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

Overview

Ohio regulates telemarketing through three main bodies of law.

• Telephone Solicitation Sales Act (Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4719). Non-exempt "telephone solicitors" must register annually with the Attorney General and post a $50,000 surety bond. The Act requires specific disclosures within the first 60 seconds of a sales call and generally makes telephone sales unenforceable without a signed written confirmation. It also prohibits blocking caller ID. Most violations are felonies of the fifth degree and are also deceptive acts under the Consumer Sales Practices Act.
• R.C. 109.87. This section makes any violation of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) or the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) a violation of Ohio law. It reaches anyone who knowingly provides "substantial assistance or support" to a violator, and it lets the Attorney General sue in state or federal court for civil penalties of $500 to $1,500 per violation.
• Consumer Sales Practices Act (CSPA), R.C. Chapter 1345. The CSPA supplies private remedies for unfair or deceptive acts in consumer transactions, including statutory damages for practices previously found deceptive.

Ohio has no separate state do-not-call list. As the Attorney General explains, "Ohio does not have a separate Do Not Call law, although the federal laws may be enforced in federal or state court by the Attorney General." Ohio courts have long heard TCPA claims, and the Supreme Court of Ohio's 2007 decision in Charvat v. Ryan sets a low threshold for "knowing" or "willful" violations eligible for treble damages.

Key statutes

Detailed provisions

Telephone Solicitation Sales Act: scope

Under R.C. 4719.01(A)(7), a "Telephone solicitation" is a communication that "is initiated by or on behalf of a telephone solicitor or by a salesperson" and "either represents a price or the quality or availability of goods or services or is used to induce the person to purchase goods or services, including, but not limited to, inducement through the offering of a gift, award, or prize." A "Communication" includes notifications transmitted "by or through any printed, audio, video, cinematic, telephonic, or electronic means." A non-telephone communication counts if it is followed by a sales call, or if it invites a telephone response during which the solicitor attempts to make a sale. The "mere listing or inclusion of a telephone number in a notification or advertisement" does not count (R.C. 4719.01(A)(2)). The Act therefore reaches some inbound telemarketing generated by mail, broadcast or online advertising.

A "Telephone solicitor" is "a person that engages in telephone solicitation directly or through one or more salespersons either from a location in this state, or from a location outside this state to persons in this state" (R.C. 4719.01(A)(8)). The term includes owners, officers, directors, partners, and individuals "engaged in the management activities of" the business.

Exemptions. Under R.C. 4719.01(B), the following are exempt from registration and most of the Act's other requirements:

• one-time or infrequent solicitations;
• religious and political callers, and charities in compliance with Chapter 1716;
• securities and commodities professionals;
• supervised financial institutions;
• licensed insurers and insurance agents;
• cable operators;
• public utilities and retail natural gas suppliers;
• real estate licensees;
• many business-to-business sellers;
• catalog sellers;
• established retailers; and
• sellers that solicit their own previous purchasers, provided they meet the conditions in R.C. 4719.01(B)(25).

Several exemptions are conditioned on conducting "all telephone solicitation activities according to sections 310.3, 310.4, and 310.5" of the TSR. The person claiming an exemption "has the burden of proving that the exemption applies" (R.C. 4719.16(C)).

Registration and bond

R.C. 4719.02(A) provides: "No person shall act as a telephone solicitor without first having obtained a certificate of registration or registration renewal from the attorney general under section 4719.03 of the Revised Code." The application is extensive. It requires principals' identities, criminal and civil enforcement history, bankruptcies, banking information, every calling location and telephone number, and "A copy of any script, outline, or presentation the applicant will require or suggest be used by a salesperson" (R.C. 4719.02(B)(21)).

The Attorney General must be notified of changes within 30 days. Changes to identity, location and telephone number information require notice 30 days in advance, and script changes must be reported "prior to its use in a solicitation" (R.C. 4719.02(C)). Nonresident solicitors must maintain an Ohio statutory agent (R.C. 4719.02(D)). A certificate "shall expire one year after the date on which it is issued" (R.C. 4719.03(A)).

Under R.C. 4719.04(A), no person may act as a telephone solicitor without a surety bond, filed with the Attorney General, that is "in the amount of fifty thousand dollars" and is "maintained and in effect for at least two years after the date on which the telephone solicitor ceases to engage in telephone solicitations." Injured persons may sue the solicitor and the surety on the bond (R.C. 4719.04(B)).

Disclosures within the first 60 seconds

R.C. 4719.06(A) provides:

(A) Within the first sixty seconds of a telephone call, and before requesting any financial information or conveying to the consumer any substantive information about a prize, product, or service, no telephone solicitor or salesperson shall fail to do all of the following:

(1) State the solicitor's or salesperson's true name and the company on whose behalf the solicitation is being made;

(2) State that the purpose of the telephone call is to effect a sale;

(3) Identify the goods or services being sold.

If a sale is completed on the call, the solicitor must, before requesting payment, disclose its street address and telephone number, the total cost, material restrictions, the refund and cancellation policy, and any prize promotion terms. It must also inform the purchaser of the rights granted under R.C. 4719.07 (R.C. 4719.06(B)). Oral disclosures must be made "in a clear and intelligible manner" (R.C. 4719.06(C)).

Solicitors that intend to tell purchasers they may be eligible for a gift, award or prize must file a detailed statement with the Attorney General "any later than fourteen days prior to first making that representation" (R.C. 4719.05).

Signed written confirmation or cancellation notice

R.C. 4719.07(A) provides: "No verbal agreement, made by a purchaser as a result of a telephone solicitation, to purchase goods or services from a telephone solicitor is valid or legally binding unless the telephone solicitor receives from the purchaser a signed, written confirmation that complies with divisions (F) and (G) of this section and discloses in full the terms of the agreement."

Goods sent without a confirmation "are deemed unsolicited goods or services and become the property of the purchaser free of charge or obligation" (R.C. 4719.07(B)). Solicitors may not charge a purchaser's account without first receiving the signed original confirmation (R.C. 4719.07(C)). The confirmation must carry, in 12-point bold type, the statement "YOU ARE NOT OBLIGATED TO PAY ANY MONEY UNLESS YOU SIGN THIS CONFIRMATION AND RETURN IT TO THE SELLER." (R.C. 4719.07(F)(10)).

Alternative. Under R.C. 4719.07(H), a solicitor may use a cancellation notice instead of the written confirmation if it meets four conditions:

• it does not conduct a prize promotion or offer an investment opportunity;
• it complies with TSR §§ 310.3 through 310.5;
• it gives an unconditional full refund for cancellations within at least seven days; and
• it provides two copies of a written "NOTICE OF CANCELLATION RIGHTS" in the statutory form.

Purchaser waivers of these rights are "void and unenforceable" (R.C. 4719.09(B)).

Prohibited acts and caller ID

R.C. 4719.08 prohibits misrepresentations about cost, restrictions, performance, refund policies, prize promotions, investment opportunities, and government or third-party affiliation. It also prohibits failing to maintain a valid registration and advertising registration as government endorsement. Under R.C. 4719.08(I), a solicitor may not "Intentionally block or intentionally authorize or cause to be blocked the disclosure of the telephone number from which a telephone solicitation is made." R.C. 4719.21(B) repeats the caller ID rule for all telephone solicitors, including exempt ones, and makes a violation "an unfair or deceptive act or practice in violation of section 1345.02 of the Revised Code" with CSPA remedies (R.C. 4719.21(C)).

Enforcement under Chapter 4719

• Injunctions and contempt penalties. The Attorney General may sue for injunctions. The court "shall grant" injunctive relief on a showing of a violation and may impose up to $5,000 per day for violating an injunction (R.C. 4719.12(A)).
• Mandatory civil penalties. For violations of the registration, prize, disclosure, confirmation, prohibited-acts and waiver provisions, "the court shall impose, a civil penalty of not less than one thousand nor more than twenty-five thousand dollars for each violation" (R.C. 4719.12(B)).
• CSPA. The same violations are deceptive acts under R.C. 1345.02 (R.C. 4719.14).
• Criminal penalties. On or after July 1, 1996, a violation of those provisions "is guilty of a felony of the fifth degree" (R.C. 4719.99).

Purchaser actions. Under R.C. 4719.15(A), "A purchaser injured by a violation" of the Act may sue the solicitor or salesperson for damages and injunctive relief. If damages are awarded, they must be "not less than the amount that the purchaser paid to the telephone solicitor or salesperson," with mandatory attorney fees and costs (R.C. 4719.15(B)). Punitive damages are available for knowing violations (R.C. 4719.15(C)). Actions must be brought "within two years after the date of the telephone solicitation upon which the action is based" (R.C. 4719.15(D)). A "Purchaser" is a person "solicited to become or does become financially obligated as a result of a telephone solicitation" (R.C. 4719.01(A)(5)).

R.C. 109.87: federal telemarketing law as Ohio law

R.C. 109.87(B)(1) provides: "No person, entity, merchant, seller, or telemarketer shall engage in any act or practice in violation of any provision of a federal act or rule." "Federal act or rule" covers the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act, the TCPA, any amendment of either, and "any rule adopted or issued pursuant to either of those acts, or any amendment of that rule" (R.C. 109.87(A)(2)(a)). FCC and FTC rule changes therefore flow automatically into Ohio law. The section defines "Text message" to include SMS and MMS (R.C. 109.87(A)(2)(d)).

Substantial assistance. Under R.C. 109.87(B)(2)(a), "No person shall provide substantial assistance or support to any person, entity, merchant, seller, or telemarketer when that person knows or consciously avoids knowing that the other person, entity, merchant, seller, or telemarketer is engaged in any act or practice that violates any provision of a federal act or rule." Voice service providers are excluded if they are not designated non-cooperative by the FCC-registered traceback consortium, do not originate the traffic, or are not the first domestic provider for foreign-originated traffic (R.C. 109.87(B)(2)(b)).

Enforcement. The Attorney General may investigate, issue subpoenas, accept assurances of voluntary compliance, and sue "in the appropriate court of common pleas of this state or in the appropriate district court of the United States, but not in both courts" (R.C. 109.87(C), (D)(1)). Penalties track the TCPA:

(2) On the motion of the attorney general or on its own motion, a court may impose a civil penalty of five hundred dollars for each violation of the provision of this section or of the federal act or rule that is the subject of the action. If the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly committed the violation, the court may impose a civil penalty of one thousand five hundred dollars for each violation of the provision of this section or of the federal act or rules that is the subject of the action.

The Attorney General may not sue defendants already named in a pending FTC or FCC action for the same violations (R.C. 109.87(D)(3)). Actions for damages or penalties must be brought within five years (R.C. 109.87(D)(5)). R.C. 109.87 is enforced by the Attorney General and does not itself create a private right of action.

Consumer Sales Practices Act remedies

R.C. 1345.02(A) provides: "No supplier shall commit an unfair or deceptive act or practice in connection with a consumer transaction." In construing it, courts give "great weight" to FTC rules and guides (R.C. 1345.02(C)).

A consumer may recover actual economic damages plus up to $5,000 in noneconomic damages (R.C. 1345.09(A)). For acts previously declared deceptive by rule, or by an Ohio court decision placed in the Attorney General's public inspection file, the consumer may recover, "but not in a class action, three times the amount of the consumer's actual economic damages or two hundred dollars, whichever is greater, plus an amount not exceeding five thousand dollars in noneconomic damages" (R.C. 1345.09(B)). Attorney fees are available where "The supplier has knowingly committed an act or practice that violates this chapter" (R.C. 1345.09(F)(2)). CSPA actions must be brought within two years after the violation, or one year after the Attorney General's proceedings end, whichever is later (R.C. 1345.10(C)).

How Ohio differs from federal law

Ohio adds a licensing layer that federal law does not have: registration, scripts on file, a bond, felony penalties, and a written-confirmation rule for contract formation. Through R.C. 109.87, it also makes every federal telemarketing rule enforceable as state law and extends liability to knowing assisters. On call restrictions such as do-not-call, calling hours and robocall consent, however, Ohio relies on the federal rules rather than adding stricter state versions. Its private remedies are tied to purchasers and consumer transactions rather than to the receipt of a call.

Notable case law

Charvat v. Ryan, 116 Ohio St.3d 394, 2007-Ohio-6833 Charvat v. Ryan (Ohio 2007) opinion. A consumer sued a dental practice in Ohio common pleas court over a prerecorded advertising call to his home, asserting claims under the TCPA and the CSPA. Resolving a conflict among Ohio appellate districts, the Supreme Court of Ohio held that "to establish a knowing violation of the TCPA for an award of treble damages, a plaintiff must prove only that the defendant knew that it acted or failed to act in a manner that violated the statute, not that the defendant knew that the conduct itself constituted a violation of law."

Deferring to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), it held that a willful violation requires proof "that the defendant consciously and deliberately committed or omitted an act that violated the statute, irrespective of any intent to violate the law." The court observed that "The TCPA is neither a criminal nor a highly technical statute and thus ignorance of the law is no defense." It emphasized, however, that trebling remains discretionary: "the court must decide whether a violation was "knowing" or "willful." Then the court may, but need not, award treble damages." The court applied the same knowledge-of-the-facts standard to CSPA attorney fees under R.C. 1345.09(F).

The decision means that good-faith ignorance of telemarketing rules does not, by itself, defeat a request for enhanced damages in Ohio courts.

Recent amendments

• Senate Bill 224 (136th General Assembly, 2025-2026) would amend R.C. 109.87. Among other changes, it would replace the current voice-service-provider carve-out from "substantial assistance or support" with a list of excluded entity types, including incumbent local exchange carriers, telephone companies and wireless providers registered with the Public Utilities Commission, eligible telecommunications carriers, and issuers of registered securities and their subsidiaries. The Senate passed it on November 5, 2025, and it was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on November 12, 2025, the last action shown on the official status page when reviewed. It has not been enacted.
• No amendment to Chapter 4719 was enacted from 2023 through 2026. The official Revised Code shows no section of the chapter with an effective date later than October 9, 2021.
• R.C. 109.87 was last amended by Senate Bill 54 (134th General Assembly), effective March 2, 2022. That bill added the text-message and voice-service definitions and the substantial-assistance provision now in the statute. It predates the 2023-2026 window.

Practical compliance checklist

• Determine whether you are a "telephone solicitor" under R.C. 4719.01, and document any exemption, since you bear the burden of proving it. Do not overlook inbound sales generated by ads that invite a telephone response.
• If you are not exempt, register with the Attorney General before soliciting Ohio residents and renew annually. File scripts and report changes on time, post the $50,000 surety bond, and appoint an Ohio statutory agent if you are a nonresident.
• Within the first 60 seconds, and before asking for payment information, state the caller's true name, the company, that the call's purpose is a sale, and what is being sold.
• Before taking payment on a phone sale, either obtain a signed written confirmation in the statutory form or use the TSR-compliant alternative with a seven-day unconditional refund and two copies of the statutory cancellation notice.
• File prize-promotion details with the Attorney General at least 14 days before offering prizes.
• Never block caller ID. Transmit accurate calling-number information under the federal rules.
• Comply fully with the TCPA and TSR, including the National Do Not Call Registry, consent for autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts, calling hours, and entity-specific do-not-call lists. Under R.C. 109.87, each federal violation is also an Ohio violation.
• Vet lead generators, dialing platforms and calling vendors. Knowingly assisting a violator, or consciously avoiding knowledge of one, creates exposure under R.C. 109.87(B)(2).
• Train staff on the rules. Under Charvat v. Ryan, ignorance of the law does not prevent a finding that a TCPA violation was knowing or willful.

References

• Ohio Revised Code Chapter 4719 (Telephone Solicitors), Ohio Legislative Service Commission: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-4719
• Ohio Revised Code 109.87: https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/section-109.87
• Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1345 (Consumer Sales Practices): https://codes.ohio.gov/ohio-revised-code/chapter-1345
• Senate Bill 224 (136th General Assembly), as passed by the Senate: https://search-prod.lis.state.oh.us/api/v2/general_assembly_136/legislation/sb224/02_PS/pdf/
• Senate Bill 224, status: https://www.legislature.ohio.gov/legislation/136/sb224/status
• Ohio Attorney General, Telemarketing and Do Not Call Registry: https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Business/Services-for-Business/Business-Guide/Telemarketing-and-Do-Not-Call-Registry
• Charvat v. Ryan, 116 Ohio St.3d 394, 2007-Ohio-6833: https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/rod/docs/pdf/0/2007/2007-Ohio-6833.pdf
• 47 C.F.R. § 64.1601, eCFR: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-47/chapter-I/subchapter-B/part-64/subpart-P/section-64.1601
• 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

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.