Not legal advice. This is an educational summary for prospecting. Rules change and depend on how you call and what you sell. Talk to your counsel or compliance lead before starting an outbound program.
The short version
- Dial manually. Autodialers, prerecorded messages, and automated texts carry the highest risk.
- Call between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the owner's time zone, and no more than three times in 24 hours about the same thing.
- Scrub numbers that may be personal cell phones against the National and Florida Do Not Call lists.
- Keep an internal do-not-call list and honor every request right away.
- Do not cold text. Text after a conversation, when the owner has agreed to it.
- Check whether Florida's Telemarketing Act requires you to hold a license, or whether your industry is exempt.
Federal rules
Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA)
The TCPA restricts calls and texts made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, especially to cell phones, and it backs the National Do Not Call Registry. It allows private lawsuits with statutory damages of $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if the violation was willful, which is why TCPA class actions are common.
Do Not Call rules
The FCC's rules (47 CFR 64.1200) bar telephone solicitations to residential numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, limit solicitation calls to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time, and require sellers to keep their own do-not-call list and honor opt-outs. Cell phones can count as residential numbers, and the rules cover texts as well as calls.
The FTC's guidance says most calls between a telemarketer and a business are exempt from its Telemarketing Sales Rule. The problem for new-business prospecting is the phone number. A brand-new owner often uses a personal cell, and a call to someone's personal phone can be treated as a consumer call. If you cannot tell whether a number is a business line, treat it as personal.
Florida rules
Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (section 501.059)
Florida's "mini-TCPA" covers telephonic sales calls, defined to include calls, texts, and voicemails to a consumer. It runs a state "no sales solicitation calls" list for residential and mobile numbers. In 2023 the legislature narrowed the law: the automated-system definition now requires equipment that both selects and dials numbers, and a person must reply STOP to a text and give the sender 15 days before suing over texts.
Florida Telemarketing Act (section 501.601 and following)
Unless an exemption applies, a "commercial telephone seller" must be licensed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, and its salespeople must be licensed too. The act covers calls to sell consumer goods or services, defined as property normally used for personal, family, or household purposes, or offered as a profit or investment opportunity. Some purely business-use sales may fall outside that definition. Where the line falls for your product is a question for counsel.
Section 501.604 exempts many sellers from most of the act, including:
- Licensed insurance agents and brokers, within their license.
- Banks, credit unions, savings associations, supervised lenders and other supervised financial institutions, and their affiliates.
- Licensed securities brokers, dealers and investment advisers, within their license.
- Real estate licensees, within their license.
- Regulated telephone companies and their agents.
- Sellers calling people who already buy from them, under the same business name.
- Sellers who don't make the main pitch or close the sale on the phone, and instead finish it at a later in-person meeting.
The exemptions do not cover section 501.616(6) and (7), which apply to everyone the act covers and ban:
- Commercial solicitation calls before 8 a.m. or after 8 p.m. in the called person's time zone.
- More than three commercial solicitation calls to a person in 24 hours on the same subject, from any number.
- Blocking your caller ID or displaying a number other than the one you're calling from to hide who you are.
How this plays out by industry
- Insurance agents: exempt from most of the Telemarketing Act within your license. Calling hours, the three-call limit and caller ID rules still apply, as do the TCPA, Do Not Call lists and the Telephone Solicitation Act.
- Bankers and lenders: banks, credit unions and supervised lenders are exempt from most of the Telemarketing Act. Follow the same remaining rules, plus your institution's own outreach policies.
- Merchant services, payroll and PEO, bookkeeping, web design and equipment sales: there is usually no industry-wide exemption. Check whether what you sell counts as consumer goods or services and whether you need a license. If you work as an agent or ISO for a larger company, ask how it handles licensing.
- Real estate and vacation rental managers: real estate licensees are exempt from most of the act within their license. Unlicensed managers should check their status.
A simple compliance routine for new-business lists
- Confirm whether you need a Florida telemarketing license or fall under an exemption.
- Before each calling session, remove numbers on your internal do-not-call list.
- Scrub personal-looking numbers against the National Registry and Florida's list, or use a vendor that does.
- Dial by hand and keep calls inside 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Cap attempts per number per day at three, and keep it lower in practice.
- Log every attempt, the number used, and any opt-out.
How FiledToday fits
FiledToday provides researched contact details for newly registered businesses. It does not provide consent to call or text anyone, and it does not scrub against Do Not Call lists for you. You remain responsible for how you contact people. Anyone who wants their details removed from future lists can email [email protected].
Common questions
Can I cold call a new business in Florida?
Generally yes, with care. Manually dialed calls to businesses are common and lawful in many situations, but many new owners use personal cell phones, which can be protected by Do Not Call rules and the TCPA. Florida also limits commercial solicitation calls to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and three calls per 24 hours on the same subject. Ask your counsel or compliance lead about your specific program.
Do I need a Florida telemarketing license to call business owners?
Possibly. Florida's Telemarketing Act requires commercial telephone sellers and their salespeople to be licensed with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services unless an exemption applies. Licensed insurance agents, banks and other supervised financial institutions, real estate licensees and several other groups are exempt from most of the act. The act covers sales of consumer goods or services, so some purely business-use sales may fall outside it. Ask counsel how it applies to what you sell.
Are insurance agents exempt from the Florida Telemarketing Act?
Licensed insurance agents soliciting within the scope of their license are exempt from most of the Florida Telemarketing Act under section 501.604(8). The exemption does not cover the call-hour, call-frequency and caller ID rules in section 501.616(6) and (7), which still apply.
Do I need consent to text a new business owner?
Be careful. Marketing texts to cell phones are treated like calls under the TCPA, and automated texts can require prior express written consent. Florida's law also covers text messages. Many sellers avoid cold texting entirely and text only after a conversation.
Does the National Do Not Call Registry apply to business numbers?
The FTC says most calls between a telemarketer and a business are exempt from the Telemarketing Sales Rule. But a small-business owner's personal cell phone may be treated as a consumer number under the FCC's Do Not Call rules. When you cannot tell, scrub against the Registry.
Updated November 8, 2026 · By Ben Thalmann, founder of FiledToday