Most calling-hours questions have a one-line answer: 8am to 9pm, in the number's time zone, under the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule. A handful of states layer their own restriction on top, and a few of those get specific about Sundays and holidays in ways a generic "8-to-9" answer misses entirely.
| Jurisdiction | Hours | Citation |
|---|---|---|
| Federal (baseline) | 8am–9pm, called party's local time | 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(c) |
| Florida | No state-specific rule — federal window applies | Fla. Stat. § 501.059 (confirmed absent) |
| Oklahoma | 8am–8pm, called party's zone | 15 O.S. § 775C.4 |
| Washington | 8am–8pm, recipient's local time | RCW 19.158.040(2) / .110(4) |
| Connecticut | 9am–8pm local time | Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(c) |
| Texas | 9am–9pm Mon–Sat; noon–9pm Sunday | Bus. & Com. Code § 301.051(b)(2) |
| Louisiana | 8am–8pm Mon–Sat; no calls Sunday or state holidays | La. R.S. 45:811 |
| Alabama | 8am–8pm; no calls Sunday or state holidays | Ala. Admin. Code r. 770-X-5-.17 |
| New York | No state-specific rule — federal window applies | GBS § 399-z |
| Missouri | No state-specific rule — federal window applies | RSMo § 407.1076 |
| Pennsylvania (not yet in force) | Currently: federal window. From 18 Oct 2026: 9am–7pm Mon–Sat, no Sunday or legal-holiday calls | 73 P.S. § 2245(a)(1),(a)(10), Act 47 of 2026 |
| Michigan (different legal basis) | 9pm–9am restricted, but only where intent to harass is present — see FAQ | MCL 750.540e(1)(f) |
This table covers the states independently verified against primary source text as of 2026-08-14. It is not a complete 50-state list, and a state not appearing here has not been checked yet — it does not mean "confirmed to match federal."
The states that get specific about Sundays
A plain "8am–9pm" answer misses the states where Sunday and holiday calling is treated differently from the rest of the week:
- Louisiana and Alabama bar telemarketing calls entirely on Sundays and state holidays — not a narrower window, no calling at all.
- Texas allows Sunday calling but only from noon, three hours later than its weekday start.
- Pennsylvania will join this group once its October 2026 amendment takes effect, adding a Sunday and legal-holiday ban to a 9am–7pm weekday window that's also an hour narrower than federal on the back end.
A calling operation built to a single national 8am–9pm rule will violate all four of these on the days they matter most.
Two rows that need more than a number
Michigan looks like a straightforward evening-hours restriction on its face, but it's written into the state's criminal telephone-harassment statute and only bites where there's intent to harass — an ordinary sales call outside that intent isn't the target of the provision. Treat it differently from a strict regulatory hours rule.
Pennsylvania is the opposite problem: a real, specific new rule that simply isn't law yet. Its amendment was signed in July 2026 but doesn't take effect until October 18, 2026. Building compliance around it now is premature; ignoring it after that date will not be.
What to build to
If you call into multiple states, the practical approach is to build your dialing window to the tightest applicable rule for each number, not one blanket national schedule. That means checking the destination state, not just the destination number's time zone — the two are related but calling-hour rules attach to jurisdiction, and jurisdiction takes more than an area code to determine reliably.
Calling-hour compliance is a scheduling problem NumberBroom doesn't solve directly. What it does check on every number is line type and TCPA litigator status, so the numbers making it into your dial list are worth calling in the first place. Check a single number free, or see bulk pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Whose time zone controls the calling window?
The called party's, not the caller's. A team calling from a Pacific-time office into an Eastern-time number has to stop at 9pm Eastern (6pm Pacific), not 9pm in their own zone. This is the federal rule and every state rule researched here follows the same convention.
Does Florida have its own calling-hour restriction?
No. The full current text of Fla. Stat. § 501.059 contains no reference to specific hours, a.m./p.m., or day-of-week restrictions anywhere in the statute — confirmed by reading it directly, not by trusting a summary. Florida calls default to the federal 8am–9pm window. Widely-repeated claims that the FTSA sets its own calling hours are not supported by the statute's text. See the full FTSA guide.
Which states ban Sunday calling entirely?
Louisiana and Alabama both bar telemarketing sales and polling calls on Sundays and state holidays outright, not just outside a narrower window. Texas doesn't ban Sunday calling but shortens it — calls are only allowed from noon to 9pm rather than the normal 9am start.
Is Pennsylvania's calling-hour rule in effect yet?
Not as of this page's last update. Pennsylvania's Telemarketer Registration Act was amended by Act 47 of 2026 (signed 25 July 2026) to bar solicitation calls on Sundays, legal holidays, or outside 9am–7pm on other days — but the amendment doesn't take effect until 18 October 2026. Before that date, Pennsylvania has no calling-hour rule beyond the federal window. A number of vendor pages already describe the new window as current law; it isn't yet.
Does Michigan restrict calling hours?
Michigan has a statute (MCL 750.540e(1)(f)) restricting calls made between 9pm and 9am, but it's a provision of the state's criminal telephone harassment law, not a strict-liability telemarketing-hours rule like the others on this page. It only applies to a call made "with intent to terrorize, frighten, intimidate, threaten, harass, molest, or annoy" — an ordinary sales call outside that intent isn't what the statute targets. Don't treat it as equivalent to Oklahoma's or Washington's straightforward hours restriction.