Michigan Telemarketing and Cold Calling Laws
In Michigan, sales calls are allowed 9 a.m.–9 p.m., the National Do Not Call Registry applies, and recording a call needs one party’s consent.
Michigan rules next to federal law
| Rule | Michigan | Federal baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Calling hours | Michigan's Penal Code makes it a misdemeanor to make an unsolicited commercial call (by a person or recording device, soliciting business or contributions) that is received between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., which the Attorney General describes as a telemarketing curfew; the section is framed around malicious use of telephone service. Effective window: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. No Sunday or holiday rule.Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.540e(1)(f) | Telephone solicitations only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the called person’s local time.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1) |
| State do-not-call list | Michigan law designates the federal Do Not Call list as the state do-not-call list; telephone solicitors may not make a telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber whose number is on it. Calling a consumer who asked that seller not to call is also an unfair practice.Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111a(5), 445.111c(1)(g) | No telephone solicitations to residential or wireless numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, subject to the rule’s exemptions such as an established business relationship.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2) |
| Autodialer and consent | A telephone solicitation may not consist in whole or in part of a recorded message (no consent exception in the Home Solicitation Sales Act; calls to existing customers or with the subscriber's prior invitation are not 'telephone solicitations'). Separately, recorded commercial advertising calls to residential, business or toll-free numbers require the subscriber's knowing, voluntary request or consent, or that the subscriber gave the caller the number; violators owe $1,000 per call in a private action.Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111(m), 445.111a(1), 484.125(2)(a), (5) | Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing calls to wireless numbers need the called person’s prior express written consent.47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2) |
| Caller ID | Telephone solicitors may not intentionally block or interfere with a residential subscriber's caller ID, and callers may not block caller ID when delivering intrastate commercial advertising to residential, business or toll-free numbers. At the start of the call the solicitor must give their name and the full name of the business, and provide a callback number staffed by a live person on request.Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111b, 484.125(2)(b) | Telemarketers must transmit caller ID with a number that can be called back during business hours.47 C.F.R. § 64.1601(e) |
| Telemarketer registration | No Michigan telemarketer registration statute was found; the Attorney General's telemarketing-law summary lists no registration requirement.Source | No general federal equivalent |
| Call recording consent | The eavesdropping statute's text requires consent of all parties, but Michigan courts (Sullivan v. Gray, 1982) read it to cover only the 'private discourse of others', so a participant may record their own call; the Michigan Supreme Court has not ruled on the point.Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 750.539a(2), 750.539c; Sullivan v. Gray, 117 Mich. App. 476 (1982) | Federal law allows recording when one party to the call consents.18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d) |
| Business-to-business calls | Partial. The Do Not Call, caller-ID and identification rules in the Home Solicitation Sales Act protect residential telephone subscribers, so B2B calls to business lines fall outside them. But the recorded-message consent and caller-ID rules in MCL 484.125 expressly cover business and toll-free numbers, and the 9 p.m.-9 a.m. curfew in MCL 750.540e covers any unsolicited commercial call.Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111(l), 445.111a(5), 484.125(1)(d), 750.540e(1)(f) | No general federal equivalent |
Calling Michigan from a sales team
- Schedule call blocks in the prospect’s local time, not the rep’s.
- Check numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry before each campaign, and honor opt-outs right away.
- If a call may cross into an all-party state, announce the recording anyway.
Trellus dials from the CRM list your reps already work, with each call logged back to the record. See the power and parallel dialer.
Michigan calling questions
What are the legal calling hours in Michigan?
Michigan's Penal Code makes it a misdemeanor to make an unsolicited commercial call (by a person or recording device, soliciting business or contributions) that is received between 9 p.m. and 9 a.m., which the Attorney General describes as a telemarketing curfew; the section is framed around malicious use of telephone service. Effective window: 9 a.m.-9 p.m. No Sunday or holiday rule. (Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.540e(1)(f)). Federal law also limits telephone solicitations to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time.
Does Michigan have its own do-not-call list?
Michigan law designates the federal Do Not Call list as the state do-not-call list; telephone solicitors may not make a telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber whose number is on it. Calling a consumer who asked that seller not to call is also an unfair practice. (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111a(5), 445.111c(1)(g))
Is Michigan a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
The eavesdropping statute's text requires consent of all parties, but Michigan courts (Sullivan v. Gray, 1982) read it to cover only the 'private discourse of others', so a participant may record their own call; the Michigan Supreme Court has not ruled on the point. (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 750.539a(2), 750.539c; Sullivan v. Gray, 117 Mich. App. 476 (1982))
Do Michigan telemarketing rules apply to business-to-business calls?
Partial. The Do Not Call, caller-ID and identification rules in the Home Solicitation Sales Act protect residential telephone subscribers, so B2B calls to business lines fall outside them. But the recorded-message consent and caller-ID rules in MCL 484.125 expressly cover business and toll-free numbers, and the 9 p.m.-9 a.m. curfew in MCL 750.540e covers any unsolicited commercial call. (Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.111(l), 445.111a(5), 484.125(1)(d), 750.540e(1)(f))
Do telemarketers need to register in Michigan?
No Michigan telemarketer registration statute was found; the Attorney General's telemarketing-law summary lists no registration requirement.
This page summarizes Michigan and federal rules for general information. It is not legal advice, rules change, and exemptions depend on the facts of your calls. Read the cited sources or ask counsel before relying on it.