Curfew / Abandonment

Telemarketing Curfew or Calling Time Restrictions

Federal telemarketing rules prohibit telemarketers from calling consumers before 8 am or after 9 pm (local time of the individual being called). State telemarketing rules either adopt the federal standards, or are more restrictive. Many states prohibit telemarketing calls on Sundays or state and federal holidays. Some state telemarketing rules are also more restrictive of calls being made with an autodialer.

To find out about curfew and calling time restrictions in each State, please contact a qualified Telemarketing Rules Attorney.

Call Abandonment for Autodialers

The federal government, as well as several states, have telemarketing rules about the maximum abandonment rate of autodialed calls.  A call is considerd abandoned if the autodialer software does not promptly connect the consumer with a live phone agent when the consumer answers the phone.  The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act states: "No person or entity may abandon more than three percent of all telemarketing calls that are answered live by a person, as measured over a 30-day period for a single calling campaign." 

The FCC's rules issued pursuant to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act also require that whenever a live sales representative is not available to speak with the person answering the call, within two (2) seconds after the called person's completed greeting, the telemarketer or the seller must provide: (A) A prerecorded identification and opt-out message that is limited to disclosing that the call was for “telemarketing purposes” and states the name of the business, entity, or individual on whose behalf the call was placed, and a telephone number that permits the called person to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours. (B) An automated, interactive voice- and/or key press-activated opt-out mechanism that enables the called person to make a do-not-call request prior to terminating the call. Click here for additional information about autodialer law.

To find out about Call Abandonment requirements in each State or telemarketing compliance in general, please contact a qualified Telemarketing Rules Attorney.