State Mini-TCPAs and Do-Not-Call: A Field Guide for Multi-State Callers

Federal rules are the floor, not the ceiling

If you make outbound calls or texts to consumers, you already know the federal landscape: the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR, codified at 16 CFR Part 310). Most operators build their whole compliance program around those two and assume that's the job done.

It isn't. A growing number of states have passed their own telemarketing statutes that are stricter than the federal baseline. People in the industry call these "mini-TCPAs." They tend to add their own consent definitions, their own calling restrictions, and — the part that hurts — their own private right of action, meaning a consumer (or a plaintiff's lawyer) can sue you directly without waiting for a regulator.

This guide walks the two best-known examples, Florida and Oklahoma, and then the federal Do-Not-Call basics every caller still has to honor.

Florida's FTSA — and why the 2023 amendment matters

Florida's mini-TCPA is the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA), Fla. Stat. § 501.059. In 2021 Florida added a private right of action with statutory damages of $500 per violation (or actual damages, whichever is greater), and those damages can be tripled for a willful or knowing violation. That combination — easy-to-prove violations times $500, times a class of plaintiffs — set off a wave of litigation.

Florida narrowed the law in 2023. Governor DeSantis signed HB 761 on May 25, 2023. The headline changes:

• "Selection and dialing." The old text covered an automated system for the "selection or dialing" of numbers. The amendment changed it to "selection and dialing," tightening which technology actually triggers the statute.
• Unsolicited only. The prohibition on using an automated system now applies to unsolicited sales calls, not solicited ones.
• A 15-day text cure period. For text-message claims, the consumer must first reply "STOP," and the sender then has 15 days to stop. A damages suit is only available if texts continue after that window.

The practical takeaway: if you call or text Florida consumers, get clear prior express written consent (the amendment confirms an electronic or digital signature, or an affirmative act like checking a consent box, can qualify), and honor STOP requests fast.

Oklahoma's mini-TCPA

Oklahoma passed its Telephone Solicitation Act of 2022, codified at 15 O.S. § 775C.1 and following. Governor Stitt signed it on May 20, 2022, and it took effect November 1, 2022.

The structure will look familiar. Oklahoma restricts telephonic sales calls that use an automated system for selecting or dialing numbers (or that play a recorded message) unless the caller has the consumer's prior express written consent. It carries a private right of action with statutory damages of $500 per violation, trebled for willful or knowing violations. Notably, unlike Florida, Oklahoma's statute does not award attorney's fees.

Federal Do-Not-Call basics you still owe

State laws sit on top of — not instead of — the federal regime. Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule:

• The National Do-Not-Call Registry. You generally may not make telemarketing calls to numbers on the registry. Sellers and telemarketers access it through the official registry and pay an annual fee per area code (with the first several area codes free).
• Scrub on a 31-day cycle. The TSR requires using a version of the Do-Not-Call data obtained no more than 31 days before the call. In practice, scrub your list against the registry at least every 31 days and keep records that you did.
• Calling hours. No telemarketing calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called party's local time — not yours.
• Maintain your internal Do-Not-Call list. Honor company-specific opt-outs separately from the national registry.

The operator's bottom line

Federal compliance is necessary but not sufficient. A practical multi-state approach looks like this: capture and document real prior express written consent at the point of opt-in; scrub against the National DNC Registry on a 31-day cycle and keep proof; maintain an internal opt-out list and honor STOP requests immediately; respect 8 a.m.–9 p.m. local calling hours; and check the specific mini-TCPA rules for each state you dial into before you turn on the campaign. None of that is exotic — it's mostly discipline and record-keeping — but the states with private rights of action are exactly where sloppy record-keeping turns into a class action.