Connecticut Telemarketing and Robocall Laws: Statutes, Rules, and How They Differ from the TCPA

Overview

Public Act 23-98, effective October 1, 2023, substantially rewrote Chapter 743m of the General Statutes (Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-284 to 42-289). As amended, the chapter:

• generally bars any "telephonic sales call" made without the consumer's prior express written consent;
• limits calls to 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.;
• requires the caller to identify itself and the purpose of the call within 10 seconds;
• requires the caller to ask at the start whether the consumer wants to continue;
• bars caller ID blocking and spoofing;
• reaches texts, over-the-top messages, soundboard calls, and voicemail drops;
• imposes liability on those who give "substantial assistance or support" to unlawful callers.

The chapter also makes any violation of the federal do-not-call rules a violation of state law.

Violations are unfair or deceptive acts under the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act (CUTPA), Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-110a et seq. They carry fines of up to 20,000 dollars per violation, in addition to CUTPA penalties. A separate statute, Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570c, gives any aggrieved person a private action for 500 dollars per violation against anyone who uses "a device that automatically transmits a recorded telephone message" to send an unsolicited sales message.

Statutory quotations on this page are from the General Statutes of Connecticut as published by the Connecticut General Assembly, 2026 Supplement (revised to January 1, 2026).

Key statutes table

Detailed provisions

Do-not-call

The Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) must maintain a "no sales solicitation calls" listing, and "Such listing shall be identical to the National Do Not Call Registry." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(a). The DCP "shall update such listing not less than quarterly." Id.

Connecticut also incorporates the federal do-not-call rules directly:

Any violation of the provisions of 47 USC 227, 16 CFR 310 or 47 CFR 64.1200, as amended from time to time, which provide that a telemarketer shall not call a consumer whose name and telephone number appear on the National Do Not Call Registry or who has specifically requested not to receive calls from a particular entity, shall constitute a violation of sections 42-284 to 42-288b, inclusive.

§ 42-288a(b). Because the incorporation covers the federal rules "as amended from time to time," federal registry and company-specific do-not-call violations are also state law violations.

List sellers must also scrub. Anyone who compiles consumer contact information and sells it "to telemarketers for marketing or sales solicitation purposes" must exclude consumers whose numbers "appear on the National Do Not Call Registry." § 42-288a(i)(1).

The prior express written consent requirement

The central rule of the amended statute is short:

No telemarketer may make, or cause to be made, a telephonic sales call to a consumer without such consumer's prior express written consent.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(l). A separate subsection adds a consent requirement for mobile numbers that are not on the quarterly listing. § 42-288a(m).

"Prior express written consent" is defined as a written agreement that discloses "the means by which the telemarketer will call or contact the consumer," and "the telephone number to which the consumer authorizes the telemarketer to deliver, or cause to be delivered, advertisements or telemarketing messages." § 42-284(14)(A). The agreement must clearly and conspicuously authorize those messages and must bear "the signature of the consumer." § 42-284(14)(B), (C).

The breadth of the consent requirement depends on the definition of "telephonic sales call." Under § 42-284(18)(B), the term does not include a call or message:

• made "in response to a request or inquiry made by a resident consumer, including a call or message concerning an item that such resident consumer purchased from the telemarketer during the twelve-month period preceding such call or message";
• sent by a nonprofit to its "bona fide or active members";
• "limited to polling or soliciting votes or the expression of an idea or opinion";
• sent "as part of a business-to-business contact";
• sent "to a resident consumer who granted prior express written consent";
• sent "primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment or performance of which has not been completed";
• sent "to an existing customer of a telemarketer unless such customer previously informed the telemarketer, orally or in writing, that such customer no longer wishes to receive such calls or messages from such telemarketer"; or
• sent "for a religious, charitable, political or other noncommercial purpose."

Read with these exclusions, § 42-288a(l) requires signed written consent for marketing calls and texts to a Connecticut resident or Connecticut area code number, whether or not the number is on a do-not-call list. The DCP's consumer guidance takes the same view: "Telemarketers must have your express written permission before contacting you with a sales call or text message." No court decision applying subsection (l) to live, manually dialed calls was located, and the relationship between subsection (l) and the mobile-number rule in subsection (m) has not been addressed by a court.

Registration and bond

Chapter 743m contains no telemarketer registration or bond requirement. Out-of-state callers are covered by the chapter's reach: "Doing business in this state" includes "conducting one or more telephonic sales calls (A) from a location in this state, (B) from a location outside of this state to resident consumers, or (C) made to a resident consumer or to a telephone number with a Connecticut area code." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-284(7).

Calling hours

Connecticut uses a shorter calling window than federal law:

A telephonic sales call that is made to any consumer residential, mobile or telephonic paging device telephone number that is not otherwise prohibited by this section shall be limited to being conducted between the hours of nine o'clock a.m. and eight o'clock p.m. local time.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(c).

Call frequency and call handling

Connecticut does not cap the number of calls, but it closely regulates how a call is handled:

• Opening question. The caller "shall, at the beginning of such telephonic sales call, ask the consumer whether such consumer wishes to continue such telephonic sales call, end such telephonic sales call or be removed from such person's list." § 42-288a(e).
• Ending the call. The caller "shall end a telephonic sales call not later than ten seconds after the consumer states or otherwise indicates that such consumer wishes to end such telephonic sales call." § 42-288a(f).
• Removal requests. If the consumer asks to be removed, the caller must tell the consumer that their contact information will be removed and must end the call within 10 seconds. The caller must also "refrain from making any additional telephonic sales calls to such consumer at any telephone number associated with such consumer." § 42-288a(g)(1) to (3). It may not sell or give away the consumer's contact information or "personally identifying information" to any other entity. § 42-288a(g)(4).

Automated dialing compared with Facebook v. Duguid

Connecticut's definition of an autodialer is much broader than the federal definition after Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021). Duguid held that "a necessary feature of an autodialer under §227(a)(1)(A) is the capacity to use a random or sequential number generator to either store or produce phone numbers to be called." Connecticut defines "Automated dialing system" as "a device that (A) automatically dials a telephone number, or (B) makes a connection to an end user by means of an automated system that is used to dial a telephone number and transmit a voice communication." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-284(1). Any equipment that automatically dials a number qualifies. No number generator is required.

In practice, the definition matters less than it does under federal law. The written consent rule in § 42-288a(l) applies to all telephonic sales calls, whatever the equipment. The definitions of "telemarketer" and "telephonic sales call" expressly list live voice, automated dialing, recorded messages, soundboard technology, over-the-top messaging, and texts. § 42-284(17), (18)(A).

"Soundboard technology" is "a technology that allows an individual to communicate with a call recipient in real-time by playing a recorded audio message instead of using the individual's voice." § 42-284(16). A "voice communication" includes "a voice message transmitted directly to a recipient's voicemail regardless of whether the recipient's phone rings as part of the transmission." § 42-284(20)(B).

Recorded message devices under § 52-570c. A separate, older statute provides:

No person shall use a machine that electronically transmits facsimiles through connection with a telephone network or a device that automatically transmits a recorded telephone message to transmit unsolicited advertising material or an unsolicited telephone message which offers to sell goods or services.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570c(a). That section does not apply "to tax-exempt nonprofit organizations or to political or candidate committees or candidates or solicitors." § 52-570c(c).

Text messages

Texts are expressly covered. A "marketing or sales solicitation" includes communications made using "an over-the-top message or a text or media message." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-284(9). "Text or media message" covers "a short message and multimedia message service that contains written, audio, video or photographic content and is sent electronically to a mobile telephone or mobile electronic device telephone number." § 42-284(19)(B). It "does not include electronic mail sent to an electronic mail address." § 42-284(19)(C). An "Over-the-top message" is "a text-based communication on a platform that uses existing Internet services to deliver messages." § 42-284(11).

Marketing texts to Connecticut consumers are therefore subject to the written consent requirement, the calling hours, and the opt-out rules.

Caller ID

"No telemarketer may cause to be installed or use any blocking device or service to circumvent a consumer's use of a caller identification service or device. No telemarketer may intentionally transmit inaccurate or misleading caller identification information." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(h). A "caller identification service or device" means "any telephone service or device which permits a consumer to view the telephone number, caller name or caller location for an incoming telephonic sales call." § 42-284(2).

Substantial assistance to unlawful callers

Section 42-289(b)(1) bars any person from providing "substantial assistance or support to the initiator of a voice communication or telephonic sales call" that enables the initiator to make or transmit the call. The bar applies if the person "knows, or avoids knowing, that such initiator is engaged, or intends to engage, in fraud or any practice that violates any provision of this section, sections 42-284 to 42-288b, inclusive, or chapter 735a."

The section does not prohibit "designing, manufacturing or distributing any component, product or technology that has a commercially significant use other than circumventing or violating the provisions of this section." § 42-289(b)(2)(A). Nor does it reach a terminating provider's actions concerning call completion. § 42-289(b)(2)(C). Calls to a Connecticut area code or a Connecticut resident are presumed to have taken place in Connecticut. § 42-289(c). Violations carry a fine of "not more than twenty thousand dollars for each such violation." § 42-289(d).

Disclosures and opt-out

Within 10 seconds, the caller "shall disclose such person's identity, the purpose of such telephonic sales call and the identity of the entity for which such person is making such telephonic sales call, if any." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(d). The opt-out requirements are described above under call handling.

Contracts and cancellation

Connecticut requires a written contract for telephone sales:

No oral agreement made by a consumer to purchase, lease or rent goods or services from a telemarketer shall be a binding, valid or enforceable contract against the consumer unless the telemarketer receives from the consumer a written and signed contract that discloses in full the terms of the sale, lease or rental agreement.

Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-285(a). "Any goods sent or services provided to a consumer by a telemarketer without such written contract shall be deemed to be an unconditional gift to the consumer without any obligation by the consumer to the telemarketer." Id.

The contract must include the telemarketer's or seller's legal name and addresses, all prices and fees, the date, and a description of the goods or services. It must also include, in 10-point boldface type immediately before the signature space: "YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONTRACT AND RETURN IT TO THE ADDRESS CONTAINED IN THIS CONTRACT". § 42-285(b).

A telemarketer "shall not accept payment in any form from a consumer, or make or submit any charge to the consumer's credit card, charge card, debit card or electronic payment platform account, unless the telemarketer has received from the consumer a contract, signed by the consumer, which complies with section 42-285." § 42-286(a). If payment is taken without a signed contract, the telemarketer "shall immediately and fully refund the consumer's payment or immediately and fully credit the consumer's account." § 42-286(b).

Exemptions

The contract requirements in §§ 42-284 to 42-286 do not apply to the transactions listed in § 42-287. These include:

• newspapers marketing their own publications;
• banks, credit unions, and licensed mortgage and consumer lenders marketing their own services;
• transactions following negotiations during a visit to a fixed retail location;
• transactions in which the business "has a clear, preexisting business relationship with the consumer," provided the consumer has been given the business's full name and location or phone number;
• catalog sales;
• providers certified by or operating under tariffs filed with the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority or the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Section 501(c)(3) organizations, when selling on their own behalf;
• transactions offering a seven-day full refund right that is processed within 30 days and clearly disclosed;
• registered securities transactions;
• transactions subject to the home solicitation sales chapter (chapter 740) or chapter 704;
• certain long-established retailers. § 42-287(1) to (11).

For the call rules in § 42-288a, the exclusions are those built into the definition of "telephonic sales call," described above, and the "marketing or sales solicitation" exclusions for consumers with prior express written consent, consumers who visited a fixed retail location, and consumers "with whom the telemarketer has an established business relationship." § 42-284(9). Telecommunications companies may make no-charge calls to existing customers about existing debts, contracts, wireless emergency alerts, or prior service requests. § 42-288a(n).

Private right of action

Section 52-570c. "Any person aggrieved by a violation of the provisions of this section may bring a civil action in the Superior Court to enjoin further violations and for five hundred dollars for each violation, together with costs and a reasonable attorney's fee." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570c(d). This covers unsolicited recorded sales messages and unsolicited fax advertisements.

CUTPA. Violations of Chapter 743m are CUTPA violations. Conn. Gen. Stat. §§ 42-288(b), 42-288a(k), 42-289(d). A private CUTPA plaintiff must be a person "who suffers any ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment of a method, act or practice prohibited by section 42-110b." § 42-110g(a). "Proof of public interest or public injury shall not be required." Id. The plaintiff must mail a copy of the complaint to the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Consumer Protection when the action is commenced. § 42-110g(c).

The ascertainable loss requirement can defeat claims based only on unwanted calls. In Lundstedt v. I.C. System, Inc., the court held: "The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act does not apply because plaintiff did not suffer an ascertainable loss of money or property." That case was decided under the pre-2023 version of § 42-288a.

Damages

• Section 52-570c. Five hundred dollars per violation, plus injunctive relief, costs, and fees. § 52-570c(d).
• CUTPA. Actual damages. "The court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper." § 42-110g(a).

Attorney fees

Under § 52-570c(d), a prevailing plaintiff recovers "costs and a reasonable attorney's fee." Under CUTPA, "the court may award, to the plaintiff, in addition to the relief provided in this section, costs and reasonable attorneys' fees based on the work reasonably performed by an attorney and not on the amount of recovery." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-110g(d).

Class action limits

CUTPA permits class actions. Persons entitled to sue "may, pursuant to rules established by the judges of the Superior Court, bring a class action on behalf of themselves and other persons similarly situated who are residents of this state or injured in this state to recover damages." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-110g(b). Section 52-570c contains no class action provision or class action bar.

Statute of limitations

• Section 52-570c. "No such action shall be brought but within two years from the date of the act complained of." § 52-570c(d).
• CUTPA. "An action under this section may not be brought more than three years after the occurrence of a violation of this chapter." § 42-110g(f).

The two-year period in § 52-570c does not govern federal TCPA claims. In Giovanniello v. ALM Media, LLC (2d Cir. 2013), on remand from the Supreme Court after Mims v. Arrow Financial Services, the Second Circuit held "that the four-year federal statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a) applies to Giovanniello's claim." The court's earlier 2011 decision, which had applied the state two-year period, was vacated.

Attorney General and DCP enforcement

"A violation of any of the provisions of this section shall be deemed an unfair or deceptive trade practice under subsection (a) of section 42-110b." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-288a(k). "In addition to any penalty imposed under chapter 735a, any person, including, but not limited to, any telemarketer, who is liable under the provisions of subsections (a) to (n), inclusive, of this section shall be fined not more than twenty thousand dollars for each violation." § 42-288a(o).

Under CUTPA, for willful violations the Attorney General "may recover, on behalf of the state, a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars for each violation." § 42-110o(b). A violation of an injunction carries a civil penalty "of not more than twenty-five thousand dollars per violation." § 42-110o(a). The DCP commissioner may also seek injunctions and restitution through the Attorney General. § 42-110m(a).

The statute creates a presumption of Connecticut jurisdiction: "There shall be a rebuttable presumption that a telephonic sales call made to a resident consumer or to a telephone number with a Connecticut area code has taken place in this state." § 42-288(c).

Federal comparison

The most important difference is consent. Federal law requires prior express written consent only for telemarketing calls that use an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice. The federal rules bar initiating "any telephone call that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing, using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice" to wireless numbers "other than a call made with the prior express written consent of the called party." 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2). Connecticut requires written consent for every telephonic sales call, including live, manually dialed calls, unless an exclusion applies.

The Connecticut calling window is also shorter at both ends. The 10-second disclosure and termination rules have no federal equivalent.

Connecticut's assistance rule parallels the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), which makes it "a deceptive telemarketing act or practice and a violation of this part for a person to provide substantial assistance or support to any seller or telemarketer when that person knows or consciously avoids knowing that the seller or telemarketer is engaged in any act or practice that violates" specified provisions. 16 C.F.R. § 310.3(b). The Connecticut version reaches anyone who "knows, or avoids knowing" of fraud or a violation of the state telemarketing laws or CUTPA.

On texts, the Seventh Circuit held in July 2026 that the federal do-not-call private action in 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) does not reach text messages. Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, LLC, No. 25-2398 (7th Cir. July 14, 2026). Connecticut is in the Second Circuit, and its statute covers texts expressly.

Case law

Giovanniello v. ALM Media, LLC, No. 10-3854-cv (2d Cir. Aug. 8, 2013). This case involved a putative class action under the TCPA over fax advertisements. In 2011 the Second Circuit had held that the TCPA action could be maintained only as permitted by the two-year limitations period in Conn. Gen. Stat. § 52-570c(d). The Supreme Court vacated that judgment and remanded in light of Mims v. Arrow Financial Services. On remand, the court held "that the four-year federal statute of limitations in 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a) applies to Giovanniello's claim." It also joined other circuits "in holding that American Pipe tolling does not extend beyond the denial of class status in a prior action." Because of that tolling ruling, the claim was time barred, and the dismissal was affirmed.

Lundstedt v. I.C. System, Inc., No. 3:15-cv-00824 (JAM) (D. Conn. Sept. 27, 2017). A consumer alleged that a debt collector called him 29 times in 24 days. Under the then-current version of § 42-288a, the court dismissed the § 42-288a claim because the statute's definition excluded calls made in connection with an existing debt. It noted it "need not consider the doubtful proposition that § 42-288a creates an implied or private right of action independent of any CUTPA claim." The court also held that "The Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act does not apply because plaintiff did not suffer an ascertainable loss of money or property." A federal debt collection harassment claim survived. The current statute retains a similar exclusion for calls "primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract." Conn. Gen. Stat. § 42-284(18)(B)(vi).

No published decision construing the 2023 consent, hours, or substantial assistance provisions was located in official sources for this page.

Recent amendments

• Public Act 23-98 (approved June 26, 2023; telemarketing sections effective October 1, 2023). Substantially amended §§ 42-284 to 42-288b. It added definitions including "automated dialing system," "prior express written consent," "soundboard technology," "over-the-top message," and "voice communication." It also:
• added the federal DNC incorporation, the 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. calling hours, the 10-second disclosure and termination rules, the removal-request duties, and the general prior express written consent requirement;
• extended the chapter to calls made to numbers with a Connecticut area code;
• created § 42-289 on substantial assistance (§ 9 of the act);
• repealed § 42-288c, effective October 1, 2023.
• Public Act 24-75, § 2 (effective October 1, 2024). Amended § 42-288a(m), the consent rule for mobile numbers not on the quarterly listing, which now applies to "a telephonic sales call for the purpose of a marketing or sales solicitation of consumer goods or services."
• Public Act 24-101. Amended CUTPA's civil penalty section, § 42-110o(b), to treat a violation of an assurance of voluntary compliance as willful. Effective June 4, 2024, according to the General Assembly's history note.

Compliance checklist

• Obtain signed prior express written consent, identifying the contact methods and the phone number, before any marketing call or text to a Connecticut resident or Connecticut area code number, unless a statutory exclusion clearly applies.
• Call and text Connecticut consumers only between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. local time.
• Script every call to state the caller's identity, the purpose, and the company within 10 seconds, and to ask at the outset whether the consumer wants to continue, end the call, or be removed.
• End the call within 10 seconds when asked, suppress the consumer at every associated number, and never sell or share opt-out consumers' information.
• Never block caller ID or transmit misleading caller ID.
• Do not use recorded message devices to deliver unsolicited sales messages, given the 500-dollar private action under § 52-570c.
• For telephone sales, obtain a signed written contract with the required boldface notice before accepting payment, unless a § 42-287 exemption applies.
• Vet lead generators, dialer vendors, and voice providers, because knowingly or willfully blind support of unlawful callers creates liability under § 42-289.
• Continue to comply with the National Do Not Call Registry and company-specific do-not-call rules, which Connecticut enforces as state law.

References

• https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_743m.htm
• https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_735a.htm
• https://www.cga.ct.gov/current/pub/chap_925.htm
• https://www.cga.ct.gov/2023/ACT/PA/PDF/2023PA-00098-R00SB-01058-PA.PDF
• https://www.cga.ct.gov/2024/ACT/PA/PDF/2024PA-00075-R00SB-00121-PA.PDF
• https://portal.ct.gov/dcp/knowledge-base/articles/consumer-topics/telemarketing/faqs/do-telemarketers-need-my-permission-to-call-or-text-me
• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ca2-10-03854/pdf/USCOURTS-ca2-10-03854-2.pdf
• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ctd-3_15-cv-00824/pdf/USCOURTS-ctd-3_15-cv-00824-0.pdf
• https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
• https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310
• https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title47/html/USCODE-2023-title47-chap5-subchapII-partI-sec227.htm

This page summarizes state law for general informational purposes and is not legal advice. Statutes change; confirm current text with the official source before relying on it.