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

Overview

New York regulates telemarketing through three overlapping sections of the General Business Law (GBL). Section 399-z, administered by the Department of State, adopts the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) National Do Not Call Registry as the state registry. It sets calling hours and opening disclosures, regulates prerecorded calls and opt-out mechanisms, restricts sharing of customer contact information, and, since L.2021, ch.239 (effective August 12, 2021), expressly covers "electronic messaging texts." Section 399-pp, the state Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, requires telemarketers to register with the Secretary of State and post a $25,000 bond, and it defines deceptive and abusive telemarketing practices. Section 399-p regulates "automatic dialing-announcing devices" and all "consumer telephone calls," and it carries a private right of action.

Enforcement is divided. Under § 399-z, the Secretary of State may impose fines of up to $20,000 per violation after a hearing, and federal courts have held that § 399-z gives consumers no private right of action. Violations of § 399-pp are deceptive acts under GBL article 22-A, enforceable by the Attorney General, district attorneys, county attorneys and corporation counsel, with court-imposed civil penalties of $1,000 to $2,000 per violation. Section 399-p lets a person who received a non-compliant robocall recover actual damages or $50, whichever is greater, increased up to $1,000 for willful or knowing violations, plus discretionary attorney fees. Section 349(h) provides a similar $50 remedy for injury caused by deceptive acts or practices. New York's class-action statute, CPLR 901(b), bars class actions to recover a statutory minimum unless the statute authorizes it.

Compared with federal law, New York is stricter in its registration and bonding regime, its rule that the opt-out offer be given at the start of every call, its contact-information sharing ban, and its prohibition on unsolicited sales calls into areas under a declared state of emergency. Its private remedies, however, are far smaller than the TCPA's $500 per call.

Key statutes and regulations

Detailed provisions

Section 399-z: scope

Under § 399-z(1)(h), "Telemarketer" means "any person who, for financial profit or commercial purposes in connection with telemarketing, makes telemarketing sales calls or electronic messaging texts to a customer when the customer is in this state or any person who directly controls or supervises the conduct of a telemarketer." "Customer" is limited to "any natural person who is a resident of this state" (§ 399-z(1)(c)).

"Telemarketing" covers any campaign "that involves more than one telephone call or electronic messaging text by a telemarketer in which the customer is located within the state at the time of the call." It "does not include calls or electronic messaging texts intended to implement or complete a transaction to which the customer has previously consented" (§ 399-z(1)(i)).

"Telemarketing sales call" is defined as follows:

j. "Telemarketing sales call" means a telephone call or electronic messaging text made directly or indirectly by a telemarketer or by any outbound telephone calling technology that delivers a prerecorded message to a customer or to a customer's voicemail or answering machine service, in which such telephone call or electronic messaging text is for the purpose of inducing payment or the exchange of any other consideration for any goods or services;

"Electronic messaging text" means "real-time or near real-time non-voice messages in text form over communications networks, and includes the transmission of writing, signs, signals, pictures, and sounds of all kinds" (§ 399-z(1)(n)). SMS and MMS marketing messages are therefore covered expressly.

Exemptions. Under § 399-z(1)(k), an "Unsolicited telemarketing sales call" excludes a call or text "(i) in response to an express written or verbal request by the customer; or (ii) in connection with an established business relationship, which has not been terminated by either party, unless such customer has stated to the telemarketer that such customer no longer wishes to receive the telemarketing sales calls of such telemarketer." The statute does not define "established business relationship" by a fixed time window.

Section 399-z: calling hours and opening disclosures

Section 399-z(2) provides:

2. No telemarketer or seller shall engage in telemarketing at any time other than between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. at the location of the customer unless the customer has given their express consent to the call at a different time. Telemarketers shall provide, in a clear and coherent manner using words with common and everyday meanings, at the beginning but no later than thirty seconds from the commencement of the call of each telemarketing sales call all of the following information, provided that the information set forth in paragraphs a and b of this subdivision shall be given to the customer first:

a. the telemarketer's name and the person on whose behalf the solicitation is being made, if other than the telemarketer;

b. the option to be automatically added to the seller's entity specific do-not-call list, as required by subdivisions seven, eight, and nine of this section;

c. whether the call is being recorded;

d. the purpose of the telephone call; and

e. the identity of the goods or services for which a fee will be charged.

The order is mandatory. The caller and seller identification and the do-not-call option come first, before the recording notice and the purpose of the call. The federal rules have no equivalent requirement to offer the opt-out at the start of every live call.

Section 399-z(3) requires disclosure of cost before purchase and, for any "negative option feature," "the fact that the customer's account will be charged unless the customer takes an affirmative action to avoid the charges, the dates the charges will be submitted for payment, and the specific steps the customer must take to avoid the charge."

Section 399-z: do-not-call

The Department of State is authorized to use the FTC registry as the state list (§ 399-z(4)(b)). Section 399-z(5) provides:

5. No telemarketer or seller may make or cause to be made any unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any customer when that customer's telephone number has been on the national "do-not-call" registry, established by the federal trade commission, for a period of thirty-one days prior to the date the call is made, pursuant to 16 C.F.R. Section 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B).

Because the definition of "telemarketing sales call" includes texts, the registry prohibition applies to unsolicited marketing texts.

Entity-specific opt-outs. For a call made by a natural person, the telemarketer "shall inform the customer that he or she may request that his or her telephone number be added to the seller's entity specific do-not-call list. If the customer opts to do so, the telemarketer or seller shall immediately end the call and shall add the number called to such list or cause the number called to be added to such list" (§ 399-z(9)). Prerecorded calls must include an automated interactive voice or keypress opt-out "which mechanism, once invoked, immediately ends the call" (§ 399-z(7)). Prerecorded calls that may reach voicemail must include "a toll-free number that must connect the customer directly to an automated interactive voice or keypress activated opt-out mechanism" (§ 399-z(8)).

Section 399-z: prerecorded calls, caller ID, emergencies, and data sharing

Prerecorded calls. Section 399-z(6) bars initiating a telemarketing sales call "by means of a technology that delivers a pre-recorded message" without a written agreement that:

a. the telemarketer or seller obtained only after a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the purpose of the agreement is to authorize the seller to make telemarketing sales calls to such customer;

b. the telemarketer or seller obtained without requiring, directly or indirectly, that the agreement be executed as a condition of purchasing any good or service;

c. evidences the willingness of the customer to receive telemarketing sales calls by or made on behalf of a specific seller; and,

d. includes such customer's telephone number and signature.

The elements track the TSR's prerecorded-call consent standard and require consent to calls from "a specific seller."

Caller ID. Under § 399-z(2-a), "It shall be unlawful for any telemarketer or seller to knowingly cause any caller identification service to transmit misleading, inaccurate, or false caller identification information." Substituting the name or number of the seller on whose behalf the call is placed is permitted.

Declared emergencies. Section 399-z(5-a) provides: "It shall be unlawful for any telemarketer doing business in this state to knowingly make an unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any person in a county, city, town or village under a declared state of emergency or disaster emergency as described in sections twenty-four or twenty-eight of the executive law." Section 399-pp(7)(f) contains a parallel prohibition. Federal law has no equivalent.

Sharing customer contact information. Section 399-z(10) provides: "No telemarketer or seller shall transmit, share, or otherwise make available any customer's contact information, including name, telephone number, or email address, which has been provided to such telemarketer or seller by such customer, to any person, corporation, or other entity without the express agreement of the consumer in writing or in electronic format, unless otherwise required by law, or pursuant to a lawful subpoena or court order." This bears directly on lead-generation and lead-resale practices.

Records. Under § 399-z(11), "Telemarketers and sellers shall keep for a period of twenty-four months from the date the record is created records relating to its telemarketing activities."

Section 399-z: enforcement and safe harbor

Under § 399-z(14)(a), "Where it is determined after hearing that any person has violated one or more provisions of this section, the secretary, or any person deputized or so designated by him or her may assess a fine not to exceed twenty thousand dollars for each violation." The Department may also demand records and issue subpoenas (§ 399-z(13)).

The safe harbor in § 399-z(15) applies if the person obtained the registry "no more than thirty-one days prior to the date any telemarketing call is made," can show written policies and procedures "as part of the person's routine business practice at the time of an alleged violation," has trained its personnel, and "maintains and can produce records demonstrating compliance."

Section 399-z itself contains no private right of action, as discussed in the case law section below.

Section 399-pp: registration, bonding, and deceptive and abusive practices

Registration and bond. Under § 399-pp(3)(a), "No person shall act as a telemarketer without first having received a certificate of registration from the secretary as provided in this section." Employees of telemarketers are exempt. A "Telemarketer" includes anyone who "either initiates, or initiates and receives telephone calls to or from a customer when the customer is in this state" for commercial purposes (§ 399-pp(2)(j)). Inbound telemarketing is therefore covered. "Customer" in this section is not limited to natural persons or residents (§ 399-pp(2)(b)).

Each application "shall be accompanied by a fee of five hundred dollars, which shall not be refundable" (§ 399-pp(3)(f)), and a certificate is valid "for a period of two years from the effective date of the registration" (§ 399-pp(3)(d)). The bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit "shall be twenty-five thousand dollars" (§ 399-pp(4)(c)), maintained for three years after the telemarketer stops telemarketing or the registration ends, whichever is earlier. Unregistered telemarketers may not collect. Under § 399-pp(3)(i), "No person required to be registered under this subdivision shall be entitled to enforce any agreement or seek any consideration or any other payment for goods and services offered through telemarketing unless such person is in compliance with this subdivision and subdivision four of this section."

Exemptions. Registration and bonding do not apply to government entities, degree-granting institutions, retailers that have operated a New York store under the same name for at least three years and make most sales at that location, and "any not-for-profit corporation as defined in section one hundred two of the not-for-profit corporation law and charitable organizations" (§ 399-pp(10)(a)). Persons "licensed, registered, chartered, certified or incorporated with or by any state or federal agency" are exempt from the fee and bond, but not from registration (§ 399-pp(10-a)). The section as a whole does not apply to debt collection calls, sales completed only after a face-to-face presentation, unsolicited inbound calls, and business-to-business calls, "except calls involving the retail sale of nondurable office or cleaning supplies" (§ 399-pp(10)(b)).

Disclosures. Section 399-pp(6)(b)(1) requires disclosures "at the beginning but no later than thirty seconds from the commencement of the call and prior to any request by the caller of the customer to release or disclose any of the customer's personal or financial information." The required disclosures are the commercial purpose of the call, the telemarketer's and seller's names, the goods or services offered, and "whether the call is being recorded." Section 399-pp(10-b) requires a telemarketer to "disclose the address of any company on whose behalf such telemarketer is providing telemarketing services, on any website owned or operated by the telemarketer and on any subsequent written communication to any customer."

Abusive practices. Under § 399-pp(7), it is unlawful for any telemarketer to:

a. threaten, intimidate or use profane or obscene language;

b. engage in conduct or behavior a reasonable person would deem to be abusive or harassing;

c. initiate a telemarketing call to a person, when that person has stated previously that he or she does not wish to receive solicitation calls from that telemarketer provided, however that nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit a telemarketer from telemarketing goods, services or investment opportunities to any customer of any affiliate, subsidiary or parent of such telemarketer;

d. engage in telemarketing to a person's residence at any time other than between 8:00 A.M. and 9:00 P.M. local time, at the called person's location; or

e. make a false, deceptive or misleading statement in regard to the requirements of subdivision six of this section to a customer, or to engage in any deceptive or unfair act or practice in association with telemarketing.

f. knowingly make an unsolicited telemarketing sales call to any person in a county, city, town or village under a declared state of emergency or disaster emergency as described in sections twenty-four or twenty-eight of the executive law.

Deceptive practices under § 399-pp(6)(a) include obtaining a check or draft "without that person's express written authorization" and using a courier to collect payment "unless the goods or services are delivered with the reasonable opportunity to inspect before any payment is collected."

Enforcement. Under § 399-pp(11)(a), "Every violation of this section shall be deemed a deceptive act and practice subject to enforcement under article twenty-two-A of this chapter." Courts may impose "a civil penalty of not less than one thousand dollars nor more than two thousand dollars for each violation" (§ 399-pp(11)(b)). A seller that "has actual knowledge that the telemarketer is acting in violation of this section shall be deemed to be in violation of this section, unless such person takes reasonable measures to prevent and correct any conduct that violates this section" (§ 399-pp(11)(c)). Knowingly acting as an unregistered telemarketer is "a class B misdemeanor," and the check-draft and courier violations are class A misdemeanors (§ 399-pp(12)). Under § 399-pp(9), "Any waiver of the provisions of this section by any customer shall be unenforceable and void."

Section 399-p: automatic dialing-announcing devices

Section 399-p(1)(a) defines an "automatic dialing-announcing device" as "any automatic equipment which incorporates a storage capability of telephone numbers to be called and is used, working alone or in conjunction with other equipment, to disseminate a prerecorded message to the telephone number called without the use of an operator." Any equipment that stores numbers and plays a prerecorded message qualifies. No random or sequential number generator is required, which makes the definition broader than the federal autodialer definition.

Under § 399-p(3), such a device must:

(a) state at the beginning of the call the nature of the call and the name of the person or on whose behalf the message is being transmitted and at the end of such message the address, and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the message is transmitted, provided such disclosures are not otherwise prohibited or restricted by any federal, state or local law; and

(b) disconnect the automatic dialing-announcing device from the telephone line upon the termination of the call by either the person calling or the person called.

Section 399-p(4) provides: "No person shall operate an automatic dialing-announcing device which uses a random or sequential number generator to produce a number to be called." Section 399-p(5) bars device calls and consumer telephone calls to emergency lines, hospitals, nursing homes and similar facilities. Section 399-p(6-a) bars intentionally blocking caller ID on consumer telephone calls. Section 399-p(6) requires live-operator consumer telephone calls to give the § 399-pp(6)(b)(1) disclosures. Only government and emergency-alert uses are exempt (§ 399-p(7)).

Remedies. The Attorney General may obtain an injunction, restitution, and "a civil penalty of not more than two thousand dollars per call, up to a total of not more than twenty thousand dollars, for calls placed in violation of such subdivisions within a continuous seventy-two hour period" for violations of subdivisions three, four or five (§ 399-p(8)). Section 399-p(9) provides the private action:

9. In addition to the right of action granted to the attorney general pursuant to this section, any person who has received a telephone call in violation of subdivision three, four or five of this section may bring an action in his own name to enjoin such unlawful act or practice, an action to recover his actual damages or fifty dollars, whichever is greater, or both such actions. The court may, in its discretion, increase the award of damages to an amount not to exceed three times the actual damages up to one thousand dollars, if the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly violated such subdivisions. The court may award reasonable attorney's fees to a prevailing plaintiff.

Section 349 and class actions

Section 349(h), as it read before the 2025 amendment, allowed "any person who has been injured by reason of any violation of this section" to recover "his actual damages or fifty dollars, whichever is greater," with discretionary trebling "up to one thousand dollars" for willful or knowing violations, and fees. The FAIR Business Practices Act, L.2025, ch.708 (A.8427-A), signed December 19, 2025 and effective February 17, 2026 (the sixtieth day after enactment), extended § 349(a) to "Unfair, deceptive, or abusive acts or practices" in Attorney General enforcement. A chapter amendment, L.2026, ch.94 (S.8811), signed March 27, 2026 and effective on the same date as chapter 708, rewrote § 349(h) so that the private action belongs to "any person who has been injured by reason of any deceptive act or deceptive practice made unlawful by this section." It kept the greater of actual damages or $50, discretionary trebling "up to one thousand dollars" for willful or knowing violations, and discretionary fees. Unfair and abusive practices are therefore enforceable only by the Attorney General. Because § 399-pp(11)(a) deems every violation a deceptive act, the § 349(h) remedy is potentially available for § 399-pp violations that cause injury.

CPLR 901(b) provides: "Unless a statute creating or imposing a penalty, or a minimum measure of recovery specifically authorizes the recovery thereof in a class action, an action to recover a penalty, or minimum measure of recovery created or imposed by statute may not be maintained as a class action." Neither § 399-p(9) nor § 349(h) expressly authorizes class recovery of the $50 minimum, so New York state courts will not certify a class seeking those amounts. Whether CPLR 901(b) applies to claims in federal court is a separate question not addressed here.

How New York differs from federal law

New York is stricter than federal law in its registration and bonding requirement, its mandatory sequence of opening disclosures (with the opt-out offer first and an immediate end to the call on request), its broad definition of robocall equipment, its emergency-area prohibition, its seller liability for knowingly using a non-compliant telemarketer, and its limits on sharing customer contact information. It is looser in its remedies. Consumers have no private action under § 399-z, recover $50 to $1,000 under § 399-p and § 349, and generally cannot pursue statutory minimums as a class in state court. Its record-retention period is also shorter than the TSR's.

Notable case law

Oparaji v. Home Retention Corp., No. 21-cv-2758 (ENV)(LB) (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2023) Oparaji v. Home Retention Corp. (E.D.N.Y. 2023) opinion. A homeowner who was a party to a state mortgage foreclosure proceeding asserted claims under the TCPA and GBL §§ 399-p and 399-z based on calls he received. Adopting a magistrate judge's report and recommendation, the court held that "the § 399-z claims also fail because the statute does not provide a private right of action," citing § 399-z(13) and (14). It further held that the plaintiff's "lack of any adequate claim that the calls were prerecorded or placed via ATDS dooms his § 399-p claims." The state claims were dismissed with prejudice. The decision reflects the structure of the statutes: § 399-z is enforced administratively by the Department of State, while § 399-p's private remedy reaches only violations of its device-specific subdivisions.

Recent amendments

• L.2022, ch.660 (A.8319-C/S.8450-B), signed December 6, 2022, effective on the ninetieth day after enactment (March 6, 2023), amended § 399-z(2). It requires that the telemarketer and seller identification and "the option to be automatically added to the seller's entity specific do-not-call list" be "given to the customer first."
• L.2024, ch.539 (S.8182-B), signed November 25, 2024, effective immediately, amended §§ 399-z(2) and 399-pp(6)(b)(1). It requires disclosures "at the beginning but no later than thirty seconds from the commencement of the call" and added § 399-pp(10-b), which requires disclosure of the seller's address on telemarketer websites and in later written communications.
• L.2025, ch.708 (A.8427-A, the FAIR Business Practices Act), signed December 19, 2025, effective February 17, 2026, amended GBL § 349 to reach unfair and abusive practices in Attorney General actions.
• L.2026, ch.94 (S.8811), a chapter amendment signed March 27, 2026 and effective with chapter 708, repealed the new GBL § 348, narrowed the "substantial injury" definition, lengthened the Attorney General's pre-suit notice period to ten calendar days, and limited the § 349(h) private action to deceptive acts or deceptive practices.
• Coverage of "electronic messaging texts" in § 399-z was added by L.2021, ch.239 (A.6040), signed July 13, 2021 and effective on the thirtieth day after enactment. S.859 (2025-2026), which would amend § 399-p to limit robocalls and require telephone service providers to offer free call mitigation technology, shows no action after its January 8, 2025 referral to the Senate Consumer Protection Committee and has not been enacted.

Practical compliance checklist

• Register with the Department of State under GBL § 399-pp before calling New York, pay the $500 fee, post the $25,000 bond unless an exemption applies, and renew every two years. Unregistered telemarketers cannot enforce resulting contracts (§ 399-pp(3), (4)).
• Open every sales call, within 30 seconds, with the caller and seller names and an offer to add the number to the seller's do-not-call list. Then state whether the call is recorded, its purpose, and the goods or services offered. Make these disclosures before asking for any personal or financial information (§ 399-z(2); § 399-pp(6)(b)(1)).
• If the customer accepts the opt-out, end the call immediately and record the number on the seller's list. Build keypress opt-outs, and a toll-free opt-out number for voicemail, into every prerecorded campaign (§ 399-z(7)-(9)).
• Scrub calls and marketing texts against the National Do Not Call Registry every 31 days, and maintain the written procedures, training, and records needed for the § 399-z(15) safe harbor.
• Obtain signed written consent naming the specific seller, not required as a condition of purchase, before any prerecorded telemarketing call. Configure robocall messages to identify the sender at the start and give its address and telephone number at the end (§ 399-z(6); § 399-p(3)).
• Do not share customer contact information obtained from the customer, including through lead resale, without the customer's written or electronic agreement (§ 399-z(10)).
• Suspend unsolicited sales calls and texts to localities under a declared state of emergency or disaster emergency (§ 399-z(5-a); § 399-pp(7)(f)).
• Transmit accurate caller ID, and monitor vendors. A seller with actual knowledge of a telemarketer's violations is itself liable unless it takes reasonable corrective measures (§ 399-z(2-a); § 399-pp(11)(c)).
• Keep telemarketing and transaction records for at least 24 months under state law. In practice, retain them for five years to satisfy the TSR (§ 399-z(11); § 399-pp(8)).

References

• GBL § 399-z (2025 New York Laws via Justia; official text at NYS Open Legislation): https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/gbs/article-26/399-z/ ; https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/399-Z
• GBL § 399-pp: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/gbs/article-26/399-pp/ ; https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/399-PP
• GBL § 399-p: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/gbs/article-26/399-p/ ; https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/399-P
• GBL § 349: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/gbs/article-22-a/349/ ; https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/laws/GBS/349
• CPLR 901: https://law.justia.com/codes/new-york/cvp/article-9/901/
• Unofficial current text checked for this page (FindLaw, current as of January 1, 2026): https://codes.findlaw.com/ny/general-business-law/gbs-sect-399-z/
• A.8319-C (2021-2022), L.2022, ch.660, New York State Assembly: https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A08319&term=2021&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• S.8182-B (2023-2024), L.2024, ch.539: https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=S08182&term=2023&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• A.8427-A (2025-2026), L.2025, ch.708 (FAIR Business Practices Act): https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A08427&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• S.8811 (2025-2026), L.2026, ch.94 (chapter amendment): https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=S08811&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• A.6040 (2021-2022), L.2021, ch.239: https://nyassembly.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=A06040&term=2021&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• S.859 (2025-2026): https://assembly.ny.gov/leg/?default_fld=&leg_video=&bn=S00859&term=2025&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Text=Y
• New York Department of State, Division of Consumer Protection: https://dos.ny.gov/consumer-protection
• 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
• Oparaji v. Home Retention Corp., No. 21-cv-2758 (E.D.N.Y. Feb. 22, 2023), govinfo: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCOURTS-nyed-1_21-cv-02758/pdf/USCOURTS-nyed-1_21-cv-02758-1.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.