Kentucky telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

Kentucky prohibits telephone solicitations to a person’s residence outside 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. local time at the called person’s location (KRS 367.46955(16)), a start two hours later than the federal 8:00 a.m., and no insurance-agent exemption was found in KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999. Prerecorded-voice solicitations to residential phones need the called party’s prior express consent unless they are emergency calls by schools regulated by the Kentucky Department of Education (KRS 367.46955(18)), Kentucky defines its zero call list as the national Do Not Call Registry (KRS 367.46951(14)), and a company whose primary business is telephone solicitation must register with the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection and keep a $50,000 bond (KRS 367.46971; KRS 367.46981).

Kentucky regulates telephone solicitation under the Kentucky telephone solicitation law (KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999) and automated calling equipment law (KRS 367.461 to 367.469) (KRS 367.46951–367.46999; KRS 367.461–367.469; KRS 367.990(22)–(24)), 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 2026-09-14.

What time can I call in Kentucky?

10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the called person’s location. KRS 367.46955(16) makes it a prohibited practice to make "telephone solicitations to a person’s residence at any time other than between 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. local time, at the called person’s location." A telephone solicitation to a residence at 9:00 a.m., which the federal 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. rule permits (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1)), falls outside Kentucky’s window. Subsection (16) refers to calls to a residence; the Act defines telephone solicitation to cover calls to a "residential, mobile, or telephone paging device telephone number" (KRS 367.46951(1)(a)), but subsection (16) does not say whether a call to a mobile number is a call to a residence. When automated calling equipment is used to conduct polls, solicit information or advertise goods, services or property, the calls must also be made "only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m." unless an exception in KRS 367.461(3) applies (KRS 367.461(2)(e)); the statutes do not say how that window interacts with subsection (16).

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in Kentucky?

No Sunday or holiday rule was found in KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999 or KRS 367.461 to 367.469.

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

For live calls, no prior-consent requirement was found in KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999; the caller must give the disclosures in KRS 367.46953 and immediately discontinue the solicitation if the consumer responds in the negative. Prerecorded calls are different. KRS 367.46955(18) prohibits a telephone solicitation "to any residential telephone using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message" unless the call is initiated for emergency purposes by schools regulated by the Kentucky Department of Education or "the call is made with the prior express consent of the called party." Separately, automated calling equipment may be used for polls, soliciting information or advertising only if, among other conditions, the person called consents as specified in KRS 367.463 (KRS 367.461(2)(a)). Under KRS 367.463, consent given after a live operator introduction or by a keypad response covers only that call; a form used to obtain written consent must clearly and conspicuously state its purpose and effect and how the consent can be withdrawn, written consent is valid for two years from execution unless withdrawn, and it is void on and after the fifteenth day after a withdrawal letter is received. KRS 367.461(3) exempts some recorded-message calls from those conditions, including calls to a person with whom there is an existing business relationship.

Does Kentucky treat texting differently from calling?

No provision expressly addressing text messages was found in KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999 or KRS 367.461 to 367.469. The Act defines telephone solicitation as "a live or recorded communication sent by a telephone or message sent by a facsimile machine to a residential, mobile, or telephone paging device telephone number" for listed sales purposes (KRS 367.46951(1)(a)); that definition does not mention text messages.

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

No separate state list was found: KRS 367.46951(14) defines the "zero call list" as "the national Do Not Call Registry maintained by the United States Federal Trade Commission," and KRS 367.46955(15) prohibits an unsolicited telephone solicitation call if the residential number "appears in the current publication of the national Do Not Call Registry." KRS 367.46955(14) also bars calling a person who has said he or she does not wish to receive solicitation calls from that seller. It is a defense that the defendant obtains the current zero call list in a timely manner and makes reasonable efforts to avoid calling listed numbers (KRS 367.46995(2)). A claim about a call to a person on the zero call list must be in writing and verified by the claimant (KRS 367.46995(1)).

Do I need to register to solicit in Kentucky?

Yes, for a "telemarketing company," defined as "a company whose primary business is to engage in telephone solicitation" (KRS 367.46951(13)). At least ten days before doing business in Kentucky, which includes soliciting prospective purchasers from locations in Kentucky or who are located in Kentucky, the company must register with the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection and pay a $300 filing fee; registration is valid for one year and renews for $50 (KRS 367.46971(1)–(2); KRS 367.46951(9)). The filing includes a list of salespersons and copies of required sales scripts (KRS 367.46973(9)–(10)), and the company must keep a $50,000 surety bond in favor of the Attorney General (KRS 367.46981(1)). The Act does not further define "primary business." Separately, unless an exception in KRS 367.461(3) applies, a person or company must obtain a permit from the Attorney General before using automated calling equipment to call telephone numbers in Kentucky, and the permit application must include a $10,000 surety bond, though the Attorney General may accept an alternate form of surety such as a letter of credit (KRS 367.469(1)).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in Kentucky?

No insurance-agent exemption was found in the current sections of KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999 or in the automated-calling exceptions of KRS 367.461(3). The Act’s exclusions from "telephone solicitation" (KRS 367.46951(2)) cover a call made in response to the called person’s express request (unless the request was made during a prior telephone solicitation), a call to the debtor or a party to the contract about payment or performance of an existing debt or contract that has not been completed, a call to a person with whom the telemarketer or merchant has a prior or existing business relationship, a call by a Kentucky merchant or telemarketer to a location outside Kentucky, and a call from one merchant to another. "Prior or existing business relationship" is not defined in KRS 367.46951. In a civil proceeding, the person claiming an exemption has the burden of proving it (KRS 367.46991).

What are the penalties in Kentucky?

A person who knowingly violates KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999 is guilty of a Class D felony, except that a violation of KRS 367.46955(7) to (16), which includes the calling-hours, national registry and seller-specific do-not-call rules, is a Class B misdemeanor for a first offense, punishable by imprisonment of not more than 90 days, a fine of no more than $500, or both, and a Class A misdemeanor for any subsequent offense, punishable by imprisonment of not more than one year, a fine of not more than $5,000, or both (KRS 367.46999(1)). A telemarketing company, telemarketer, caller or merchant that knowingly and willfully violates KRS 367.46955(15) three times in one calendar year, by making unsolicited telephone solicitation calls to numbers on the zero call list, is guilty of a Class D felony (KRS 367.990(22)). A telemarketing company, telemarketer, caller or merchant that violates the Act "shall be assessed a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each offense"; the Attorney General initiates enforcement and may compromise the penalty (KRS 367.990(24)). A violation is also an unfair, false, misleading, or deceptive act under KRS 367.170, and the Attorney General’s remedies in KRS 367.190 to 367.300 and the penalties in KRS 367.990 apply (KRS 367.46967). A contract made as a result of a violating solicitation is voidable by the consumer (KRS 367.46957). The only private civil action written into KRS 367.46999 is for misleading caller identification under KRS 367.46955(9), and it may seek injunctive relief, actual damages, actual expenses including court costs and attorney’s fees, and punitive damages (KRS 367.46999(4)). It is a defense that the defendant established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to prevent violations (KRS 367.46995(3)).

Controlling statute

Kentucky telephone solicitation law (KRS 367.46951 to 367.46999) and automated calling equipment law (KRS 367.461 to 367.469) — KRS 367.46951–367.46999; KRS 367.461–367.469; KRS 367.990(22)–(24)

Other things that change the answer

KRS 367.990(22) still refers to a zero call list "maintained by the Office of the Attorney General’s Office of Consumer Protection," while KRS 367.46951(14) defines the zero call list as the national Do Not Call Registry; counsel should confirm how the two read together. A caller making a telephone solicitation must, immediately on making contact, state the caller’s actual name, the merchant’s legal name, a telephone number or address for the merchant, and the town or city and state where the caller is physically located, and within the first 30 seconds identify what is being offered and ask whether the consumer is interested in listening to a sales presentation (KRS 367.46953). The Act also prohibits soliciting anyone under 18 (the telemarketer must ask, and the answer is presumed correct), causing the phone to ring more than 30 seconds, and selling or making available for economic gain information revealed during a solicitation without the consumer’s express written consent (KRS 367.46955(8), (12), (17)). Unless a signed written contract that meets KRS 367.46961(4) is used, a consumer may cancel a contract made as a result of a telephone solicitation within the later of 14 calendar days after receiving the goods or 14 calendar days after receiving two copies of a written notice of cancellation rights (KRS 367.46961(1)). KRS 367.220 lets a person who purchases or leases goods or services primarily for personal, family or household purposes, and suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property from a practice unlawful under KRS 367.170, sue for actual damages; the telemarketing Act does not say whether that route is available for its violations.

Sources

• KRS 367.46951 — Definitionsprimary source
• KRS 367.46953 — Requirements for making telephone solicitationprimary source
• KRS 367.46955 — Prohibited telephone solicitation acts and practices (calling hours, do-not-call)primary source
• KRS 367.46957 — Contract voidable by consumerprimary source
• KRS 367.46961 — Cancellation of contractprimary source
• KRS 367.46967 — Violation as unfair or deceptive trade practiceprimary source
• KRS 367.46971 — Registration of telemarketing companiesprimary source
• KRS 367.46973 — Contents of filingprimary source
• KRS 367.46981 — Bond required for telemarketing companiesprimary source
• KRS 367.46991 — Burden of proving exemptionprimary source
• KRS 367.46995 — Zero call list claims and defensesprimary source
• KRS 367.46999 — Penaltiesprimary source
• KRS 367.461 — Conditions for use of automated calling equipmentprimary source
• KRS 367.463 — Consent to calls made with automated calling equipmentprimary source
• KRS 367.469 — Automated calling equipment permit and surety bondprimary source
• KRS 367.990 — Penalties (subsections (22)–(24))primary source
• KRS 367.220 — Consumer action for recovery of money or propertyprimary source
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 — Delivery restrictions (federal calling hours)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.