Minnesota Telemarketing and Cold Calling Laws
In Minnesota, 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.
Minnesota rules next to federal law
| Rule | Minnesota | Federal baseline |
|---|---|---|
| Calling hours | No commercial telephone solicitation, and no use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Does not apply to calls to people with whom the caller has a current business or personal relationship. No Sunday or holiday rule.Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.30, 325E.27(b) | 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 | Relies on the National Do Not Call Registry. Minnesota's former state no-call list statutes (Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.311-325E.316) have expired and are no longer in force. | 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 | An automatic dialing-announcing device (a device that dials numbers and plays a prerecorded or synthesized voice message) may be used only if the subscriber knowingly or voluntarily requested or consented to the message, or a live operator first obtains the subscriber's consent. The device must disconnect within 10 seconds after the subscriber hangs up, and a live operator must first disclose the business name, purpose and what is being promoted. Calls to subscribers with a current business or personal relationship are exempt.Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.26-325E.29 | 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) |
| Telemarketer registration | No Minnesota telemarketer registration statute was found. | No general federal equivalent |
| Call recording consent | A person may record a call they are a party to, or where one party consents, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act.Minn. Stat. § 626A.02, subd. 2(d) | Federal law allows recording when one party to the call consents.18 U.S.C. § 2511(2)(d) |
| Business-to-business calls | Partial. The 9 a.m.-9 p.m. limit for live sales calls applies only to 'commercial telephone solicitations', defined as unsolicited calls to residential subscribers with no prior business or personal relationship, so live B2B calls to business lines are outside it. The prerecorded-message (automatic dialing-announcing device) consent rule and its 9 a.m.-9 p.m. limit apply to any 'subscriber', which is not limited to residential lines, except where the caller has a current business or personal relationship.Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.26, subds. 4-5, 325E.27, 325E.30 | No general federal equivalent |
Recent changes
- 2023: Laws 2023, ch. 57, art. 4, § 9 amended Minn. Stat. § 325E.31 to let the Attorney General recover a civil penalty of up to $50,000 for violations of the prerecorded-message and calling-hours rules (§§ 325E.27-325E.30), in addition to the existing private right of action under § 8.31.
Calling Minnesota 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.
Minnesota calling questions
What are the legal calling hours in Minnesota?
No commercial telephone solicitation, and no use of an automatic dialing-announcing device, before 9 a.m. or after 9 p.m. Does not apply to calls to people with whom the caller has a current business or personal relationship. No Sunday or holiday rule. (Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.30, 325E.27(b)). Federal law also limits telephone solicitations to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time.
Does Minnesota have its own do-not-call list?
Relies on the National Do Not Call Registry. Minnesota's former state no-call list statutes (Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.311-325E.316) have expired and are no longer in force.
Is Minnesota a one-party or all-party consent state for recording calls?
A person may record a call they are a party to, or where one party consents, unless the recording is made to commit a criminal or tortious act. (Minn. Stat. § 626A.02, subd. 2(d))
Do Minnesota telemarketing rules apply to business-to-business calls?
Partial. The 9 a.m.-9 p.m. limit for live sales calls applies only to 'commercial telephone solicitations', defined as unsolicited calls to residential subscribers with no prior business or personal relationship, so live B2B calls to business lines are outside it. The prerecorded-message (automatic dialing-announcing device) consent rule and its 9 a.m.-9 p.m. limit apply to any 'subscriber', which is not limited to residential lines, except where the caller has a current business or personal relationship. (Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.26, subds. 4-5, 325E.27, 325E.30)
Do telemarketers need to register in Minnesota?
No Minnesota telemarketer registration statute was found.
This page summarizes Minnesota 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.