North Dakota telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

North Dakota bars any telephone solicitation, and any use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. at the telephone subscriber’s location (N.D. Cent. Code § 51-28-05) — the same window as the federal rule (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)). Chapter 51-28 expressly defines telephone solicitation to include texts (§ 51-28-01(8)), requires the subscriber’s consent or a live operator before a prerecorded message, subject to narrow exceptions (§ 51-28-02), and lets a person who receives a telephone solicitation or message in violation of the chapter sue for actual damages or up to $2,000 per violation, whichever is greater (§ 51-28-11). Chapter 51-28 contains no exemption for insurance agents.

North Dakota regulates telephone solicitation under the North Dakota Telephone Solicitations law (N.D. Cent. Code chapter 51-28) (N.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-28-01 to 51-28-22), 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 Dakota?

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the subscriber’s location. Section 51-28-05: "A caller may not use an automatic dialing-announcing device nor make any telephone solicitation before eight a.m. or after nine p.m. at the telephone subscriber's location." Section 51-28-02 says § 51-28-05 does not apply to a message from a public safety agency about an emergency, a message from a school district to a student, parent or employee, "a message to a subscriber with whom the caller has a current business relationship," or a message advising an employee of a work schedule. Communications that fall outside the definition of "telephone solicitation" in § 51-28-01(8) — for example, those made with the subscriber’s prior express written request or consent — are not telephone solicitations, but § 51-28-05 separately limits any use of an automatic dialing-announcing device to the same hours.

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in North Dakota?

Chapter 51-28 contains no Sunday or holiday rule; the 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. limit in § 51-28-05 applies every day.

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

Prerecorded messages need consent. Section 51-28-02: a caller may not use or connect an automatic dialing-announcing device or deliver a prerecorded or synthesized voice message to a subscriber "unless the subscriber has knowingly requested, consented to, permitted, or authorized receipt of the message or the message is immediately preceded by a live operator who obtains the subscriber's consent before the message is delivered." That rule does not apply to a message from a public safety agency about an emergency, a message from a school district to a student, parent or employee, a message to a subscriber with whom the caller has a current business relationship, or a message advising an employee of a work schedule (§ 51-28-02). When a live operator precedes the message, the operator must first disclose the business, the purpose, the goods or services promoted and, if applicable, that payment will be solicited (§ 51-28-03). For live calls, chapter 51-28 imposes no consent requirement as such; instead, communications "To any subscriber with that subscriber's prior express written request, consent, invitation, or permission" are excluded from "telephone solicitation" (§ 51-28-01(8)(a)), which takes them outside the hours and do-not-call rules that apply to telephone solicitations.

Does North Dakota treat texting differently from calling?

Yes. "Telephone solicitation" means "any voice, text, or other electronic communication over a telephone line" for a sales or donation purpose (§ 51-28-01(8)), and "Message" means "any telephone call, including voice, text, or other electronic communication, regardless of its content" (§ 51-28-01(5)). Three exclusions from telephone solicitation — polling, solicitations that will be completed at a later face-to-face meeting, and political communications — do not apply if "the communication is a text message" (§ 51-28-01(8)(d)–(f)). The private right of action covers a "telephone solicitation or message" (§ 51-28-11).

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

The statute provides for a state list that may be the national registry. Section 51-28-09(1) directs the attorney general to "establish and maintain a list of telephone numbers of subscribers who object to receiving telephone solicitations" and allows the attorney general to fulfill that duty by contracting with an agent or "by using the national do-not-call registry"; § 51-28-09(2) lets the attorney general designate the national registry as the state do-not-call list. The attorney general’s page tells consumers: "One registration adds your number to both the North Dakota and the national list," and lists two ways to register: online at the National Do Not Call Registry or by calling (888) 382-1222. Section 51-28-06 bars a telephone solicitation to a subscriber who, for at least 31 days before the call, has been on the list established and maintained or used by the attorney general or on the national registry. A person making telephone solicitations pays a fee for access to the state list, capped at $200 per quarter or $800 per year (§ 51-28-09(1)(f)).

Do I need to register to solicit in North Dakota?

Chapter 51-28 contains no telemarketer registration or bond requirement. It regulates conduct instead: callers must state their true first and last name, telephone number, city and state, and the business they call for at the beginning of each solicitation (§ 51-28-07), and may not knowingly block or circumvent caller identification (§ 51-28-08).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in North Dakota?

None. Chapter 51-28 contains no exemption for insurance agents or insurers. Three general exclusions from "telephone solicitation" in § 51-28-01(8) can matter to an agent: communications made with the subscriber’s prior express written request, consent, invitation or permission; communications by or on behalf of a person with whom the subscriber has an established personal or business relationship (an "established business relationship" is defined as one based on a free trial newspaper subscription or on a purchase, rental or lease of the seller’s goods or services or a financial transaction within the prior 24 months, § 51-28-01(4)); and a call by an individual who does not intend to complete, and does not complete, the sales presentation during the call but will complete it at a later face-to-face meeting — an exclusion that does not apply to text messages (§ 51-28-01(8)(e)). The § 51-28-05 hours limit on using an automatic dialing-announcing device, the § 51-28-02 prerecorded-message rule and the caller-ID fraud rule in § 51-28-08.1 are not tied to the definition of telephone solicitation; the identification and anti-blocking duties in §§ 51-28-07 and 51-28-08 apply to callers making telephone solicitations.

What are the penalties in North Dakota?

Any person who receives a telephone solicitation or message in violation of chapter 51-28 may sue for an injunction, damages or both; the court may award actual damages or up to $2,000 for each violation, whichever is greater, plus costs, expenses and reasonable attorney’s fees (§ 51-28-11). An action must be brought within one year after the person knew or should have known of the violation, or within one year after an attorney general proceeding ends, whichever is later (§ 51-28-12). The attorney general may issue cease and desist orders (§ 51-28-14) and impose civil penalties of not more than $2,000 per violation in an adjudicative proceeding (§ 51-28-15); a court may award the attorney general civil penalties of not more than $2,000 per violation, and a violation of chapter 51-28 is also a violation of chapter 51-15 for which civil penalties under § 51-15-11 may be awarded (§ 51-28-17). Each telephone solicitation or message is a separate violation (§ 51-28-19). Knowingly causing caller identification to display misleading information with intent to defraud or cause harm, or a number the caller does not own or have consent to use, carries private damages of the greater of actual damages or $5,000 to $10,000 per violation and is a class A misdemeanor (§ 51-28-08.1(1), (3), (4)).

Controlling statute

North Dakota Telephone Solicitations law (N.D. Cent. Code chapter 51-28) — N.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-28-01 to 51-28-22

Other things that change the answer

Chapter 51-28 protects a "subscriber," defined as a person who has subscribed to a residential telephone line or the persons living with that person (§ 51-28-01(6)); a "telephone line" includes cellular and other wireless service and voice over internet protocol service (§ 51-28-01(7)). An automatic dialing-announcing device must disconnect within ten seconds after the subscriber hangs up, and a device using a random or sequential number generator must exclude emergency numbers, hospital and care-facility rooms, paging and cellular numbers and numbers on the attorney general’s do-not-call list (§ 51-28-04). The attorney general or a private plaintiff may sue in the county of the subscriber’s residence or in Burleigh County (§ 51-28-22).

Sources

• N.D. Cent. Code ch. 51-28 — Telephone Solicitationsprimary source
• North Dakota Attorney General — Do Not Callprimary 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.