Pennsylvania’s Tougher Telemarketing Law Takes Effect October 18: Texts, Voicemails and Ringless Voicemails Are Now Covered

October 11, 2026
Posted by AmyGinsburg

If you live in Pennsylvania and your phone keeps lighting up with marketing texts, a stronger state law is about to take effect. On October 18, 2026, the amendments to Pennsylvania’s Telemarketer Registration Act made by Act 47 of 2026 (Senate Bill 992) become enforceable. Lawmakers passed the bill unanimously (50-0 in the Senate and 202-0 in the House), and Gov. Josh Shapiro signed it on July 20, 2026. The act takes effect 90 days after that.

The timing matters. Over the past few months, a growing number of federal courts have ruled that a text message isn’t a “telephone call” under the Do-Not-Call part of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). We wrote about that trend here and here. Pennsylvania’s new law doesn’t leave room for that argument. It says in plain words that texts count.

What changes on October 18

Texts, voicemails and ringless voicemails are covered. The law now defines a “telephone solicitation” as “a telephone call, voicemail, ringless voicemail or text message” made to sell consumer goods or services or to gather information for a sales pitch or an extension of credit.
No solicitations on Sundays or outside 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The old rule allowed telemarketing calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Now no telephone solicitation, including a marketing text, may be sent on a Sunday, before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m. Legal holidays remain off-limits too.
Texting STOP has to work. For marketing texts, you can opt out by replying “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel” or “unsubscribe.” After that, the seller or telemarketer may not keep soliciting you.
Robocalls need written consent. Sending an automated, prerecorded or artificial-voice solicitation now requires your “prior express written consent,” meaning a signed agreement (an e-signature counts) that names your phone number, clearly says you’re agreeing to marketing calls or texts, and says that agreeing isn’t a condition of buying anything.
AI and spoofing are banned. It is now unlawful to use “any technology or any synthetic or computer-generated messaging” to defraud, deceive or mislead you. The act also folds the federal caller-ID spoofing ban into state law and prohibits tricking people into “consenting” to solicitations.
The business behind the campaign can be on the hook. Most prohibitions now apply to anyone who initiates or causes to be initiated a solicitation. That language can reach the company that hires a telemarketer, not just the person or vendor who presses send.

The law keeps several exceptions. Messages sent with your prior express written consent, messages about an existing debt, contract or payment, messages from a business you’ve dealt with in the past 12 months, and messages from certain nonprofits, veterans’ groups and political campaigns are not “telephone solicitations” under the act. Debt-collection calls and texts are governed by other laws, mainly the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act.

How the law is enforced

A violation of the Telemarketer Registration Act is also a violation of Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL). The Attorney General or a district attorney can sue, and a court can impose civil penalties of up to $1,000 per willful violation, or up to $3,000 when the victim is 60 or older.

Individuals can sue under the UTPCPL too, but there’s a catch. A private UTPCPL claim requires that you bought or leased something for personal or household use and suffered an “ascertainable loss of money or property.” If a telemarketing pitch led you to buy something you were misled about, you may recover actual damages or $100, whichever is greater, up to three times your damages at the court’s discretion, plus attorney fees. If you simply received unwanted texts and lost no money, the state law alone may not support a private lawsuit. That’s when the federal TCPA usually matters most.

The federal TCPA still matters, and DNC texts still pay out

The TCPA allows consumers to recover $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 if the violation was willful or knowing, for illegal robocalls and for repeated telemarketing to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. Even with some federal courts now saying texts fall outside the Do-Not-Call provision, other courts and settlements continue to treat them as covered.

One example came to light this week. In Carter v. Teleflora LLC (Miami-Dade County Circuit Court, Florida, Case No. 2026-012979-CA-01), Teleflora agreed to a $6 million class settlement to resolve claims that it sent marketing texts to phone numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The court granted preliminary approval on August 26, 2026, and estimated the class at about 24,000 people. Teleflora denies wrongdoing, and the settlement is not final. The final approval hearing is set for November 25, 2026.

Who’s in the class: people nationwide who did not give Teleflora their number, whose number had been on the National Do Not Call Registry for at least 30 days, and who received more than one Teleflora promotional text within a 12-month period.
What you can get: up to $251 per approved claim, minus each member’s share of administration costs and attorney fees.
Deadline: claims, opt-outs and objections are due November 17, 2026. Details and the claim form are at the official settlement website, TFSettlement.com.

What this means for you: what to do now

Register your number on the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov if you haven’t already. It’s free.
Reply STOP to unwanted marketing texts, and screenshot both the text and your reply. Starting October 18, Pennsylvania law expressly recognizes those keywords.
Note the day and time. A marketing text to a Pennsylvania number on a Sunday, before 9 a.m. or after 7 p.m. is now a red flag.
Keep records: screenshots showing the sender’s number, the date and time, and the company being promoted. Save voicemails and ringless voicemails as audio files.
Don’t “consent” by accident. Read the fine print before you enter your number on contest, quote or sweepstakes forms. Written consent is now the key that unlocks robocalls.
Report violations to the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
Talk to a lawyer if the calls or texts keep coming after you’ve opted out or registered, or if a telemarketer’s pitch cost you money. You may have claims under the federal TCPA, the UTPCPL or both.

If you’re new to fighting back against robocalls, our guide on how to fight back against illegal robocalls and telemarketing calls covers the basics, and our post on ringless voicemails explains why those messages count.

Ginsburg Law Group represents consumers in Pennsylvania and across the country who are flooded with unwanted robocalls, texts and ringless voicemails. If telemarketers won’t leave you alone, contact us for a review.

This article is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. The Teleflora settlement has not received final court approval, and its terms and dates could change. TCPA law is changing quickly, and courts disagree on whether texts are covered by the federal Do-Not-Call rules. Consult a licensed attorney about your specific situation.