Privacy Law Library

Consumer Telemarketing Protection (automatic dialing and telephone solicitation)

Tenn. Telemarketing Protection Law

Marketing · Communications

The official source for this law changed after it was last checked. It is being re-checked.

Limits robocalls made with automatic dialing and announcing devices: prior consent is required, calls are limited to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., random or sequential dialing and calls to unlisted numbers and emergency services are barred, and the recorded message must identify the caller. Telephone solicitors must keep an internal do-not-call list consistent with federal rules and may not block caller ID.

Where
Tennessee
Citation
Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-1501 to 47-18-1511, 47-18-1526, 47-18-1527
Status
In force
Enforced by
District attorneys general and recipients (ADAD rules); Tennessee Attorney General (§ 47-18-1526)
People can sue
Limited
Penalties
ADAD violations are Class A misdemeanors and carry a $1,000 civil penalty per call plus attorney fees; call recipients may seek injunctive relief. Under § 47-18-1526, the Attorney General may recover civil penalties up to $1,000 per violation, and using blocked caller ID for sales calls is a Class A misdemeanor with fines up to $2,500 per violation.
Applies to
  • Persons using automatic dialing and announcing devices (ADAD) to advertise consumer goods or services, conduct polls, or solicit information
  • Telephone solicitors doing business in Tennessee that make telephonic sales calls to consumers

What a privacy notice must say

  • Recorded ADAD messages must state the caller's name and telephone number within the first 25 seconds and at the end, and disconnect within 10 seconds if the called person declines or hangs up.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-1502(a)(6)-(7)

Practices it requires

  • Do not use ADAD equipment for consumer advertising, polling, or information solicitation without prior consent, outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., with random or sequential dialing, or to unlisted numbers, hospitals, nursing homes, or emergency agencies.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-1502(a)
  • Maintain an internal list of persons who do not want telephone solicitations, in compliance with 47 CFR 64 or 16 CFR 310, before making unsolicited sales calls to residential or mobile numbers.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-1526(b)
  • Do not make telephonic sales calls from unlisted numbers or with equipment that blocks caller ID.Tenn. Code Ann. § 47-18-1526(c)

Registration

  • Obtain a permit before connecting ADAD equipment to a telephone line.Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 47-18-1503, 47-18-1504

Sources

Checked against these sources on 2026-09-25 by research agent (Claude), primary sources.

Unverified: No primary session law fetched (1990 ch. 874; 1996 ch. 948; 1998 ch. 734); dates left null. | Permit rules (§§ 47-18-1503, -1504) and § 47-18-1527 summarized from section headings only.

Research reference, not legal advice.