West Virginia telemarketing & SMS rules for insurance agents

West Virginia makes it an abusive act to engage in telemarketing to a person’s residence at any time other than 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time, Monday through Sunday, at the called person’s location (W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-601(a)(4)). Those are the federal clock hours (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)). But the whole telemarketing article, including that window, the Department of Tax and Revenue registration and the $100,000 surety bond, does not apply to a licensed insurance broker, agent, customer representative or solicitor soliciting within the scope of his or her license (§ 46A-6F-210). The article’s exemptions are exclusive to the article and do not exempt anyone from other provisions of the West Virginia Code (§ 46A-6F-702); the federal calling-time rules apply on their own terms. For telemarketers that are not exempt, a consumer may recover actual damages plus a court-set penalty of $100 to $3,000 for a violation of § 46A-6F-601 (§ 46A-6F-701(a)).

West Virginia regulates telephone solicitation under the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, article 6F (Telemarketing) (W. Va. Code §§ 46A-6F-101 to 46A-6F-703), 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 West Virginia?

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. local time at the called person’s location, every day of the week, for telemarketers covered by the article. Section 46A-6F-601(a) makes it an abusive telemarketing act or practice and a violation of the article for any telemarketer to "Engage in telemarketing to a person's residence at any time other than between eight a.m. and nine p.m. local time, Monday through Sunday, at the called person's location" (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(4)). Section 46A-6F-601 contains no consent exception. The article does not apply to a licensed insurance broker, agent, customer representative or solicitor soliciting within the scope of his or her license (§ 46A-6F-210), so this window does not bind licensed producers in that capacity; the federal rule barring telephone solicitations to residential subscribers "before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. (local time at the called party's location)" (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1)) is not affected by the state exemption.

Are there Sunday or holiday restrictions in West Virginia?

The window runs "Monday through Sunday" (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(4)): the same 8 a.m.–9 p.m. hours on every day of the week, with no separate Sunday restriction. Article 46A-6F contains no holiday rule.

What consent does West Virginia require before the first call or text?

Article 46A-6F contains no prior-consent requirement for telemarketing calls. It is built around the “telemarketing solicitation”: a communication intended to lead to a purchase agreement after the telemarketer makes an unsolicited telephone call to a consumer who has not previously expressed an interest in the goods or services, or after the telemarketer invites the consumer to respond and intends to make the sale during later telephone communications (§ 46A-6F-112(a)). After a person has stated that he or she does not wish to receive calls made by or on behalf of the telemarketer, a further outbound call is an abusive act (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(3)). Obtaining or submitting for payment a check, draft or other negotiable paper drawn on a person’s account requires that person’s express verifiable authorization (§ 46A-6F-501(3)).

Does West Virginia treat texting differently from calling?

Article 46A-6F contains no provision addressing text messages. A “telemarketer” is a person who "initiates or receives telephone calls to or from a consumer in this state" for the purpose of making a telemarketing solicitation (§ 46A-6F-113(a)), and the hours rule applies to engaging in telemarketing to a person’s residence (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(4)).

Does West Virginia have its own do-not-call list?

No. Article 46A-6F creates no state do-not-call list and does not refer to the National Do Not Call Registry. It has a company-specific rule: a telemarketer may not "Initiate an outbound telephone call to a person when that person previously has stated that he or she does not wish to receive an outbound telephone call made by or on behalf of the telemarketer whose goods or services are being offered" (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(3)). A telemarketer is not liable under that rule if it has established and implemented written procedures to avoid such calls, trained its personnel in them, maintained and recorded lists of persons who asked not to be called, and any later call is the result of error (§ 46A-6F-601(b)).

Do I need to register to solicit in West Virginia?

Yes, for telemarketers that are not exempt. "No person shall act as a telemarketer without first having registered with the secretary of the Department of Tax and Revenue" (§ 46A-6F-301(a)). The initial application must be made at least sixty days before offering consumer goods or services, renewal is annual, and application and renewal fees are set by legislative rule (§ 46A-6F-301(b)). The application must be accompanied by a continuing surety bond of $100,000 for each telemarketing location or a single $500,000 bond for all locations; an irrevocable letter of credit, certificate of deposit, cash or government bond in the same amount may be filed instead (§ 46A-6F-302(a), (e)). Acting as a telemarketer without registering or meeting the security requirement exposes a person to a civil administrative penalty of not more than $5,000 (§ 46A-6F-303(a)). Telemarketers must keep specified records for four years (§ 46A-6F-304(a)). Licensed insurance producers soliciting within the scope of their license are outside the whole article, including registration and bonding (§ 46A-6F-210).

Are licensed insurance agents exempt in West Virginia?

Yes, from the whole article, when soliciting within the scope of the license. Section 46A-6F-210: "The provisions of this article do not apply to any licensed insurance broker, agent, customer representative, or solicitor when soliciting within the scope of his or her license." The section defines those licensees as persons "licensed by an official or agency of this state pursuant to subsection (a), section one, article twelve, chapter thirty-three of this code, or of any state of the United States." That cross-reference has not been amended since the article was enacted in 1998; § 33-12-1 now states the purpose and scope of West Virginia’s insurance producer licensing article, and that article provides that wherever the word “agent” appears in chapter 33 it means an individual insurance producer (§ 33-12-2(f)). A “telemarketer” does not include persons exempted under part II of the article (§ 46A-6F-113(c)). The exemption therefore lifts, for covered licensees, the 8 a.m.–9 p.m. window, the company-specific do-not-call rule, the Department of Tax and Revenue registration and bond, the disclosure and record-keeping duties, and the article’s private remedies. It is limited to article 6F: exemptions in the article "are exclusive to this article and shall not be construed to otherwise exempt a person or to limit the applicability of any other provisions of this code" (§ 46A-6F-702). It does not exempt anyone from the federal calling-time rules (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1); 16 CFR 310.4(c)), which apply on their own terms, and it does not cover solicitations outside the scope of the license.

What are the penalties in West Virginia?

If a telemarketer violates § 46A-6F-601, which includes the hours rule, the consumer may sue for actual damages plus a penalty set by the court of not less than $100 nor more than $3,000, within two years after the violation or the due date of the last scheduled payment, whichever is later (§ 46A-6F-701(a)). Any resulting sale or lease is void and the consumer need not pay principal or finance charges (§ 46A-6F-701(b)), and a consumer harmed by an abusive act or practice "shall receive injunctive or declaratory relief" (§ 46A-6F-701(c)). The same $100–$3,000 penalty and voiding apply to unfair or deceptive acts under § 46A-6F-501 (§ 46A-6F-502(1)–(2)). For those § 46A-6F-502 claims, a telemarketer has no liability for a penalty under § 46A-6F-502(1) or (4) if, within fifteen days after discovering an error and before suit or receipt of written notice of the error, it notifies the consumer of the error and corrects it (§ 46A-6F-502(5)), and no liability is imposed under § 46A-6F-502(1), (2) or (4) if the telemarketer establishes by a preponderance of evidence that the violation was unintentional or the result of a bona fide error of fact notwithstanding procedures reasonably adapted to avoid it (§ 46A-6F-502(6)). The state may seek injunctive or declaratory relief, actual damages, consumer restitution, civil penalties, forfeiture of bond, attachment of property, costs and attorney’s fees (§ 46A-6F-701(d)), and courts may adjust consumer damages for inflation from July 1, 1998 (§ 46A-6F-701(e)). The Department of Tax and Revenue may levy a civil administrative penalty of not more than $5,000 for acting as a telemarketer without registering or meeting the security requirement (§ 46A-6F-303(a)), and a person to whom a telemarketer fails to account and pay may sue on the bond (§ 46A-6F-302(h)).

Controlling statute

West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act, article 6F (Telemarketing) — W. Va. Code §§ 46A-6F-101 to 46A-6F-703

Other things that change the answer

Article 46A-6F reaches any person who initiates or receives telephone calls to or from a consumer in West Virginia to make a telemarketing solicitation (§ 46A-6F-113(a)), including owners, operators, officers, directors, partners and other individuals managing a business subject to licensing and registration under the article (§ 46A-6F-113(e)). A covered telemarketer must promptly disclose its true identity, that the purpose of the call is to sell consumer goods or services, and the nature of the goods or services (§ 46A-6F-401(a)), and must make cost, quantity, restriction and refund-policy disclosures before the consumer pays (§ 46A-6F-401(b)). Transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller identification information is an unfair or deceptive act (§ 46A-6F-501(9)). Engaging any person repeatedly or continuously with behavior a reasonable person would deem annoying, abusive or harassing is an abusive act (§ 46A-6F-601(a)(2)); the article states no numeric call limit. Other part II exemptions include a person who does not make the major sales presentation during the telephone solicitation and completes the sale at a later face-to-face meeting as a home solicitation sale (§ 46A-6F-204); a person with a permanent business location under the same name where the identical goods or services are offered and more than fifty percent of the goods or services are provided (§ 46A-6F-213); and a telemarketer in good standing that has provided telemarketing sales services continuously for at least two years under the same name and ownership and derives fifty percent of its gross telemarketing sales revenues from contracts with exempt persons, which must register without bond to establish eligibility (§ 46A-6F-219).

Sources

• W. Va. Code ch. 46A, art. 6F — Telemarketing (section list)primary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-601 — Abusive acts or practices (calling hours)primary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-210 — Inapplicability of article to licensed insurance broker, agent, customer representative, or solicitorprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-702 — Remedies not exclusiveprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-301 — Registration of telemarketersprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-302 — Security requirementprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-502 — Causes of action arising out of unfair or deceptive acts or practicesprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 46A-6F-701 — Civil remediesprimary source
• W. Va. Code §§ 46A-6F-112, 46A-6F-113 — Telemarketing solicitation; telemarketerprimary source
• W. Va. Code § 33-12-1 — Purpose and scope (insurance producer licensing)primary source
• W. Va. Code § 33-12-2 — Definitions (insurance producer licensing)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.