It depends on how the call is made. FCC rules require the called party's prior express written consent for a telemarketing call to a cell phone made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
From official sources, checked September 26, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act bars calls made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a number assigned to a cellular telephone service, unless the call is for emergency purposes or made with the called party's prior express consent. The FCC rule at 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) raises that to prior express written consent when the call includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing. Calling hours and do not call rules apply to sales calls whatever equipment is used, and several states add rules of their own. This page is general information, not legal advice.
The consent rules in 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1) and (a)(2) are written for calls made using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. A call that uses neither falls outside the text of those two paragraphs. The rule's other paragraphs are not tied to equipment. Paragraph (c) bars any telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time at the called party's location, or to a residential subscriber whose number is on the National Do Not Call Registry. Paragraph (d) requires anyone making calls for telemarketing purposes to a residential subscriber to keep a company specific do not call list under written procedures. Whether a particular dialing system counts as an automatic telephone dialing system is not answered here.
The FCC rule at 47 CFR 64.1200(e) applies the rules in paragraphs (c) and (d) to telephone solicitations and telemarketing calls or text messages to wireless telephone numbers, to the extent described in the FCC's 2003 order. Registrations on the national registry must be honored indefinitely, or until the consumer cancels the registration or the database administrator removes the number. Under the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, a seller or telemarketer may not call a number on the Registry unless the seller can show the person's express agreement in writing, including the number and the person's signature, or an established business relationship with a person who has not asked to stop receiving calls.
The FCC rule bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party's location. The FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, absent the person's prior consent, treats outbound telemarketing calls to a person's residence outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time at the called person's location as an abusive practice. Florida and Oklahoma end their window at 8 p.m.
Under 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), a called party may revoke prior express consent, including prior express written consent, by any reasonable method that clearly expresses a desire not to receive further calls or texts, and the request must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days. Callers may not designate an exclusive means to revoke. The FCC has extended to January 31, 2027 the effective date of the part of that rule that would apply a revocation made in response to one type of message to all future robocalls and robotexts from that caller on unrelated matters.
Florida bars an unsolicited telephonic sales call that involves an automated system for the selection and dialing of telephone numbers, or the playing of a recorded message, without the called party's prior express written consent. A commercial telephone seller or salesperson also may not call before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in the called person's time zone, or make more than three calls to a person in a 24 hour period on the same subject.
Fla. Stat. 501.059(8)(a); Fla. Stat. 501.616(6)Oklahoma bars a commercial telephonic sales call that involves an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers, or the playing of a recorded message, without the called party's prior express written consent. It also bars commercial telephone solicitation calls before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m., and more than three in a 24 hour period on the same subject, with exemptions listed in 775C.5.
Okla. Stat. tit. 15, 775C.3; 775C.4Texas requires a seller making telephone solicitations, unless exempt, to file a registration statement with the Secretary of State. S.B. 140, effective September 1, 2025, expanded the definition of telephone solicitation to include a transmission of a text or graphic message or of an image.
Tex. Bus. & Com. Code ch. 302The FCC applies its Registry and company specific list rules to telephone solicitations and telemarketing calls or texts to wireless numbers, to the extent described in its 2003 order.
The rule in 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) and (a)(2) is written for any telephone number assigned to a cellular telephone service, and its text does not set aside cell phones used for business. Separately, the FTC said its 2024 Telemarketing Sales Rule amendments extend telemarketing fraud protections to business to business calls.
Both states bar a commercial telephone seller or salesperson from making more than three commercial telephone solicitation calls to a person over a 24 hour period on the same subject matter, regardless of the phone number used.
Checked September 26, 2026. Every fact on this page comes from these official sources. General information, not legal advice: rules change, so confirm with the cited statute or agency and with counsel.
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