Florida Telephone Solicitation Act requirements checklist

Last updated 2026-07-11

What is the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act and who does it cover?

The Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) lives at Florida Statutes § 501.059. ^[1] It predates the federal TCPA and has been amended several times, most heavily in 2021 and again in 2023. Think of it as Florida's own TCPA. In some ways it's stricter. In others, the 2023 fix walked back language that had triggered a flood of class actions.

The law reaches any person or entity making a "telephonic sales call," which Florida defines as a call or text to a consumer to solicit a sale of consumer goods or services, to solicit an extension of credit for them, or to gather information that may later be used to solicit a sale. ^[1] That definition is wide. If you sell anything to Florida residents, you're almost certainly in scope.

Where your company sits doesn't matter. A sales team in Austin dialing into Florida still follows Florida's rules. A SaaS company blasting promotional SMS to Florida numbers falls under it too. The consumer's location decides, not the caller's.

One carve-out worth knowing: a call to a business's main line for a genuine B2B sale draws less scrutiny than a B2C call. The FTSA's sharpest teeth aim at consumer solicitations. Plenty of plaintiffs have argued that a work cell phone is a personal device, though, so don't treat B2B as a free pass.

How does the FTSA compare to the federal TCPA?

The TCPA (47 U.S.C. § 227) is the federal floor. It caps statutory damages at $500 per violation, or $1,500 for willful ones, and requires prior express written consent for autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to cell phones. ^[2] The FTSA stacks on top.

Here is where the two laws split hardest:

Requirement	Federal TCPA	Florida FTSA
Consent standard (autodial/robocall)	Prior express written consent	Prior express written consent (post-2023 amendment)
Statutory damages per violation	$500, $1,500	$500, $10,000
State DNC list	No (federal DNC only)	Yes, Florida has its own list
Mandatory call-hour limits	8 a.m., 9 p.m. consumer's local time	8 a.m., 9 p.m. (same, codified in state law)
Caller ID disclosure	Required	Required, plus specific ID elements
Private right of action	Yes	Yes, class actions allowed
Grace period after consent revocation	No specific period	Must honor "as soon as practicable"

The $10,000 ceiling per violation is the number that keeps defense counsel up at night. A campaign that fires 10,000 texts without proper consent could theoretically expose a company to $100 million under the FTSA alone, before you touch federal TCPA exposure. Real settlements rarely hit those ceilings. They don't have to, for the math to hurt.

The 2021 version of the FTSA briefly used the phrase "automated system" in a way courts read more broadly than the TCPA's "automatic telephone dialing system" (ATDS). That opened a wave of Florida-specific suits against companies that never thought they ran an autodialer. The 2023 amendment (SB 1418) pulled the definition back toward the TCPA standard, but suits from the 2021 to 2023 window are still grinding through the courts. ^[3]

What disclosures are required on every Florida telemarketing call?

Section 501.059 requires every telephone solicitor to state specific things at the start of a call, promptly and clearly. ^[1] This isn't optional, and you can't bury it in a recording at the end. State your name, the business you're calling for, a phone number or address for that business, and that the call is a sales call.

Required disclosures at the start of the call:

1. The solicitor's name. 2. The name of the organization or business the solicitation is being made for. 3. The telephone number or address of the organization. 4. That the purpose of the call is to sell goods or services (when that's the case).

For text campaigns, the disclosure requirements land on the first message in a sequence. Your first text has to make clear who's sending it and give the consumer a way to reach you or opt out. The FCC's parallel TCPA rules also require prerecorded messages to identify the business and provide a contact number. ^[2]

Scripts often bury the company name after a long opener. Florida law says "promptly." Courts and the Florida Attorney General haven't published a precise second-count, but the AG's enforcement history suggests anything past the first five to ten seconds is risky. Keep the ID at the very top.

Don't call from a number that can't take return calls. The FTSA requires the number you give to be one consumers can actually ring back. A dead-end VOIP number or a spoofed caller ID is a separate violation.

What consent is required before using an autodialer or sending a robocall in Florida?

This is where most companies stumble. After its 2023 amendment, the FTSA requires "prior express written consent" before autodialed calls or automated texts go to Florida consumers. ^[1] "Written" here includes electronic records, so a checkbox on a web form counts, but only if it clears a few bars.

Valid prior express written consent under the FTSA (and the TCPA) has to:

• Be signed by the consumer (e-signature is fine under the E-SIGN Act).
• Be clear and conspicuous, so the consent language can't hide inside a 40-page privacy policy.
• Name the specific company making the call, more than a generic third party.
• Disclose that the consumer agrees to autodialed or prerecorded calls or texts.
• Not be a condition of buying anything.

The FCC's 2012 TCPA order set out these elements, and Florida courts apply them straight to FTSA cases. ^[4] The 2024 FCC one-to-one consent rule, which would have required consent to name the specific seller rather than a category, was vacated by the 11th Circuit in January 2025 (which covers Florida), so that rule isn't in effect right now. ^[5] That doesn't mean sloppy consent forms are safe. It just means the lead-generation practice of one consent producing 20 different callers isn't facing that particular federal rule at the moment.

If you buy leads, the consent attached to them has to name your company specifically, or you're exposed. This is one of the most common gaps in outbound operations. The do not call list scrubbing problem is fixable with a vendor. The consent-chain problem is trickier, because it means auditing every lead source you touch.

What are the Florida telemarketing calling hour restrictions?

Florida Statutes § 501.059 bars telephone solicitation calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the consumer's time zone. ^[1] That mirrors the federal TCPA's time-of-day rule. For a Florida consumer, that means Eastern Time.

Florida runs on Eastern Standard Time in winter and Eastern Daylight Time in summer. A 2018 law tried to lock Florida on permanent daylight time, but it hasn't taken effect because Congress hasn't acted on uniform daylight saving rules. Set your dialer to the consumer's phone area code time zone, not your office clock.

Calling at 8:00 a.m. sharp is legal. Calling at 7:59 a.m. is a violation. Autodialers that queue calls the night before and start firing at midnight your time, while it's still the middle of the night in Florida, are a common source of the violations that show up in FTSA suits.

Sunday calling is allowed under the FTSA as long as you stay inside the 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window. There's no Florida day-of-week restriction. Some industry codes voluntarily skip Sunday mornings, but that's a courtesy, not the law.

Does the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act have its own Do Not Call list?

Yes. Florida runs its own Do Not Call list through the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). ^[6] Telemarketers must scrub against the Florida list before calling. Scrubbing only the federal National Do Not Call Registry does not satisfy Florida law.

Florida residents register for the state list at no cost through FDACS. The department makes the list data available to telemarketers by subscription, and you run your scrubs against it before each campaign.

The federal National DNC Registry, run by the FTC, is a separate list. ^[7] A consumer can sit on one, both, or neither. You have to check both. For the mechanics of pulling that data, the federal list comes through the FTC's telemarketer subscription portal and the Florida list comes through FDACS, which is worth knowing before you plan a campaign around how to get the do not call list data.

Calling someone on either list without an exemption (an established business relationship, a prior express invitation, or a personal relationship) is a violation. Florida also exempts political calls, charitable solicitations, and survey calls, but none of those cover commercial sales calls.

Scrub frequency matters. The FTC requires scrubbing against the federal list no more than 31 days before a call. Florida doesn't fix an exact interval in the statute, but quarterly scrubs are the rough industry floor, and monthly scrubs are safer. If your calling list sits in a spreadsheet somebody scrubs once a year, you have a problem.

What is the FTSA's do-not-call request rule and how fast do you have to honor it?

When a consumer tells you during a call not to call again, honor it as soon as practicable and keep a company-specific do-not-call list. ^[1] The FTSA tracks the federal TCPA here: the internal DNC list has to be updated and the number honored within 30 days of the request under the TCPA framework, and Florida courts apply a similar standard. ^[2]

A consumer saying "take me off your list" out loud counts. A consumer texting "STOP" counts. You cannot force a consumer to submit a written request or fill out a form to get removed.

If you run multiple vendors or platforms, the opt-out has to spread across all of them. Here's the failure pattern that sinks companies: a consumer opts out on a call handled by Vendor A, but Vendor B, running a parallel text campaign for the same company, never gets the update. That's a separate violation.

For text opt-outs, the CTIA guidelines and FCC rules require that a STOP response produce one confirmation message and nothing after. ^[8] The FTSA doesn't set a different standard for texts than federal rules already do. But the $10,000 per-violation ceiling makes a botched text opt-out far more expensive under the FTSA than under the TCPA alone.

If you run cold calling campaigns at scale, your CRM or dialer needs a dedicated suppression list checked before every dial and every text send. This is not a nice-to-have.

What are the FTSA penalties and how does the private right of action work?

The FTSA hands consumers a private right of action. A consumer who gets a call or text that breaks the FTSA can sue in Florida state court without going through the Attorney General or filing an agency complaint first. ^[1] That's the same structure as the TCPA, and it's exactly why both laws attract plaintiff's attorneys.

Statutory damages under the FTSA:

• Minimum $500 per violation.
• Up to $10,000 per violation if the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly broke the act.

The TCPA, by comparison, caps willful violations at $1,500 per call. ^[2] Florida's $10,000 ceiling is roughly 6.7 times higher.

Class actions are expressly allowed. A single plaintiff can represent every Florida consumer who got similar calls or texts. Send 50,000 non-compliant texts and each one is a potential separate violation. Class settlements in TCPA cases, the closest analogs, have run from a few hundred thousand dollars into the hundreds of millions. The cash app tcpa class action settlement shows how fast these numbers scale.

The Florida Attorney General can also bring enforcement actions and seek civil penalties under Fla. Stat. § 501.2075. ^[9] The AG has historically gone harder at egregious mass-caller operations than at one-off complaints.

One thing that catches defendants off guard: Florida courts can award actual damages on top of statutory damages when real harm is proven. Statutory damages are a floor, not a substitute for compensatory ones.

For a picture of what federal TCPA litigation looks like at settlement, the credit one tcpa settlement is a useful reference. FTSA suits follow a similar procedural arc.

What special rules apply to FTSA compliance for text message marketing?

Text messages are telephone solicitations under the FTSA when they go out for commercial sales. ^[1] The law has no separate SMS chapter. It applies the same framework to calls and texts. The practical compliance issues for texts differ enough, though, to deserve their own treatment.

For text message marketing to Florida consumers, you need:

1. Prior express written consent, taken before the first message, that names your company and describes the messages the consumer will get. 2. A clear opt-out in every message (usually "Reply STOP to unsubscribe"). 3. Immediate honoring of STOP requests, with one confirmation reply and nothing after. 4. Identification of your business in the first message of any campaign. 5. Calls and texts only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. ET.

The CTIA's messaging guidelines aren't law, but carriers and courts treat them as the industry standard. ^[8] A campaign that follows CTIA guidelines meets most FTSA text requirements. A campaign that ignores them has a hard time arguing good faith in court.

One nuance on the mobile phone do not call list question: cell phones on the national DNC registry are protected from unsolicited telemarketing calls. That same number, if you hold valid prior express written consent, can still get your texts. But if it's on the DNC list and you have no consent, you can't text it either. Consent is what opens the door to a DNC-registered mobile number, no matter which channel you pick.

Short code campaigns, 10DLC (10-digit long code) campaigns, and toll-free number campaigns each carry slightly different technical registration requirements from the carriers. The legal consent and disclosure requirements under the FTSA stay the same across every sending format.

What exemptions and safe harbors exist under the FTSA?

Not every call to a Florida resident triggers FTSA obligations. The law has several exemptions, and knowing them can cut your actual compliance burden, more than your nerves.

Exemptions from the FTSA's telephone solicitation requirements:

• Calls to consumers with whom the caller has an established business relationship (generally a prior purchase, transaction, or inquiry within a set period, though Florida's statute doesn't specify an exact lookback the way the FTC's rule does).
• Calls made in response to the consumer's express request.
• Calls not made for a commercial purpose.
• Calls by or on behalf of a tax-exempt nonprofit organization.
• Calls covered by separate state or federal law (certain financial disclosures, for example).

The established business relationship (EBR) exemption gets misapplied constantly. It does not mean you can call someone forever because they bought once. The FTC's national DNC rules define an EBR as 18 months from the last purchase and 3 months from an inquiry. ^[7] Florida doesn't codify those exact numbers in the FTSA, but stretching past the federal window invites trouble if you're also subject to the national DNC.

There's no safe harbor for callers who claim they didn't know a consumer was in Florida. A Florida area code puts you on notice. If the area code isn't Florida but the consumer is physically there with a ported number, the exposure is murkier, though courts in analogous TCPA cases have leaned toward the consumer's physical location mattering more than the area code.

Good-faith reliance on a third party's consent records can reduce liability, but it doesn't erase it. Contractually require your lead vendors to warrant that consent was properly obtained and documented. Get it in writing.

How do you build a practical FTSA compliance checklist for your team?

Here's the checklist, organized by when in the campaign each step happens. This isn't legal advice, but it's what a reasonable compliance program looks like in the field.

Before any campaign launches:

• [ ] Confirm every Florida contact record has documented prior express written consent, with timestamps and the exact consent language used.
• [ ] Scrub against the Florida FDACS DNC list (subscribe through FDACS). ^[6]
• [ ] Scrub against the national FTC DNC Registry. ^[7]
• [ ] Scrub against your company's internal suppression list.
• [ ] Verify your dialer or texting platform suppresses contacts before 8 a.m. ET and after 9 p.m. ET.
• [ ] Confirm caller ID shows a number that can receive return calls.
• [ ] Review scripts so the solicitor's name, the company name, and a contact number appear at the start of every call.

During the campaign:

• [ ] Log opt-out requests in real time and push them to every platform within the session.
• [ ] Never call a number that requested removal, even if a different vendor has it on a separate list.
• [ ] For texts, send one confirmation reply to a STOP request and queue nothing else.

After the campaign:

• [ ] Update the internal suppression list with every opt-out received.
• [ ] Retain consent records and call logs at least 4 years (the TCPA statute of limitations is 4 years under 28 U.S.C. § 1658, and Florida uses a 4-year consumer protection limitation). ^[10]
• [ ] Re-scrub before any re-engagement campaign. Don't assume a list scrubbed 6 months ago is still clean.

One more registration step people miss: Florida requires telephone solicitors to register with FDACS before conducting solicitations under Fla. Stat. § 501.616, separate from the call-conduct rules in § 501.059. ^[12]

LeadCompliant's free compliance kit includes pre-built scrub workflow templates and a consent documentation checklist you can hand to your lead vendors, which saves time on the audit step.

Auditing an existing program instead of building fresh? Check three things first: consent documentation for purchased leads, opt-out propagation across platforms, and DNC scrub recency. Those three drive most FTSA class-action theories.

What should you do if you receive an FTSA demand letter or lawsuit?

If a plaintiff's attorney sends a demand letter citing the FTSA, treat it as serious the day it lands. These letters are usually the first step before a class-action complaint. The attorney is testing whether you'll settle fast or make them file.

First steps:

1. Don't ignore it. The urge to hope it goes away is human and expensive. 2. Preserve everything: calling logs, consent documentation, DNC scrub records, text records, opt-out logs. Destroying records after a demand is a separate legal problem. 3. Get a telecom or privacy attorney involved right away. FTSA class actions move quickly, and early missteps can close off settlement options. 4. Size the exposure: how many calls or texts to Florida numbers, what consent documentation exists, when the last DNC scrub ran.

Settlement is common. Because damages are per-violation and class actions are allowed, the theoretical exposure in even a mid-sized campaign quickly outruns what most small businesses can pay, which is precisely why plaintiffs' firms file these cases. Settling before class certification is almost always cheaper than litigating.

Solid documentation is a real defense. Timestamped consent records and DNC scrub logs have gotten FTSA cases dismissed where defendants produced clear evidence of valid consent. Gaps in the documentation weaken your position fast.

Don't try to handle an FTSA demand letter with a template you found online. Florida court practices and the procedural rules here are specific enough that generic advice tends to hurt more than help.

Frequently asked questions

Does the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act apply to B2B calls?

The FTSA focuses on consumer solicitations, and calls to a business's main line for a genuine B2B purpose generally carry lower risk. But if the person you reach is a consumer who happens to work at a business, or if the call hits a personal cell phone, the FTSA's protections can still apply. Courts have not uniformly excluded all B2B calls, so treat business cell numbers with caution.

How is the Florida FTSA different from the TCPA?

The FTSA adds a Florida-specific DNC list requirement, raises maximum statutory damages from $1,500 (TCPA willful) to $10,000 per violation, and historically used a broader autodialer definition than federal law. The 2023 amendment narrowed that definition closer to the TCPA standard. Both laws allow private class-action lawsuits and require prior express written consent for autodialed calls and texts.

What counts as prior express written consent under the Florida FTSA?

A signed, clear disclosure that names the calling company and describes the type of calls or texts the consumer will receive. Electronic consent through a web form checkbox counts if it meets those standards. The consent cannot hide in a privacy policy or be a condition of purchase. The FCC's 2012 TCPA order set out these elements, and Florida courts apply them in FTSA cases.

Can I call Florida cell phone numbers if they're on the national Do Not Call list?

No, not for commercial telemarketing without a valid exemption such as an established business relationship or prior express invitation. Scrub against both the national FTC DNC Registry and the Florida FDACS state DNC list before calling. Being on the national list alone is enough to block a call, even when the number is not on the Florida state list.

How long do I have to honor a do-not-call request under the FTSA?

You must honor the request as soon as practicable. Federal TCPA rules set a 30-day outer limit for updating internal DNC lists, and Florida courts apply a similar standard. For text STOP requests, the FCC requires no further messages after that response, with one confirmation reply permitted. Propagate opt-outs to every platform you run, not only the one that received the request.

What is the Florida FDACS Do Not Call list and how do I access it?

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) maintains a state-level Do Not Call list separate from the federal FTC registry. Florida consumers register at no cost. Telemarketers must subscribe through FDACS to get the list data for scrubbing. Calling a number on this list without a valid exemption violates the FTSA, whether or not the federal DNC requirement is met.

Are text messages covered by the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act?

Yes. The FTSA applies to texts sent for commercial solicitation. The same consent, disclosure, opt-out, and calling-hour requirements that govern voice calls govern texts. You need prior express written consent before sending automated texts, you must identify your business in the first message, and you must honor STOP requests immediately. Statutory penalties up to $10,000 per text apply to violations.

Can a consumer sue me directly under the FTSA, or do they have to file a complaint first?

A consumer can sue you directly in Florida state court without filing a complaint with any agency first. The FTSA provides a private right of action, the same structure as the TCPA. Plaintiff's attorneys frequently bring these suits on behalf of a class, so a single lawsuit can represent thousands of affected consumers. There is no administrative exhaustion requirement before filing.

How often do I need to scrub my calling list against the Florida DNC list?

The FTSA does not specify an exact interval, but the federal TCPA rule requires the national DNC list to be no more than 31 days old at the time of a call. Applying that same standard to the Florida list is the safest approach. Monthly scrubs are a reasonable minimum for active campaigns. A list scrubbed once at launch and never updated is a gap plaintiff attorneys look for.

Does the FTSA's 2023 amendment reduce my litigation risk compared to the 2021 version?

The 2023 amendment (SB 1418) narrowed the FTSA's definition of automated dialing technology closer to the TCPA's ATDS standard, shrinking the pool of equipment that triggers the strictest consent rules. Cases filed after July 2023 under the new language are generally harder for plaintiffs to win. But campaigns run between 2021 and mid-2023 are still litigated under the older, broader standard.

What records should I keep to defend an FTSA claim?

Keep timestamped consent records showing exactly what language a consumer agreed to and when, call and text logs with the date, time, and number contacted, DNC scrub records showing which list versions ran and when, and opt-out logs with the dates requests came in and were honored. Florida's consumer protection statute of limitations is 4 years, and the TCPA's federal limitation is also 4 years, so retain records at least that long.

Does the FTSA apply to ringless voicemail drops?

This is an open legal question. Ringless voicemail (RVM) drops a message into a voicemail box without the phone ringing. The FCC has not issued a definitive ruling classifying RVM as a "call" under the TCPA, though several courts have found it is. Florida courts applying the FTSA have not produced uniform precedent either. Until the law clears up, treating RVM with the same consent requirements as a live call is the defensible position.

Are there exemptions for nonprofit organizations under the FTSA?

Yes. Calls made by or on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofit organizations are generally exempt from the FTSA's telephone solicitation requirements. But the exemption covers charitable solicitation by the nonprofit itself. A for-profit company calling on behalf of a nonprofit that also pitches its own products does not cleanly qualify and should get legal guidance before relying on it.

What is the established business relationship exemption and how long does it last?

The FTSA recognizes an established business relationship (EBR) as an exemption from certain requirements but does not specify an exact duration in the statute. The FTC's national DNC rules define an EBR as 18 months from the last purchase and 3 months from an inquiry. Most Florida compliance programs apply those same federal timeframes to be safe. After the window closes, you need fresh consent to keep calling.

Sources

1. Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. § 501.059 (Florida Telephone Solicitation Act): Full text of FTSA requirements including disclosure obligations, consent requirements, prohibited hours, and private right of action with $500-$10,000 per-violation penalties
2. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (TCPA): Federal TCPA text establishing $500-$1,500 per-violation damages, prior express written consent requirement for autodialed calls and texts, and private right of action
3. Florida Legislature, SB 1418 (2023 FTSA Amendment): 2023 amendment to the FTSA that narrowed the definition of automated dialing technology closer to the federal TCPA ATDS standard
4. U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (Jan. 2025): 11th Circuit vacated the FCC's 2024 one-to-one consent rule in January 2025, meaning that rule is not currently in effect in Florida
5. Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Do Not Call Program: Florida operates its own state Do Not Call list through FDACS, separate from the federal FTC DNC Registry, which telemarketers must scrub against before calling Florida residents
6. Federal Trade Commission, National Do Not Call Registry: The FTC's national DNC Registry that telemarketers must scrub against no more than 31 days before a call; established business relationship exemption for purchases is 18 months, for inquiries 3 months
7. Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. § 501.2075 (Civil Penalties for Unfair Trade Practices): Florida Attorney General authority to seek civil penalties for violations of Chapter 501 consumer protection statutes including the FTSA
8. Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law, 28 U.S.C. § 1658 (Statute of Limitations): Federal 4-year catch-all statute of limitations applicable to TCPA claims, which practitioners also use as the baseline retention period for compliance records
9. Florida Legislature, Fla. Stat. § 501.616 (Registration of Telephone Solicitors): Florida requires telephone solicitors to register with the state Department of Agriculture before conducting telephone solicitations, an additional compliance step beyond the FTSA's call-conduct rules