Pennsylvania just tightened telemarketing compliance with an amendment to its Telemarketer Registration Act. Businesses that use outbound calls, texts, or ringless voicemail to market to consumers will need to review SB 992, signed into law on July 20, 2026, and effective October 2026.
The law requires telemarketers to register with the state and imposes certain restrictions on phone solicitations. What has changed?
- The law covers more types of communication than before. Previously, the law covered solicitation calls. As amended, the law will apply to telephone solicitations more broadly. This now includes texts and voicemail messages. A subset are those made for the purpose of soliciting the sale of consumer goods or services. A subset of these are “robocalls.” These were previously defined as telephone solicitations made using “a computerized autodialer.” That has changed to those made using “an automated dialing system to deliver prerecorded or artificial voice calls or messages.”
- Consent rules are stricter. As amended, the law will require prior express written consent before making a robocall. As a reminder, robocalls are solicitation calls made using an autodialer. For these robocalls, consent needs to (1) identify the number that the recipient is authorizing to be called, (2) expressly state that the recipient agrees to get telephone solicitations from the caller, including texts and robocalls, and (3) say that consent is not a condition of purchase. The consent must not only be in writing, but also (4) be signed by the call recipient (digital signature is acceptable). The law has not changed the exceptions to telephone solicitations, of which robocalls are a subset. These include a prior existing business relationship in the last 12 months, calls about an existing debt or contract, and calls made on behalf of a tax-exempt entity.
- Specificity around text opt-out mechanisms. For solicitation texts, the law will now expressly require honoring opt-out requests made if the recipient replies: STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE.
- The hours you can reach people have also gotten shorter. The law will prohibit telephone solicitations on Sundays and between 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. The old law allowed outreach until 9:00 p.m. and as early as 8:00 a.m.
Violations can result in civil penalties of up to $1,000 per call or text, and up to $3,000 when the recipient is 60 or older. Private lawsuits are also possible.
Putting it into Practice: Pennsylvania's law is one more reminder that federal rules alone are not enough. Businesses running multistate campaigns should treat this as a prompt to review all state-level obligations, not just Pennsylvania's.