Illinois telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

Illinois prohibits soliciting the sale of goods or services by a telephone call "during the hours between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m." (815 ILCS 413/15(a)) and prohibits operating an autodialer to place a call "during the hours between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m." (815 ILCS 305/15(a)); the live-call hours match the federal 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. window (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)), but an autodialer’s recorded-message call may not be placed until 9:00 a.m. A live operator must ask at the start of the call whether the person consents to the solicitation, an autodialer may not play a prerecorded message without the called party’s consent, and an injured customer may sue for up to three times actual damages, plus $500 statutory damages per violation for autodialer calls (815 ILCS 413/15(b), 413/25(d); 305/30(b), (c), (c-5)). The Automatic Telephone Dialers Act contains no insurance exemption, and the Telephone Solicitations Act’s two insurance provisions differ in scope: 413/10 excludes licensed insurers and their agents, while 413/23 limits the exemption to acts in relation to existing customers or policyholders. Illinois has no state do-not-call list.

Illinois regulates telephone solicitation under the Illinois Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413) and Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (815 ILCS 305), enforced through the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (815 ILCS 413/1 to 413/30; 815 ILCS 305/1 to 305/30; 815 ILCS 505/2Z, 505/7, 505/10a), which layers requirements on top of the federal TCPA. Federal law is a floor, not a ceiling: where the two differ, the stricter rule governs.

Last reviewed 2026-09-15.

What time can I call in Illinois?

Live solicitation calls: 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Section 15(a) of the Telephone Solicitations Act: "No person shall solicit the sale of goods or services in this State by placing a telephone call during the hours between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m." (815 ILCS 413/15(a)). That Act defines “telephone solicitation” as communication by telephone "by live operators for soliciting the sale of goods or services" (815 ILCS 413/5), and, except for its caller-ID rule, it does not apply to calls made by an autodialer (815 ILCS 413/20). Autodialer calls: 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Section 15(a) of the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act: "No person shall operate an autodialer in this State to place a telephone call during the hours between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m." (815 ILCS 305/15(a)). An “autodialer” is a device capable of storing telephone numbers and programmed to sequentially or randomly access them "in order to automatically connect a telephone with a recorded message" (815 ILCS 305/5(a)). The autodialer window does not apply to autodialer calls made in response to an express request of the person called, calls to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has a prior or existing business relationship, or calls on behalf of political, charitable, public opinion polling, research survey or broadcast rating organizations (815 ILCS 305/20(a)). Neither Act says whose local time applies. The live-call window is the same as the federal 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. rule (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)); an autodialer call between 8:00 and 9:00 a.m. is allowed by the federal window and prohibited by 305/15(a). For licensed insurance agents, see the exemption field.

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in Illinois?

The Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413) and the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (815 ILCS 305) contain no Sunday or holiday rule.

What consent does Illinois require before the first call or text?

A live operator soliciting the sale of goods or services must "immediately state his or her name, the name of the business or organization being represented, and the purpose of the call" and "inquire at the beginning of the call whether the person called consents to the solicitation" (815 ILCS 413/15(b)(1)–(2)); "It is a violation of this Act to continue with a solicitation placed by a live operator without the consent of the called party" (815 ILCS 413/25(b)). For autodialers, "It is a violation of this Act to play a prerecorded message placed by an autodialer without the consent of the called party" (815 ILCS 305/30(b)). Where disconnection within 30 seconds after the call ends is technically not feasible, the autodialer must use a live operator who states his name, the name, address and telephone number of the business and the purpose of the call, and asks at the beginning of the call whether the person consents to hear the prerecorded message (815 ILCS 305/15(b)). Neither Act says the consent to the call must be in writing. A person engaged in telephone solicitation may not obtain or submit for payment a check, draft or other negotiable paper drawn on a person’s account "without the person's express written consent" (815 ILCS 413/25(c)).

Does Illinois treat texting differently from calling?

Neither Act addresses text messages. The Telephone Solicitations Act defines “telephone solicitation” as "any communication through the use of a telephone by live operators for soliciting the sale of goods or services" (815 ILCS 413/5), and the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act is built around a device that connects a telephone "with a recorded message" (815 ILCS 305/5(a)).

Does Illinois have its own do-not-call list?

No. The Illinois General Assembly’s list of chapter 815 Acts shows "815 ILCS 402/ Restricted Call Registry Act. (Repealed by P.A. 100-621)", and neither the Telephone Solicitations Act nor the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act creates a state list. Callers must honor company-specific requests: if the person called asks to be taken off the contact list of the business or organization, the operator must refrain from calling that person again and take all steps necessary to have the person’s name and number removed from its contact records; "Compliance with Section 310.4(b) of the Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule shall constitute compliance with this subsection (b)(3)" (815 ILCS 413/15(b)(3)). The national Do Not Call Registry applies under federal law.

Do I need to register to solicit in Illinois?

Neither the Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413) nor the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (815 ILCS 305) contains a registration or bonding requirement. A person who operates an autodialer to communicate a commercial message must keep a list of all telephone numbers called and records sufficient to document any exemption it claims under 815 ILCS 305/20 (815 ILCS 305/22).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in Illinois?

The Automatic Telephone Dialers Act has none: its 9:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. window, consent rule and $500 statutory damages contain no insurance exemption, and its only exemptions are the general ones in 815 ILCS 305/20(a) (express request, prior or existing business relationship, and political, charitable, polling, research and broadcast-rating calls). The Telephone Solicitations Act has two insurance provisions that differ in scope. Section 10 says the Act shall not apply to "any bank, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, licensee under the Consumer Installment Loan Act, licensed insurer, licensee under the Real Estate License Act of 2000, or any affiliate, subsidiary, employee, or agent of any such entities" (815 ILCS 413/10). Section 23, titled "Limited exemption," says the Act shall not apply to "any licensed insurance company, its licensed employees or agents when performing acts within the scope of their licenses in relation to existing customers or policyholders, or employees of licensed agents" (815 ILCS 413/23(a)). Section 10 has no existing-customer limit; section 23 does; the Act does not say which provision governs an agent’s call to a prospect who is not an existing customer or policyholder. Section 23’s source note cites P.A. 91-182 (eff. 1-1-00); section 10’s cites P.A. 90-541 and P.A. 91-245 (eff. 12-31-99). Because section 23 is the narrower provision, a conservative practice is to follow the Telephone Solicitations Act’s 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. hours and consent inquiry on every call to a prospect who is not an existing customer or policyholder. Even where section 23 applies, all calls must comply with the caller-ID rule in 815 ILCS 413/15(c) (815 ILCS 413/23(b)). Federal law applies to insurance calls on its own terms.

What are the penalties in Illinois?

Telephone Solicitations Act: "Any customer injured by a violation of this Act may bring an action for the recovery of damages. Judgment may be entered for 3 times the amount at which the actual damages are assessed, plus costs and reasonable attorney fees" (815 ILCS 413/25(d)). Automatic Telephone Dialers Act: the same treble-damages action is available (815 ILCS 305/30(c)), and "In addition to the damages authorized under subsection (c), a consumer may obtain statutory damages in the amount of $500 per violation" (815 ILCS 305/30(c-5)). A violation of either Act is an unlawful practice under Section 2Z of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, and the Attorney General may use all of that Act’s remedies (815 ILCS 413/25(e); 305/30(d)); in an Attorney General action under the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act, a court may also award each person who received a violating call $500 statutory damages per violation (815 ILCS 305/30(d)). Section 2Z covers "Any person who knowingly violates" either Act (815 ILCS 505/2Z). Under the Consumer Fraud Act, the Attorney General or a State’s Attorney may seek an injunction and restitution, and the court may impose a civil penalty not to exceed $50,000, or not to exceed $50,000 per violation where the court finds intent to defraud (815 ILCS 505/7(a)–(b)), plus up to $10,000 per violation committed against a person 65 or older (815 ILCS 505/7(c)). A person who suffers actual damage from a violation of the Consumer Fraud Act may sue for actual economic damages or other relief the court deems proper (815 ILCS 505/10a(a)).

Controlling statute

Illinois Telephone Solicitations Act (815 ILCS 413) and Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (815 ILCS 305), enforced through the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act — 815 ILCS 413/1 to 413/30; 815 ILCS 305/1 to 305/30; 815 ILCS 505/2Z, 505/7, 505/10a

Other things that change the answer

A person may not solicit the sale of goods or services by telephone in a manner that impedes the function of any caller ID when the solicitor’s service or equipment can display its number (815 ILCS 413/15(c)), and this rule applies even to calls otherwise exempt under sections 20 and 23 (815 ILCS 413/20(b), 413/23(b)); the Automatic Telephone Dialers Act has a parallel rule that applies to all autodialer calls (815 ILCS 305/15(d), 305/20(b)). Calls to emergency telephone numbers are violations of both Acts (815 ILCS 413/25(a); 305/30(a)). An autodialer may not dial numbers "determined by successively increasing or decreasing integers" (815 ILCS 305/15(c)). The Telephone Solicitations Act also does not apply to calls by persons registered under the Illinois Securities Law of 1953 or registered with a federally registered broker-dealer when acting within the scope of that registration (815 ILCS 413/20(a)), or to telecommunications carriers, banks, trust companies, savings and loan associations, credit unions, Consumer Installment Loan Act licensees and Real Estate License Act of 2000 licensees and their affiliates, subsidiaries, employees and agents (815 ILCS 413/10). Both Acts apply to solicitations and autodialer operation "in this State" (815 ILCS 413/10, 413/15(a); 305/10, 305/15(a)).

Sources

• 815 ILCS 413 — Telephone Solicitations Act (Illinois General Assembly)primary source
• 815 ILCS 305 — Automatic Telephone Dialers Act (Illinois General Assembly)primary source
• 815 ILCS 505 — Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act (§§ 2Z, 7, 10a)primary source
• Illinois Compiled Statutes chapter 815 — list of Acts (815 ILCS 402 repealed by P.A. 100-621)primary source
• 47 CFR 64.1200 — Delivery restrictions (eCFR)primary source
• 16 CFR 310.4 — Abusive telemarketing acts or practices (eCFR)primary source

How APEX enforces these rules on every send

APEX evaluates each outbound message and call before it leaves the platform. Quiet hours are applied in the contact's local time rather than the agent's, DNC scrubbing runs against federal, state, internal, and litigator lists, and every allow-or-block decision is written to an immutable audit log. See security & compliance for the full guardrail set.

Configuring a platform correctly does not by itself make a campaign lawful. You remain responsible for your consent records and your calling practices.