Florida telemarketing law is built from two state statutes that operate together: the Florida Telemarketing Act, which requires sellers to be licensed and to post at least $50,000 in financial security before making a call, and the Telephonic Sales Law at Section 501.059, which controls calling hours, disclosures, automated dialing, texts, the state Do Not Call list, and consumer lawsuits. Federal telemarketing rules apply on top of both. If a telemarketer violates the state calling rules, you can sue for $500 per call or text, or up to $1,500 if the conduct was willful, plus attorney’s fees.
The Two Statutes That Govern Telemarketing in Florida
People often talk about “the” Florida telemarketing law, but there are two. The Florida Telemarketing Act sits in Chapter 501, Part IV and covers who is allowed to make sales calls in the state at all. The Telephonic Sales Law at Section 501.059 covers how those calls have to be conducted once someone is allowed to make them.1Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. What Is the Difference Between the Telephonic Sales Law and the Florida Telemarketing Act A telemarketing operation in Florida has to follow both, and being exempt from one does not excuse the other.
Licensing and the $50,000 Financial Security Requirement
Under the Florida Telemarketing Act, no one may operate as a commercial telephone seller or salesperson without a license from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).2Legal Information Institute. Florida Administrative Code R. 5J-6.005 – Licensing Requirement, Commercial Telephone Seller, Salesperson, Substance Abuse Marketing Service Provider The business itself needs a license, and every individual salesperson needs their own. The business license runs $1,500 per year; a salesperson license is $50 per year. Before any solicitation goes out, the business must also post at least $50,000 in financial security, which can be a surety bond, a certificate of deposit, or a letter of credit.3Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Telemarketing
Several categories of caller are exempt from the licensing rule. The most common are properly registered 501(c)(3) or (c)(6) religious, charitable, political, or educational organizations; supervised financial institutions and their affiliates; licensed insurance brokers, agents, and solicitors acting within the scope of their license; licensed securities brokers, dealers, and investment advisers; licensed real estate professionals under Chapter 475; and newspaper publishers soliciting subscriptions. The statute contains additional narrow categories as well.4Justia Law. Florida Code 501.604 – Exemptions A licensing exemption does not remove the obligation to follow the calling-practice rules in Section 501.059.
When and How a Telemarketer May Contact You
Calls and text messages are allowed only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. in the recipient’s local time zone.5Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. What Hours Can a Telemarketer Call or Text A telemarketer may not call the same person more than three times within any 24-hour period about the same subject, and that limit applies even if the calls come from different numbers.
When a live call connects, the caller has to identify themselves right away by their true first and last name and the name of the business they represent. If you ask to end the call, they have to hang up promptly.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation
Caller ID and Spoofing
Every telemarketing call has to transmit the originating phone number, along with the caller’s name if the carrier supports that. The law does allow the display to show the name and customer service number of the company the caller represents instead, but the number shown has to actually work and connect a return call back to the telemarketer or seller.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation Deliberately altering a caller’s voice to disguise their identity is separately illegal when the purpose is to defraud, confuse, or financially injure the recipient, or to pull personal information for fraudulent use.
The Florida Area Code Presumption
Florida law creates a rebuttable presumption that a call or text sent to a Florida area code reaches a Florida resident, or someone physically in Florida when the call was made.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation A company cannot dodge the statute by saying it did not know the number belonged to a Florida consumer. Dial a 305, 407, or any other Florida area code, and the state assumes you reached someone the law protects unless you prove otherwise.
Consent Rules for Automated Calls and Texts
Any unsolicited sales call that uses an automated dialing system, plays a recorded message, or sends a text requires prior express written consent from the recipient.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation Florida’s definition of an automated system is broader than the federal one. Under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act, an autodialer has to use a random or sequential number generator. Under Florida law, any system that selects and dials numbers counts, even one that just works through a pre-loaded contact list.
The written consent agreement has to meet four requirements. It must be signed by the recipient, though an electronic signature, a checked consent box, or an affirmative response to a text or email solicitation is enough. It must clearly authorize calls, texts, or voicemails delivered by automated systems or recorded messages. It must list the specific phone number the consent covers. And it must tell the consumer that giving consent is voluntary and not a condition of buying anything. These rules sit in Section 501.059(1)(g) and apply the same way to voice calls, texts, and prerecorded voicemails.
Texts and the STOP Requirement
Florida’s definition of a “telephonic sales call” includes text messages, so every calling-hours rule, consent requirement, and Do Not Call obligation carries over to marketing texts. Before you can sue over unwanted marketing texts, though, the statute requires you to reply “STOP” to the sending number first. Once the business receives that reply, it has 15 days to stop texting you, and it may send one final message confirming the opt-out. Only if texts keep coming after that 15-day window can you bring a damages action.6Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation This pre-suit step applies specifically to text claims; it does not appear to apply to unwanted voice calls or voicemails.
The Florida Do Not Call List
Florida runs its own Do Not Call list separate from the federal registry. You can add a residential, mobile, or paging number at no cost, and the registration stays active indefinitely.8Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Florida Do Not Call Telemarketers operating in the state have to scrub their calling lists against both the Florida list and the federal one.9Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Florida Do Not Call
Not every call to a listed number is a violation. Under Section 501.059(1)(k), a call does not count as unsolicited if you expressly asked for it, if it relates to an existing debt or a contract that has not been fully performed, if the telemarketer has a prior or existing business relationship with you, or if it comes from a newspaper publisher in connection with the publisher’s business.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation
Federal Law Applies on Top of State Law
Florida’s rules do not replace federal telemarketing law; they stack on it. A business calling Florida consumers has to comply with the federal TCPA and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule as well as both Florida statutes.10Federal Trade Commission. Telemarketing Sales Rule The TCPA carries its own private right of action at $500 per violation, which a court may treble to $1,500 for willful violations.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Those federal damages are separate from Florida’s, so a single illegal call can create liability under both.
In several places Florida is stricter than federal law. The state’s autodialer definition is broader, its written consent requirements are more specific, and its calling-hours window and three-call frequency limit apply regardless of what federal rules say. A telemarketer that meets the TCPA can still be violating Florida law.
Penalties and Your Right to Sue
FDACS and the Florida Attorney General share enforcement authority over the Telephonic Sales Law. Either can bring a civil action for penalties and an injunction, and the civil penalty can reach $10,000 per violation.12Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. What Are the Penalties for a Do Not Call Violation FDACS can also impose administrative fines as an alternative to going to court.
You do not have to wait for a state agency to act. Anyone harmed by a violation of Section 501.059 can file a private lawsuit for an injunction, damages, or both. For each violation you can recover your actual monetary loss or $500 in statutory damages, whichever is greater. If the court finds the telemarketer acted willfully or knowingly, it can increase the award up to three times that amount, so up to $1,500 per violation.7The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation
Those numbers add up fast. A campaign that sends 500 unsolicited marketing texts without valid consent carries $250,000 in potential statutory damages at the base rate, or $750,000 if the conduct was willful, and the federal TCPA can layer another $500 per violation on top. Successful plaintiffs under the state law also recover reasonable attorney’s fees and costs, which is what makes these cases practical to bring in the first place.