Law / United States / 
Florida
Florida Telemarketing Act
In force.
A telephone contact rule binding private bodies.
- Obligation class
- Licensing, Prohibition, Disclosure
As of .
What it requires
- Obtain a Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services license before doing business in this state as a commercial telephone seller or salesperson, on a written application accompanied by a bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit and a $1,500 fee, and do not employ or be affiliated with an unlicensed salesperson or commercial telephone seller.
- Do not place a commercial telephone solicitation phone call, including one made through automated dialing or a recorded message, before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. local time in the called person's time zone.
- Do not make more than three commercial telephone solicitation phone calls to a person over a 24-hour period on the same subject matter or issue, from any number.
- Do not intentionally prevent transmission of your name or telephone number to the party called when your equipment can create and transmit it, and do not use technology that displays a different caller identification number than the one the call actually originates from to conceal your identity.
If you get it wrong
Criminal exposureYes
Private right of actionYes
Criminal exposure note
Soliciting without a license, employing an unlicensed salesperson, soliciting while unlicensed, or falsifying a license application is a third-degree felony, as is otherwise violating any provision of the Act; a second or subsequent conviction under the Act is a second-degree felony. Using caller-identification-spoofing technology on a commercial telephone solicitation call is instead its own second-degree misdemeanor.
Who enforces it
Enforcement body
The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (licensing, administrative fines, civil penalties, license denial, suspension, or revocation); a criminal prosecuting agency on the Department's referral; a private civil action under Fla. Stat. § 501.625.
What this law does
The Florida Telemarketing Act requires a commercial telephone seller and its salespersons to hold a Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services license, on a written application accompanied by a bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit and a $1,500 fee. It bars a commercial telephone seller or salesperson from placing a commercial telephone solicitation call before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. local time in the called person's time zone.
It also bars a commercial telephone seller or salesperson from making more than three such calls to one person on the same subject within a 24-hour period, and from displaying a false caller identification number to conceal the caller's identity, calling-conduct duties chapter 2021-185 added effective alongside the parallel rewrite of Fla. Stat. § 501.059 above.
A person injured by a violation may sue for actual and punitive damages, costs, and attorney's fees, and the Department may separately impose a civil penalty, an administrative fine, or license denial, suspension, or revocation; soliciting or employing a salesperson without a license, and otherwise violating any provision of the Act, are each a third-degree felony (a second-degree felony on a repeat conviction), while using caller-identification-spoofing technology on a commercial telephone solicitation call carries its own, narrower second-degree misdemeanor.
When LexLint raises it
When your app profile says your app sends automated outreach.