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

Overview

Nebraska's telephone solicitation law rests on two acts in Chapter 86 of the Nebraska Revised Statutes. The Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 86-236 to 86-257, regulates prerecorded-message dialing equipment: it requires a Public Service Commission (PSC) permit for every device used for telephone solicitations, bars automated solicitations to cellular and other charged numbers, imposes calling-hour, identification and company-specific do-not-call requirements, and prohibits unsolicited fax advertisements. The Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 86-212 to 86-235, governs unsolicited consumer telephone sales: payment authorization, a five-business-day cancellation right, prize promotion disclosures and recordkeeping.

The Public Service Commission administers and enforces the device act, and its rules at Title 291, Chapter 11 of the Nebraska Administrative Code add Sunday and holiday hours, a two-minute message limit and script filing. The Attorney General enforces the telemarketing act and may seek civil penalties of up to $2,000 per violation. Consumers who suffer loss or harm under the telemarketing act may recover actual damages and attorney fees.

Nebraska does not maintain a state do-not-call list. The headline difference from federal law: Nebraska requires a $500 state permit for each prerecorded-message dialing device used for solicitations, requires automated dialing to be random rather than sequential, restricts Sunday and holiday robocalls to 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m., and gives consumers five business days to cancel unsolicited telephone sales.

Key statutes and regulations

Detailed provisions

The Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act

Definitions. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-238:

Automatic dialing-announcing device means a device which selects and dials telephone numbers and automatically plays a recorded message.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-242(1) defines the regulated communication:

Telephone solicitation means a telephone call or message using an automatic dialing-announcing device for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services, which call or message is transmitted to any person.

Under § 86-242(2), telephone solicitation "does not include a call or message (a) made to any person with the person's prior express invitation or permission, (b) made to any person with whom the caller has an established business relationship, (c) made by a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, (d) not made for commercial purposes, (e) made for a commercial purpose but which does not include the transmission of an unsolicited advertisement, or (f) placed by a live operator and a prerecorded message is not utilized." The established business relationship under § 86-241 is "a prior or existing relationship formed by a voluntary two-way communication between a person and a residential or business telephone subscriber," with no fixed time limit, "which relationship has not been previously terminated by either party."

Prohibited destinations. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-244:

A person shall not initiate a telephone solicitation, other than a call made for emergency purposes, using an automatic dialing-announcing device to: (1) An emergency telephone line, including 911 or any emergency or business line of a hospital, physician or medical service office, health care facility, poison control center, fire protection agency, or law enforcement agency; (2) the telephone line of any guest room or patient room of a hospital, health care facility, nursing home, or similar facility; (3) any telephone number assigned to a paging service, a cellular telephone service, a specialized mobile radio service, any other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the person called is charged for the call; or (4) a residential or business telephone line unless the telephone solicitation is otherwise permitted by the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act.

Because § 86-242(2)(a) excludes calls made with "prior express invitation or permission," the cellular prohibition operates on unconsented automated solicitations. The statute does not specify the form of permission.

Multiline businesses. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-246: "A person shall not use an automatic dialing-announcing device in such a way that two or more telephone lines of a business with a multiline telephone system are engaged simultaneously."

Random dialing only. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-251:

A person shall not connect or operate an automatic dialing-announcing device in such a manner as to allow it to dial telephone numbers sequentially which means in any manner other than a random manner. A detectable, predictable pattern which can be used to accurately project the device's number dialing shall satisfy a finding that sequential number dialing is taking place in violation of this section.

Message content. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-247:

All telephone solicitation messages transmitted by an automatic dialing-announcing device shall: (1) At the beginning of the message, state clearly the identity of the person making the call; and (2) During or after the message, state clearly the telephone number, other than that of the device which made the call, or address of such person.

The Commission's rule is more specific: the message must, "Within the first twenty-five (25) seconds of the call clearly states the identity of the person making the call" (291 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 11, § 003.03A), and "No message transmitted by any automatic dialing-announcing device used for telephone solicitations or unsolicited advertisements shall exceed two (2) minutes in length" (§ 003.02). The device must release the line "within five seconds of the time notification is transmitted to the device that the person called has hung up" (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-249).

Calling hours

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-248(1) bars automated solicitations to a residential line "(a) before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the location of the person called." The Commission rule adds a Sunday and holiday restriction, 291 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 11, § 003.01:

A person may only make a telephone solicitation or unsolicited advertisement using an automatic dialing-announcing device to a residential telephone line between the hours of 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM, Monday through Saturday, and between the hours of 1:00 PM and 9:00 PM, Sunday and legal holidays. All times indicated are local times of the party called.

The same hours apply to non-solicitation automated messages (§ 004.02; Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-256(2)(c)). Live-operator telemarketing that does not use a prerecorded message is outside the device act and is not subject to a state calling-hour statute; federal hours apply.

Company-specific do-not-call procedures

Nebraska has no state do-not-call list and no statute incorporating the national registry. For automated solicitations, Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-248(1)(b) requires that "the caller has instituted procedures for maintaining a list of telephone subscribers who do not wish to receive telephone solicitations made by or on behalf of the caller." The minimum standards in § 86-248(2) track the FCC's 1992 company-specific rules: a written policy "available upon demand," trained personnel, recording of requests, liability of the seller for requests maintained by others, prior express consent before sharing a do-not-call request, identification of the caller with a callback number or address, and a rule that requests apply to the calling entity and to affiliates the subscriber "reasonably would expect" to be included. These protections expressly extend to "a residential or business telephone subscriber."

Permits and registration

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-250(1):

A person shall not connect or operate an automatic dialing-announcing device for the purpose of making telephone solicitations on any telephone line unless the person has a current permit from the commission for the device.

The applicant "shall remit a fee of five hundred dollars for each device with the application." The application describes the device, calling times, anticipated call volume and average call length. The Commission may deny or modify a permit if the applicant cannot comply or the device will degrade service (§ 86-250(2)). A permit lasts two years, and renewal is treated as a new application (§ 86-250(3)). A seller who contracts with a third party to operate a device is "jointly and severally liable with the third party" for violations (§ 86-250(5)) and must file the solicitation message with the Commission, with changes filed "within five days after the change" (§ 86-250(6)).

Devices used for purposes other than solicitation must be registered without a fee, and their messages must identify the caller, give a callback number or address, and be transmitted only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-256(1), (2)). Schools, employers advising employees of schedules, political subdivisions and callers with an established business or personal relationship are exempt from that section (§ 86-256(3)).

Fax advertising

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-245: "A person shall not use a telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement to a telephone facsimile machine." An "unsolicited advertisement" is material advertising the commercial availability or quality of property, goods or services "which is transmitted to any person without that person's prior express invitation or permission" (§ 86-243). A fax sent with the recipient's prior express invitation or permission is therefore outside the ban, but unlike federal law the statute contains no established business relationship exception for faxes on its face.

Autodialer definition compared with Facebook v. Duguid

Nebraska's "automatic dialing-announcing device" requires both automated selection and dialing of numbers and automatic playing of a recorded message. It does not require a random or sequential number generator in its definition; to the contrary, § 86-251 requires that permitted devices dial randomly and forbids sequential dialing. A system that calls numbers from a stored list and plays a recorded message is therefore within the Nebraska definition even if it would fall outside the federal autodialer definition after Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021). Live-agent calls without a recorded message are outside the act (§ 86-242(2)(f)).

Text messages and caller ID

Nebraska has no statute specifically governing marketing texts or caller ID spoofing. Whether a text message is a "message using an automatic dialing-announcing device" under § 86-242 has not been decided in any reported decision located for this summary; the definition's reference to "automatically plays a recorded message" suggests that it was drafted for voice calls.

The Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act

Scope. The act regulates "sellers" who "individually or through salespersons initiates unsolicited consumer telephone calls" to sell, lease or rent consumer goods or services or to conduct prize promotions (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-219). An "unsolicited consumer telephone call" excludes, under § 86-222, calls made:

(1) In response to an express request of the person called; (2) Primarily in connection with an existing debt or contract, for which payment or performance has not been completed at the time of such a call; (3) To any person with whom the seller has a clearly established business relationship; or (4) By a magazine or newspaper publisher or such publisher's agent or employee in connection with such publisher's business.

Telecommunications companies are excluded from "seller" for services subject to slamming verification rules (§ 86-219).

Payment authorization. A seller may not submit a check or draft on a consumer's account "without that consumer's express verifiable authorization" (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-224), which may be written, tape-recorded oral authorization with specified disclosures, or a prior written confirmation.

Cancellation. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-225(1)(a):

The consumer obligated for any part of the purchase price may cancel the telephone sale until midnight of the fifth business day after the day on which the consumer has received written notice from the seller notifying the consumer of his or her right to cancel the telephone sale.

The seller must disclose its refund policy and "issue a refund within thirty days after the date on which the seller receives returned merchandise or notice of cancellation" (§ 86-225(1)(b)). The cancellation right does not apply where the seller has at least a seven-day review and return policy (§ 86-225(2)).

Other provisions. The act bars courier pickup of payment before inspection (§ 86-226), advance fees for certain services (§ 86-227), and prize promotion misrepresentations (§§ 86-228, 86-229). Sellers "shall maintain records for twenty-four months in compliance with 16 C.F.R. 310.5, as such regulation existed on January 1, 2002" (§ 86-230). The burden of proving an exemption is on the party claiming it (§ 86-231).

Private right of action and remedies

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-233:

Any consumer that suffers a loss or harm as a result of a violation of the Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act may recover actual damages, attorney's fees, court costs, and any other remedies provided by law.

There is no statutory damages floor. The act is not exclusive; it "shall not be construed to limit the remedies available to consumers, the Attorney General, or any county attorney under the Uniform Deceptive Trade Practices Act or any other state or federal law" (§ 86-232).

The Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act contains no express private right of action. It is enforced by the Commission.

Agency enforcement and penalties

Telemarketing act: "Any person who violates the Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars for each violation" recoverable by the Attorney General (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-235), and a violation "is a Class I misdemeanor" (§ 86-234).

Device act: the Commission "may conduct investigations and shall enforce" the act and may enter ex parte cease and desist orders of up to twenty days (Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-253). Noncompliance is grounds to revoke or suspend a permit. The Commission may impose administrative fines under § 86-257, which incorporates § 75-156. Section 75-156(1) authorizes the Commission, "upon a finding that the violation is proven by clear and convincing evidence," to assess "a civil penalty of up to ten thousand dollars per day" for each violation of a law, permit condition or rule within its jurisdiction. Under § 86-254, the Commission or peace officers at its direction "may, at any place in the state, seize without a warrant any automatic dialing-announcing device" operated in violation of § 86-244(1) or (2); seized devices are contraband.

How Nebraska differs from federal law

Nebraska is stricter than federal law in its equipment permit system, its Sunday and holiday hours, its message length and script filing rules, its five-day cancellation period, its extension of company-specific do-not-call protection to business lines, and its fax provision. It is looser in that it has no state do-not-call list, no statutory damages, no private action under the device act, and no text or spoofing statute. The TCPA's private remedies remain the primary vehicle for consumer litigation over Nebraska calls.

Notable case law

No reported Nebraska appellate decision or federal court opinion construing the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act or the Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act was located in the sources searched for this summary. Practitioners should rely on the statutory text and the Commission's rules.

Recent amendments

• Legislative Bill 720 (2008) amended §§ 86-242, 86-247, 86-250 and 86-256, including the live-operator and unsolicited-advertisement exclusions from "telephone solicitation" and the joint liability and script-filing provisions. It is the most recent amendment to any operative section of the Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act shown in the statute histories; Legislative Bill 545 (2013) amended only the appeal provision, § 86-255.
• The Public Service Commission's Chapter 11 rules show a last issue date of February 27, 2018, and were republished in the Commission's 2024 rule updates.
• No amendment to either act enacted in 2023 through 2026 appears in the statute histories on the Legislature's website as retrieved October 15, 2026. Section 75-156, the general PSC civil penalty statute, was amended in 2024 (LB 262), 2025 (LB 362) and 2026 (LB 888); the current text retains the ceiling of ten thousand dollars per day.

Practical compliance checklist

• Obtain a Public Service Commission permit for each device that will deliver prerecorded solicitations into Nebraska, pay the $500 per-device fee, renew every two years, and notify the serving telephone company of the line.
• File each solicitation script with the Commission, and file changes within five days.
• Configure dialing to be random, not sequential, and prevent simultaneous seizure of multiple lines of a business.
• Do not send automated solicitations to cellular, paging or other charged numbers, or to emergency and health care lines, without prior express permission.
• Identify the caller within the first 25 seconds, give a callback number or address, keep messages under two minutes, and release the line within five seconds of hang-up.
• Limit automated calls to 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Sundays and legal holidays, at the called party's local time.
• Maintain a written company-specific do-not-call policy that covers business as well as residential subscribers, and scrub against the national registry under federal law.
• For telephone sales, obtain verifiable payment authorization, deliver written notice of the five-business-day cancellation right (or adopt a qualifying seven-day return policy), and keep records for at least 24 months.

References

• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-236 to § 86-257 (Automatic Dialing-Announcing Devices Act), for example § 86-244: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-244
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-242: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-242
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-248: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-248
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-250: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-250
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-243: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-243
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-245: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-245
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-251: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-251
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-212 to § 86-235 (Telemarketing and Prize Promotions Act), for example § 86-225: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-225
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-233: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-233
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-235: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-235
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-253: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-253
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 86-256: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=86-256
• Neb. Rev. Stat. § 75-156: https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=75-156
• 291 Neb. Admin. Code ch. 11: https://psc.nebraska.gov/sites/default/files/doc/administration/Updated_RRs/2024_Updates/Chapter%2011%20-%20Auto-dialing%20Announcing%20Devices%20Rules%20and%20Regulations_1.pdf
• 47 U.S.C. § 227: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2023-title47/html/USCODE-2023-title47-chap5-subchapII-partI-sec227.htm
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
• 16 C.F.R. Part 310: 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.