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

Overview

New Jersey regulates telemarketing mainly through the Telemarketing Do Not Call law, N.J.S.A. 56:8-119 to 56:8-135, enacted as P.L.2003, c.76, and the rules that implement it, N.J.A.C. 13:45D. The Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety administers the law. It requires every telemarketer that makes unsolicited sales calls into the state to register annually, adopts the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) National Do Not Call Registry as the state "no telemarketing call list," sets calling hours, requires disclosures within the first 30 seconds, and bans caller ID blocking and spoofing. Unlike federal law, it also bars unsolicited telemarketing sales calls to cell phones, whether or not an autodialer is used, subject to a certification condition discussed below (N.J.S.A. 56:8-130).

A separate 1993 statute, N.J.S.A. 48:17-27 to 48:17-31, restricts recorded-message calls placed within New Jersey to New Jersey subscribers. Unless an operator first obtains consent or a prior or current relationship exists, it prohibits delivering a recorded message for any non-emergency purpose. A 2015 statute, N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-1 to 2A:65D-5, requires prior express authorization for advertising text messages and is enforceable only by the Attorney General.

A violation of the Do Not Call law is "an unlawful practice" under the Consumer Fraud Act, carrying civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a first offense and $20,000 for each later offense. Private enforcement is limited. The Consumer Fraud Act's private remedy, N.J.S.A. 56:8-19, requires an "ascertainable loss of moneys or property," and the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey has dismissed do-not-call claims that alleged no such loss. In practice, consumers enforce telemarketing rules in New Jersey mainly through the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).

Compared with federal law, New Jersey is stricter in its registration regime, its cell-phone sales-call ban, its 30-second disclosure rule (now backed by a disorderly persons offense), its recorded-message statute, and its written-signature standard for consent to call listed numbers. It is narrower in that it has no per-call statutory damages remedy and no consumer private right of action for advertising texts.

Key statutes and regulations

Detailed provisions

Scope and definitions

The Legislature declared "the policy of this State to provide the broadest possible protection to protect public privacy and the sanctity of homes and to protect families and individuals from unsolicited interruptions," while disclaiming any intent "to restrict purely charitable activities" (N.J.S.A. 56:8-119(b), (c)).

Under N.J.S.A. 56:8-120, "Customer" means "an individual who is a resident of this State and a prospective recipient of a telemarketing sales call." The statute defines "Telemarketer" as follows:

"Telemarketer" means any entity, whether an individual proprietor, corporation, partnership, limited liability corporation or any other form of business organization, whether on behalf of itself or others, who makes residential telemarketing sales calls to a customer when the customer is in this State or any person who directly controls or supervises the conduct of a telemarketer.

"Telemarketing sales call" means "a telephone call made by a telemarketer to a customer as part of a plan, program or campaign to encourage the purchase or rental of, or investment in, merchandise, except for continuing services." The statute adds that "A telephone call made to an existing customer for the sole purpose of collecting on accounts or following up on contractual obligations shall not be deemed a telemarketing sales call." "Merchandise" incorporates the Consumer Fraud Act definition and includes "an extension of credit."

The key exemption is in the definition of "Unsolicited telemarketing sales call":

"Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" means any telemarketing sales call other than a call made:

(1) in response to an express written request of the customer called; or

(2) to an existing customer, which shall include the ability to collect on accounts and follow up on contractual obligations, unless the customer has stated to the telemarketer that the customer no longer desires to receive the telemarketing sales calls of the telemarketer.

The rules define "Existing customer" narrowly, as a person "obligated to make payments to a seller on merchandise purchased" or one who "has entered into a written contract with a seller where there is an obligation to perform" (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-1.3). This is narrower than the federal "established business relationship," which includes purchases within the previous 18 months and inquiries within the previous three months. The rules also define "Isolated call" as "one unsolicited telemarketing sales call made to a single customer in a 12-month period."

Registration and bond

N.J.S.A. 56:8-121(a) provides:

A person shall not make or cause to be made, or attempt to make or cause to be made, an unsolicited telemarketing sales call to a customer in the State of New Jersey unless that person is registered with or employed by a person who is registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Law and Public Safety in accordance with the provisions of this act.

Under subsection (b), "Every telemarketer, including telemarketers whose residence or principal place of business is located outside of this State, shall annually register with the director." Applicants must file a disclosure statement listing specified criminal convictions (N.J.S.A. 56:8-122). The Director may refuse, suspend or revoke a registration, or "assess a penalty in lieu of suspension" (N.J.S.A. 56:8-123). Material changes must be reported "within 30 business days of the change" (N.J.S.A. 56:8-125). A registration issued to a nonresident is "the applicant's irrevocable consent that service of process in any action or proceeding may be made upon the applicant by service upon the director" (N.J.S.A. 56:8-124(b)).

Under N.J.S.A. 56:8-126(a), the Director "may establish that any person required to be registered pursuant to this act maintain a bond," and "The principal sum of the bond shall not be less than $25,000." The bond is "for the use of any person who is damaged or suffers any loss for any violation of this act."

The rules set the application contents, including "The telephone number or numbers that the telemarketer will be using to make telemarketing sales calls and the name of its telephone service provider" and the "simultaneous outgoing call capacity" (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.2(a)). Fees scale with that capacity: "$ 150.00" for one to five simultaneous outgoing calls, "$ 500.00" for six to 15, and "$ 2,000" for 16 or more (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-1.4(a)). N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.1 restates the requirement: "A telemarketer shall not engage in telemarketing to a customer unless the telemarketer is registered with the Division pursuant to the requirements of this chapter."

No telemarketing call list

N.J.S.A. 56:8-127 directs the Division to maintain a no telemarketing call list and authorizes it to "utilize for this purpose, in any manner the director deems appropriate, the national do-not-call registry as maintained by the Federal Trade Commission." The rules adopt the federal registry. Under N.J.A.C. 13:45D-2.1, the state list is the list "which contains the telephone numbers of New Jersey customers who are on the do-not-call registry created, maintained and made available by the Federal government or any telemarketing registry established by the State."

N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(a) provides:

A telemarketer shall not make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer whose telephone number is included on the no telemarketing call list established pursuant to section 9 of P.L.2003, c.76 (C.56:8-127), except for a call made within three months of the date the customer's telephone number was first included on the no call list but only if the telemarketer had at the time of the call not yet obtained a no call list which included the customer's telephone number and the no call list used by the telemarketer was issued less than three months prior to the time the call was made.

The state grace period is three months. Federal rules require scrubbing against a registry version no more than 31 days old, and that shorter federal window governs.

Consent. Under N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.2(b), calls to listed numbers require "the express agreement of the customer":

The telemarketer shall first obtain the customer's express agreement in writing which includes the number to which telemarketing sales calls may be made and the customer's signature. If this agreement is reached online, the signature of the customer may be an electronic signature.

The rule also provides that "A pre-checked box or other form of consent that has been completed by any person other than the customer shall not be deemed to be affirmative consent." Existing-customer calls are exempt unless the customer has made a company-specific request (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.2(a)). Calls on behalf of a seller's affiliates are not covered by that exemption (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.1(c)). Under N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.4, a telemarketer may call an established customer on the list only if "the call is limited to the provision of continuing services and does not relate to expanded services, upgrades, products or other services unless directly related to the particular service or services previously provided."

Company-specific lists. Each telemarketer must keep a list of existing customers who have asked not to be called. A telemarketer that receives such a request "shall remove the customer from its calling list and take other necessary affirmative steps to cease telemarketing sales calls to the customer within 30 days of the customer's request" (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.9(b)). Sellers have parallel obligations and must pass their lists to the telemarketers they hire (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.9(d), (e)).

Disclosures, calling hours, and caller ID (N.J.S.A. 56:8-128)

Disclosures. N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(b), as amended by P.L.2023, c.58:

A telemarketer making a telemarketing sales call shall, within the first 30 seconds of the call, accurately identify the telemarketer's name, the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the call is being made, and the purpose of the call. In addition to any other penalties provided by law, a violation of this subsection shall constitute a disorderly persons offense.

Subsection (c) requires a telemarketer "to disclose the mailing address of the telemarketer, and any company on whose behalf the company is telemarketing, on any website owned or operated by the telemarketer and on any subsequent written communication to a customer." Under the rules, a telemarketer must also disclose "The name of the person making the call" and "The name of the telemarketing entity making the call" within the first 30 seconds (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.3(a)).

Calling hours. N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(d): "A telemarketer shall not make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer between the hours of 9:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., local time, at the customer's location."

Caller ID. N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(e):

A telemarketer shall not intentionally use any method that blocks a caller identification service from displaying caller identification information or otherwise circumvents a customer's use of a telephone caller identification service, including, but not limited to, the use of any technology or method which displays a telephone number or name not associated with the telemarketer or intentionally designed to misrepresent the telemarketer's identity.

Customer-requested follow-ups. Under subsection (f), the requirements of the section "shall not apply to any telemarketer who makes a residential marketing call in response to a customer's phone call or contact with the telemarketer's website, in which the customer affirmatively requests a follow-up telemarketing sales call or other contact from the telemarketer."

Calls to cell phones (N.J.S.A. 56:8-130)

N.J.S.A. 56:8-130(a) provides:

A telemarketer shall not make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to a commercial mobile service device of any customer, except that a telemarketer that is a commercial mobile services company may call its customer using its commercial mobile services if its customer will not incur telecommunication charges or a usage allocation deduction as a result of the call and the call is directly related to the commercial mobile services of the commercial mobile services company, unless the customer has stated to the commercial mobile services company that the customer no longer desires to receive these calls.

The ban applies whether or not an autodialer or prerecorded voice is used, and whether or not the number is on any do-not-call list. Under subsection (c), it applies "to those numbers for commercial mobile service devices which the division is able to distinguish from numbers for devices for telecommunications service," beginning "on the 30th day following certification of such to the Governor and the Legislature." Whether the required certification has been made was not confirmed from an official source. As enacted in 2003, the section barred any telemarketing sales call to a cell phone; P.L.2015, c.2 limited it to unsolicited calls. N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.1(a)3 applies the prohibition to customers "Whose telephone number has been identified as belonging to a commercial mobile service device." Because "unsolicited" excludes calls made at the customer's express written request and calls to existing customers, those calls are outside the ban.

Recordkeeping and training

Registered telemarketers must keep, among other records, "A log which includes the phone number, date, and time of each and every telemarketing sales call," sales scripts, the no call list and evidence of its receipt date, phone records and contracts for calling technology, training records, and any call recordings (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.10(a)). Sellers that use telemarketers must keep "A customer's express written permission to allow telemarketing sales calls" and evidence of existing-customer status (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.10(b)). Records "shall be retained by the registered telemarketer or seller for a period of at least two years" (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.10(d)). Under N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.11, telemarketers must "Establish and implement written procedures to comply with the requirements of the Act and this chapter" and "Train employees in telemarketing rules and procedures."

Recorded-message calls (N.J.S.A. 48:17-27 to 48:17-31)

N.J.S.A. 48:17-28 provides:

A caller within the State shall not use a telephone or telephone line to contact a subscriber within the State to deliver a recorded message other than for emergency purposes, unless the recorded message is introduced by an operator who shall obtain the subscriber's consent before playing the recorded message, or unless a prior or current relationship exists between the caller and the subscriber.

"Subscriber" includes customers of "a company offering mobile telephone service" (N.J.S.A. 48:17-27). The statute is not limited to sales calls. Under N.J.S.A. 48:17-29, the use of "automated dialing, push button, or tone activated devices which operate sequentially or are otherwise unable to avoid contacting subscribers who have not consented to the playing of the recorded message" is "prima facie evidence of an intention to violate this act." N.J.S.A. 48:17-30 excludes messages "for the purpose of advising customers concerning merchandise or goods or services previously ordered or purchased, including the collection of lawful debts." Under N.J.S.A. 48:17-31, a violator "shall be subject to a penalty of not less than $300 or more than $800," enforced in a summary proceeding "upon the complaint of the Attorney General or any other person." By its terms, the statute reaches only a "caller within the State."

Advertising text messages (N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-1 to 2A:65D-5)

N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-3 provides that "No person may send an unsolicited advertisement by means of text messaging without first receiving permission from the intended recipient," and that "Permission may be granted only with prior express authorization from the intended recipient that includes the number to which the text message advertisement may be sent." Permission "may be revoked at any time with a request that includes the number for which permission is being revoked." N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-2 separately bars sending a resident an unsolicited advertisement by text "if the recipient of the message may incur a telecommunications charge or a usage allocation deduction as a result of the message being sent." Penalties are "not to exceed $500 for the first violation and $1,000 for each subsequent violation, collectible by the Attorney General" (N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-5(a)). Subsection (b) adds: "Nothing set forth in this act shall be construed as creating, establishing or authorizing a private cause of action by an aggrieved person against a person who has violated, or is alleged to have violated, the provisions of this act."

Enforcement, defenses, and private remedies

N.J.S.A. 56:8-132 provides that "A violation of any provision of this act shall be an unlawful practice subject to the penalties applicable pursuant to section 1 of P.L.1966, c.39 (C.56:8-13) and section 2 of P.L.1999, c.129 (C.56:8-14.3)." N.J.S.A. 56:8-13 sets a penalty "of not more than $10,000 for the first offense and not more than $20,000 for the second and each subsequent offense." N.J.S.A. 56:8-14.3 adds up to $10,000 where the victim suffered pecuniary injury and the violator knew or should have known the victim was a senior citizen or a person with a disability, and up to $30,000 for a scheme directed at those groups.

The same section creates a defense. A person "may not be held liable for violating this act" if:

a. the person has obtained a copy of, and updated quarterly, the no call list and has established and implemented written policies and procedures related to the requirements of this act;

b. the person has trained telemarketers in the person's employ in the requirements of this act;

c. the person maintains records demonstrating compliance with subsections a. and b. of this section and the requirements of this act; and

d. any unsolicited telemarketing sales call is an isolated call made no more than one time in a 12-month period.

N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.5 restates the defense for "A registered telemarketer," requiring a list "no older than three months at the time the telemarketing call in question was made." The defense covers only an isolated call, made no more than once in 12 months to a given customer.

The private remedy is N.J.S.A. 56:8-19:

Any person who suffers any ascertainable loss of moneys or property, real or personal, as a result of the use or employment by another person of any method, act, or practice declared unlawful under this act or the act hereby amended and supplemented may bring an action or assert a counterclaim therefor in any court of competent jurisdiction. In any action under this section the court shall, in addition to any other appropriate legal or equitable relief, award threefold the damages sustained by any person in interest. In all actions under this section, including those brought by the Attorney General, the court shall also award reasonable attorneys' fees, filing fees and reasonable costs of suit.

There is no statutory minimum recovery. Because the ascertainable-loss requirement is rarely met by an unwanted call alone, the Do Not Call law is enforced mainly by the Division and the Attorney General. N.J.S.A. 56:8-131 preserves other rights: "Nothing in this act shall be construed to restrict any right which a person may have under any other statute or at common law."

Limitations period. The Consumer Fraud Act states no limitations period for private actions. The Appellate Division has stated that the limitations period "that applies to consumer fraud claims is the same six-year general limitation contained in N.J.S.A. 2A:14-1." Mirra v. Holland America Line, 331 N.J. Super. 86, 751 A.2d 138 (App. Div. 2000). Federal TCPA claims are subject to the four-year federal catchall period, 28 U.S.C. § 1658(a).

How New Jersey differs from federal law

New Jersey is stricter than federal law in its registration and disclosure regime, its ban on unsolicited sales calls to cell phones regardless of dialing method, its narrower existing-customer exemption, its signed-writing standard with an express bar on pre-checked consent, its recorded-message statute (which is not limited to telemarketing), and its per-call logging requirement. It is looser in that consumers have no per-call statutory damages under state law, no private action for advertising texts, a three-month rather than 31-day scrub window, and a shorter record-retention period. The TCPA remains the principal private remedy for New Jersey residents.

Notable case law

Gutman v. Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Co., No. 24-8076 (ZNQ) (RLS) (D.N.J. Feb. 26, 2025) (not for publication) Gutman v. Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Co. (D.N.J. 2025) opinion. A consumer alleged that an insurer called him to sell insurance products although he was on a do-not-call list. He asserted claims under the TCPA and under the Consumer Fraud Act, which the court treated as arising under New Jersey's "Do-Not-Call Law," N.J.S.A. 56:8-119 et seq. The court recited the elements: "(1) unlawful conduct by the defendant; (2) an ascertainable loss by the plaintiff; and (3) a causal connection between the defendant's unlawful conduct and the plaintiff's ascertainable loss." It held that although "the NJCFA provides a remedy for soliciting phone calls," the plaintiff "has not adequately pled ascertainable loss," noting that "the Complaint is devoid of any allegation of loss." The court dismissed the state claim without prejudice. It also cited an earlier District of New Jersey decision that dismissed a Consumer Fraud Act telemarketing claim "because the plaintiff received a text message and not a phone call."

Recent amendments

• P.L.2023, c.58 (Senate Bill No. 921 of the 2022-2023 session), approved May 15, 2023, effective "on the first day of the seventh month following enactment" (December 1, 2023), amended N.J.S.A. 56:8-128. According to the bill statement, it requires a telemarketer, within 30 seconds, "to provide the customer the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the call is being made." It makes violations a disorderly persons offense, requires disclosure of the mailing addresses of the telemarketer and the seller on websites and later written communications, and exempts follow-up calls that the customer affirmatively requested by phone or through the telemarketer's website.
• No other amendment to N.J.S.A. 56:8-119 to 56:8-135, 48:17-27 to 48:17-31, or 2A:65D-1 to 2A:65D-5 enacted from 2023 through 2026 was identified in the official statute database, which reports currency through P.L.2025, c.38.

Practical compliance checklist

• Register annually with the Division of Consumer Affairs before placing any unsolicited sales call to a New Jersey resident. Report simultaneous outgoing call capacity and calling numbers, file the criminal-history disclosure statement, and report material changes within 30 business days (N.J.S.A. 56:8-121, 56:8-122, 56:8-125; N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.2).
• Scrub New Jersey numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry on the federal 31-day cycle, which also satisfies the state three-month standard. Keep documentation of the download date (N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(a); N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.10(a)2).
• Suppress identifiable cell phone numbers from unsolicited sales campaigns, whether dialed manually or automatically, unless a call fits the existing-customer or express-written-request exceptions (N.J.S.A. 56:8-130).
• For consent to call listed numbers, obtain a signed writing (an electronic signature is acceptable online) that identifies the number and is completed by the customer, with no pre-checked boxes (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.2(b)).
• Script the first 30 seconds to state the caller's name, the telemarketing entity, the seller's name and telephone number, and the purpose of the call. Publish both mailing addresses on websites and in follow-up mail (N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(b), (c); N.J.A.C. 13:45D-4.3).
• Call only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. customer local time, and display caller ID showing a number and name associated with the telemarketer (N.J.S.A. 56:8-128(d), (e)).
• Do not play recorded messages from New Jersey to New Jersey subscribers unless a live operator first obtains consent or a prior or current relationship exists (N.J.S.A. 48:17-28).
• Obtain prior express authorization, including the number, before sending advertising texts, and honor revocations (N.J.S.A. 2A:65D-3).
• Keep call logs, scripts, training records, consents, and company-specific do-not-call lists for at least two years, and process company-specific requests within 30 days. Federal TSR five-year retention should govern in practice (N.J.A.C. 13:45D-3.9, 13:45D-3.10).

References

• New Jersey Statutes (official, New Jersey Legislature), N.J.S.A. 56:8-119 to 56:8-135, 56:8-13, 56:8-14, 56:8-14.3, 56:8-19, 48:17-27 to 48:17-31, 2A:65D-1 to 2A:65D-5, 2A:14-1: https://lis.njleg.state.nj.us/nxt/gateway.dll?f=templates&fn=default.htm&vid=Publish:10.1048/Enu
• P.L.2023, c.58 (chaptered law): https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2022/PL23/58_.PDF
• Senate Bill No. 921 (2022), as introduced, with statement: https://pub.njleg.gov/bills/2022/S1000/921_I1.PDF
• N.J.A.C. 13:45D (unofficial reproduction via Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School; section histories show amendments through R.2009 d.274): https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/new-jersey/title-13/chapter-45D
• New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Telemarketers / Do Not Call statutes compilation: https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/Statutes/Telemarketers-Do-Not-Call.pdf
• Mirra v. Holland America Line, 331 N.J. Super. 86 (App. Div. 2000), CourtListener: https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/2196257/mirra-v-holland-america-line/
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-L/section-64.1200
• 16 C.F.R. Part 310 (Telemarketing Sales Rule), eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-C/part-310
• 47 U.S.C. § 227, govinfo: https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/USCODE-2023-title47/USCODE-2023-title47-chap5-subchapII-partI-sec227
• Gutman v. Liberty Bankers Life Insurance Co., No. 24-8076 (D.N.J. Feb. 26, 2025), govinfo: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-njd-3_24-cv-08076/pdf/USCOURTS-njd-3_24-cv-08076-0.pdf

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.