Before you run outbound calls into a market, know the rules: do-not-call lists, calling hours, call limits and registration. Here is the federal baseline and all 50 states plus DC, with sources.
Live calls to a business line about a business service usually fall outside state do-not-call and calling-hour rules. The real exposure is an owner's personal cell phone.
Several states exempt calls where no sale closes on the phone and the pitch happens face to face later, such as Texas, Idaho and Florida. Each state words it differently.
Call business lines 8am to 8pm in the buyer's local time, scrub cell numbers against the registries, honor every "do not call" request and show a callback number.
Fifty states, each with its own definitions, exemptions, hours and registration rules, and they change every year. Outbound calling into every state is what our sales floor does all day, so your team does not have to become telemarketing lawyers to build pipeline.
Calls to a business to sell goods or services are exempt from most of the rule (calling hours, do-not-call, disclosures). Retail sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies are not exempt, and since 2024 the bans on misrepresentations and false or misleading statements apply to all B2B calls.
16 CFR 310.6(b)(7) ↗Protects residential subscribers, including wireless numbers. Business numbers are not covered, but home-based businesses are judged case by case, so scrub any cell or possibly residential number against the registry within 31 days.
16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B); 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2) ↗$500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful, for two or more solicitations in 12 months to a residential subscriber on the registry. An owner's personal cell phone is the main B2B exposure.
47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5) ↗No solicitations to residential subscribers before 8am or after 9pm in the called party's local time. B2B calls to business lines are technically outside the rule, but it is the standard operating window.
47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c) ↗Keep a written do-not-call policy, train staff, honor opt-outs within 10 business days, keep records, and identify the caller and the company with a callback number. Honor every 'do not call' request, business or not.
47 CFR 64.1200(d) ↗Telemarketers must transmit a caller ID number that can be called back during business hours. Spoofing to defraud or cause harm is unlawful no matter who is called.
47 CFR 64.1601(e); 47 U.S.C. 227(e) ↗Autodialed or prerecorded calls to cell phones need prior express consent (written, for telemarketing), with no B2B exception. Live, manually dialed calls are outside this provision.
47 U.S.C. 227(b)(1)(A)(iii); 47 CFR 64.1200(a) ↗Vacated by the Eleventh Circuit on January 24, 2025, before it took effect, and not re-adopted. It only affected consent for autodialed or prerecorded calls.
2023 Order ↗Not legal advice. This page summarizes federal and state telemarketing rules for general information as of October 2026. It is not legal advice, may not reflect recent changes, and does not create an attorney-client relationship. Confirm requirements for your program with qualified counsel. Items marked "verify" come from industry summaries and still need statute confirmation.
Draft for legal review.
Let our sales floor run the calls while your team runs the meetings.