Minnesota bars automatic dialing announcing devices unless the subscriber consented or a live operator first gets consent, limits those devices and commercial telephone solicitations to 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and its state do not call list law expired in 2012.
From official sources, checked September 26, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
A caller may not use or connect to a telephone line an automatic dialing announcing device unless the subscriber has knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized receipt of the message, or the message is immediately preceded by a live operator who obtains the subscriber's consent before it is delivered. Minnesota defines the device as one that selects and dials numbers and, alone or with other equipment, delivers a prerecorded or synthesized voice message. The rule does not apply to messages from school districts, messages advising employees of work schedules, or messages to subscribers with whom the caller has a current business or personal relationship. When a live operator introduces the message, the operator must first disclose the business the message is for, its purpose, the goods or services promoted, and, if applicable, that it seeks payment or a commitment of funds.
A caller may not use an automatic dialing announcing device, or make any commercial telephone solicitation, before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. The statute sets one window and does not distinguish weekdays, weekends, or holidays. A commercial telephone solicitation is an unsolicited call to a residential subscriber, by a caller with no prior business or personal relationship with the subscriber, to solicit the purchase of goods or services. The exemptions for school district messages, work schedule messages, and subscribers with a current business or personal relationship also apply to this calling hours rule.
Minnesota's former no call list law directed the commissioner of commerce to keep a list of residential subscribers who objected to telephone solicitations. A 2009 law provided that sections 325E.311 to 325E.316 expire December 31, 2012, and the revisor now lists them as expired. The Attorney General's consumer guidance directs Minnesotans to register home and cell numbers with the National Do Not Call Registry kept by the Federal Trade Commission. Federal rules bar telephone solicitations to a residential subscriber whose number is on the national registry.
Before a personal solicitation, a seller must clearly and expressly disclose, at the time of initial contact, the individual seller's name, the business or organization the seller represents, the goods or services the seller wants to demonstrate or sell, and that the seller wants to demonstrate or sell them. These disclosures come before any questions or statements other than an initial greeting. A personal solicitation includes a seller's telephone contact to sell goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, with exceptions such as when the buyer started the contact. Nonprofit organizations are exempt.
Minnesota's interception law says it is not unlawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic, or oral communication when that person is a party to the communication, or when one of the parties has given prior consent, unless the communication is intercepted to commit a criminal or tortious act in violation of federal or state law.
Minnesota's definition of a commercial telephone solicitation refers to unsolicited calls to residential subscribers, and its disclosure rule covers sales of goods or services primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. The automatic dialing announcing device rules use the broader term subscriber, meaning a person who has subscribed to telephone service from a telephone company and others living with that person, and they define a message as any call regardless of content. The calling hours limit on using the device itself does not mention residential numbers.
Minnesota's former no call list sections, 325E.311 to 325E.316, expired December 31, 2012 under a 2009 law. The Attorney General's consumer guidance points Minnesotans to the National Do Not Call Registry kept by the Federal Trade Commission.
Only in the situations Minnesota's statute allows. An automatic dialing announcing device may be used if the subscriber knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized the message, or if a live operator obtains the subscriber's consent before the message plays. Messages to subscribers with whom the caller has a current business or personal relationship are exempt from that rule.
Minnesota bars using an automatic dialing announcing device and making commercial telephone solicitations before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. The federal rule separately bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party's location.
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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