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    Iowa telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

    Photo: Iowa State Capitol with its gold central dome — Carol M. Highsmith Archive, Library of Congress

    Calls to Iowa follow the federal telemarketing rules: the 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. calling window at the called party’s location (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)), the federal prior-express-written-consent rule for telemarketing calls made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to wireless and other listed numbers and for artificial or prerecorded-voice telemarketing calls to residential lines (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)–(3)), and the National Do Not Call Registry, which is the registry the Iowa Utilities Commission directs consumers to. Iowa Code § 714.16(15) authorizes the Iowa Attorney General to bring an action on behalf of Iowa residents, or as parens patriae, under the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act. Iowa’s own law reaches deceptive or unfair sales practices generally (§ 714.16(2)(a), with civil penalties of up to $40,000 per violation under § 714.16(7)), telephone prize-promotion fraud (§ 714.8(15)), false caller identification in campaign calls (§ 68A.506) and false or misleading telemarketing of motor vehicle service contracts (§ 523C.13).

    Iowa regulates telephone solicitation under the Federal telemarketing rules (TCPA and Telemarketing Sales Rule), enforceable by the Iowa Attorney General under Iowa Code § 714.16(15), with Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act and targeted telephone-fraud and caller-ID provisions (Iowa Code § 714.16(2)(a), (7), (15); § 714.8(15); § 68A.506; § 523C.13; § 525.1; 47 CFR 64.1200; 16 CFR 310.4), 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 .

    What time can I call in Iowa?

    8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the called party’s location, under federal law. 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1) bars telephone solicitations to "Any residential telephone subscriber before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party's location)", and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule bars outbound telemarketing calls to a person’s residence "at any time other than between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time at the called person's location" without that person’s prior consent (16 CFR 310.4(c)). Iowa’s telemarketing enforcement provision, Iowa Code § 714.16(15), works through the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act rather than setting separate state calling hours.

    Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in Iowa?

    The federal calling-time provisions that apply in Iowa (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)) set hours only and contain no Sunday or holiday restriction.

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

    Federal consent rules apply. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2) bars a call that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice, to the wireless and other numbers listed in paragraph (a)(1)(i)–(iii), "other than a call made with the prior express written consent of the called party" or within the rule’s nonprofit and HIPAA health care message exceptions. 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3) bars an artificial or prerecorded-voice telemarketing message to a residential line "without the prior express written consent of the called party." Under Iowa law, the act, use or employment of "an unfair practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, or misrepresentation" in connection with the lease, sale or advertisement of any merchandise is an unlawful practice, whether or not anyone was in fact misled, deceived or damaged (Iowa Code § 714.16(2)(a)).

    Does Iowa treat texting differently from calling?

    None of the Iowa provisions described on this page (Iowa Code §§ 714.16(15), 714.8(15), 68A.506, 523C.13 and 525.1) mentions text messages. Iowa’s campaign caller-ID provision defines a “telephone call” as "a call made using or received on a telecommunications service or voice over internet protocol service" (Iowa Code § 68A.506(3)(b)). Federal rules apply to texts on their own terms.

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

    The Iowa Utilities Commission directs consumers to the National Do Not Call Registry. Its Do Not Call Registry page explains that the FTC, with the FCC, began accepting requests to be placed on the National Do Not Call Registry in June 2003, that the list "is intended to prohibit telemarketers from calling phone numbers that have been registered", and that consumers may register on the national registry website or by calling 888-382-1222. Calls to numbers on that registry are governed by the federal rules, including 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2), and the Iowa Attorney General may enforce the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act under Iowa Code § 714.16(15).

    Do I need to register to solicit in Iowa?

    None of the Iowa provisions described on this page (Iowa Code §§ 714.16(15), 714.8(15), 68A.506, 523C.13 and 525.1) requires a telemarketer or telephone solicitor to register or post a bond with the state.

    Are licensed insurance agents exempt in Iowa?

    Iowa’s calling-hours, consent and do-not-call rules for insurance calls are the federal ones, which apply to insurance telemarketing calls to Iowa residents on their own terms. Iowa Code §§ 714.16(15), 714.8(15) and 68A.506 contain no exemption for insurance agents (the only exception in § 68A.506 covers lawfully authorized law enforcement investigative, protective or intelligence activity). The Consumer Fraud Act defines “merchandise” to include "any objects, wares, goods, commodities, intangibles, securities, bonds, debentures, stocks, real estate or services" (Iowa Code § 714.16(1)(e)) without naming insurance. The consumer private-action chapter does not apply to "Merchandise offered or provided by" "Insurance companies subject to Title XIII", including their officers, directors, employees and agents, pursuant to a business for which they are licensed or registered (Iowa Code § 714H.4(1)(a)(1)).

    What are the penalties in Iowa?

    Under Iowa Code § 714.16(15), the Attorney General may sue on behalf of Iowa residents or as parens patriae under the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act "and pursue any and all enforcement options available under that Act." For unlawful practices under Iowa’s Consumer Fraud Act, the Attorney General may request, and the court may impose, "a civil penalty not to exceed forty thousand dollars per violation", although "a course of conduct shall not be considered to be separate and different violations merely because the conduct is repeated to more than one person", plus up to $5,000 for each day of intentional violation of a restraining order or injunction issued under that section (Iowa Code § 714.16(7)). Obtaining or attempting to obtain another person’s property by deception through communications conducted primarily by telephone and involving claims that the person has won or is about to win a prize, or may recover losses from a prize promotion, is a fraudulent practice (Iowa Code § 714.8(15)). A violation of Iowa Code chapter 523C, which bars a licensed service company offering motor vehicle service contracts, or its representative, from making false, deceptive or misleading statements by written solicitation or telemarketing about manufacturer affiliation, warranties or coverage, "constitutes an unlawful practice pursuant to section 714.16" (Iowa Code § 523C.13(1), (3)).

    Controlling statute

    Federal telemarketing rules (TCPA and Telemarketing Sales Rule), enforceable by the Iowa Attorney General under Iowa Code § 714.16(15), with Iowa's Consumer Fraud Act and targeted telephone-fraud and caller-ID provisions — Iowa Code § 714.16(2)(a), (7), (15); § 714.8(15); § 68A.506; § 523C.13; § 525.1; 47 CFR 64.1200; 16 CFR 310.4

    Other things that change the answer

    It is unlawful to knowingly use or provide false caller identification information with intent to defraud for purposes related to expressly advocating the nomination, election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate or the passage or defeat of a ballot issue, or to use caller identification information of an actual person without consent and with intent to deceive the recipient about the caller’s identity (Iowa Code § 68A.506(1)). A financial institution soliciting a consumer with prescreened mortgage trigger lead information engages in an unfair or deceptive practice if it uses information about a consumer who has placed the consumer’s contact information on a federal do-not-call registry (Iowa Code § 525.1(2)(c), added by 2025 Acts, ch 25). In an Attorney General action, a court may add a civil penalty of up to $5,000 per violation of § 714.16 committed against a person 60 or older (Iowa Code § 714.16A). Iowa Code chapter 714D separately makes deception or unfair practices in the sale of telecommunications service, or in soliciting authority to change a consumer’s telecommunications service, an unlawful practice (Iowa Code § 714D.3).

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    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.

    Rules in other states

    All state telemarketing rules for insurance agents

    General information, not legal advice

    This page summarises state telemarketing law as it applied on the review date shown above. It is not legal advice, it does not create an attorney–client relationship, and it may not reflect amendments made since that date. State telemarketing law changes frequently and its application depends on facts specific to your business. Confirm the current statute and consult a qualified attorney before relying on any of it.

    You are responsible for your own compliance and for how you use this information. APEX accepts no liability for decisions made or actions taken on the basis of this page.