North Carolina telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

North Carolina bars any telephone solicitation before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. (N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-102(f)) — the same clock hours as the federal rule (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)). Article 4 expressly defines a telephone solicitation to include text communications (§ 75-101(9)) and lets a telephone subscriber who receives a solicitation in violation of the Article sue for $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second and $5,000 for a third or later violation within two years of the first (§ 75-105(b)). Article 4 contains no exemption for insurance agents; licensed insurance agents soliciting within the scope of their license are excluded only from the separate telephonic seller registration law in chapter 66, article 33 (§ 66-260(11)c.).

North Carolina regulates telephone solicitation under the North Carolina Telephone Solicitations law (N.C. Gen. Stat. chapter 75, article 4) and Telephonic Seller Registration and Bond Requirement (chapter 66, article 33) (N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-100 to 75-105; §§ 66-260 to 66-266), 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 North Carolina?

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Section 75-102(f): "No telephone solicitor shall make a telephone solicitation before 8:00 A.M. or after 9:00 P.M." The statute does not say whose local time applies. The limited exceptions in § 75-103 do not list § 75-102(f): § 75-103(a) lifts only the do-not-call rule in § 75-102(a), and § 75-103(b) to (d) lift only §§ 75-102(c)(3), (d), (e), (g) and (j). Separately, § 75-102(e) makes a violation of the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule’s abusive-practices section, 16 CFR 310.4, which includes the federal calling-time restriction, a violation of North Carolina law, except as provided in § 75-103.

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in North Carolina?

Article 4 of chapter 75 contains no Sunday or holiday rule; the 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. limit in § 75-102(f) applies every day.

What consent does North Carolina require before the first call or text?

Article 4 does not require prior consent before a live telephone solicitation to a number that is not on the "Do Not Call" Registry. Consent matters in two places. First, the do-not-call ban does not apply to solicitations made with the subscriber’s "prior express invitation or permission" (§ 75-103(a)(1)), which must be "registered by the telephone subscriber on an independent form and that contains the telephone number to which calls can be placed and the signature of the telephone subscriber"; the form may be completed and signed electronically (§ 75-101(6)). The solicitor bears the burden of proving that permission by producing the signed original, facsimile or electronic form or other authentication (§ 75-103(e)), and may not telephone a registered subscriber to obtain it (§ 75-102(k)). Second, no person may use an automatic dialing and recorded message player to make an unsolicited telephone call — a call made without prior express invitation or permission (§ 75-101(12)) — unless an exception in § 75-104(b) applies, such as a live operator who first gives the § 75-102(c) disclosures, states the nature and length of the recorded message, and receives the person’s prior approval to play it (§ 75-104(a), (b)(2)).

Does North Carolina treat texting differently from calling?

Yes. A "telephone solicitation" under Article 4 is "a voice or text communication, whether prerecorded, live, or a facsimile, over a telephone line or wireless telephone network or via a commercial mobile radio service" made for a sales purpose (§ 75-101(9)). The calling-hours rule, the do-not-call rules and the private right of action in § 75-105(b) therefore reach sales texts on the statute’s terms. An "unsolicited telephone call" is likewise defined as a voice or text communication (§ 75-101(12)).

Does North Carolina have its own do-not-call list?

No separate list. The "Do Not Call" Registry means the registry maintained by the Federal Trade Commission under the Telemarketing Sales Rule, any other federal telemarketing registry, and any registry the Attorney General creates under § 75-102(n) (§ 75-101(3)); § 75-102(n) lets the Attorney General develop a state registry only if the federal registry was not operational by January 1, 2004, or ceases to operate. Section 75-102(a) bars a telephone solicitation to a number in the latest edition of the Registry, except as provided in § 75-103. Those exceptions cover solicitations made with prior express invitation or permission; to a subscriber with an established business relationship (a purchase, rental or lease of the seller’s goods or services, or a financial transaction with the seller or its affiliates, within the prior 18 months, or an inquiry or application within the prior three months, § 75-101(5)); by or for a tax-exempt nonprofit; by a solicitor with fewer than 10 employees whose direct employees average no more than 10 solicitations a week; solely to arrange a later face-to-face meeting, if during the call the solicitor does not seek payment, complete the sale, obtain provisional acceptance, enroll the subscriber in a contest, sweepstakes, raffle or lottery, or send someone directly afterward to collect payment or deliver an item; and by a person primarily selling newspaper subscriptions (§ 75-103(a)). A subscriber who asks to stop must not be called again at that number (§ 75-102(b)) and must be removed within 30 business days (§ 75-102(c)(3)).

Do I need to register to solicit in North Carolina?

Yes, for a "telephonic seller" under chapter 66, article 33, unless excluded. Section 66-261(a): "Not less than 10 days before commencing telephone solicitations in this State, a telephonic seller shall register with the Secretary by filing the information required in G.S. 66-262 and paying a filing fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00)." Registration lasts one year and is renewed with another $100 filing (§ 66-261(c)). A seller running a promotion offering a gift or prize worth $500 or more must notify the Secretary and post a bond for the market value or the represented value, whichever is greater, of the gifts or prizes (§ 66-263(a)). Licensed insurance agents and brokers soliciting within the scope of their license are excluded from the definition of telephonic seller (§ 66-260(11)c.). Article 4 of chapter 75 imposes no registration requirement.

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in North Carolina?

Only from registration. Article 4 of chapter 75 (§§ 75-100 to 75-105) contains no exemption for insurance agents, so the calling-hours rule, the do-not-call rules, the identification and caller-ID duties, the under-18 inquiry and the penalties apply to agents on the statute’s terms. The one insurance reference in Article 4 is narrow: § 75-104(b)(6) allows a health insurer, or someone calling on its behalf, to use an automatic dialing and recorded message player to call its own covered members with information about their health care or benefits, provided no part of the call is used to make a telephone solicitation. Chapter 66, article 33 excludes from "telephonic seller" "Any insurance agent or broker who is properly licensed by the Department of Insurance and who is soliciting within the scope of the agent's or broker's license" and employees or independent contractors of a licensed insurance company soliciting on its behalf (§ 66-260(11)c.); that exclusion lifts only the duties in article 33 — the $100 registration, the prize-promotion bond and that article’s other telephonic seller rules — and does not affect Article 4 of chapter 75.

What are the penalties in North Carolina?

In an Attorney General action, the civil penalty is $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the second, and $5,000 for the third and any other violation within two years of the first; it is $100 per violation if the solicitor shows the violations resulted from a mistake and either the solicitation fell within § 75-103(a)(1) to (5) or the solicitor complied with § 75-102(d) (§ 75-105(a)). A telephone subscriber who received a solicitation in violation of Article 4 may sue to enjoin further violations or to recover $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the second, and $5,000 for the third and any other violation within two years of the first (§ 75-105(b)); no private action lies if the violations were a mistake and the same conditions are met (§ 75-105(c)). The court may award attorneys’ fees to a prevailing plaintiff if the defendant acted willfully (§ 75-105(d)). A citizen may also sue in state court to enforce the federal private rights of action in 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3) and (c)(5) (§ 75-105(e)). A violation of the telephonic seller article is an unfair and deceptive trade practice under § 75-1.1, and the court may impose civil penalties of up to $25,000 per violation involving purchasers aged 65 or older (§ 66-266(a), (b)).

Controlling statute

North Carolina Telephone Solicitations law (N.C. Gen. Stat. chapter 75, article 4) and Telephonic Seller Registration and Bond Requirement (chapter 66, article 33) — N.C. Gen. Stat. §§ 75-100 to 75-105; §§ 66-260 to 66-266

Other things that change the answer

Article 4 reaches out-of-state callers: "doing business in this State" means making telephone solicitations to North Carolina telephone subscribers from inside or outside the state (§ 75-101(4)). At the start of each solicitation the solicitor must clearly state its identity and identify the individual calling, and on request give a telephone number or address (§ 75-102(c)(1)–(2)); it must ask whether the subscriber is under 18 and end the call if so, unless it has taken reasonable steps to remove minors from its list or does not target them (§ 75-102(g)); it may not transmit misleading caller-ID information or block the origin of the call (§ 75-102(i)); it must keep written do-not-call procedures and train and monitor staff (§ 75-102(d)); and it must keep records of each individual caller for 24 months (§ 75-102(j)). No contract entered into during a telephone solicitation is valid unless the representations are not deceptive or abusive under 16 CFR 310.3 and 310.4 (to the extent Article 4 requires compliance), the recordkeeping rules are met, and all other federal and state laws are followed (§ 75-102(o)).

Sources

• N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 75, art. 4 — Telephone Solicitations (§§ 75-100 to 75-105)primary source
• N.C. Gen. Stat. ch. 66, art. 33 — Telephonic Seller Registration and Bond Requirement (§§ 66-260 to 66-266)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.