South Carolina telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

South Carolina allows telephone solicitation calls and texts only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time at the consumer's location unless the telephone solicitor has the consumer's prior written consent (S.C. Code § 37-21-30) — the same clock hours as the federal rules (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)), but with a written-consent exception and a state private right of action: an aggrieved person may recover actual losses plus $1,000 for each violation, which a court may raise to up to $5,000 for a wilful violation, plus attorneys' fees and costs (§ 37-21-80). The South Carolina Telephone Privacy Protection Act covers texts, bars solicitations to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry (§ 37-21-70(B)), and excludes "calls by institutions licensed and regulated under Title 38" — South Carolina's insurance title — from the definition of telephone solicitation (§ 37-21-20(6)(c)); the Act does not say whether an individual licensed producer is such an institution.

South Carolina regulates telephone solicitation under the South Carolina Telephone Privacy Protection Act (S.C. Code Title 37, Chapter 21) (S.C. Code Ann. §§ 37-21-10 to 37-21-100), 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 South Carolina?

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time at the consumer's location, unless the solicitor has the consumer's prior written consent. Section 37-21-30: "A telephone solicitor may not initiate, or cause to be initiated, a telephone solicitation at any time other than between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time at the consumer's location, unless the telephone solicitor has obtained the prior written consent of the consumer." The clock hours match the federal rules, which bar telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party's location (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)). "Telephone solicitation" covers calls and texts to a natural person's residence in South Carolina or to a wireless telephone with a South Carolina area code (§ 37-21-20(6)).

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in South Carolina?

Chapter 21 of Title 37 contains no Sunday or holiday rule; the 8:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. window in § 37-21-30 applies every day.

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

Written. The hours rule yields only to "the prior written consent of the consumer" (§ 37-21-30); the Act does not define that phrase. Separately, a solicitation made to a consumer with "that consumer's prior express invitation or permission as evidenced by a signed or electronically signed, written agreement stating that the person agrees to be contacted by or on behalf of a specific party and including the telephone number to which they may be placed" is not a "telephone solicitation" under the Act, and neither is a solicitation to a consumer with whom the seller has an established business relationship or with whom the caller has a personal relationship (§ 37-21-20(6)(b)). Those three exclusions do not apply for the purposes of § 37-21-70 (do-not-call), and they end once the consumer has stated a desire not to be contacted by or on behalf of that seller (§ 37-21-20(6)(b)). An established business relationship is based on the consumer's purchase or transaction within the eighteen months, or inquiry or application within the three months, immediately preceding the solicitation date (§ 37-21-20(2)).

Does South Carolina treat texting differently from calling?

Yes. A "telephone solicitation" is "the initiation of a telephone call, or a text or media message sent" to a natural person's residence in South Carolina or to a wireless telephone with a South Carolina area code for the listed sales purposes (§ 37-21-20(6)), so the hours, disclosure and do-not-call rules reach sales texts. A "text message" includes SMS and MMS messages and does not include real-time two-way voice or video communications or, except for SMS and MMS messages, messages sent over an IP-enabled messaging service to another user of the same service (§ 37-21-20(8)). The caller-ID provisions in § 37-21-50 also refer to text messages.

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

No separate state list; the Act relies on the national registry. Section 37-21-70(B): "A telephone solicitor may not initiate, or cause to be initiated, a telephone solicitation to a telephone number on the National Do Not Call Registry maintained by the federal government pursuant to the Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 C.F.R. Part 310, and 47 C.F.R. Section 64.1200." A request not to receive telephone solicitations from or on behalf of a particular seller must be honored for at least five years (§ 37-21-70(A)), and each solicitation must offer the consumer the option to be added to the solicitor's in-house do-not-call list (§ 37-21-40(A)(4)). It is an affirmative defense to a § 37-21-70 claim that the defendant established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to prevent violations, including using a version of the National Do Not Call Registry obtained no more than thirty-one days before the solicitation (§ 37-21-70(C)).

Do I need to register to solicit in South Carolina?

No. Chapter 21 of Title 37 contains no registration, licensing or bonding requirement for telephone solicitors.

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in South Carolina?

Partly, and the scope is not settled by the text. Section 37-21-20(6)(c) says "telephone solicitation" does not mean "calls by institutions licensed and regulated under Title 38"; Title 38 of the South Carolina Code is the insurance title, and its Chapter 43 is titled "Insurance Producers and Agencies." The Act does not define "institutions" and does not say whether an individual licensed producer, as opposed to an insurer or agency, is one. The exclusion refers to "calls" and does not mention texts, although other parts of the same definition refer to calls and "text or media message[s]." Unlike the consent, business-relationship and personal-relationship exclusions in § 37-21-20(6)(b), the Title 38 exclusion is not made inapplicable to § 37-21-70. Where the exclusion applies, the call is outside the provisions that turn on "telephone solicitation": the hours rule (§ 37-21-30), disclosures (§ 37-21-40), the prerecorded opt-out message (§ 37-21-60), the do-not-call rules (§ 37-21-70) and the caller-ID transmission duty (§ 37-21-50(C)). Section 37-21-50(A), which bars misleading caller-ID information when used with intent to defraud, harass, cause harm or wrongfully obtain anything of value, applies to "a person" making "a call or text message" and does not depend on that definition. The separate automatically dialed announcing device statute, § 16-17-446, contains no Title 38 exclusion. Federal calling-hours and do-not-call rules apply on their own terms.

What are the penalties in South Carolina?

Private action: a person aggrieved by a violation of the chapter may sue to enjoin it and "to recover actual losses in addition to damages in the amount of one thousand dollars for each violation" (§ 37-21-80(A)); for a wilful violation the court may increase the award to not more than $5,000 for each violation (§ 37-21-80(B)); reasonable attorneys' fees and court costs may be awarded (§ 37-21-80(C)); and it is a defense that the violation was not intentional and resulted from a bona fide error (§ 37-21-80(E)). Public enforcement: the administrator — the officer appointed by the Commission on Consumer Affairs to administer Title 37 (§§ 37-1-301(2), 37-6-103) — may order a violator to cease and desist, return property or money received in violation of the chapter, and pay penalties of up to $5,000 for each violation (§ 37-21-90(A)); the Attorney General may sue to enjoin violations and recover damages for aggrieved persons of $5,000 for each violation, plus, for a wilful violation, a civil penalty of not more than $5,000 for each violation and reasonable investigation expenses and attorneys' fees (§ 37-21-90(B)). The chapter does not limit remedies under other federal or state law (§ 37-21-100).

Controlling statute

South Carolina Telephone Privacy Protection Act (S.C. Code Title 37, Chapter 21) — S.C. Code Ann. §§ 37-21-10 to 37-21-100

Other things that change the answer

At the outset of a telephone solicitation the solicitor must give a first and last name, the name of the person on whose behalf the solicitation is made, a telephone number and address for the solicitor, the purpose of the solicitation and the option to be added to the in-house do-not-call list; must disclose a reasonable, good-faith estimate of the total costs and quantity of the goods or services and any policy of not making refunds, cancellations, exchanges or repurchases; and must immediately end the contact if the consumer indicates he does not want to hear the offer (§ 37-21-40). The solicitor must transmit its telephone number, and its name when the carrier makes that available, and the number must allow the consumer to make a do-not-call request during regular business hours (§ 37-21-50(C)). If a live solicitor is not available within two seconds of the completed greeting, the solicitor must play a prerecorded identification and opt-out message with an automated opt-out mechanism (§ 37-21-60). The Code annotates § 37-21-50 with a validity note citing United Resource Systems, Inc. v. Wilson, 614 F. Supp. 3d 243 (2022). The Act took effect May 18, 2018 (2018 Act No. 218), and each section of Chapter 21 shows only that history; the same Act deleted former § 16-17-445, titled "Regulation of unsolicited consumer telephone calls." Title 16 still contains § 16-17-446 on automatically dialed announcing device (ADAD) calls, which allows such calls only in response to an express request of the person called, primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, or to a person with whom the solicitor has an existing or previous business relationship, and prohibits them "after seven p.m. or before eight a.m."; the section still cross-refers to the deleted § 16-17-445, and the Code annotates it with a validity note citing Cahaly v. LaRosa, 25 F. Supp. 3d 817 (D.S.C. 2014), 796 F.3d 399 (4th Cir.).

Sources

• S.C. Code Title 37, Chapter 21 — South Carolina Telephone Privacy Protection Actprimary source
• S.C. Code Title 16, Chapter 17 (§ 16-17-445, deleted 2018; § 16-17-446, ADAD calls)primary source
• S.C. Code Title 38 — Insurance (chapter list)primary source
• S.C. Code § 37-1-301 — General definitions ("Administrator")primary source
• S.C. Code § 37-6-103 — "Administrator" definedprimary 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.