Calling Rules
What every call and text is checked against before it reaches somebody, and what RubyDoo Phone does about each rule for you. For reading, not changing.
A best-effort reading of federal and state law, checked
Sep 16, 2026. It has not been reviewed by a
lawyer and is not legal advice. Each entry lists its sources and how
confident the reading is.
What RubyDoo Phone handles for you
- State calling hours. Stricter state hours, Sundays and holidays are applied automatically, in the recipient's local time — see Calling hours.
- Opt-outs and your do-not-call list apply in every state.
Not automated yet: checking numbers against these state lists.
These states keep their own do-not-call list (or require something beyond the federal registry). They apply on top of the federal registry. Every other state uses the federal registry only. Exemption windows are counted from the inquiry or the last purchase; a window marked "not confirmed" is treated as no exemption.
| State | List | After an inquiry | After a purchase | Texts | Getting it | Notes | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama AL |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
low | |
| Alaska AK |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| Arizona AZ |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
The 10-year retention is a SAFE-HARBOR condition and is voice-worded; the text-side duty in § 44-1282 carries no retention period. The registration fee could not be pinned: § 44-1275 sets only a $500 cap and azsos.gov returns 403.
|
high |
| Arkansas AR |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| California CA |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
The largest state in the country, and the one most often read as merely 'strict'. Amended Stats. 2005 ch. 711.
|
high |
| Colorado CO |
Own list
Colorado No-Call List (Public Utilities Commission, via state vendor)
|
30 days
An inquiry exempts only for 30 days. |
18 months
An existing business relationship lasts 18 months. |
yes |
Download (ASCII or CSV) from the state vendor after registering.
Cost: $0–$500 per year depending on company size (2026).
Refresh: Quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct 10); each release must be in use by the end of that month.
|
The list is run by the PUC, not the AG, and 'including text messaging' entered the statute in 2003. Access is $0 to $500 a year on a sliding scale by headcount — free under 5 employees. Inquiry exemption is 30 days; purchase 18 months. The three-violations-a-month figure is an enforcement floor, not permission.
|
high |
| Connecticut CT |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Delaware DE |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
No state calling-hours rule in the current code, and no automated-call rule found.
|
medium |
| District of Columbia DC |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Florida FL |
Own list
Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS)
|
No time limit
Calls in response to the person's express request are exempt, with no time window. |
No time limit
A prior or existing business relationship exempts, with no time window. |
yes |
Portal purchase; ASCII file.
Cost: $30 per area code or $100 statewide per quarter ($120 / $400 a year) — unconfirmed.
Refresh: Quarterly.
|
Automated calls require prior express written consent.
§ 501.616 says 'phone calls' throughout and never mentions texts — unlike § 501.059, which expressly covers them. So Florida has NO statutory text-hours rule and no text frequency cap, and both readings have moved to the call columns. The 15-day STOP rule is genuinely text-only and stays.
|
high |
| Georgia GA |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| Hawaii HI |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| Idaho ID |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION to a widely repeated claim: Idaho has NO state calling-hours window. Several vendor pages assert one.
|
high |
| Illinois IL |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| Indiana IN |
Own list
Indiana Attorney General
|
Only for some callers
The federal-style relationship exemption (3-month inquiry) is available only to listed exempt groups, which include licensed insurance agents. |
Only for some callers
18-month relationship exemption, again only for the listed exempt groups. |
yes |
Registration with the Attorney General; list issued quarterly.
Cost: About $750 per year — unconfirmed.
Refresh: Quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct 1).
|
CORRECTIONS. text_hours said 'None for texts', which described no rule while rendering as one — the real rule is a 9am-8pm CALL curfew, now in call_hours. The $50 registration is worded 'telephone conversation' (§ 24-5-12-9) so it does not reach a texting-only sender; 'per year' could not be verified and § 24-5-12-8 is category-limited (prize, timeshare, office equipment, false identity) rather than a general telemarketer registration, so the field is cleared rather than left overstating.
|
high |
| Iowa IA |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION worth recording: Iowa's automated-dialing statute, § 476.57, was REPEALED (2018 Acts ch. 1160 § 32). Vendor summaries still cite it. Iowa adds nothing beyond the federal floor.
|
high |
| Kansas KS |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION: Kansas has NO state calling-hours window, contrary to several vendor summaries.
|
medium |
| Kentucky KY |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Louisiana LA |
Own list
Louisiana Public Service Commission
|
Not confirmed — treated as no exemption
The research did not find an inquiry exemption. |
6 months
An existing relationship, or one that lapsed within the last 6 months. |
unclear |
Registration; list delivered by email or CD.
Cost: $800–$1,700 registration, list included.
Refresh: Quarterly; must be applied by the first day of the next quarter.
|
SOURCING CORRECTION: the hours are not statutory. Nothing in R.S. 45:844.11-.15 sets them; they come from the LPSC General Order in Docket R-29617, a scanned PDF with no text layer. The 2012 amendment that would have added text messages was proposed and never enacted, so the text side remains unclear.
|
low |
| Maine ME |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Maryland MD |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
Maryland keeps NO state do-not-call registry. Enacted by SB 90, ch. 413, effective 2024-01-01 (the Stop the Spam Calls Act) — an earlier reading here cited HB 37, which is the wrong bill.
|
medium |
| Massachusetts MA |
Own list
Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR)
|
No time limit
Calls in response to the person's written or verbal request are exempt. |
24 months
An existing customer within the last 24 months. |
unclear |
Registration; list emailed.
Cost: $1,100 per year — unconfirmed.
Refresh: Quarterly.
|
Residential numbers only, and no established business relationship exemption at all. The list fee could not be confirmed — both primary texts delegate it to the Office.
|
medium |
| Michigan MI |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Minnesota MN |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Mississippi MS |
Federal list + state registration
Mississippi Attorney General
|
Not confirmed — treated as no exemption | Not confirmed — treated as no exemption | unclear |
No separate list since 2023-07-01: callers use the federal registry, refreshed monthly, and must register with the Attorney General, post a $75,000 bond and upload proof of their SAN.
Cost: Registration and $75,000 bond (not purchasable through this app).
Refresh: Federal list, at least monthly.
|
HB 1225 (2023) moved the regime to the AG and made the federal registry the list, pulled monthly. Exemption window 6 months — shorter than federal.
|
high |
| Missouri MO |
Own list
Missouri Attorney General
|
180 days
A business contact within the last 180 days exempts. |
180 days
A current business relationship, or contact within the last 180 days. |
yes |
Registration; list issued quarterly.
Cost: $50 per area code per quarter, or $1,200 per year for all six.
Refresh: Quarterly.
|
AG-run list, covering SMS and MMS since 2012. $50 per area code per quarter, roughly $1,200 a year statewide. Exemption window is 180 days — shorter than federal.
|
high |
| Montana MT |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Nebraska NE |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Nevada NV |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION: the hours were listed on the text side and described as 'an hour tighter than federal'. Both were wrong — NRS 598.0918(3) says 'by TELEPHONE at his or her RESIDENCE', and it is tighter at both ends, not one.
Sources (1) |
medium |
| New Hampshire NH |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| New Jersey NJ |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
medium | |
| New Mexico NM |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
New Mexico's Consumer No-Call Act was REPEALED in 2003, so there is no state registry despite what several vendor pages still claim.
|
high |
| New York NY |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION: the thirty-second rule was listed as something a TEXT owes. It cannot be — it is measured from the commencement of a call. It has moved to call_opt_out_rule, and the underlying do-not-call duty, which does reach texts, stays.
|
medium |
| North Carolina NC |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
SOURCING CORRECTION: an earlier note here said § 75-101 could not be read on a state server. That was wrong — ncleg.gov serves GS 75-100 through 75-105 in full, and the reading is now cited to it. HB 936, which would add prior express written consent, is in conference and NOT enacted.
|
high |
| North Dakota ND |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
Sources (1) |
high |
| Ohio OH |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
CORRECTION: OAC 109:4-3-11.1, cited by several vendor summaries as Ohio's automated-call rule, DOES NOT EXIST. Ohio has no ADAD rule and no state calling-hours window; the federal ones apply.
|
high |
| Oklahoma OK |
Own list
Oklahoma Attorney General
|
Not confirmed — treated as no exemption | 24 months
An established business relationship within the last 24 months. |
yes |
Registration; list issued quarterly.
Cost: $150 per quarter or $600 per year.
Refresh: Quarterly; 30 days to apply.
|
The AG registry has expressly covered texts since 2011, and §§ 775C.2-.3 name text messages — but § 775C.4, which carries the hours and the cap, says 'phone calls'. Those two now sit in call_hours and call_frequency where they belong. The earlier reading cited § 775A, which is the wrong section.
|
high |
| Oregon OR |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
HB 3865, in force 2026-01-01. oregon.public.law and FindLaw still serve the pre-HB 3865 text.
|
high |
| Pennsylvania PA |
Own list
Pennsylvania Attorney General (list distributed by ANA/IMS)
|
Not an exemption
Only existing customers are exempt; an inquiry is not listed. |
12 months
An existing customer within the last 12 months. |
from 2026-10-18 |
Purchase through IMS.
Cost: $595 per year (IMS).
Refresh: Quarterly; 30 days to apply.
|
From 2026-10-18 (SB 992): written consent required.
The hours were listed as binding a text; the definition covers 'a call' until Act 47 adds 'text message' on 2026-10-18, so they are a call rule until then.
|
high |
| Rhode Island RI |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| South Carolina SC |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
§ 16-17-445 was deleted in 2018, which is why § 16-17-446's cross-references dangle. Cite 446.
Sources (1) |
medium |
| South Dakota SD |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
South Dakota has NO automated-dialing statute at all — the constraint here is the hours and the registration, not the technology.
Sources (1) |
medium |
| Tennessee TN |
Own list
Tennessee Public Utility Commission (Do Not Call / Do Not Text register)
|
Not an exemption
Only existing customers are exempt; an inquiry is not listed. |
12 months
An existing customer within the last 12 months. |
yes |
Registration; list updated monthly.
Cost: $500 per year (July–June, due May 1).
Refresh: Monthly; 30 days to apply.
|
CORRECTION not previously flagged: § 65-4-411(b) caps solicitations made 'using an automated telephone dialing system to deliver ARTIFICIAL OR PRERECORDED VOICE messages'. It has no application to texts, so the cap has moved to the call side. The hours genuinely are call-or-text.
|
high |
| Texas TX |
Own list
Public Utility Commission of Texas (texasnocall.com)
|
Not confirmed — treated as no exemption | Not confirmed — treated as no exemption
An established business relationship is allowed; window not confirmed. |
yes |
Registration and purchase through texasnocall.com.
Cost: $200 per quarter on texasnocall.com, or $75 in a PUC FAQ — sources conflict.
Refresh: Quarterly (Jan, Apr, Jul, Oct 1); 60 days to apply.
|
CORRECTION. The earlier reading said 'None in Texas statute', which is false about the statute book: the curfew is in the UTILITIES code, not the Business & Commerce chapters where the rest of Texas telemarketing law sits. It binds an automated CALL, so the text side genuinely has no hours rule and that field is now cleared rather than left asserting a negative. § 304.152 is NOT a curfew — it is a caller-ID exception.
|
medium |
| Utah UT |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Vermont VT |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
high | |
| Virginia VA |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
Established business relationship 18 months, inquiry 3 months; both lose to an internal do-not-call request. National registry, version no older than 31 days.
|
high |
| Washington WA |
consent_law
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
No established business relationship and no inquiry exemption for texts at all.
|
high |
| West Virginia WV |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | — |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
§ 46A-6F-401 contains no automated-call language, despite being cited for it.
Sources (1) |
high |
| Wisconsin WI |
Federal list + state registration
None
|
— | — | yes |
None
Cost: None
Refresh: None
|
The statute reads 'telephone conversation or text message'.
|
medium |
| Wyoming WY |
Industry list, no state list
Wyoming Attorney General (list: ANA/DMA Telephone Preference Service)
|
Not confirmed — treated as no exemption | No time limit
An established business relationship, with no time limit in the statute. |
no |
No state-run list; the DMA Telephone Preference Service list through IMS. Notice must be filed with the Attorney General.
Cost: $565 per year (IMS).
Refresh: Quarterly.
|
CORRECTION: the hours, the 225-a-year cap and the registration were all listed as things a TEXT owes. All three are call-only on their face — the cap counts calls and the registration is triggered by making sales calls — and Wyoming's covers_texts is already 'no'. All three have moved to the call side and the text fields are cleared.
|
medium |
| No separate state list matches. That state uses the federal registry only. | |||||||