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

Overview

Michigan regulates telemarketing through two older statutes that operate alongside the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227.

The Home Solicitation Sales Act (MHSSA), 1971 PA 227, MCL 445.111 to 445.117. In 2002 (2002 PA 612) the act was expanded to cover telephone solicitation. As it stands:

• It bans telephone solicitations that consist "in whole or in part of a recorded message."
• It makes the National Do Not Call Registry the Michigan do not call list.
• It requires callers to state their name and the seller's full name at the start of the call and to provide a call-back number answered by a live person.
• It prohibits blocking caller ID.
• It lists deceptive telemarketing practices, including taking payment without "express verifiable authorization."
• A consumer who "suffers loss" may recover actual damages or $250, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees.
• Knowing or intentional violations of some provisions are misdemeanors.

MCL 484.125, part of the 1913 act governing telephone companies as common carriers. This statute separately prohibits recorded commercial advertising to a subscriber's residence, business, or toll-free number unless the subscriber knowingly and voluntarily consented or provided the number. It gives the subscriber a private action for "damages of $1,000.00, together with reasonable attorneys' fees."

Michigan has no state calling-hours rule, no telemarketer registration, and no separate state list. A package of Senate bills passed by the Senate in January 2026 (SB 351 to 355) would enact a new "Telephone Solicitation Act" and repeal MCL 484.125. The package was referred to the House Committee on Regulatory Reform on February 3, 2026, and no later action is recorded on the Legislature's bill page.

Key statutes

Detailed provisions

1. Telephone solicitation and who is covered

MCL 445.111(m) defines the core term:

"Telephone solicitation" means any voice communication over a telephone for the purpose of encouraging the recipient of the call to purchase, rent, or invest in goods or services during that telephone call.

Three communications are excluded:

1. "A voice communication to a residential telephone subscriber with that subscriber's express invitation or permission prior to the voice communication."
2. A voice communication to an existing customer, unless the customer has asked not to receive calls.
3. A call requesting a face-to-face meeting that does not urge the subscriber to make a decision during the call.

A "telephone solicitor" is "any person doing business in this state who makes or causes to be made a telephone solicitation from within or outside of this state, including, but not limited to, calls made by use of automated dialing and announcing devices or by a live person" (MCL 445.111(n)). A "residential telephone subscriber" is "a person residing in this state who has residential telephone service" (MCL 445.111(l)).

Existing customer. An "existing customer" is an individual who bought goods or services and "either paid for the goods or services within the 12 months preceding the voice communication or has not paid for the goods and services at the time of the voice communication because of a prior agreement" (MCL 445.111(j)). This window is narrower than the federal 18-month established business relationship, and Michigan has no counterpart to the federal three-month inquiry exemption.

Charities and political organizations. Under MCL 445.111e, the telephone sections (1a to 1d) "do not apply to a person subject to" the charitable organizations and solicitations act, the public safety solicitation act, or "Section 527 of the internal revenue code of 1986." Political organizations under section 527 are therefore outside the MHSSA telemarketing rules.

2. Do not call

Michigan adopted the federal list. MCL 445.111a(5) provides:

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if an agency of the federal government establishes a federal do-not-call list, within 120 days after the establishment of the federal do-not-call list, the commission shall designate the federal list as the state do-not-call list. The federal list shall remain the state do-not-call list as long as the federal list is maintained. A telephone solicitor shall not make a telephone solicitation to a residential telephone subscriber whose name and residential telephone number is on the then-current version of the federal list.

The "commission" is the Michigan Public Service Commission (MCL 445.111(h)). A telephone solicitor "shall not use a do-not-call list for any purpose other than meeting the requirements of subsection (4) or (5)" (MCL 445.111a(6)).

Company-specific requests. MCL 445.111c(1)(g) makes it an unfair or deceptive practice to "Make a telephone solicitation to a consumer in this state who has requested that he or she not receive calls from the organization or other person on whose behalf the telephone solicitation is made." Unlike the federal rule, under which a do not call request "must be honored for 5 years from the time the request is made" (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d)(6)), the Michigan text contains no time limit.

Cell phones. In Visser v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc. (W.D. Mich. 2020), the court rejected an argument that the MHSSA does not apply to cellular telephones. It held that "No language in the statute limits 'residential telephone service' to service over a wire, as opposed to service over a cellular network."

Residency. Because a residential telephone subscriber is defined as a person "residing in this state" (MCL 445.111(l)), the text of MCL 445.111a(5) protects only Michigan residents.

3. Registration and bonding

Michigan does not require telemarketers to register or post a bond, and it charges no state list fee. MCL 445.111a(2) originally authorized the Public Service Commission to set up a state list with fees. Subsection (5) displaced that structure once the federal registry existed.

4. Calling hours and frequency

The MHSSA and MCL 484.125 contain no calling-hours or call-frequency limits. Federal rules apply: no telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party's location (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1)).

5. Recorded messages and autodialers

MHSSA ban. MCL 445.111a(1) provides:

A home solicitation sale shall not be made by telephonic solicitation using in whole or in part a recorded message. A person shall not make a telephone solicitation that consists in whole or in part of a recorded message.

Section 445.111a(1) contains no consent exception of its own. A call made with the subscriber's "express invitation or permission prior to the voice communication," or to an existing customer, is not a "telephone solicitation" at all (MCL 445.111(m)). Those definitional exclusions are the only route to a lawful prerecorded sales call under the MHSSA.

ADAD definition. "ADAD" or "automatic dialing and announcing device" means "any device or system of devices that is used, whether alone or in conjunction with other equipment, for the purpose of automatically selecting or dialing telephone numbers" (MCL 445.111(g)). This definition requires neither a random or sequential number generator nor a prerecorded message. It is broader than the federal autodialer definition as narrowed in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021). In the MHSSA, the term mainly confirms that calls "made by use of automated dialing and announcing devices" are covered (MCL 445.111(n)). The operative ban is on recorded messages, not on dialing equipment as such.

MCL 484.125. The older common carrier statute provides in subsection (2):

A caller shall not use a telephone line to contact a subscriber at the subscriber's residence, business, or toll-free telephone number to do either of the following:

The two prohibited acts are:

• delivering "a recorded message for the purpose of presenting commercial advertising to the subscriber," unless "The subscriber has knowingly and voluntarily requested, consented, permitted, or authorized the contact from the caller" or "The subscriber has knowingly and voluntarily provided his or her telephone number to the caller"
• delivering or attempting to deliver "intrastate commercial advertising if the caller activates a feature to block the display of caller identification information that would otherwise be available to the subscriber"

The statute also provides:

• Consent "shall not be transferred, assigned, or sold without the written permission of the subscriber" (MCL 484.125(3)).
• Sequential or nondiscriminating dialing devices are "prima facie evidence of an intention to violate this act" (MCL 484.125(4)).
• Automatic dialing to advise customers about previously ordered goods or services is allowed (MCL 484.125(7)).
• Authorized recorded advertising must release the line "immediately upon the subscriber's termination of the call" (MCL 484.125(8)).

Section 484.125 reaches business and toll-free numbers as well as residences. It defines "subscriber" as an individual who has subscribed to residential, business, or toll-free service "from a telephone company regulated by this state." Whether it reaches wireless numbers has not been settled in a reported Michigan appellate decision.

6. Text messages

The MHSSA's definition of telephone solicitation is limited to a "voice communication over a telephone" (MCL 445.111(m)). Section 484.125 addresses delivery of "a recorded message." Neither statute expressly covers text messages, and a plain reading suggests that marketing texts fall outside both. No Michigan appellate decision on the question was located. Federal rules apply the national do not call protections to text messages sent to wireless numbers (47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(e)), and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) treats texts as calls under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b). Whether the pending Senate bills (SB 351 to 355) would reach texts was not determined.

7. Caller ID

MCL 445.111b(3) provides:

A telephone solicitor shall not intentionally block or otherwise interfere with the caller ID function on the telephone of a residential telephone subscriber to whom a telephone solicitation is made so that the telephone number of the caller is not displayed on the telephone of the residential telephone subscriber.

MCL 484.125(2)(b) separately bars blocking caller ID while delivering intrastate commercial advertising. Neither the MHSSA nor MCL 484.125 addresses falsified (spoofed) caller ID. The Truth in Caller ID Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(e), bars transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller identification information with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value. The Federal Trade Commission's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), 16 C.F.R. § 310.4(a)(8), also prohibits failing to transmit the telephone number and, when made available by the telemarketer's carrier, the name of the telemarketer to any caller identification service in use by the recipient.

8. Disclosures and prohibited practices

Opening disclosure. MCL 445.111b(1) provides:

At the beginning of a telephone solicitation, a person making a telephone solicitation to a residential telephone subscriber shall state his or her name and the full name of the organization or other person on whose behalf the call was initiated and provide a telephone number of the organization or other person on request. A natural person must be available to answer the telephone number at any time when telephone solicitations are being made.

The person answering that number must describe the organization and the solicitation (MCL 445.111b(2)). The requirement of a live person answering the call-back number "at any time when telephone solicitations are being made" has no direct federal counterpart.

Prohibited practices. Under MCL 445.111c(1), it is "an unfair or deceptive act or practice and a violation of this act" for a telephone solicitor to:

• (a) misrepresent or fail to disclose, before payment, the total price, restrictions, refund and cancellation terms (including the right to cancel a home solicitation sale), prize odds and conditions, material aspects of investments, and the quantity and characteristics of the goods
• (b) misrepresent the quality or characteristics of goods or services
• (c) make false or misleading statements to induce payment
• (d) "Request or accept payment from a consumer or make or submit any charge to the consumer's credit or bank account before the telephone solicitor or seller receives from the consumer an express verifiable authorization." Verifiable authorization means "a written authorization or confirmation, an oral authorization recorded by the telephone solicitor, or confirmation through an independent third party."
• (e) offer a prize promotion in which a purchase or payment is required
• (f) fail to comply with section 1a or 1b
• (g) call a consumer who asked not to be called by that seller
• (h) leave a voicemail falsely implying a current business matter or relationship and asking the consumer to call back

The express verifiable authorization rule in (d) applies to every payment method, including credit cards. The comparable TSR requirement applies only to certain payment methods.

9. Contracts and cancellation

A "home solicitation sale" is a sale over $25 in which the seller "engages in a personal, telephonic, or written solicitation of the sale, the solicitation is received by the buyer at a residence of the buyer, and the buyer's agreement or offer to purchase is there given to the seller" (MCL 445.111(a)). The definition excludes certain sales, including those under a preexisting revolving charge account, at a fixed business location, by licensed insurance agents, and by licensed real estate brokers.

The buyer "has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase that complies with this act" (MCL 445.112(1)). The seller must obtain a signed written agreement that includes the prescribed cancellation statement and an attached notice of cancellation in duplicate, in at least 10-point bold type (MCL 445.113). The seller may not send a courier to pick up payment before the cancellation period ends. Within 10 days of cancellation, the seller must return payments and any note or evidence of indebtedness (MCL 445.114). Until the seller complies with section 3, the buyer may cancel "in any manner and by any means" (MCL 445.113(4)). A seller cannot sue to collect on a home solicitation sale contract "without proving that such person was at all times in compliance with this act" (MCL 445.117).

Section 3's written agreement rules do not apply to telephone solicitations governed by sections 505 to 507 of the Michigan Telecommunications Act, MCL 484.2505 to 484.2507. They also do not apply to certain natural gas and electricity solicitations by regulated utilities and licensed alternative suppliers (MCL 445.113(5), (6)).

10. Exemptions summary

• Calls with the subscriber's prior express invitation or permission, calls to existing customers (12-month window), and face-to-face appointment calls (MCL 445.111(m)).
• Persons subject to the charitable organizations and solicitations act, the public safety solicitation act, or IRC § 527 (MCL 445.111e).
• Under MCL 484.125, automatic dialing to advise customers about merchandise or services they previously ordered (MCL 484.125(7)).
• The insurance agent exclusion applies only to "home solicitation sale[s]" (MCL 445.111(a)(iii)). In Dobronski v. Selectquote Insurance Services (E.D. Mich. 2020), the court held that this exclusion does not limit the separate "telephone solicitation" rules.

11. Private right of action, damages and limitations

MHSSA. MCL 445.111c(3) provides:

A person who suffers loss as a result of violation of this section may bring an action to recover actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney fees.

Because § 1c(1)(f) makes failure to comply with sections 1a and 1b a violation of § 1c, this remedy covers do not call, recorded message, disclosure, and caller ID violations. The statute requires that the plaintiff "suffers loss." No Michigan appellate decision deciding whether an unwanted call alone is a loss under this subsection was located.

MCL 484.125. "A subscriber contacted by a caller in violation of this section may bring an action to recover damages of $1,000.00, together with reasonable attorneys' fees" (MCL 484.125(5)). The statute sets a fixed $1,000 amount and has no loss requirement.

Michigan Consumer Protection Act (MCPA). Under MCL 445.911(2), a person who suffers loss from an MCPA violation may recover "actual damages or $250.00, whichever is greater, together with reasonable attorney fees." Class actions are limited to actual damages (MCL 445.911(4)). If the defendant shows a bona fide error despite reasonable procedures, recovery is limited to actual damages (MCL 445.911(8)). An MCPA action must be brought within six years after the conduct, or within one year after the last payment in the transaction, whichever ends later (MCL 445.911(9)).

Limitations for the MHSSA and MCL 484.125. Neither statute states its own limitations period, and no Michigan appellate decision applying a general period to these claims was located. General periods that may apply include MCL 600.5813, under which "All other personal actions shall be commenced within the period of 6 years after the claims accrue and not afterwards unless a different period is stated in the statutes," and MCL 600.5805(2), which sets 3 years "for injury to a person or property." Federal TCPA claims are subject to 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a), under which a civil action "may not be commenced later than 4 years after the cause of action accrues."

12. Criminal penalties and public enforcement

Knowing or intentional MHSSA telemarketing violations are misdemeanors "punishable by imprisonment for not more than 6 months or a fine of not more than $500.00, or both." The misdemeanor provision "does not apply if the violation of this section is a failure to comply with the requirements of section 1a(1), (4), or (5) or section 1b" (MCL 445.111c(2)). In other words, recorded message, do not call, disclosure, and caller ID violations are civil only. A violation of MCL 484.125 is a misdemeanor "punishable by a fine of $1,000.00 or imprisonment for 10 days, or both" (MCL 484.125(9)). Telephone company employees must report suspected violations to the county prosecutor (MCL 484.125(6)).

The MHSSA does not expressly give the Attorney General an enforcement action for telemarketing violations. Under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act, the Attorney General may seek an injunction and, "for persistent and knowing violation of section 3," a civil fine of not more than $25,000 (MCL 445.905(1)).

How Michigan law differs from federal law

Where Michigan is stricter. Recorded sales messages are banned unless the call falls outside the definition, and MCL 484.125 extends the recorded advertising rule to business and toll-free numbers. The existing customer window is 12 months. Company-specific opt-outs have no expiration. Every payment requires express verifiable authorization. Callers must provide a call-back number answered by a live person. Some violations are crimes, and unauthorized recorded advertising carries fixed $1,000 damages.

Where Michigan is looser. Michigan has no calling-hours rule, its telephone solicitation definition reaches only voice communications, MHSSA consent can be verbal "invitation or permission," and the MHSSA private remedy requires a loss and pays $250 rather than $500.

Where Michigan is the same. Michigan uses the national registry as its list, imposes no registration or fees, and bans intentional caller ID blocking, as federal rules effectively do.

Notable enforcement and case law

Visser v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-1029 (W.D. Mich. Jan. 27, 2020). Visser v. Caribbean Cruise Line (W.D. Mich. 2020) Ruling on motions in a case over prerecorded cruise promotion calls, the court denied the cruise line's motion to dismiss TCPA and MHSSA claims. It rejected the contention that the MHSSA does not cover calls to cellular telephones, explaining that "The text of the MHSSA indicates that its primary focus is on the place where solicitations are received, not the type of service used to make them." It held that a call to a cell phone is a "voice communication over a telephone." The court dismissed two other defendants for lack of personal jurisdiction.

Dobronski v. Selectquote Insurance Services, No. 2:19-cv-12798 (E.D. Mich. May 27, 2020). Dobronski v. Selectquote Insurance Services (E.D. Mich. 2020) A magistrate judge granted in part a motion for leave to amend and addressed whether the MHSSA's licensed-insurance-agent exclusion bars do not call and caller ID claims. The court explained that a home solicitation sale excludes insurance solicitation by a licensed agent under MCL 445.111(a)(iii), but the separate definition of telephone solicitation in MCL 445.111(m) "contains no such exclusion, M.C.L. § 445.111(m), and is the basis for each of the provisions cited in Plaintiff's proposed Count V." It noted that MCL 445.111c "contains a private right of action for violations" of sections 1a and 1b, so the proposed MHSSA count was not futile.

No published Michigan Supreme Court or Court of Appeals decision construing the MHSSA telemarketing provisions or MCL 484.125 was located.

Recent amendments

• No enacted changes since 2009. No amendment to MCL 445.111 to 445.111e or MCL 484.125 was enacted from 2023 through 2026. The last amendments shown are 2009 PA 93 (MCL 445.111), 2006 PA 133 (MCL 445.111c), and 1998 PA 234 and 253 (MCL 484.125). The MCPA private remedy section, MCL 445.911, was amended by 2020 PA 296, effective April 1, 2021.
• Pending: SB 351 to 355 (2025 to 2026 session), the "Telephone Solicitation Act." The Senate passed the package 37 to 0 on January 29, 2026, and it was referred to the House Committee on Regulatory Reform. According to the Senate Fiscal Agency, SB 351 would "prohibit abusive, annoying, or deceitful behavior by a telephone solicitor," including calls to numbers on the federal registry. It would require disclosures, authorize Attorney General actions and private actions for losses, and "impose civil fines ranging from $10,000 to $100,000, depending on the violation." The tie-barred bills would amend MCL 600.2529 (SB 352), MCL 445.903 (SB 353), and MCL 445.111 and 445.113 (SB 354), and SB 355 would repeal MCL 484.125. The analysis does not state whether MCL 445.111a to 445.111d would be repealed.

Compliance checklist

• Scrub Michigan numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry, and honor company-specific opt-outs permanently.
• Do not place prerecorded sales calls to Michigan residential, business, or toll-free numbers unless you have documented, knowing, voluntary consent, or the call is to an existing customer who paid within 12 months. Obtain federal prior express written consent for prerecorded telemarketing.
• At the start of every sales call, give the caller's name and the seller's full name, and provide a call-back number that a live person answers whenever calls are being made.
• Never block caller ID. Transmit a number that reaches the seller.
• Disclose total price, conditions, refund policy, and the three-day cancellation right before taking payment. Obtain written, recorded, or third-party verified authorization before charging any account.
• For sales closed with a consumer at home, use a signed written agreement with the statutory cancellation statement and notice, wait out the three business days before collecting payment by courier, and refund within 10 days of cancellation.
• Follow the federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. calling window.
• Monitor SB 351 to 355. If enacted, the framework and penalties described here would change.

References

• MCL 445.111, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111
• MCL 445.111a, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111a
• MCL 445.111b, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111b
• MCL 445.111c, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111c
• MCL 445.111d, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111d
• MCL 445.111e, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-111e
• MCL 445.112, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-112
• MCL 445.113, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-113
• MCL 445.114, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-114
• MCL 445.117, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-117
• MCL 484.125, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-484-125
• MCL 445.905, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-905
• MCL 445.911, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Laws/MCL?objectName=mcl-445-911
• Senate Bill 351 of 2025, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/Bills/Bill?ObjectName=2025-SB-0351
• Senate Fiscal Agency, S.B. 351 (S-4) to 355 analysis, https://www.legislature.mi.gov/documents/2025-2026/billanalysis/Senate/pdf/2025-SFA-0351-F.pdf
• Visser v. Caribbean Cruise Line, Inc., No. 1:13-cv-1029 (W.D. Mich. 2020), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-miwd-1_13-cv-01029/pdf/USCOURTS-miwd-1_13-cv-01029-0.pdf
• Dobronski v. Selectquote Insurance Services, No. 2:19-cv-12798 (E.D. Mich. 2020), https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-mied-2_19-cv-12798/pdf/USCOURTS-mied-2_19-cv-12798-0.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.