every opt-out within 10 business days, and never use prerecorded or AI voices on cell phones without consent.
States with their own telemarketing laws ("mini-TCPAs")
These states go further than federal law, usually with stricter hours, limits on how often you can call, coverage of texts, and the right for recipients to sue. Several exempt B2B calls; Florida and Maryland don't exempt them from their hours and call-frequency limits.
| State | Law | Hours and frequency | Who it covers | Private lawsuits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | FTSA (501.059) and Telemarketing Act (501.616) | 8am–8pm; max 3 calls per 24 hours on the same subject | Hours and frequency apply even to most B2B; FTSA covers consumer sales | Yes: $500 per violation, trebled if willful (FTSA) |
| Oklahoma | Telephone Solicitation Act (2022) | 8am–8pm; max 3 calls per 24 hours | Narrow B2B exemption | Yes: $500, trebled if willful |
| Maryland | Stop the Spam Calls Act (2024) | No calls 8pm–8am; max 3 per 24 hours | B2B exemption covers only the consent rule, not hours or frequency | Yes: $500, trebled if willful |
| Texas | Bus. & Com. Code ch. 301–305, SB 140 (Sept 2025) | Consumer calls 9am–9pm Mon–Sat, noon–9pm Sunday | No general B2B exemption from registration; texts now covered | Yes: through the DTPA and §305.053 |
| Washington | RCW 80.36.390 | 8am–8pm | B2B excluded | Yes |
| Connecticut | PA 23-98 (Oct 2023) | 9am–8pm | B2B excluded | State enforcement (CUTPA) |
| Virginia | SB 1339 (Jan 2026) | 8am–9pm | No explicit B2B exclusion; texted "STOP" honored for 10 years | Yes: $500 first violation, up to $5,000 |
| Oregon | HB 3865 (Jan 2026) | 8am–8pm; max 3 per 24 hours | B2B excluded; texts now covered | Unlawful trade practice |
| Pennsylvania | Act 47 (Oct 2026) | 9am–7pm Mon–Sat; no Sundays or holidays | Consumer solicitations by call, text or voicemail; business numbers can join the state DNC list | Yes |
| Tennessee | HB 2408 (July 2026) | n/a | Caps and reporting for autodialed prerecorded calls to residents | Yes: at least $1,000 per violation |
| New Jersey | C.56:8-128 (amended 2023) | No calls 9pm–8am | Identify yourself and the seller within 30 seconds | State enforcement |
Sources: Fla. Stat. 501.616, 501.059; Okla. HB 3168; Md. Com. Law 14-4502; Tex. SB 140, Bus. & Com. Code 301; RCW 80.36.390; Conn. PA 23-98; Va. Code 59.1-511; Or. HB 3865; Tenn. HB 2408; N.J. S921.
Cold calling laws by state: the 50-state table
How to read it: recording is whose consent you need to record a call; state DNC list means the state keeps its own do-not-call list in addition to the national registry; calling hours lists rules narrower than the federal 8am–9pm window (they usually apply to calls to consumers); registration is whether telemarketers must register, license or bond with the state, which is often limited to consumer sales or certain kinds of offers.
| State | Recording | State DNC list | Calling hours | Registration | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | One-party | No | 8am–8pm; no Sundays or holidays | Yes (license) | Name the firm within 10 seconds; ask permission before recording a sales call. |
| Alaska | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | B2B calls excluded from the do-not-call rules; phone sales need a signed written contract before payment. |
| Arizona | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes (B2B sellers with 50%+ repeat sales exempt) | Unsolicited sales calls to cell phones are an unlawful practice. |
| Arkansas | One-party | No (merged into federal list) | Federal 8am–9pm | Narrow (prize and free-item pitches) | Autodialed prerecorded sales calls are a felony. |
| California | All-party | No | Prerecorded calls 9am–9pm only | Narrow (prize and similar pitches) | Prerecorded calls need a live introduction and must disclose AI-generated voices (since 2025). |
| Colorado | One-party | Yes | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | State no-call list covers home and wireless numbers, not business lines. |
| Connecticut | All-party | No | 9am–8pm | No | B2B excluded; identify yourself within 10 seconds and ask whether to continue. |
| Delaware | All-party (statutes conflict) | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | B2B sales exempt; honor stop requests for 10 years. |
| District of Columbia | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | Identify yourself within 30 seconds; prerecorded sales calls banned. |
| Florida | All-party | Yes | 8am–8pm; max 3 calls per 24 hours | Yes (license and bond) | Mini-TCPA with $500 damages; hours and call cap apply even to most B2B sellers. |
| Georgia | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Businesses are liable for vendors' no-call violations (SB 73); business numbers aren't protected. |
| Hawaii | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Disclose the purpose and company within the first minute. |
| Idaho | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | Do-not-call rules exclude business numbers; identify yourself before anything but a greeting. |
| Illinois | All-party | No | Live 8am–9pm; autodialed 9am–9pm | No | No explicit B2B exemption; ask at the start whether the person consents to the call. |
| Indiana | One-party | Yes | Prerecorded calls 9am–8pm | Narrow | Strict state list with no general existing-customer exemption; covers texts. |
| Iowa | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Largely follows federal law. |
| Kansas | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Consumers can sue; phone sales aren't binding without a signed confirmation. |
| Kentucky | One-party | No | 10am–9pm | Yes (telemarketing companies) | Merchant-to-merchant calls excluded; ask within 30 seconds whether they want to hear a pitch. |
| Louisiana | One-party | Yes | 8am–8pm Mon–Sat; no Sundays, holidays or declared emergencies | Yes | Business numbers not covered; check for an active state of emergency before calling. |
| Maine | One-party | No | Automated calls 9am–5pm weekdays | Narrow | Check the FCC Reassigned Numbers Database before sales calls. |
| Maryland | All-party | No | 8am–8pm; max 3 calls per 24 hours | No general registration found | Mini-TCPA; the B2B exemption doesn't cover hours or the call cap. |
| Massachusetts | All-party | Yes | 8am–8pm | Yes (annual) | Consumer calls only; state that the call is a sales call within the first minute. |
| Michigan | One-party (participants may record) | No | 9am–9pm | No | Recorded-message sales calls banned, even to businesses ($1,000 per call). |
| Minnesota | One-party | No | 9am–9pm (residential and automated calls) | No | Give your name, company and what you're selling before anything beyond a greeting. |
| Mississippi | One-party | No | 8am–8pm Central, Mon–Sat; no Sundays | Yes | Covers calls to businesses too; robocalls tightly restricted. |
| Missouri | One-party | Yes | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Disclose a recorded or computer-generated voice at the start of the call. |
| Montana | All-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes ($50,000 bond) | B2B sales exempt from registration; prerecorded messages need a live operator's permission first. |
| Nebraska | One-party | No | Prerecorded calls 8am–9pm Mon–Sat, 1pm–9pm Sun | Permit for autodialers | Prerecorded calls can't go to cell phones. |
| Nevada | All-party | No | 9am–8pm | Narrow | Identify yourself within 30 seconds; no express B2B exemption. |
| New Hampshire | All-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Autodialer users only | Caller ID must show a number that can receive calls. |
| New Jersey | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes (annual) | Give your name, the seller's name and number, and the purpose within 30 seconds. |
| New Mexico | One-party | No | 9am–9pm | No | State the seller and purpose within 15 seconds. |
| New York | One-party | No | No calls into declared emergency areas | Yes ($500) | Within 30 seconds, give your name and the seller and offer to add them to your do-not-call list; B2B exempt. |
| North Carolina | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | Ask whether the person is under 18; home and wireless numbers protected. |
| North Dakota | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Applies to personal phones only; give your name, number, city and business. |
| Ohio | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes ($50,000 bond) | Narrow B2B exemption; identify yourself and the sale within 60 seconds. |
| Oklahoma | One-party | Yes | 8am–8pm; max 3 calls per 24 hours | Yes | Mini-TCPA with $500 damages; caller ID must accept callbacks. |
| Oregon | One-party | No | 8am–8pm; max 3 per 24 hours (since 2026) | Narrow | B2B excluded; texts covered since January 2026. |
| Pennsylvania | All-party | Yes | 9am–7pm Mon–Sat; no Sundays or holidays (from Oct 2026) | Yes ($50,000 bond) | Act 47 (October 2026) covers texts and voicemail and opens the state list to business numbers. |
| Rhode Island | One-party | No | 9am–6pm weekdays, 10am–5pm Sat; no Sundays (telephonic sellers) | Narrow | Text ads to Rhode Island cell phones barred without an existing relationship. |
| South Carolina | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | End the call immediately if the person declines; consumers can sue. |
| South Dakota | One-party | No | 9am–9pm Mon–Sat; no Sundays | Yes (annual) | Ask within 30 seconds whether they want a sales presentation. |
| Tennessee | One-party | Yes | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes ($500/yr) | Texts treated like calls; caps and reporting for autodialed prerecorded calls (2026). |
| Texas | One-party | Yes | Consumer calls 9am–9pm Mon–Sat, noon–9pm Sun | Yes ($10,000 security) | Texts covered since September 2025; violations open DTPA lawsuits. |
| Utah | One-party | No | 8am–9pm Mon–Sat; no Sundays or state holidays | Yes | Give your legal name, phone, address and email before soliciting. |
| Vermont | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes ($125) | Caller ID must show your real number. |
| Virginia | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | No | Covers any Virginia area code, including business numbers; honor STOP for 10 years. |
| Washington | All-party | No | 8am–8pm | Yes | B2B excluded from the hours rules; identify yourself within 30 seconds. |
| West Virginia | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes ($100,000 bond) | B2B sales exempt; consumers can sue. |
| Wisconsin | One-party | No | Federal 8am–9pm | Yes | A purchase in the last 18 months isn't enough for the current-client exemption; texts count. |
| Wyoming | One-party | Industry list referenced by law | 8am–8pm (consumer calls) | Notice filing | No unsolicited sales calls to unpublished cell numbers. |
Compiled from state statutes, attorney general and public utility commission pages, and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press recording-law guides, checked October 2026. Many state rules apply only to calls to consumers or residential numbers. City guides with more detail: Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas, Washington.
States that require all-party consent to record
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington. In these states, tell everyone on the call that you're recording before you start. Many teams announce recording on every call, since the stricter rule applies when the two parties are in different states.
States with their own do-not-call lists
Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas. Scrub against these lists as well as the national registry when you call consumers or cell phones there.
States with calling hours stricter than federal law
Alabama, California, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wyoming. Check the table for the exact window; several ban Sunday or holiday calls.
Penalties
- TCPA lawsuits: $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing. Do-not-call and calling-hours suits need more than one call in 12 months from the same company.
- FTC civil penalties under the TSR: up to $53,088 per violation (2025 adjustment).
- FCC forfeitures: up to $25,132 per violation for non-licensees, and up to $14,432 per violation for caller-ID spoofing.
- State laws add their own damages, from $500 per violation in Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland to $5,000 for repeat violations in Virginia.
Compliance checklist for a B2B cold-calling team
- Classify every number as business landline, cell or consumer before it goes into a sequence.
- Scrub cell and consumer numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry at least every 31 days, plus the state lists that apply.
- Call within 8am–9pm in the prospect's time zone, and 8am–8pm in the stricter states.
- Identify yourself and your company at the start of the call.
- Log every opt-out and honor it within 10 business days, across all your reps and affiliates.
- Don't use prerecorded messages, voicemail drops or AI voices on cell phones without written consent.
- Get written consent before texting prospects.
- Tell people you're recording before you record (see the all-party consent states below).
- Keep your scripts truthful: misrepresentation bans apply to B2B calls.
- Write the procedures down, train every rep, and review them each quarter with counsel.
Practice without the compliance risk
Every bad rep on a live prospect costs you a lead, and every mistake on a regulated line can cost more. With Cold Call Gym, reps practice against an AI prospect: you call our line (424-458-7771) or open the app, and no real prospect is ever contacted. Teams can add compliance moments to their scenarios, like asking permission to continue or handling "take me off your list", and drill them until they're automatic.
Primary sources
- 47 CFR 64.1200: FCC TCPA rules (calling hours, do-not-call, consent)
- 16 CFR Part 310: FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule
- 47 U.S.C. 227: the TCPA
- FCC 24-17: AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices
- FCC 26-67: 2026 consent-revocation order
- McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (2025)
- FTC National Do Not Call Registry Data Book, FY2025
- Do Not Call Registry access for telemarketers
Founder of Cold Call Gym. This guide was researched from statutes, FCC and FTC orders and court opinions; it is not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Is cold calling legal in the US?
Yes. Cold calling is legal in all 50 states. Calls to business lines face the fewest rules; calls to consumers and cell phones must follow the TCPA, the Telemarketing Sales Rule, the National Do Not Call Registry and any state law where the person lives.
Does the National Do Not Call Registry apply to B2B calls?
Not to business landlines. The registry protects residential subscribers, but courts often treat a cell phone used for both work and personal calls as residential, so B2B teams should scrub cell numbers against the registry too.
What hours can you legally cold call?
Federal law allows calls to residential and cell numbers between 8am and 9pm in the recipient's time zone. Some states are stricter: Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and Massachusetts allow 8am–8pm, Texas consumer calls start at 9am (noon on Sunday), and Pennsylvania has allowed only 9am–7pm Monday to Saturday since October 2026.
How quickly do I have to honor a do-not-call request?
Within 10 business days under the FCC's rules, effective April 11, 2025 (it used to be 30 days). Keep honoring it for 5 years.
Can I use an AI voice to cold call prospects?
Only with consent. The FCC ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices under the TCPA, so AI calls to a cell phone or residential line need prior express consent, and prior express written consent if the call is telemarketing.
Can I leave voicemails when cold calling?
A voicemail a rep leaves live after dialing manually is fine. Prerecorded or AI-generated voicemail drops and ringless voicemail to cell phones count as artificial or prerecorded calls and need consent.
Which states require all-party consent to record calls?
California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Washington. Announce recording on every call to be safe.