What are Pennsylvania's telemarketing rules?
| Rule | What Pennsylvania law says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Calling hours | No telephone solicitation on a Sunday, after 7 p.m. or before 9 a.m. | § 5(a)(1); Act 47 of 2026 |
| Holidays | No telephone solicitation on a legal holiday. | § 5(a)(10) |
| Robocalls | No robocall without the called party's prior express written consent. A robocall uses an automated dialing system to deliver prerecorded or artificial voice calls or messages. | § 5(a)(11) |
| Robocall opt-out | Say at the start how to opt out, and offer an automated opt-out within two seconds of giving the caller's name. | § 5.2(l) |
| Texts and voicemail | A telephone solicitation includes a call, voicemail, ringless voicemail or text. Replies like stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe stop texts. | §§ 2, 5(a)(2) |
| Synthetic messaging | No technology or synthetic or computer-generated messaging used to defraud, deceive or mislead. | § 5(a)(13) |
| State do-not-call list | Pennsylvania keeps its own list through a contracted nonprofit administrator; get it quarterly, and calls are barred 30 days after a list is issued. | § 5.2(a)-(b); AG FAQ |
| Registration | Telemarketers register with the Attorney General and post a $50,000 bond; a person or business licensed by a federal or state agency is exempt from registration. | §§ 3-4 |
Federal rules apply on top of these: the TCPA, the FCC's rules in 47 CFR § 64.1200 and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule. See Can AI call life insurance leads?
Do Pennsylvania's rules apply to licensed insurance agents?
Yes, except for registration. The registration section “shall not apply to a person or business licensed by or registered with a Federal or Commonwealth agency” (§ 3(a)). That exemption is in the registration section only. Nothing in it exempts licensees from the hours, the Sunday and holiday bans, the robocall consent rule or the do-not-call list.
Can an AI voice call leads in Pennsylvania?
Only with prior express written consent. Pennsylvania's definition of robocall names “prerecorded or artificial voice calls or messages” delivered through an automated dialing system (§ 5(a)(11)), and the consent has to include the phone number, a clear disclosure, a statement that consent is not a condition of purchase, and a signature (electronic is fine).
A robocall also has to say at the start how to opt out and offer an automated opt-out within two seconds of the caller's name (§ 5.2(l)). And the 2026 amendment bans using synthetic or computer-generated messaging to defraud, deceive or mislead.
How do Polca's calling limits compare with Pennsylvania's rules?
On every call, AI and human, Polca calls only between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. in the lead's local time (checked against the lead's state and area code), never dials on Sundays, checks the agency's opt-out list at dial time, adds opt-outs it detects on calls, caps attempts per lead, and gives the agency a kill switch. Agencies can tighten these limits (narrower hours, lower caps) but cannot loosen them.
- Hours and Sundays: Polca's 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. window and no-Sunday rule match Pennsylvania's new limits.
- Legal holidays: not blocked by Polca. Stop Pennsylvania calls on legal holidays yourself; the kill switch stops all of your agency's outbound dialing at once.
- Opt-out at the start of AI calls: your agency's configuration has to give the opt-out instructions and an automated opt-out the way § 5.2(l) describes.
- Pennsylvania's list: not scrubbed by Polca.
These limits do not cover every state rule. Polca's Calling & AI Voice policy says state holiday or emergency restrictions and state rules stricter than these limits are the agency's responsibility. Polca does not scrub lists against the National Do Not Call Registry or any state list, and its own registrations do not cover the agency. Your agency has to check the rules of every state it calls.
What should an agency calling Pennsylvania leads do?
- Stop Pennsylvania calls on legal holidays.
- Get the Pennsylvania do-not-call list quarterly and suppress it.
- Keep prior express written consent for every lead an AI calls, with the elements Pennsylvania lists.
- Build the opt-out disclosure into the start of every AI call to Pennsylvania leads.
- Treat texts and ringless voicemail as telephone solicitations.
This page is general information from Polca (polca.ai), not legal advice. Read the linked statute and talk to your own counsel before you rely on it.
Common questions
What are the new telemarketing hours in Pennsylvania?
Since Act 47 of 2026 took effect: no telephone solicitations before 9 a.m., after 7 p.m., on Sundays or on legal holidays.
Do I need consent for AI calls in Pennsylvania?
Yes. A robocall, an automated call that delivers a prerecorded or artificial voice, needs the called party's prior express written consent.
Are insurance agents exempt from Pennsylvania's telemarketing law?
From registration, if licensed by a state or federal agency. Not from the hours, the robocall rules or the do-not-call list.
Sources
- Pennsylvania Telemarketer Registration Act, Act 147 of 1996 as amended (73 P.S. § 2241 et seq.)
- Pennsylvania Act 47 of 2026 (SB 992), approved July 20, 2026
- Pennsylvania Attorney General: Do Not Call list FAQ
- FCC Declaratory Ruling FCC 24-17 (AI-generated voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA), released Feb. 8, 2024
- 47 CFR § 64.1200 (FCC telemarketing and robocall rules)
- Polca Calling & Recording Policy
This page is general information, not legal advice. Laws and rules change; check the sources and talk to your own counsel.
Calling limits that can't be loosened.
Polca calls 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the lead's local time, never on Sundays, with opt-outs, attempt caps and a kill switch on every call. Your agency checks the state rules on top.
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