Alabama lets consumers sue over Do Not Call violations under state law, not just federal law. Chapter 19C of Title 8 bars sales calls to residential numbers on the state’s no-call list, requires callers to identify themselves, and gives a private claim to someone who got more than one violating call from the same business within 12 months. Damages depend on a knowing violation. The same chapter gives companies a due care defense, and a long list of exemptions narrows who’s covered at all.
What does Alabama’s Do Not Call law prohibit?
Sales calls to listed residential numbers, among other things. Under Ala. Code § 8-19C-2(a), “No person or entity may make or cause to be made any telephone solicitation to the telephone line of any residential subscriber in this state who has given notice to the commission of his or her objection to receiving telephone solicitations.” The commission is the Alabama Public Service Commission, and the same section directs it to include “the part of the single national database that relates to Alabama” in the state list.
Two more rules apply to every sales call. Under § 8-19C-5, a caller must identify itself as provided in the state’s Telemarketing Act and may not knowingly “block or otherwise circumvent the use of a caller identification service by the subscriber.” The cross-referenced disclosure rule, § 8-19A-12(a), requires the seller, “Within the first 30 seconds of a telephone call,” to state “his or her true name, the company on whose behalf the solicitation is being made, and the consumer goods or services being sold.”
Does the Alabama law cover text messages?
The statute’s words point to voice calls. The shared definitions in § 8-19A-3, which apply to both chapters, define a telephone solicitation as “A voice communication over a telephone line” made to encourage a purchase, rental, or investment. A business defending a text-message claim under chapter 19C has a textual argument that a written text isn’t a voice communication.
That argument doesn’t reach federal law. Texts to numbers on the national Registry can still support a claim under the federal TCPA, and the post on state do-not-call registries explains why scrubbing against state lists matters even when a state statute is narrow. A company texting Alabama consumers shouldn’t treat the state definition as permission to skip the scrub.
Who can sue, and for what?
A consumer who got more than one violating call. Under § 8-19C-7, “A person who has received more than one telephone solicitation within a 12-month period by or on behalf of the same person or entity” in violation of the no-call rule or the identification rule may sue to enjoin the violation, or “to recover for actual monetary loss from the knowing violation or to receive up to two thousand dollars ($2,000) in damages for each knowing violation, whichever is greater,” or both.
The commission can act too. Section 8-19C-6 lets it bring proceedings over “a knowing violation or threatened knowing violation,” including a cease and desist order or “a civil penalty up to a maximum of two thousand dollars ($2,000) for each violation.” Alabama courts may also exercise jurisdiction over nonresidents, under § 8-19C-10, and the chapter’s remedies, by § 8-19C-11, “shall not be exclusive.”
The knowledge element is the main defense lever. A damages claim under § 8-19C-7 needs a knowing violation, so a business that scrubbed its lists and had no reason to think a number was listed is in a much better position than one that ignored the list. The federal claim works differently: 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) allows up to $500 per violation, with a court able to increase that up to three times if it finds the violation willful or knowing.
| Claim | Statute | Exposure and its conditions | Defenses to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama no-call list | § 8-19C-2(a), § 8-19C-7 | Greater of actual loss or up to $2,000 per knowing violation, after more than one call in 12 months | Exemption, no knowing violation, due care |
| Caller identification | § 8-19C-5, § 8-19A-12 | Same private claim | Scripts and recordings |
| Commission action | § 8-19C-6 | Civil penalty up to $2,000 per violation | Due care, compliance records |
| Federal Do Not Call | 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) | Up to $500 per violation, up to treble if willful or knowing | Consent, business relationship, good-faith procedures |
Which businesses are exempt?
Many kinds of businesses. The shared definition of telephone solicitation “does not include communications by or on behalf of any of the exempt persons in Section 8-19A-4,” so an exempt business isn’t making a telephone solicitation under chapter 19C either. The exemption list includes “Any supervised financial institution or parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof,” licensed insurance agents “when soliciting within the scope of his or her license,” and businesses soliciting repair or maintenance contracts on goods they sold.
Two exemptions matter to ordinary businesses. One, in § 8-19A-4(21), covers calls to consumers “who have an existing business relationship with or who have previously purchased from the business enterprise for which the solicitor is calling, if the solicitor is operating under the same exact business name.” Another covers retailers that have operated a store for at least a year under the same name used in telemarketing, if customers mostly get the goods or services at the store. A business that markets under a different brand than the one its customers know may lose the first exemption on that detail alone.
Does a business need an Alabama telemarketing license?
Some do. The Telemarketing Act, in § 8-19A-5(a), says “Prior to doing business in this state, a commercial telephone seller shall obtain a license from the division,” meaning the Consumer Division of the Attorney General’s office. The license covers sellers calling from other states, and the application must come with a bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit. The same exemptions in § 8-19A-4 apply, so many businesses that call existing customers or sell through a retail store won’t need one.
What defense does Alabama give a business?
A due care defense. Section 8-19C-8 makes it “a defense in any action or proceeding brought under Section 8-19C-6 or Section 8-19C-7 that the defendant has established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures” to prevent violating calls. It tracks the federal good-faith defense, and the same records support both. The post on internal do-not-call policies describes the written policy and staff training, along with the list maintenance and audits, that make the defense real.
A plaintiff who adds an Alabama claim to a federal complaint raises the stakes on paper, which is one reason lawyers defending TCPA class actions in California and elsewhere test each state count on its own elements. In Alabama, the knowledge element, the two-call threshold, and the exemptions give a business several ways to cut the state claim down before it affects the value of the case.
What to pull after an Alabama Do Not Call claim
- Put a litigation hold on call logs, dialer and platform data, and consent records for the Alabama numbers in the complaint.
- Pull the opt-out and internal do-not-call logs with dates, plus the written policy and training records that support the due care defense.
- Pull the scrub records for the Alabama list and the national Registry, with the list dates used for each campaign.
- Collect vendor and lead-source contracts and call scripts, along with any prerecorded or AI-voice files, which show whether the caller identified the business within 30 seconds.
- Talk to a lawyer before replying to the demand, contacting the consumer, or offering anything to settle.
Questions about Alabama telemarketing claims
Can one call support an Alabama Do Not Call lawsuit?
Not under the private claim in § 8-19C-7. It requires “more than one telephone solicitation within a 12-month period by or on behalf of the same person or entity” in violation of the chapter. A single call may still matter to the commission or to a federal claim, but the state damages claim needs at least two calls from the same business within that period.
Does the Alabama law apply to an out-of-state call center?
It can. The definition of doing business in this state covers calls “from a location in Alabama or from other states or nations to consumers located in Alabama,” and § 8-19C-10 lets Alabama courts exercise personal jurisdiction over nonresidents in actions under the chapter. A call center’s location doesn’t take it outside the statute.
Are banks and insurance agencies covered?
Generally not under Alabama’s chapter, if they fit the exemptions. Supervised financial institutions and their affiliates are exempt, and licensed insurance agents are exempt when soliciting within the scope of their licenses. Those exemptions don’t reach the federal TCPA, so a bank’s or agency’s sales calls still have to follow the national Registry rules and the FCC’s regulations.
Is the $2,000 figure per call?
Section 8-19C-7 says up to $2,000 “for each knowing violation,” and only if that’s greater than actual monetary loss. The amount is a ceiling, not an automatic award, and it depends on proof that the violation was knowing. A business that can show its scrub and its procedures has a strong answer to the knowledge element and to the claim as a whole.
When an Alabama consumer sues
If your company has been sued by an Alabama consumer under the state’s Do Not Call law, the exemptions and the proof of what the company knew usually decide how much of the claim is real. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving sales calls to numbers on state no-call lists. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The Alabama statutes are Ala. Code § 8-19C-2, § 8-19C-5, § 8-19C-6, § 8-19C-7, § 8-19C-8, § 8-19C-10, § 8-19C-11, § 8-19A-3, § 8-19A-4, § 8-19A-5, and § 8-19A-12. The federal statute is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at 47 U.S.C. § 227, and the FCC’s rules are at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of April 20, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Courts and the FCC change the rules in this area often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.