Rhode Island requires covered telephonic sellers to register with the Attorney General before calling, allows unsolicited sales calls only 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays, and restricts recorded message devices.
From official sources, checked September 26, 2026. General information, not legal advice.
Not less than 10 days before doing business in Rhode Island, a telephone sales solicitation operation or telephonic seller must register with the consumer protection unit of the Attorney General's office. The filing lists every telephone number the seller will use, its owners and managers, its salespeople, and copies of its scripts and sales materials, and the seller must also file a surety bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit. It may not begin telephone solicitations until it receives written confirmation of the filing, which it must post at each business location. The chapter defines a telephonic seller by the calls and representations made and lists 13 exemptions, including sellers calling their prior purchasers.
No salesperson or telephonic seller may make unsolicited telephonic sales calls to a residential, mobile, or telephonic paging device number outside the chapter's hours of operation. Those hours are 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on a state or federal holiday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The definition sets no hours for Sunday. A violation of the hours rule is a misdemeanor.
The Telephone Sales Solicitation Act does not set up a state do not call list. Instead, no salesperson or telephonic seller may make unsolicited telephonic sales calls to residential, mobile, or paging numbers unless it has procedures for keeping a list of people who do not want its sales calls, in compliance with 47 CFR Part 64 or 16 CFR Part 310. The same section bars anyone doing business in the state from sending text message advertisements to a Rhode Island resident's cell phone or pager, with exceptions, each subject to conditions, for texts from the subscriber's carrier, from a business with an existing relationship, or from its affiliate.
A telephonic seller may not use or connect an automatic dialing announcing device unless the subscriber knowingly or voluntarily requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized the message, or a live operator obtains the subscriber's consent before the message plays. When a live operator comes first, the operator must give the business name, the purpose of the message, the goods or services promoted, and, if applicable, that it seeks payment or a commitment of funds. The device must release the line within five seconds after the subscriber hangs up, and a separate criminal statute makes it a misdemeanor to operate an automatic telephone dialing system in the state that fails to do so.
Within the first 30 seconds of a call, a telephonic seller or salesperson must give their true name, the company the call is for, and the goods or services being sold. If a sale or agreement to purchase is completed, the seller must tell the purchaser about their cancellation rights, give the registration numbers issued for the seller and the salesperson, and give the seller's street address. A purchaser may sue a telephonic seller in material violation of the chapter, and the Attorney General may seek injunctions and civil penalties.
The calling hours and do not call sections apply to unsolicited sales calls to residential, mobile, or telephonic paging device numbers. Registration turns on the seller definition instead, and that definition reaches a caller who tells a prospective buyer of office equipment or supplies that an unusual event or imminent price increase lets them buy below usual prices. The chapter's definition of a person includes corporations and other business entities.
Rhode Island's interception law makes it lawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a wire, electronic, or oral communication when the person is a party to it or one of the parties has given prior consent, unless the interception is for the purpose of committing a criminal or tortious act or another injurious act.
It can. The registration statute says a seller does business in Rhode Island if it solicits prospective purchasers located in the state, not only if it calls from a Rhode Island location. Whether a particular caller must register depends on the chapter's telephonic seller definition and its exemptions.
Unsolicited telephonic sales calls to residential, mobile, or paging numbers are barred outside the chapter's hours of operation. Those hours cover Monday through Friday, except state or federal holidays, and Saturday, and they set no hours for Sunday.
Only when the subscriber requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized the message, or when a live operator obtains consent before the message plays. The device must also release the line within five seconds after the subscriber hangs up.
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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