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

Overview

Idaho regulates telemarketing through the Idaho Telephone Solicitation Act (ITSA), Idaho Code §§ 48-1001 to 48-1010, and the Idaho Consumer Protection Act (ICPA), Idaho Code chapter 6, title 48. The ITSA:

• requires telephone solicitors to register annually with the Attorney General;
• prohibits telephone solicitations to numbers on the Idaho "no telephone solicitation contact" list, for which the National Do Not Call Registry may serve;
• requires opening disclosures and a three-business-day cancellation notice;
• prohibits caller ID blocking;
• requires identification at the outset of prerecorded messages sent with an automatic dialing-announcing device (ADAD).

A violation of the ITSA is an unfair and deceptive practice under the ICPA. Contracts made by a telephone solicitor in violation of the ITSA are "null and void and unenforceable." Idaho Code § 48-1007(2). The Idaho Supreme Court has held that this language makes such contracts void ab initio, not merely voidable.

The ITSA's private remedy is limited to persons who purchase goods or services through a telephone solicitation and suffer damages. Do-not-call violations are enforced mainly by the Attorney General through graduated civil penalties.

The ITSA states that its provisions "are remedial, and shall be construed and applied liberally to accomplish the above-stated purposes." Idaho Code § 48-1001(2).

Key statutes table

Detailed provisions

Do-not-call

The list. "Any Idaho residential, mobile or telephonic paging device telephone subscriber desiring to be placed on the Idaho 'no telephone solicitation contact' list, indicating that the subscriber does not wish to receive telephone solicitations, may be placed upon such list through a procedure approved by the attorney general." Idaho Code § 48-1003A(1)(a).

The statute allows the federal registry to stand in for the state list: "a national 'do-not-call' registry established and maintained by the federal trade commission, pursuant to 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B), may serve as the Idaho 'no telephone solicitation contact' list provided by this chapter." § 48-1003A(1)(b).

The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division states: "Under Idaho law, it is unlawful for telephone solicitors to call Idaho phone numbers registered on the Federal Trade Commission's National Do Not Call Registry." It adds: "Idaho does not maintain its own do not call list."

Prohibition. "It is a violation of the provisions of this chapter for a telephone solicitor to make or cause to be made any telephone solicitation, as defined by section 48-1002 (11)(a), Idaho Code, to any telephone number which is assigned by a telephone company to an Idaho resident listed on the Idaho 'no telephone solicitation contact' list when that telephone number has been on such list for at least three (3) months prior to the date the telephone solicitation is made." § 48-1003A(2).

The three-month grace period is longer than the federal 31-day period for scrubbing against the National Registry.

Definition. The do-not-call rule applies to solicitations under § 48-1002(11)(a), meaning "Any unsolicited telephone call to a purchaser for the purpose of asking, inducing, inviting, requesting, or encouraging the purchaser to purchase or invest in goods or services during the course of a telephone call." Idaho Code § 48-1002(11)(a).

Exemptions. The do-not-call rule does not apply to solicitations:

• "To a telephone subscriber's commercial or business telephone number";
• where an established business relationship exists "and the subscriber has not stated to the telephone solicitor that he does not wish to receive telephone solicitations made by or on behalf of the business with whom the established business relationship exists";
• "By a minor seeking to sell a good or service, pursuant to a telephone solicitation, for a charitable purpose or organization." § 48-1003A(4).

Established business relationship. An established business relationship is one formed "through a voluntary, two-way communication between a seller or telephone solicitor and a residential subscriber, with or without consideration, on the basis of an application, purchase, ongoing contractual agreement, or commercial transaction." Idaho Code § 48-1002(3)(a). It must not have been "previously terminated by either party" and must currently exist "or has existed within the immediately preceding eighteen (18) months." § 48-1002(3)(b), (c).

Unlike federal law, Idaho has no separate three-month window for inquiries. An inquiry that is not an "application, purchase, ongoing contractual agreement, or commercial transaction" may not create a relationship under the Idaho definition.

Registration and bond

Registration. Telephone solicitors shall "Register with the attorney general at least ten (10) days prior to conducting business in Idaho." Idaho Code § 48-1004(1)(a). Registrations are "valid for a period of one (1) year from the effective date of the registration." Id. Changes must "be reported within two (2) weeks of such change to the attorney general." Id. "Conducting business" "means making telephone solicitations either to or from locations within the state of Idaho." Idaho Code § 48-1002(2).

A "telephone solicitor" is "any person who, on his own behalf or through other persons or through use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, engages in a telephone solicitation." Idaho Code § 48-1002(12).

Other registrant duties. Registrants must:

• file "an irrevocable consent appointing the attorney general as an agent to receive civil process" (§ 48-1004(1)(b));
• give their registration number to any purchaser who asks (§ 48-1004(1)(c));
• state the registration number when a purchase is completed (§ 48-1004(1)(d));
• give "the full street address, including the telephone number, of the telephone solicitor if a sale or purchase is completed" (§ 48-1004(1)(f)).

Fees and certificate. The Attorney General may require "a registration fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) or a registration renewal fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00)." Idaho Code § 48-1006(3)(b). The registration certificate must be "prominently posted in a publicly accessible place at the telephone solicitor's principal business location." § 48-1006(3)(c). Idaho does not require a bond.

Exemptions from registration. Section 48-1005 exempts persons from § 48-1004, which covers registration and the cancellation notice, but not from the rest of the ITSA. The exemptions include:

• isolated transactions, and persons for whom "Less than sixty percent (60%) of such person's prior year's sales were made as a result of telephone solicitations";
• calls to prior purchasers;
• calls that only set up a later face-to-face sales presentation;
• "A person whose business is licensed by any federal or state of Idaho governmental agency, except the secretary of state office, which has the power to revoke any license issued by the agency";
• newspaper and directory sales;
• qualifying magazine, book, and recording sales;
• businesses with an Idaho location doing 90 percent of business there;
• issuers of registered securities and their subsidiaries;
• qualifying catalog sellers. Idaho Code § 48-1005(1).

"In any action, suit, or proceeding to enforce the provisions of this chapter, the burden of proving an exemption is upon the person claiming it." § 48-1005(2).

The Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division states: "If a telephone solicitor fails to register as required, the solicitor not only violates Idaho law, it cannot enforce any contracts entered into as a result of the unlawful telephone solicitation."

Calling hours

No calling-hours provision was identified in the ITSA or § 48-603A. The federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window applies. 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1).

Call frequency and hang-ups

Idaho sets no numeric cap on calls. It is unlawful for a telephone solicitor to "Intimidate or torment any person of normal and reasonable sensitivities in connection with a telephone solicitation" or to "Refuse to hang up and free the purchaser's line immediately once requested to do so by the purchaser." Idaho Code § 48-1003(1)(a), (b).

Automated dialing compared with Facebook v. Duguid

ADAD disclosure rule. "When a person intends to utilize an automatic dialing-announcing device to send a message by using or connecting to a telephone line, the person must, at the outset of the message, disclose the following":

• "The name of the person for whom the message is being made";
• "The purpose of the message"; and
• "The contact information of the caller." Idaho Code § 48-1003C(1).

Definition. An "Automatic dialing-announcing device" "means a device that selects and dials telephone numbers and that, working alone or in conjunction with other equipment, disseminates a prerecorded or synthesized voice message to the telephone number called." § 48-1003C(2)(a).

Comparison with Duguid. Under Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), the federal autodialer definition requires a random or sequential number generator. Idaho's ADAD definition does not. It reaches any device that "selects and dials telephone numbers" and plays a "prerecorded or synthesized voice message." The express reference to "synthesized" voice covers artificial voice messages, including those generated by software.

The Idaho rule applies to any ADAD message, not only sales calls. It requires disclosure, not consent. Consent for prerecorded and artificial voice calls comes from federal law, 47 U.S.C. § 227(b).

Text messages

The do-not-call prohibition is tied to "Any unsolicited telephone call." Idaho Code § 48-1002(11)(a). The ADAD section applies to a "prerecorded or synthesized voice message." Neither provision addresses text messages.

The second definition of telephone solicitation, in § 48-1002(11)(b), covers communications offering a gift, award, or prize, or goods or services below the regular price, that invite a return call or are followed by a call. "Communication" includes a statement or advertisement "transmitted to the purchaser through any means." Idaho Code § 48-1002(11)(c). That definition is not the one used in the do-not-call section.

Caller ID

It is unlawful for a telephone solicitor to "Utilize any device or method to block or mislead the intended recipient of the call as to the identity of the solicitor, or the trade name of the person being represented by the solicitor on a caller identification telecommunication device." Idaho Code § 48-1003(1)(f). This prohibits both blocking and misleading caller ID. Unlike the federal Truth in Caller ID Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(e), which reaches misleading caller ID transmitted with intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value, the Idaho text states no intent element.

Disclosures and opt-out

Opening disclosures. A telephone solicitor violates the ITSA if it fails to comply with § 48-603A. Idaho Code § 48-1003(1)(g). Under § 48-603A, a person soliciting a sale by telephone must clearly, affirmatively and expressly reveal "at the time the person initially contacts the prospective buyer, and before making any other statement, except a greeting, or asking the prospective buyer any other questions, that the purpose of the contact is to effect a sale." Idaho Code § 48-603A(1). The person must also state:

• "the identity of the person making the solicitation";
• "the trade name of the person represented by the person making the solicitation"; and
• "the kind of goods or services being offered for sale." § 48-603A(1)(a) to (c).

It is also unlawful "to use any plan, scheme, or ruse which misrepresents his true status or mission for the purpose of making such sale." § 48-603A(2).

Misrepresentation and endorsement. A telephone solicitor may not:

• "Misrepresent the price, quality, or availability of the goods or services being offered to the purchaser, or not to disclose all material matters relating directly or indirectly to the offered goods or services";
• imply government approval "unless such is the fact"; or
• "Advertise, represent, or imply that the person has a valid registration number when the person does not." Idaho Code § 48-1003(1)(c) to (e).

Opt-out. The do-not-call exemption for an established business relationship applies only while the subscriber "has not stated to the telephone solicitor that he does not wish to receive telephone solicitations" from that business. § 48-1003A(4)(b). Idaho has no separate company-specific do-not-call list requirement in the ITSA. The federal rule in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d) applies.

Contracts and cancellation

Written confirmation and cancellation. "Unless the purchaser has an unqualified right to return the goods or cancel the services and receive a full refund, the telephone solicitor shall send a written confirmation to the purchaser." Idaho Code § 48-1004(2). The confirmation must contain a notice "in ten (10) point bold face type." Id. The notice states:

You may cancel this transaction, without any penalty or obligation whatsoever, within three business days of the date in which you receive this written confirmation.

Id. Payments must be returned "within ten business days following receipt by the telephone solicitor of your cancellation notice." Id. The purchaser must return the goods "at the telephone solicitor's risk and expense within twenty-one days" of receiving the refund. Id.

The telephone solicitor must also "Orally inform the purchaser at the time the purchase is completed of his right to cancel." § 48-1004(1)(d). A "Written confirmation" includes "the date of purchase, the telephone solicitor's complete address and registration number, a listing of all goods and/or services purchased, a listing of the price of each good and/or service purchased, the total obligation incurred by the purchaser, and the notice of cancellation." Idaho Code § 48-1002(14).

Void contracts. "If a telephone solicitor violates any applicable provision of this chapter, any contract of sale or purchase is null and void and unenforceable." Idaho Code § 48-1007(2). A purported waiver of ITSA rights in a contract or confirmation "is against public policy and shall be null and void and unenforceable." § 48-1007(4). A contract is also void if the telephone solicitor fails to deliver goods or services as required by the FTC's Mail Order Rule, 16 CFR 435. § 48-1007(3).

Preacquired account charges. "A telemarketer shall not charge or cause a charge to an account holder's account as a result of a previously obtained account number telemarketing call unless the telemarketer has first obtained authorization from the account holder for the specific charge discussed during the call." Idaho Code § 48-1003B(2). Authorization "is not effective until the account holder has been advised, clearly and conspicuously" of five things (§ 48-1003B(1)(c)):

• that the telemarketer has the account number;
• that the account will be charged;
• the specific account;
• the specific amount;
• the name, address, and telephone number of the person charging.

Verbal authorization must be recorded with notice, or verified by the last four digits of the account. "Authorizations must be kept and maintained for a period of two (2) years." § 48-1003B(3).

Minors. "Any minor who purchases goods or services pursuant to any telephone solicitation may disaffirm the purchase within a reasonable time after the purchase is made." Idaho Code § 48-1008(1). Parents and guardians are not liable for such purchases. § 48-1008(2).

Exemptions

The § 48-1005 exemptions apply only to registration and cancellation under § 48-1004. The ITSA's unlawful acts, do-not-call, caller ID, and ADAD provisions have their own, narrower exemptions or none. The do-not-call section exempts business numbers, established business relationships, and charitable sales by minors. § 48-1003A(4).

Calls to solicit charitable donations or political support appear to fall outside the ITSA's definition, which requires encouraging a purchase or investment "in goods or services." Idaho Code § 48-1002(11)(a).

Junk faxes

It is unlawful for a telephone solicitor to "Send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine." Idaho Code § 48-1003(1)(i). An "Unsolicited advertisement" means an advertisement "transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission unless an established business relationship exists between the sender and recipient which has not been terminated by either party." Idaho Code § 48-1002(13).

Private right of action

"Any person who purchases goods or services pursuant to a telephone solicitation and thereby suffers damages as a result of any act, conduct, or practice declared unlawful in this chapter shall have the same rights and remedies in seeking and obtaining redress under this chapter as those granted under the Idaho consumer protection act." Idaho Code § 48-1007(1). The ITSA also provides: "Any violation of the provisions of this chapter is an unlawful, unfair, and deceptive act or practice in trade or commerce for the purpose of applying the Idaho consumer protection act." Idaho Code § 48-1003(2).

The ICPA private action requires a purchase and an ascertainable loss: "Any person who purchases or leases goods or services and thereby suffers any ascertainable loss of money or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of a method, act or practice declared unlawful by this chapter" may sue. Idaho Code § 48-608(1).

On the text of §§ 48-1007(1) and 48-608(1), a person who receives an unwanted solicitation but buys nothing does not appear to have a state-law damages claim; no decision addressing the point was located. Such a person may complain to the Attorney General or assert a federal TCPA claim. "The remedies provided for in this chapter are not exclusive." Idaho Code § 48-1007(5).

Damages

A qualifying purchaser may "treat any agreement incident thereto as voidable or, in the alternative, may bring an action to recover actual damages or one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is the greater." Idaho Code § 48-608(1). Other available relief:

• "The court may, in its discretion, award punitive damages and may provide such equitable relief as it deems necessary or proper in cases of repeated or flagrant violations." Id.
• Elderly or disabled persons may recover "an enhanced penalty of fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000) or treble the actual damages, whichever is greater," if the statutory loss conditions are met. § 48-608(2).

Attorney fees

"In any action brought by a person under this section, the court shall award, in addition to the relief provided in this section, reasonable attorney's fees to the plaintiff if he prevails." Idaho Code § 48-608(5). "The court in its discretion may award attorney's fees to a prevailing defendant if it finds that the plaintiff's action is spurious or brought for harassment purposes only." Id.

Class action limits

The ICPA caps statutory recovery in class actions: "in the case of a class action, the class may bring an action for actual damages or a total for the class that may not exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), whichever is the greater." Idaho Code § 48-608(1). Class members may still recover actual damages.

Statute of limitations

"No private action may be brought under the provisions of this chapter more than two (2) years after the cause of action accrues." Idaho Code § 48-1010(1). "A cause of action shall be deemed to have accrued when the party bringing an action under the provisions of this chapter knows or in the exercise of reasonable care should have known about the violation of the provisions of this chapter." § 48-1010(2). The ICPA has the same two-year period. Idaho Code § 48-619.

Attorney General enforcement

"The attorney general and the district court shall have the same authority in enforcing and carrying out the provisions of this chapter as is granted the attorney general and district courts under the Idaho consumer protection act." Idaho Code § 48-1006(1).

Under the ICPA, the Attorney General may seek declaratory and injunctive relief, restitution, and "civil penalties of up to five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation." Idaho Code § 48-606(1)(e). The Attorney General may also recover "reasonable expenses, investigative costs and attorney's fees." § 48-606(1)(f).

Do-not-call violations carry their own graduated civil penalties, imposed by the district court: "for the first violation, not to exceed five hundred dollars ($500); for the second violation, not to exceed two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500); for the third and subsequent violations, not to exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) per violation." Idaho Code § 48-1003A(3).

Federal comparison

Idaho's main additions to federal law are:

• the registration requirement;
• the three-day cancellation right;
• the void-contract rule;
• the broad caller ID prohibition;
• the ADAD disclosure rule, which reaches synthesized voice messages without regard to dialing technology.

Idaho's private remedies are narrower than federal law. The ITSA private action requires a purchase, and the ICPA limits class statutory recovery to 1,000 dollars for the entire class. For unwanted calls that produce no purchase, the TCPA provides the private remedy.

Case law

Drug Testing Compliance Group, LLC v. DOT Compliance Service (Idaho 2016)

Drug Testing Compliance Group, LLC v. DOT Compliance Service, Idaho Supreme Court, Docket No. 43458 (Nov. 3, 2016)

Two competing companies obtained new business by making unsolicited calls to newly registered commercial drivers. One sued the other for tortious interference with its customer contracts. It was undisputed that the plaintiff "was not registered with the Idaho Attorney General at the time it entered into the customer contracts with which DOT Compliance and Bunnell allegedly interfered."

The district court had treated § 48-1007(2) as making such contracts voidable at the customer's option. The Idaho Supreme Court disagreed. It noted that "Section 48-1007(2) uses the term 'void' rather than 'voidable.'" It held that "the Legislature weighed the issues and policies before it and clearly and unambiguously provided that the telephone sales contracts of telephone solicitors who operate in violation of the ITSA, including those who fail to register, are null and void and unenforceable."

The court concluded: "Under the plain language of the statute, any contracts entered into with customers while DTC Group was operating in violation of the Act are void ab initio." The tortious interference claim therefore failed for lack of a contract, and the court reversed the denial of a directed verdict.

The decision confirms that registration failures under § 48-1004 have contract consequences beyond penalties. In the case, the void-contract rule was applied in a tort suit between competitors, defeating the unregistered solicitor's claim.

Recent amendments

The ITSA's source notes show the most recent amendment to the do-not-call section in 2013 (2013 Idaho Sess. Laws ch. 130, § 1). The ADAD disclosure section, § 48-1003C, was added in 2007 (ch. 203). Amendments in 2004 (ch. 102) revised the definitions, the do-not-call section, and § 48-1003B. The current Idaho Code history notes for §§ 48-1001 to 48-1010 show no later amendment, and the history notes for §§ 48-603A, 48-606, 48-608, and 48-619 show no amendment after 2008.

Compliance checklist

• Register with the Attorney General at least ten days before making telephone solicitations to or from Idaho, renew annually, report changes within two weeks, post the certificate, and confirm whether any § 48-1005 exemption applies. The burden of proving an exemption is on you, and contracts made while in violation are void.
• Scrub Idaho residential, mobile, and paging numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry, and honor any request from an established business relationship customer to stop calling.
• At the start of every sales call, before anything but a greeting, state that the purpose is a sale, give your name and the company's trade name, and describe the kind of goods or services.
• Hang up immediately when asked, and never block or misrepresent caller ID.
• For any prerecorded or synthesized voice message sent by automatic dialer, state at the outset whom the message is for, its purpose, and contact information, and obtain federal consent where required.
• On completed sales, orally disclose the cancellation right and registration number, and send a written confirmation with the 10-point bold three-day cancellation notice, unless you offer an unqualified full-refund return right.
• For charges to preacquired account numbers, make the five required disclosures, obtain specific recorded or last-four-digit authorization, and keep it for two years.
• Watch federal calling hours, which Idaho does not separately regulate.

References

• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1002/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1003/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1003A/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1003B/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1003C/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1004/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1005/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1006/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1007/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH10/SECT48-1010/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH6/SECT48-603A/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH6/SECT48-606/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH6/SECT48-608/
• https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title48/T48CH6/SECT48-619/
• https://www.ag.idaho.gov/consumer-protection/do-not-call/
• https://www.ag.idaho.gov/consumer-protection/telephone-solicitors/
• https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2016/11/03/drug_testing_compliance_grp_v._dot_compliance_service.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

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.