State Exemptions

Yes, some state telemarketing laws prohibit you from making calls during a state of emergency. However, it is less clear when it comes to texting. Other than the 13 states that treat text messages separately, it is not clear whether a regulator would say texting is a call. A lot of state-level statutes about states of emergency are worded in such a way that calls are explicitly prohibited while texts are not. But as a practical matter, it is best not to call or text during states of emergency.

Yes, there are exemptions for Established Business Relationships (EBR)—sometimes called Existing Business Relationships. If you can demonstrate that you have an established business relationship with a consumer, and they have not asked to be on your internal Do Not Call (DNC) list, you can make live calls to that consumer even if they are on the National Do Not Call Registry. This exemption does not allow organizations to make automated calls or texts or to use pre-recorded messages.

Pennsylvania’s Telemarketer Registration Act provides a useful definition of an Established Business Relationship (EBR): “A prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person or entity and a residential or wireless telephone subscriber, with or without an exchange of consideration, on the basis of an inquiry, application, purchase or transaction by the residential or wireless telephone subscriber regarding products or services offered by such persons of a entity.