Maryland telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

Maryland bars telephone solicitations between 8:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. in the called party’s time zone, an hour earlier than the 9:00 p.m. federal cutoff for calls to residential subscribers (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1)). A person also may not make or cause to be made a telephone solicitation more than three times to the same called party in a 24-hour period on the same subject matter or issue, regardless of the telephone numbers used (Com. Law § 14-4502(c)). A solicitation that involves an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers, or the playing of a recorded message when a connection is completed, needs the called party’s prior express written consent unless a § 14-4502(a)(1) exemption applies (§ 14-4502(a)(3)). An aggrieved called party may sue to recover damages up to $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater, and if the court finds a willful or knowing violation it may award up to three times that amount (§ 14-4503(a)(2)). Separately, § 14-3201 bars violating the federal Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, as implemented in the Telemarketing Sales Rule, or the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, as implemented in FCC rules. An individual affected by a violation may sue to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and the greater of $500 for each violation or actual damages (§ 14-3202(b)).

Maryland regulates telephone solicitation under the Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023 (Commercial Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503) and Commercial Law §§ 14-3201–14-3202 (Md. Code Ann., Com. Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503, 14-3201–14-3202; Md. Code Ann., Pub. Util. § 8-205), 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 Maryland?

8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the called party’s time zone. Section 14-4502(c)(1) bars a telephone solicitation, "including a call made through automated dialing or a recorded message," to a called party "during the hours between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the called party’s time zone." The exemptions in § 14-4502(a)(1) apply only to subsection (a), so they do not lift this rule. No Sunday or holiday rule was found in §§ 14-4501–14-4503.

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

Section 14-4502(a)(3): without the called party’s prior express written consent, a person may not make or cause to be made a telephone solicitation that involves "an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers" or "the playing of a recorded message when a connection is completed to the number called." The paragraph names only those two technologies; the hours and three-solicitation rules in § 14-4502(c) apply to telephone solicitations generally. Prior express written consent is a written agreement that bears the called party’s signature, clearly authorizes solicitations by telephone call, text message, or voicemail using an automated selection or dialing system, a recorded or artificial voice message, or a prerecorded voicemail, and includes the telephone number the signatory authorizes (§ 14-4501(d)(1)–(3)(i)). It must also include a clear and conspicuous disclosure that, by executing the agreement, the called party authorizes those solicitations, and that the called party is not required, directly or indirectly, to sign the written agreement or to agree to enter into it as a condition of purchasing any property, goods, or services (§ 14-4501(d)(3)(ii)). An electronic or digital signature counts to the extent that form of signature is recognized as valid under applicable federal law or State contract law (§ 14-4501(e)). The consent rule does not apply to the categories in § 14-4502(a)(1). These include an isolated transaction not performed in the course of a pattern of repeated transactions of a similar nature, a single solicitation made in response to an inquiry or request from the customer or client, and a communication with an existing customer that is initially intended for informational purposes only and becomes a solicitation based on further inquiry from the customer.

Does Maryland treat texting differently from calling?

Not settled by the statute. The definition of prior express written consent refers to a telephone solicitation "by telephone call, text message, or voicemail" (§ 14-4501(d)(2)). The hours window and three-solicitation limit in § 14-4502(c) do not mention text messages. "Telephone solicitation" takes its meaning from Pub. Util. § 8-205, which describes communicating "by telephone." No provision stating whether a text is subject to § 14-4502(c) was found.

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

No separate state list. No Maryland do-not-call list appears in Com. Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503, 14-3201–14-3202 or 14-2201–14-2205, or in Pub. Util. § 8-205, and the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division publication "How to Stop Telemarketing Calls and Junk Mail" (January 2023) directs consumers to the National Do Not Call Registry without mentioning a state list. Maryland has not said expressly that it has no separate list.

How many times can I contact the same person in Maryland?

Section 14-4502(c)(2) bars a telephone solicitation "More than three times to the same called party during a 24–hour period on the same subject matter or issue, regardless of the telephone numbers used to make the call." Solicitations made from different telephone numbers still count toward the limit.

Do I need to register to solicit in Maryland?

No registration or bonding requirement for telephone solicitors was found in Com. Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503, 14-3201–14-3202 or 14-2201–14-2205. Title 14, Subtitle 22 (§§ 14-2201–14-2205) instead regulates contracts made through a telephone solicitation, which that subtitle defines as a merchant’s attempt, made entirely by telephone and initiated by the merchant, to sell or lease consumer goods, services, or realty to a consumer in Maryland (§ 14-2201(f)). Such a contract is not valid and enforceable against the consumer unless it complies with the subtitle, including being reduced to writing and signed by the consumer (§ 14-2203(a), (b)(1)); the subtitle does not apply to the transactions listed in § 14-2202(a).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in Maryland?

No insurance exemption was found in §§ 14-4501–14-4503. The § 14-4502(a)(1) exemptions do not name insurance and apply only to subsection (a), which holds the consent rule, not to the hours or three-solicitation rules in subsection (c). One question is open for counsel. Section 14-4503(a) makes a violation an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under Title 13, subject to Title 13’s enforcement and penalty provisions, and lets an aggrieved called party sue in accordance with § 13-408; § 13-104(1) says Title 13 does not apply to "the professional services of a … insurance producer licensed by the State." The prohibitions in § 14-4502 apply to "a person" and sit in Title 14, and the text does not settle whether § 13-104(1) limits enforcement or remedies against a licensed producer making telephone solicitations. Title 14, Subtitle 22’s definition of "merchant" also excludes "a person who is exempt under § 13-104 of this article" (§ 14-2201(e)(2)).

What are the penalties in Maryland?

A violation of §§ 14-4501–14-4503 is an unfair, abusive, or deceptive trade practice under Title 13 and is subject to Title 13’s enforcement and penalty provisions (§ 14-4503(a)(1)). Under § 13-410, a merchant who violates Title 13 is subject to a fine not exceeding $10,000 for each violation, and a merchant found to have violated it who repeats the same violation is subject to a fine not exceeding $25,000 for each subsequent violation; these are civil penalties recoverable by the State (§ 13-410(a)–(c)). An aggrieved called party may bring an action in accordance with § 13-408 "to enjoin further violations and to recover damages up to $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater" (§ 14-4503(a)(2)(i)). If the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly violated the subtitle, the court "may award damages up to three times" that amount (§ 14-4503(a)(2)(ii)). A telephone solicitation made to any Maryland area code is rebuttably presumed to be made to a resident, or to a person reasonably presumed to reside or have a place of business in Maryland, at the time of the call (§ 14-4503(b)). Separately, § 14-3201 bars violating the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule and the FCC’s TCPA telemarketing rules. An individual affected by a violation may sue to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and the greater of $500 for each violation or actual damages, and each prohibited telephone solicitation and each prohibited practice during a telephone solicitation is a separate violation (§ 14-3202(b)–(c)).

Controlling statute

Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023 (Commercial Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503) and Commercial Law §§ 14-3201–14-3202 — Md. Code Ann., Com. Law §§ 14-4501–14-4503, 14-3201–14-3202; Md. Code Ann., Pub. Util. § 8-205

Other things that change the answer

The Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023 was enacted as SB 90, Chapter 413 of 2023, effective January 1, 2024. Its consent rule covers solicitations that involve "an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers" (§ 14-4502(a)(3)(i)). The Act’s requirements and remedies may not be waived by agreement, except as provided in § 14-4502(a)(3) or where the agreement is part of a settlement of a legal dispute or action (§ 14-4503(d)). A person making a telephone solicitation may not fail to transmit the originating telephone number and, when made available by the caller’s carrier, the caller’s name to any caller identification service in use by the called party, though substituting the name and customer service telephone number of the seller or other entity for whom the call is placed is not a violation (§ 14-4502(b)(1)(i), (b)(2)). The caller also may not, to conceal the caller’s true identity, use technology that deliberately displays a different caller identification number than the number the call is originating from (§ 14-4502(b)(1)(iii)). Separately, if a telephone solicitor’s service or equipment lets it choose whether to restrict or display its number, Pub. Util. § 8-205(c) bars intentionally blocking or otherwise preventing or controlling transmission of that number; a violation is a misdemeanor punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding $1,000 for a first offense and not exceeding $5,000 for each subsequent offense (§ 8-205(d)).

Sources

• Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-4501 — Definitions (Stop the Spam Calls Act)primary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-4502 — Consent, caller ID, calling hours, three-solicitation limitprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-4503 — Remediesprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-3201 — Federal telemarketing lawsprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 14-3202 — Enforcement and damagesprimary source
• Md. Code, Pub. Util. § 8-205 — Telephone solicitation defined; caller ID blockingprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 13-104 — Exemptions from the Consumer Protection Actprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law § 13-410 — Civil penaltiesprimary source
• Md. Code, Com. Law §§ 14-2201–14-2205 — Telephone solicitation contractsprimary source
• Maryland General Assembly — SB 90 (2023), Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023, Chapter 413primary source
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200 — FCC telemarketing delivery restrictionsprimary source
• Maryland Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division — How to Stop Telemarketing Calls and Junk Mail (Jan. 2023)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.