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

Overview

Kansas regulates telemarketing through two short statutes that are both "part of and supplemental to" the Kansas Consumer Protection Act (KCPA), K.S.A. 50-623 et seq. The Kansas No-Call Act, K.S.A. 50-670 and 50-670a, adopts the national do-not-call registry maintained by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) as the Kansas no-call list, requires telephone solicitors to scrub against it at least every 30 days, and imposes caller conduct rules: identification of the caller, the seller and the purpose of the call; termination on a "negative response"; a five-second answer rule; restrictions on automatic dialing-announcing devices; and a ban on withholding caller ID. The Kansas telemarketing confirmation statute, K.S.A. 50-671 through 50-675, makes a consumer's verbal agreement to buy from a telemarketer unenforceable until the telemarketer receives a signed written confirmation containing a prescribed 12-point notice, and bars charging a credit card before that confirmation is received.

Violations of both statutes are "unconscionable" acts under the KCPA. That classification is important because K.S.A. 50-634(b) lets an aggrieved consumer recover, in an individual (not class) action, actual damages or a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation under K.S.A. 50-636(a), "whichever is greater," plus attorney fees. An additional penalty of up to $10,000 per violation is available when the victim is a "protected consumer," including persons 60 or older, veterans and service members (K.S.A. 50-676, 50-677). Federal courts in Kansas have read the No-Call Act's definitions literally: wrong-number debt collection calls are not covered, and in 2026 the District of Kansas declined to hold that the KCPA's exclusion of insurance contracts bars no-call claims about insurance solicitations.

Headline differences from federal law: the registry is the same, but Kansas requires scrubbing every 30 days (federal: 31 days); its established business relationship is 18 months after a "voluntary two-way communication," with no separate inquiry window, and an objection must be honored for five years; unsolicited calls using recorded messages may carry only the caller and seller identification, with no advertisement; caller ID may not be withheld; and telephone sales require a signed written confirmation. Kansas has no state calling-hours rule, registration requirement, or spoofing statute.

Key statutes and regulations

Detailed provisions

1. Who and what the No-Call Act covers

Consumer telephone call. K.S.A. 50-670(a)(1) defines the regulated call:

(1) "Consumer telephone call" means a call made by a telephone solicitor to the residence or mobile telephone number of a consumer for the purpose of soliciting a sale of any property or services to the person called, or for the purpose of soliciting an extension of credit for property or services to the person called, or for the purpose of obtaining information that will or may be used for the direct solicitation of a sale of property or services to the person called or an extension of credit for such purposes.

Mobile numbers were added by L. 2014, ch. 18. The definition reaches lead generation calls that gather information for later solicitation. Charitable and political calls are not covered because they do not solicit a sale or credit.

Telephone solicitor. Under K.S.A. 50-670(a)(4), "Telephone solicitor" means any natural person, firm, organization, partnership, association or corporation who makes or causes to be made a consumer telephone call, including, but not limited to, calls made by use of automatic dialing-announcing device." The words "or causes to be made" extend liability to sellers that use vendors.

Exemptions. The prohibitions apply to an "unsolicited consumer telephone call," which K.S.A. 50-670(a)(3) defines as a consumer telephone call other than one made:

(A) In response to an express request or with the express written agreement of the person called; (B) primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, payment or performance of which has not been completed at the time of such call; or (C) to any person with whom the telephone solicitor or the telephone solicitor's predecessor in interest has an established business relationship, unless the consumer has objected to such consumer telephone calls and requested that the telephone solicitor cease making consumer telephone calls. The telephone solicitor shall honor any such request for five years from the date of such request.

The established business relationship is defined in K.S.A. 50-670(a)(7):

(7) "Established business relationship" means a prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person or entity and consumer with or without an exchange of consideration, on a basis of an application, purchase or transaction by the consumer, within the 18 months immediately preceding the date of the consumer telephone call, regarding products or services offered by such person or entity, which relationship has not been previously terminated by either party.

Compare 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(5), which allows 18 months after a purchase or transaction but only three months after an inquiry or application. Kansas counts an "application" within the 18-month window, so a consumer who applied but did not buy may be called for 18 months under Kansas law but only three months under the federal rule; the stricter federal rule controls as to the national registry. The five-year duration of a stop request matches the federal company-specific do-not-call rule, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(6).

2. The no-call list

K.S.A. 50-670a(l) provides: "The national no-call list established and maintained by the federal trade commission shall be designated as the Kansas no-call list." The scrubbing duty is in subsection (a):

(a) Prior to making unsolicited consumer telephone calls in this state and not less frequently than every 30 days thereafter, a telephone solicitor shall consult the no-call list provided for by this act, and shall delete from such telephone solicitor's calling list all telephone numbers of consumers appearing on such list.

Subsection (b) allows "not more than 30 days from the time of registration" to remove a number, and subsection (c) states the core prohibition: "No telephone solicitor may make or cause to be made any unsolicited consumer telephone calls to any consumer if the consumer's telephone number or numbers appear on the no-call list." A solicitor also "shall not use the no-call list for any other purpose than to remove consumers' telephone numbers from calling lists."

Affirmative defenses. K.S.A. 50-670a(e) provides an error defense, proved "by clear and convincing evidence," for a solicitor that had obtained the updated list, implemented with due care reasonable procedures, trained its personnel, maintained compliance records, and made the call by error. Unlike the federal safe harbor in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2)(i), the Kansas defense is rationed:

Such defense shall not be exercised by a telephone solicitor more than once within the state of Kansas in any 12-month period. A telephone solicitor shall be deemed to have exercised such defense if asserted in response to any consumer complaint about a violation of this section, regardless of whether litigation has been initiated.

Subsection (f) adds a defense, also by clear and convincing evidence, where the consumer held the number out to the public as a business number, the solicitor knew of and relied on that, and the call related to the consumer's business.

Rulemaking. K.S.A. 50-670a(m) authorizes the Attorney General "to promulgate state rules and regulations adopting provisions of federal trade commission regulations implementing the national do not call law, including, but not limited to, the telemarketing sales rule, 16 C.F.R. part 310," and provides that "Any violation of rules and regulations promulgated pursuant to this section shall be considered a violation of this section."

3. Caller conduct: identification, negative response, answer and disconnect timing

K.S.A. 50-670(b) applies to every unsolicited consumer telephone call, whether or not the number is on the list:

(b) Any telephone solicitor who makes an unsolicited consumer telephone call shall: (1) Identify themselves; (2) identify the business on whose behalf such person is soliciting; (3) identify the purpose of the call immediately upon making contact by telephone with the person who is the object of the telephone solicitation; (4) promptly discontinue the solicitation if the person being solicited gives a negative response at any time during the consumer telephone call;

A "Negative response" is "a statement from a consumer indicating the consumer does not wish to listen to the sales presentation or participate in the solicitation presented in the consumer telephone call" (K.S.A. 50-670(a)(6)). Federal rules require the caller to identify itself and the seller and to honor do-not-call requests (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(4); 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(d)), but the Kansas negative response rule requires the caller to end the pitch on any expression of disinterest during the call, not only on a do-not-call request.

Paragraphs (5) and (6) regulate timing:

(5) hang up the phone, or in the case of an automatic dialing-announcing device operator, disconnect the automatic dialing-announcing device from the telephone line within 25 seconds of the termination of the call by the person being called; and (6) a live operator or an automated dialing-announcing device shall answer the line within five seconds of the beginning of the call. If answered by automated dialing-announcing device, the message provided shall include only the information required in subsection (b)(1) and (2), but shall not contain any unsolicited advertisement.

The five-second answer rule parallels, and is somewhat looser than, the federal requirement that a call be connected to a live sales representative "within two (2) seconds of the called person's completed greeting" to avoid being treated as abandoned (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(7)). The 25-second disconnect is looser than the federal five-second line release for prerecorded systems (47 U.S.C. § 227(d)(3)(B)).

4. Autodialers, prerecorded messages and texts

K.S.A. 50-670(a)(5) defines "Automatic dialing-announcing device" as any user terminal equipment which:

(A) When connected to a telephone line can dial, with or without manual assistance, telephone numbers which have been stored or programmed in the device or are produced or selected by a random or sequential number generator; or (B) when connected to a telephone line can disseminate a recorded message to the telephone number called, either with or without manual assistance.

The definition is disjunctive and expressly includes equipment that dials "stored or programmed" numbers, so it is much broader than the federal "automatic telephone dialing system" as construed in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), which requires a random or sequential number generator. Most modern dialing platforms meet clause (A), and any equipment that plays a recorded message meets clause (B).

Kansas does not ban ADAD use outright. Its operative restriction is K.S.A. 50-670(b)(6): in an unsolicited consumer telephone call answered by such a device, "the message provided shall include only the information required in subsection (b)(1) and (2), but shall not contain any unsolicited advertisement." In practical terms, a prerecorded sales pitch may not be delivered on an unsolicited call to a Kansas consumer, even to a number not on the registry. Calls made with an express request or express written agreement, in connection with an existing contract, or within an established business relationship are not "unsolicited" and fall outside the restriction; federal consent rules still apply to them.

The No-Call Act does not mention text messages. Whether a text is a "call" to a "residence or mobile telephone number" under K.S.A. 50-670(a)(1) has not been decided in any reported Kansas decision located for this page. Federal rules apply the do-not-call protections to texts (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e)). K.S.A. 50-670(d) separately provides: "A telephone solicitor shall not transmit any written information by facsimile machine or computer to a consumer after the consumer requests orally or in writing that such transmissions cease."

5. Caller ID

K.S.A. 50-670(c) provides: "A telephone solicitor shall not withhold the display of the telephone solicitor's telephone number from a caller identification service when that number is being used for telemarketing purposes." This is a state counterpart to the federal caller ID transmission rules (47 C.F.R. § 64.1601(e); 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(a)(8)). Kansas has no separate statute penalizing the transmission of false or misleading caller ID; spoofing is addressed by the federal Truth in Caller ID Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(e), and may also be a deceptive act under K.S.A. 50-626.

6. Calling hours, frequency and registration

Kansas has no statutory calling-hours rule, no call frequency cap, and no telemarketer registration or bonding requirement. The federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window applies (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1); 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(c)).

7. Written confirmation and cancellation (K.S.A. 50-671 to 50-675)

Scope. A "Telemarketer" under K.S.A. 50-671(b) is a person who "initiates the sale, lease, or rental of consumer goods or services, or offers gifts or prizes with the intent to sell, lease or rent consumer goods or services by telephonic means," or by postcard or mailed notice that does not fully describe the goods and terms and asks the consumer to call. The definition excludes section 501(c)(3) organizations.

The confirmation requirement. K.S.A. 50-672(a):

(a) Any verbal agreement made by a consumer to purchase any goods or services from a telemarketer shall not be considered valid and legally binding unless the telemarketer receives from the consumer a signed confirmation that discloses in full the terms of the sale agreed upon.

The confirmation must include the telemarketer's name, an address and telephone number for live contact during business hours, all prices and fees, the date, a detailed description of the goods or services, a duplicate copy for the consumer, and, in at least 12-point type immediately preceding the signature space, the statement "YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONFIRMATION AND RETURN IT TO THE SELLER." (K.S.A. 50-672(b)). Subsection (c) adds:

(c) A telemarketer may not make or submit any charge to the consumer's credit card account until the telemarketer has received from the consumer an original copy of a confirmation, signed by the consumer, that complies with this section. Any merchandise sent or services provided without such written confirmation shall be considered as unsolicited goods subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 50-617 and amendments thereto.

Under subsection (d), "No consumer shall be held liable for payment for any good or service provided by a telemarketer unless such telemarketer has first received the written consent of the consumer in the form of a confirmation as defined in this section." If a consumer pays by check, cash or other non-card method without a signed confirmation, the consumer may cancel "at any time" by written notice and returning the goods, and the telemarketer must refund within 10 business days (K.S.A. 50-672(e)).

Exemptions. K.S.A. 50-673 exempts transactions following negotiations at the merchant's fixed retail location; transactions where the business "has made a prior sale to the consumer, is establishing a business to business relationship or has a clear, preexisting business relationship with the consumer," provided the consumer knows the business's full name, address and telephone number and the business "is not a provider of telecommunications services"; purchases from advertisements, catalogs or mailings containing specified disclosures; and transactions with at least a seven-day full refund or cancellation right that is disclosed. A telemarketer that relies on the refund exemption "impliedly warrants the goods or property to be satisfactory to the consumer" for the seven-day period (K.S.A. 50-673(e)).

Location. Under K.S.A. 50-674, "any telemarketing sale shall be considered to have taken place in the state where the consumer is located, regardless of the location of the telemarketer." Under K.S.A. 50-675(b), "Any attempt to collect a fee, or enforce a credit card charge or transaction or any refusal to make a refund to the consumer in violation of this act is an unconscionable act within the meaning of K.S.A. 50-627."

Courier pickups. K.S.A. 50-670(e) provides: "A telephone solicitor shall not obtain by use of any professional delivery, courier or other pickup service receipt or possession of a consumer's payment unless the goods are delivered with the opportunity to inspect before any payment is collected."

8. Mortgage trigger lead solicitations

K.S.A. 50-626(b)(13)(A) makes it a deceptive act to make "an oral solicitation for products or services based on a mortgage trigger lead unless the solicitation clearly and conspicuously states in the initial phase of the solicitation that the solicitor is not affiliated with the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied and that the solicitation is based on personal information about the consumer that was purchased, directly or indirectly, from a consumer reporting agency without the knowledge or permission of the lender or broker with which the consumer initially applied." Telephone solicitations based on trigger leads must therefore open with this disclosure in addition to the No-Call Act identification.

9. Private right of action and remedies

Both statutes classify violations as unconscionable acts under the KCPA: K.S.A. 50-670(g) ("Any violation of this section is an unconscionable act or practice under the Kansas consumer protection act."), K.S.A. 50-670a(g) (same), and K.S.A. 50-675(b). K.S.A. 50-627(a) provides that "No supplier shall engage in any unconscionable act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction."

The private remedy is K.S.A. 50-634(b):

(b) A consumer who is aggrieved by a violation of this act may recover, but not in a class action, damages or a civil penalty as provided in subsection (a) of K.S.A. 50-636 and amendments thereto, whichever is greater.

K.S.A. 50-636(a) sets the civil penalty at "not more than $10,000 for each violation." A consumer may also seek declaratory and injunctive relief (K.S.A. 50-634(a)), and the court may award reasonable attorney fees to a prevailing consumer where the supplier violated the act (K.S.A. 50-634(e)). Class actions for damages are limited to specified circumstances (K.S.A. 50-634(d)). Notice of an individual action must be given to the Attorney General, though failure to do so is not a defense (K.S.A. 50-634(g)).

Two definitional limits shape private claims. First, the KCPA defines "Consumer" as "an individual, husband and wife, sole proprietor, or family partnership who seeks or acquires property or services for personal, family, household, business or agricultural purposes" (K.S.A. 50-624(b)), and the District of Kansas has held that the recipient of wrong-number debt collection calls was not a consumer. Second, "Consumer transaction" excludes "insurance contracts regulated under state law" (K.S.A. 50-624(c)); whether that exclusion reaches no-call claims about insurance solicitations is unresolved (see Julian, below). The KCPA does not state its own limitations period, and none is stated here.

10. Attorney General enforcement and penalties

The Attorney General, county attorneys and district attorneys may recover civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation (K.S.A. 50-636(a)), up to $20,000 per violation for willful violation of a court order (K.S.A. 50-636(b)), and investigation expenses (K.S.A. 50-636(c)). K.S.A. 50-670a(i) directs that "Penalties and fees recovered from prosecutions of violations of this section shall be paid to the attorney general to investigate and prosecute violations of this section." K.S.A. 50-677 adds: "If any person is found to have violated any provision of the Kansas consumer protection act, and such violation is committed against a protected consumer, in addition to any civil penalty otherwise provided by law, the court may impose an additional civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each such violation." "Protected consumer" includes "An elder person" (60 or older), a disabled person, a veteran, a veteran's surviving spouse, a member of the armed forces, and an immediate family member of a service member (K.S.A. 50-676).

How Kansas law differs from federal law

Where Kansas is stricter. The written confirmation statute has no federal analogue and makes telephone-only sales unenforceable and card charges unlawful until a signed confirmation is received. The prohibition on advertising content in device-answered unsolicited calls, the broad ADAD definition, the duty to state the purpose of the call immediately, the negative response rule, and the rationed safe harbor all exceed federal requirements. The per-violation exposure in an individual KCPA action (up to $10,000) is far higher than the TCPA's $500.

Where Kansas is looser. Kansas's established business relationship counts applications for 18 months, its disconnect and answer timing are more generous than federal rules, and it has no calling hours, frequency, text, or spoofing provisions. In each case federal law fills the gap.

Where Kansas is the same. The list itself is the national registry, and the five-year duration of stop requests matches federal practice.

Notable enforcement and case law

Julian v. Kirkendall Dwyer II, LLP, No. 2:25-cv-02510-HLT-GEB (D. Kan. Mar. 12, 2026). Julian v. Kirkendall Dwyer II (D. Kan. 2026) The plaintiff alleged 40 telemarketing calls to a number on the no-call list and asserted TCPA and KCPA claims. The defendant argued that the KCPA claim failed because the calls concerned insurance and "consumer transaction" excludes insurance contracts. The court denied the motion to dismiss in full, observing that the No-Call Act prohibits "any unsolicited consumer telephone calls" to listed numbers and that "There is no carveout for unsolicited calls about insurance." It noted that "Making insurance calls immune from the Kansas No-Call Act would be a significant carveout of that statute," and held that the defendant had not carried its burden at the pleading stage, leaving the question open on a fuller record.

Wright v. Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC, No. 15-1268-EFM-KGG, 227 F. Supp. 3d 1207 (D. Kan. Dec. 16, 2016). Wright v. Enhanced Recovery (D. Kan. 2016) A debt collector called a wrong number 21 times about another person's debt. The court granted summary judgment on the KCPA claim, holding that the calls "were not consumer calls covered by the Kansas No-Call Act" because the collector "was not calling Wright to solicit a sale, extend credit, or obtain information for either of those purposes," and that "The KCPA protects consumers, not victims of phone calls made to the wrong number." The FDCPA claim proceeded.

Federal Trade Commission v. Affiliate Strategies, Inc., No. 09-4104-JAR, 849 F. Supp. 2d 1085 (D. Kan. July 26, 2011). FTC v. Affiliate Strategies (D. Kan. 2011) In a joint action by the FTC and several states, the State of Kansas sought summary judgment under K.S.A. 50-672 against a company that took credit card information during sales calls and charged the card after receiving a signed terms form that lacked the statutory notice. The court held that "the documents sent to consumers after the sales calls constituted confirmations" of a verbal agreement, rejected a substantial compliance argument because "the requisite statement is mandated by the statute," and granted summary judgment to Kansas on that count.

Recent amendments

• No amendment to K.S.A. 50-670, 50-670a, or 50-671 through 50-675 was enacted from 2023 through 2026. The history notes on the Revisor of Statutes pages end with L. 2014, ch. 18 (50-670 and 50-670a), L. 1992, ch. 252 (50-672), and L. 1998, ch. 156 (50-673).
• L. 2014, ch. 18 (effective July 1, 2014) added mobile telephone numbers to the definition of "consumer telephone call" and the related definition of "Mobile telephone number."
• K.S.A. 50-676, which defines the "protected consumer" class for the enhanced penalty, was amended by L. 2022, ch. 75, L. 2024, ch. 84, and L. 2025, ch. 97 (each effective July 1 per the Revisor history note). The current text includes veterans, surviving spouses of veterans, members of the armed forces (including the space force) and their immediate family members, in addition to elder and disabled persons. The specific change made by each session law was not compared against superseded text.

Compliance checklist

• Scrub Kansas numbers against the national registry before calling and at least every 30 days; remove newly registered numbers within 30 days.
• Document established business relationships by date and type, and suppress anyone who has asked not to be called for five years.
• Script the opening to state the caller's name, the seller, and the purpose of the call immediately, and end the pitch on any negative response.
• Do not deliver prerecorded or artificial voice sales messages on unsolicited calls to Kansas consumers; device-answered calls may give only caller and seller identification.
• Connect calls to a live agent promptly (federal two-second rule) and release lines within five seconds to satisfy both regimes.
• Transmit a callable number in caller ID on every telemarketing call.
• For telephone sales not covered by an exemption, send a written confirmation with the 12-point statutory notice and do not charge a card until the signed original is received.
• Do not send couriers to collect payment unless goods are delivered with an opportunity to inspect first.
• Lenders and brokers using mortgage trigger leads must give the nonaffiliation and purchased-information disclosure in the first phase of the call.
• Flag protected consumers (60 or older, veterans, service members and families) for extra care given the enhanced penalty exposure.

References

• K.S.A. 50-670, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0070.html
• K.S.A. 50-670a, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0070a.html
• K.S.A. 50-671, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0071.html
• K.S.A. 50-672, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0072.html
• K.S.A. 50-673, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0073.html
• K.S.A. 50-674, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0074.html
• K.S.A. 50-675, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0075.html
• K.S.A. 50-624, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0024.html
• K.S.A. 50-626, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0026.html
• K.S.A. 50-627, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0027.html
• K.S.A. 50-634, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0034.html
• K.S.A. 50-636, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0036.html
• K.S.A. 50-676, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0076.html
• K.S.A. 50-677, https://www.ksrevisor.gov/statutes/chapters/ch50/050_006_0077.html
• Julian v. Kirkendall Dwyer II, LLP, No. 2:25-cv-02510 (D. Kan. 2026), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ksd-2_25-cv-02510/pdf/USCOURTS-ksd-2_25-cv-02510-0.pdf
• Wright v. Enhanced Recovery Company, LLC, No. 15-1268 (D. Kan. 2016), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ksd-6_15-cv-01268/pdf/USCOURTS-ksd-6_15-cv-01268-0.pdf
• Federal Trade Commission v. Affiliate Strategies, Inc., No. 09-4104 (D. Kan. 2011), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-ksd-5_09-cv-04104/pdf/USCOURTS-ksd-5_09-cv-04104-8.pdf
• 47 U.S.C. § 227, https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/64.1200
• 16 C.F.R. § 310.4, https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.4

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.