Oregon telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

Oregon makes it an unlawful practice to initiate a telephone solicitation outside 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m., or more than three times to a party within 24 hours, unless the caller has an established business relationship with the party (ORS 646.563(1)(b)) — an hour earlier than the federal 9:00 p.m. cutoff (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)) — and since January 1, 2026, the rule expressly covers text messages (Or. Laws 2025, ch. 580). ORS 646.561 to 646.565 contain no insurance exemption; a person licensed under ORS chapter 744 is excluded only from telephonic seller registration when the transaction is governed by the Insurance Code (ORS 646.551(3)(b)(D)).

Oregon regulates telephone solicitation under the Oregon telephone solicitation laws: ORS 646.561 to 646.565 (hours and call limits), ORS 646.567 to 646.578 (do-not-call), ORS 646.551 to 646.557 (telephonic seller registration) and ORS 646A.370 to 646A.376 (automatic dialing and announcing devices), enforced through the Unlawful Trade Practices Act (ORS 646.551–646.578; ORS 646A.370–646A.376; ORS 646.608, 646.638, 646.642), 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 Oregon?

8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ORS 646.563(1)(b): a person engages in an unlawful practice if "The person initiates a telephone solicitation outside the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or initiates a solicitation more than three separate times to a party within a 24-hour period, unless the person has an established business relationship with the party." An established business relationship is "a previous transaction or series of transactions between a caller and a party that occurred within the 18 months that preceded a call" (ORS 646.561(2)). The statute does not say whose local time applies; a person may rely on the area code of a mobile number to decide whether the party is located in Oregon (ORS 646.563(2)). Calls using an automatic dialing and announcing device are separately limited to 8 a.m.–8 p.m. and three calls in 24 hours (ORS 646A.372(5)(a)); that window was 9 a.m.–9 p.m. before January 1, 2026 (Or. Laws 2025, ch. 580, § 4). A call at 8:30 p.m. that the federal rule permits is an unlawful practice in Oregon absent an established business relationship.

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in Oregon?

ORS 646.561 to 646.578 and ORS 646A.370 to 646A.376 contain no Sunday or holiday rule; the 8:00 a.m.–8:00 p.m. limit applies every day.

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

ORS 646.561 to 646.565 impose no prior-consent requirement; they restrict timing, frequency, repeat contact after a stop request, and misrepresentation of the caller’s identity or the purpose of the call (ORS 646.563(1)). A call or text message "that responds directly to a message received from a party" is not a telephone solicitation (ORS 646.561(4)(b)(D)). When an automatic dialing and announcing device is used to call a subscriber by telephone, the device must disconnect within 10 seconds after the subscriber hangs up and must provide, and its prerecorded or synthesized message must describe, a method by which the subscriber can enter or speak a one-digit code within the first 10 seconds to opt out of future calls (ORS 646A.372(1)(a)); the opt-out requirement does not apply to a collection agency, debt buyer or debt collector, a public safety or law enforcement representative, or a caller with an established business relationship with the subscriber (ORS 646A.372(1)(b)).

Does Oregon treat texting differently from calling?

Yes, for the hours, frequency and stop-request rules. Since January 1, 2026, "telephone solicitation" in ORS 646.561 to 646.565 means a sales or donation solicitation made by means of "A call on a telephone or telephone line" or "A text message" (ORS 646.561(4)(a), as amended by Or. Laws 2025, ch. 580, § 1). The automatic dialing and announcing device law also defines "call" to include a text message (ORS 646A.370(2)). Chapter 580 did not amend the do-not-call definitions in ORS 646.567, which describe "the solicitation by telephone by any person of a party."

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

Oregon law lets the Attorney General use a federal registry instead of an Oregon list. ORS 646.572(1) requires the Attorney General either to contract with an administrator for an Oregon program or to "Designate a federal “do not call” registry, including but not limited to the registry maintained by the Federal Trade Commission under 16 C.F.R. 310, in lieu of an Oregon do not call registry." ORS 646.569(1)(a) bars a telephone solicitation of a party at a number on the list published by the program administrator or "Maintained as part of the federal registry designated under ORS 646.572." The Oregon Department of Justice directs consumers to the National Do Not Call List and states: "Certain telemarketing calls are still allowed under Oregon law, even if you are on the National Do Not Call List." For the do-not-call rule, telephone solicitation excludes calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called party, charitable and public-agency calls to members or donors, polling, and business-to-business contacts (ORS 646.567(5)), and solicitations of prospective purchasers who previously purchased from the caller, the business enterprise it calls for, or a financial-institution predecessor of that enterprise (ORS 646.569(2)(f)). A person who knowingly provides substantial assistance or support for a violation is liable to the same extent (ORS 646.569(1)(b)).

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

No more than three separate solicitations to a party within a 24-hour period, unless the person has an established business relationship with the party (ORS 646.563(1)(b)). Callers using an automatic dialing and announcing device "may not call the subscriber more than three times in 24 hours," subject to exceptions including an established business relationship and responding directly to a message from the subscriber (ORS 646A.372(5)). If a party states during a solicitation a desire not to be called or texted again, any later solicitation of that party at that number is an unlawful practice (ORS 646.563(1)(a)).

Do I need to register to solicit in Oregon?

Only for a "telephonic seller." ORS 646.553(1): "A telephonic seller shall not conduct business in this state without having registered with the Department of Justice at least 10 days prior to the conduct of such business." Registration lasts one year and each application or renewal carries a $400 fee (ORS 646.553(2)). The definition is narrow: a telephone solicitation under ORS 646.551(2) is telephonic contact soliciting a business opportunity, or contact in which the caller represents or implies free additional units, a prize or gift tied to a purchase or payment, below-market prices because of an unusual event or imminent price increase, that the seller or manufacturer is someone else, or that the goods are precious metals, stones or oil, gas or mineral interests, including such a solicitation made in response to inquiries prompted by the person’s advertisements. A person licensed under ORS chapter 744 is not a telephonic seller "if the solicited transaction is governed under the Insurance Code" (ORS 646.551(3)(b)(D)); insurers subject to state or federal regulation are excluded as supervised financial institutions (ORS 646.551(3)(b)(J)). The person claiming an exemption bears the burden of proving it (ORS 646.555).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in Oregon?

Only from telephonic seller registration. ORS 646.551(3)(b)(D) excludes from "telephonic seller" "A person that is licensed pursuant to ORS chapter 744 if the solicited transaction is governed under the Insurance Code," which lifts the ORS 646.553 registration and fee and the ORS 646.557 disclosures. ORS 646.561 to 646.565 (hours, three-call limit, stop requests), ORS 646.567 to 646.578 (do-not-call) and ORS 646A.370 to 646A.376 (automatic dialing and announcing devices) contain no insurance exemption. The established-business-relationship exception in ORS 646.563(1)(b) — a transaction or series of transactions with the party in the preceding 18 months — and the prior-purchaser exclusion in ORS 646.569(2)(f) are available to any caller who qualifies.

What are the penalties in Oregon?

Violating ORS 646.563 (hours, frequency, stop requests, misrepresentation), ORS 646.569 (do-not-call), ORS 646A.374 (caller misrepresentation and caller-ID spoofing) or ORS 646.553 or 646.557 (registration and disclosures) is an unlawful practice under ORS 646.608 (ORS 646.608(1)(ff), (ii), (jj)). A person who suffers an ascertainable loss of money or property as a result of another person’s willful use of an unlawful practice may recover actual damages or statutory damages of $200, whichever is greater; punitive damages and equitable relief may be awarded, attorney fees may be awarded to a prevailing plaintiff, and the action must be brought within one year after discovery (ORS 646.638(1), (3), (6)). In a suit by a prosecuting attorney, the court may impose a civil penalty of up to $25,000 per violation for willful use of an unlawful practice (ORS 646.642(3)). A violation of ORS 646A.372 or 646A.374 is an unlawful trade practice subject to investigation and enforcement, with a civil penalty that "may not exceed $5,000" (ORS 646A.376).

Controlling statute

Oregon telephone solicitation laws: ORS 646.561 to 646.565 (hours and call limits), ORS 646.567 to 646.578 (do-not-call), ORS 646.551 to 646.557 (telephonic seller registration) and ORS 646A.370 to 646A.376 (automatic dialing and announcing devices), enforced through the Unlawful Trade Practices Act — ORS 646.551–646.578; ORS 646A.370–646A.376; ORS 646.608, 646.638, 646.642

Other things that change the answer

Or. Laws 2025, ch. 580 (HB 3865), effective January 1, 2026, added text messages to ORS 646.561, rewrote ORS 646.563, moved the automatic-dialer window from 9 a.m.–9 p.m. to 8 a.m.–8 p.m., and extended the ORS 646A.374 misrepresentation ban to text messages. During a telephone solicitation a person may not misrepresent or falsify its identity, the identity of the person it calls for, or the purpose of the solicitation (ORS 646.563(1)(c)). A caller may not intentionally alter, misrepresent or falsify the information a caller identification service would ordinarily provide (ORS 646A.374(3)), and a caller using an automatic dialing and announcing device may not misrepresent its identity, number, location or purpose, including in a text message (ORS 646A.374(2)). An automatic dialing and announcing device that dials randomly or sequentially must exclude numbers on an official government do-not-call list unless the caller has an established business relationship with the subscriber or another exception applies (ORS 646A.372(4)).

Sources

• ORS chapter 646 — Trade Practices and Antitrust Regulation (ORS 646.551–646.578, 646.608, 646.638, 646.642)primary source
• ORS chapter 646A — Trade Regulation (ORS 646A.370–646A.376)primary source
• Oregon Laws 2025, chapter 580 (HB 3865)primary source
• Oregon Department of Justice — Telemarketingprimary 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.