Florida TCPA guide: federal law plus florida's own mini-TCPA

Last updated 2026-07-10

What is the Florida mini-TCPA and how is it different from the federal TCPA?

Florida is one of the hardest states in the country to run outbound calls into, and it's because of two laws stacked on top of each other. The federal TCPA, 47 U.S.C. 227, has been the baseline since 1991. It restricts autodialed calls, prerecorded messages, and texts to cell phones without prior express consent, and it caps statutory damages at $500 per violation ($1,500 for willful violations) ^[1]. Every state lives under that floor.

Florida built a second floor on top. In 2021 the legislature passed HB 5003, amending the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA), Fla. Stat. 501.059. That amendment is what practitioners call the Florida mini-TCPA, and it changes how you have to operate ^[2].

Three differences stand out. First, the FTSA covers calls made using an "automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers," which is broader than the FCC's definition of an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) under federal law. After the Supreme Court's 2021 Facebook v. Duguid ruling narrowed the federal ATDS definition, Florida's definition picked up most of the slack that ruling created ^[3]. Second, the FTSA reaches calls to any telephone number, not only cell phones, if the system automates selection or dialing. Third, the FTSA gives any recipient a private right of action for $500 per call or text, the same as the federal floor, without needing to show actual damages.

The practical result is blunt. A lot of calls that no longer trigger federal liability after Facebook v. Duguid still trigger Florida liability. If your dialer automates selection or dialing in any meaningful sense, the Florida statute likely applies.

What calls and texts does Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act actually cover?

The FTSA covers "telephonic sales calls," which it defines as calls or texts made to a Florida consumer to sell or lease goods or services, or to obtain a charitable contribution ^[2]. That definition is broad enough to pull in most outbound sales dialing.

The statute prohibits three things without prior express written consent:

1. Making or transmitting a telephonic sales call using an automated system for selection or dialing of telephone numbers. 2. Playing a recorded message when a connection is completed to a number called. 3. Sending a text message using an automated system.

Notice the phrase "prior express written consent." Florida requires written consent even for informational prerecorded calls in some cases, which is stricter than the federal rule that allows oral consent for certain non-telemarketing prerecorded calls ^[1][2].

The consent has to be for the specific seller. Florida courts have been skeptical of consent obtained through lead generators who later share or sell that consent to multiple downstream callers. If you buy leads and assume the consumer already agreed to hear from you by name, that assumption is risky in Florida.

One carve-out worth knowing: calls to a number the consumer initiated, or existing business relationships in some narrow circumstances, can provide a defense. Courts read those defenses narrowly. Don't treat them as a blanket pass.

What are the penalties for violating Florida's telephone solicitation law?

The FTSA gives a consumer $500 per violation for a negligent violation and up to $1,500 per violation if the violation was knowing and willful ^[2]. The statute also lets courts award attorneys' fees and costs to a prevailing plaintiff.

Those numbers look small in isolation. They turn catastrophic at scale. A single campaign that sends 50,000 texts without proper consent creates $25 million in potential statutory damages at $500 each. FTSA class actions are a real and growing category of litigation in Florida federal courts.

The state attorney general can also bring actions under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA), which adds a separate layer of enforcement exposure for repeat or egregious offenders ^[4].

The chart below shows how Florida's per-violation penalties compare to related federal and state thresholds, using real statutory figures.

Law	Per-violation penalty (base)	Per-violation penalty (willful)	Class actions allowed?
Federal TCPA (47 U.S.C. 227)	$500	$1,500	Yes
Florida FTSA (Fla. Stat. 501.059)	$500	$1,500	Yes
Florida FDUTPA (Fla. Stat. 501.211)	Actual damages	Discretionary	Yes
FCC forfeiture (FCC enforcement)	Up to $23,727 per violation	Higher for egregious cases	No (agency action)

For text message marketing campaigns specifically, every single text counts as a separate violation. A blast of 100,000 messages is 100,000 potential claims.

Did the 2023 FTSA amendment change anything for businesses?

Yes, and it matters. In May 2023, Florida amended the FTSA again (SB 1310) to narrow the definition of "automated system" and to add a one-on-one conversation exemption for texts ^[2]. The amendment was a direct response to an avalanche of class action suits that followed the 2021 changes.

The 2023 amendment clarified that a system is only covered if it automatically selects and dials telephone numbers without human intervention. If a human agent manually initiates each individual text or call, the statute does not apply. That mirrors the spirit of the federal post-Duguid landscape.

The amendment also created an exception for individual text messages sent in direct response to a consumer's inquiry. So if a consumer texts your business first and you respond, that response is not a telephonic sales call under the FTSA.

Here's the catch. "Human intervention" is already a contested fact in litigation. Plaintiffs' attorneys argue that if a CRM auto-populates a message and the agent just hits send, that is still automated. Defense attorneys argue the opposite. There is no Florida Supreme Court ruling settling this, so the answer depends on which federal district judge you land in front of.

If you are doing high-volume one-to-many texting in Florida, the 2023 amendment helps but does not eliminate your risk. One-to-one texting initiated by a live agent is the safest posture.

How does federal TCPA consent overlap with Florida consent requirements?

Federal TCPA consent for telemarketing calls to cell phones has to be prior express written consent, meaning a signed agreement (electronic signature counts) that clearly authorizes calls using an ATDS or prerecorded voice ^[1]. Florida's FTSA requires prior express written consent for telephonic sales calls made with an automated system or recorded message.

The requirements sound similar. Two differences create real traps.

First, Florida's written consent has to be obtained specifically for the soliciting entity. The federal rules have some flexibility here for commonly-owned entities. Florida does not.

Second, consent obtained through a lead aggregator or co-registration page must clearly disclose that the consumer may receive calls from the specific company calling them. Consent buried in a 500-word terms-of-service block will not hold up in a Florida court. The FCC's 2024 one-to-one consent rule (effective January 27, 2025) ^[5] independently requires that leads obtained through comparison shopping sites tie consent to a single named advertiser, which matches where Florida already was headed.

For teams using third-party leads, the safest practice is to require your lead vendor to hand over a copy of the exact consent language the consumer saw and agreed to, with a timestamp and IP address. If they cannot produce that, the lead is a liability in Florida.

Does Florida have its own Do Not Call list separate from the national DNC?

Florida does not maintain a separate state DNC registry. Floridians register with the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the FTC ^[6]. Florida law reinforces the national registry through its own statutes and through the FDUTPA, so calling a Florida number on the national DNC list can trigger both federal and state enforcement.

Florida also has a state-level "do not call" rule embedded in the FTSA itself: if a consumer orally requests during a call that the seller not call again, the seller must honor that request for at least one year ^[2]. Ignoring that oral request is a separate FTSA violation.

Telephone solicitors calling Florida residents must also register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) if they meet the definition of a "commercial telephone seller" under Florida Statute 501.601 ^[4]. That is a separate requirement from DNC compliance, and it carries its own penalties.

For teams wondering how to stop robocalls on the consumer side, the national registry and Florida's FTSA private right of action are the two main tools consumers use to push back.

What does Florida case law say about who can sue and for what?

Florida federal courts have seen a wave of FTSA class actions since the 2021 amendment. A few rulings are worth understanding.

In Drazen v. Pinto (11th Cir. 2022), the Eleventh Circuit addressed Article III standing for TCPA plaintiffs, holding that a plaintiff who receives a single unwanted text message has suffered a concrete injury sufficient to sue in federal court ^[7]. That ruling makes Florida one of the more plaintiff-friendly jurisdictions for TCPA-adjacent claims.

On the FTSA specifically, courts have generally found that the statute's private right of action does not require plaintiffs to opt out or send a prior demand letter before suing. They can file immediately. That asymmetry, where plaintiffs face no pre-suit hurdle but defendants face $500-per-text exposure, is why Florida draws so many plaintiff-side TCPA attorneys.

Class certification in FTSA cases has been contested but granted in several cases, particularly where defendants sent blast text campaigns using a common platform. Courts have found that common questions about the automated nature of the system predominate over individual issues.

If you want to see what these settlements look like at scale, the Credit One TCPA settlement and the Truist Bank TCPA class action settlement are instructive examples of how consent and dialing technology disputes resolve in practice. The UnitedHealthcare $2.5M TCPA settlement shows how quickly exposure piles up even for large compliance teams.

What specific compliance steps do Florida callers need to take right now?

Here is what actually matters if you are running outbound calls or texts into Florida.

Get written consent that names your company. Not a generic opt-in to "marketing partners," not a buried terms-of-service clause. A clear disclosure naming your business, what type of communications the consumer will receive, and their right to opt out. Electronic signatures on web forms work if they are properly logged with timestamp and IP.

Audit your dialing technology. If your platform automatically selects numbers from a list and initiates calls or texts without a live agent manually triggering each one, it likely qualifies as an automated system under the FTSA. Talk to your platform vendor about how they characterize the workflow. Get it in writing. If they cannot give you a straight answer, that is a red flag.

Scrub against the National DNC Registry every 31 days at minimum ^[6]. Honor oral and written do-not-call requests within the call itself. Log the time and agent for every DNC request.

Register with FDACS if you meet the commercial telephone seller definition under Florida Statute 501.601. The registration fee is relatively small. The penalty for skipping it is not ^[4].

Document your consent chain. For every lead, keep the consent record: date, time, IP address, the exact disclosure language the consumer saw, and the source. If you buy leads, contractually require the vendor to provide this. Spot-check a sample every month.

LeadCompliant's free TCPA compliance kit has consent-language templates and a dialing audit worksheet that you can use as a starting checklist while you build out your own process.

For text messaging marketing specifically, consider whether your Florida campaigns can move to a true one-to-one model where a live agent initiates each message. Slower, yes. But it removes the biggest single risk factor under the post-2023 FTSA.

How does the FCC's 2024 one-to-one consent rule affect Florida callers?

The FCC's December 2023 order (effective January 27, 2025) ^[5] requires that prior express written consent for telemarketing calls must be given to one seller at a time. A consumer who checks a box on a lead-gen comparison site consents only to the entity whose form they are filling out, not to every company that later buys that lead.

This is now federal rule, and it tracks what Florida courts had already been demanding under the FTSA for consent validity. So the federal rule did not add a new burden for Florida-focused teams. It made the rest of the country catch up to where Florida already was.

The FCC also clarified in that same order that consent must be "logically and topically related" to the website where it is obtained. A financial services lead cannot be sold to a home security company based on consent obtained on a mortgage comparison site. If your lead funnel crosses categories, each category needs its own consent.

For teams tracking ongoing regulatory developments, TCPA news covers FCC orders and court rulings as they happen.

What are the biggest mistakes Florida outbound teams make with TCPA compliance?

Assuming lead-gen consent transfers. It does not, not automatically, and especially not in Florida. Every lead you buy has a consent record attached to it. If that record does not name your company, it is not your consent.

Relying on the federal ATDS definition after Facebook v. Duguid. The Supreme Court narrowed the federal definition in 2021 ^[3], but Florida's definition in the FTSA did not narrow with it. Many teams relaxed their compliance posture for Florida after that ruling and got sued under state law instead.

Ignoring the 31-day DNC scrub window. The FTC requires sellers to access the National Registry data no more than 31 days before a call ^[6]. Longer gaps mean some numbers that registered after your last scrub slip through.

Not honoring oral do-not-call requests. If a consumer says "take me off your list" during a call, that request must be honored for at least one year under the FTSA. Failing to log and enforce it creates individual claims that are easy for plaintiffs to document.

Using prerecorded messages without clear written consent. Florida requires prior express written consent for prerecorded sales calls, period. There is no informational prerecorded-call exception that saves you if the call has any marketing content.

For reference on how costly these errors get at the settlement stage, look at the Albertsons/Safeway TCPA settlement and the Cash App TCPA class action settlement. Both show what happens when dialing programs scale before consent programs do.

Is there a statute of limitations for TCPA and FTSA claims in Florida?

The federal TCPA has a four-year statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. 1658, which federal courts have generally applied to TCPA private claims ^[8]. That means a plaintiff can sue up to four years after the offending call or text.

The FTSA does not specify its own limitations period explicitly. Florida courts apply either a four-year period under Florida Statute 95.11(3)(f) for statutory liability or a two-year period for some tort-based theories, depending on how the claim is framed. Plaintiffs' attorneys generally plead the longer period. Assume four years is the window you need to defend against.

Practically, this means your call records, consent records, and DNC scrub logs need to go back at least four years. If you cannot produce a consent record for a call made three years ago, you have no defense for that call.

Storage costs money. Litigation costs more. Build retention policies that cover at least 48 months of call detail records, consent logs, and DNC suppression lists.

What should small outbound teams do first to reduce Florida TCPA exposure?

If you are a team of five people running outbound sales into Florida and you do not have a compliance attorney on retainer, here is where to focus your limited time and money.

First, get your consent language audited. This is the single highest-leverage thing you can do. One good attorney review of your web form, your SMS opt-in flow, and your lead purchase contracts costs a few hundred to a few thousand dollars. A class action settlement costs multiples of that per plaintiff.

Second, understand exactly what your dialing or texting platform does. Schedule a call with your vendor's technical support. Ask them: does the platform automatically select numbers from a list and initiate the call or text, or does a human have to manually trigger each one? If they say "automated," you need written consent in Florida.

Third, build a DNC suppression process that runs on a calendar. Set a recurring task every 30 days to download a fresh suppression list and upload it to your CRM. Do not let the scrub date slip.

Fourth, log everything. Call timestamps, agent IDs, consent records, DNC requests. Logs are your only defense in litigation. Without them, a plaintiff's affidavit that they received an unwanted call is often enough to survive summary judgment.

LeadCompliant's free TCPA phone number checker and compliance kit can help you verify numbers against federal DNC data and build out a basic consent documentation workflow while you get your formal compliance program in place. Use it as a starting point, not a finish line.

For teams worried about how other states layer additional requirements, the same principles that apply in Florida often show up in other state mini-TCPA laws. Getting Florida right tends to make multi-state compliance easier, not harder.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Florida TCPA apply to B2B calls?

The FTSA covers calls to "consumers," which Florida defines broadly. Calls to individual employees at their cell phones are generally covered. Calls to a business landline that reach only a dedicated business line are less clearly covered, but courts have not drawn a bright line. If you are calling cell phones that also happen to be used for business, treat those as consumer numbers and get written consent.

Can I rely on a consumer's existing business relationship to call them in Florida without written consent?

Only in limited circumstances. The FTSA has a narrow exception for calls relating to a prior purchase or transaction, but it does not cover general marketing to past customers the way the federal EBR exemption once did. Assume you need fresh written consent for any promotional or sales call, even to prior customers, unless your attorney has reviewed the specific facts of your relationship.

What counts as "prior express written consent" under the Florida mini-TCPA?

A written agreement, including electronic, that clearly authorizes the specific seller to make automated or prerecorded sales calls or send automated texts. It must be signed by the consumer, include the specific telephone number being authorized, and name your company. A checkbox buried in terms of service that does not specifically mention your company is almost certainly not enough.

Does Florida have its own DNC registry separate from the federal list?

No. Florida consumers register with the National Do Not Call Registry run by the FTC. Florida law reinforces the national registry through the FTSA and FDUTPA, so a call to a Florida number on the national DNC list can trigger both federal and state consequences. Sellers must scrub against the national registry and honor Florida-specific oral do-not-call requests.

What is the penalty for a single unsolicited text message to a Florida resident?

Under the FTSA, a single unsolicited automated text is a $500 statutory violation. If the sender knew the text violated the law, a court can award up to $1,500 per text. Because plaintiffs can bring class actions, a single campaign blast can aggregate into millions of dollars in potential liability from one filing.

Did Facebook v. Duguid eliminate TCPA risk for Florida callers?

No. The Supreme Court's 2021 ruling narrowed the federal ATDS definition, but Florida's FTSA uses its own definition of "automated system," which is broader than the post-Duguid federal definition. Many dialing setups that no longer qualify as an ATDS under federal law still qualify as an automated system under Florida law. Florida plaintiffs simply sue under the FTSA instead of the federal TCPA.

Does the Florida mini-TCPA cover ringless voicemail drops?

This is unsettled, but the risk is real. Ringless voicemail drops that play a prerecorded message when delivered may fall under the FTSA's prohibition on prerecorded messages used in telephonic sales calls. Courts have not uniformly resolved this, and the FCC has not issued definitive guidance specifically on ringless voicemail under Florida law. Treat drops as a high-risk activity until courts provide clarity.

How long do I need to keep consent records for Florida calls and texts?

Florida courts apply what is effectively a four-year window for FTSA and TCPA claims. Keep consent records, call logs, DNC suppression lists, and opt-out records for at least 48 months. Without a retrievable consent record, you have no practical defense if a plaintiff claims they never agreed to your calls, because the burden of proving consent typically falls on the caller.

What is the commercial telephone seller registration requirement in Florida?

Under Florida Statute 501.601, businesses that make telephone solicitation calls in Florida and meet certain volume or business thresholds must register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Failure to register is a separate violation from any consent or DNC failure. Check the FDACS website to see whether your call volume and business type trigger registration.

Does the 2023 FTSA amendment make Florida compliance easier?

Somewhat. The 2023 SB 1310 amendment added clarity that only systems operating without human intervention are covered, and it carved out individual responsive texts. But "human intervention" is already being litigated, and courts differ on how much agent involvement is enough. The amendment reduced but did not eliminate class action risk for high-volume text campaigns.

Can a Florida consumer sue me even if they only received one call or text?

Yes. The FTSA gives a private right of action for any single violation. The Eleventh Circuit confirmed in Drazen v. Pinto (2022) that receiving even one unwanted text message is a concrete injury supporting federal court standing. There is no minimum-harm threshold, which is why Florida consistently generates disproportionate TCPA and FTSA litigation volume.

What happens if I am already in a TCPA lawsuit involving Florida contacts?

You need a TCPA defense attorney immediately. Do not speak to the plaintiff or their counsel directly. Preserve all records: call logs, consent documentation, DNC scrub logs, dialing platform configurations. Do not delete anything once litigation is anticipated. Courts impose severe sanctions for spoliation of electronic records in TCPA cases, and those sanctions can exceed the underlying statutory damages.

Sources

1. Cornell LII, 47 U.S.C. 227 (TCPA statute text): Federal TCPA statutory damages are $500 per violation and up to $1,500 for willful violations
2. Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. 501.059 (Florida Telephone Solicitation Act): FTSA prohibits automated telephonic sales calls without prior express written consent and imposes $500 per-violation private right of action
3. U.S. Supreme Court, Facebook Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021): Supreme Court narrowed the federal ATDS definition in 2021, which did not narrow Florida's broader FTSA automated system definition
4. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Telemarketing: Florida commercial telephone sellers must register with FDACS under Fla. Stat. 501.601; FDUTPA provides additional state enforcement authority
5. FTC, National Do Not Call Registry: Sellers must access National Do Not Call Registry data no more than 31 days before a call under FTC rules
6. U.S. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit, Drazen v. Pinto, No. 21-10199 (2022): Eleventh Circuit held in Drazen v. Pinto (2022) that receiving a single unwanted text message is a concrete injury supporting Article III standing
7. Cornell LII, 28 U.S.C. 1658 (four-year federal statute of limitations): Federal courts apply the four-year catch-all limitations period under 28 U.S.C. 1658 to TCPA private claims
8. FTC, Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR Part 310: Telemarketing Sales Rule governs interstate telemarketing and operates alongside TCPA and state laws for Florida calls
9. Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. Chapter 501 (Commercial Telephone Solicitation Act, 501.601-501.626): Florida Statute 501.601 requires commercial telephone sellers meeting certain thresholds to register with FDACS