In Utah, one sales call can support a lawsuit. A Sunday call made without consent, or a call from a dialer that plays a recorded message, lets the person called sue for the greater of $500 or actual loss, plus attorney fees. A second statute, rewritten effective May 6, 2026, makes many sellers register and post a bond. Most other claims under Utah’s law need two calls and an objection after the first one, and that requirement gives a business a real defense.
What does Utah’s telephone solicitation law prohibit?
It restricts automated dialers, calling hours, and calls to numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry, and it requires disclosures on every unsolicited call. The rules are in the Telephone and Facsimile Solicitation Act, Utah Code Title 13, Chapter 25a.
The dialer rule comes first. Under Utah Code § 13-25a-103(1), “a person may not operate or authorize the operation of an automated telephone dialing system to make a telephone solicitation.” There are two exceptions: prior express consent to receive solicitations “from a specific solicitor,” or an established business relationship with the person called.
Utah defines the dialer differently than federal law does. Under § 13-25a-102(2), it’s equipment used to store or produce numbers, call them, and “connect the number called with a recorded message or artificial voice.” That test doesn’t require a random or sequential number generator, the element that narrowed the federal autodialer definition in 2021. So the federal autodialer defense doesn’t carry over. The Utah definition has its own limit, though: a call handled by a live agent from the start doesn’t play a recorded message or artificial voice.
The timing rule is stricter than the federal one. Section 13-25a-103(3) bars telephone solicitations to a residential or cell phone without prior express consent “between the hours of 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. local time,” on a Sunday, or on a legal holiday. The federal rule in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1) covers only calls “before the hour of 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m.” The Sunday and holiday bans are the ones national calling schedules miss.
Every unsolicited call also carries duties. Under § 13-25a-103(5), the caller must identify itself and the business it’s calling for, state the purpose promptly, end the pitch after a negative response, and disconnect within 25 seconds after the person called hangs up. Subsection (6) bars withholding the caller’s number from caller ID when the equipment can display it.
Two more provisions reach beyond Utah’s own rules. Section 13-25a-108(1) bars unsolicited calls to Utah numbers on the national registry, and to other registered numbers if the caller “knows or reasonably should know that the person receiving the call is in Utah.” And § 13-25a-103(4) provides that “A person may not make or authorize a telephone solicitation in violation of Title 47 U.S.C. 227.” A federal TCPA violation is a Utah violation too.
Does Utah’s law cover text messages?
The safer course is to assume it does. Under § 13-25a-102(8), a telephone solicitation is “the initiation of a telephone call or message for a commercial purpose or to seek a financial donation.” The statute doesn’t define “message,” and a marketing text fits the ordinary meaning of the word. A Sunday text campaign to Utah numbers is the kind of practice that invites a test case.
The dialer ban is a harder fit for texts. Utah’s definition requires equipment that connects the call to a recorded message or artificial voice, and a typical text platform doesn’t do that. But a text that breaks a federal rule is a Utah violation through § 13-25a-103(4), whatever equipment sent it.
Which calls fall outside Utah’s rules?
Calls that aren’t “unsolicited.” Under § 13-25a-102(10), an unsolicited call excludes one made “in response to an express request of the person called,” one made primarily about an existing debt or unfinished contract, one to a person with an established business relationship, and one required by law for a medical purpose.
The business relationship has to rest on an inquiry, application, purchase, or transaction and a voluntary two-way communication. It ends when either side ends it, or on “the passage of 18 months since the most recent inquiry, application, purchase, transaction, or voluntary two-way communication,” according to § 13-25a-102(4). Federal law gives an inquiry only three months. A Utah lead that inquired five months ago may be outside the Utah registry rule and still inside the federal one, so the federal clock should control the calling schedule.
Licensed professionals get a partial exemption. Under § 13-25a-111, §§ 103 and 108 don’t apply to a person acting within an insurance license, a real estate license, or a registration “issued by the National Association of Securities Dealers,” FINRA’s predecessor. The exemption doesn’t reach the federal rules or Utah’s company-specific opt-out rule.
That opt-out rule is § 13-25a-107.2. A telephone solicitor may not call a person who has said, “either in writing or orally,” that the person doesn’t want calls from that solicitor. A solicitor that complies with the opt-out procedures in the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule isn’t liable under that section.
Who has to register as a telephone seller in Utah?
Most sellers that solicit Utah residents by phone, unless an exemption applies. The Telephone Fraud Prevention Act, Utah Code Title 13, Chapter 26, was rewritten and renumbered by Senate Bill 38, effective May 6, 2026. Under the new § 13-26-102(1)(a), a seller “shall register annually with the division before engaging in telephone solicitations” if its solicitations originate or are received in Utah, or if it conducts a business operation in Utah.
Registration comes with security. A seller must keep a surety bond or a Utah certificate of deposit of $25,000 if it has fewer than 10 employees and no violation in the prior three years, or $50,000 if it has 10 or more. The figure rises to $75,000 if the seller or an affiliated person violated the chapter in the prior three years. SB 38 dropped the irrevocable letter of credit as a form of security. A registration lasts a year, and renewal is due at least 30 days before it expires. A new § 13-26-103 lets the Division of Consumer Protection deny, suspend, or revoke a registration.
The exemptions in § 13-26-104 are long, and they’re where most established companies land. They include licensed agents and brokers acting within the license, regulated utilities, depository institutions and insurers, “a publicly traded corporation registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or a subsidiary of the publicly traded corporation,” and retail businesses that have operated in Utah for at least five years under the same name. In a Division enforcement action, the company claiming an exemption has the burden of proving it.
Companies that hire telemarketers should read § 13-26-108(3). If a person knows or has reason to know that a seller or solicitor is violating the chapter, it’s unlawful for the person to “benefit from the seller’s or solicitor’s services” or to “provide substantial assistance or support to the seller or solicitor.” A lead buyer that keeps using an unregistered vendor after a warning shouldn’t assume the registration problem belongs only to the vendor.
The Division enforces the chapter. Under § 13-26-106, the director may impose an administrative fine of up to $2,500 per violation, and “each telephone solicitation a person makes in violation of this chapter is a separate violation.” A first violation is a class B misdemeanor, and a third can be a third-degree felony.
What can a person recover under Utah law?
The greater of $500 or the actual loss for each claim, plus fees, but only on the right facts. Section 13-25a-107(1) opens two paths. One is a single solicitation that breaks the dialer, timing, disclosure, or caller ID rule. The other is two or more solicitations from the same sender that violate the Utah act or the federal TCPA, where the person, “following the first telephone solicitation or facsimile advertisement, notified the sender of the person’s objection to receiving the telephone solicitation or facsimile advertisement.”
That second path is a strong defense point. The registry rule in § 108 isn’t on the single-call list, and neither is a claim built on a federal violation. A Utah Do Not Call claim needs at least two calls and an objection after the first. The objection record, with its date, is often the first document worth pulling.
Under § 13-25a-107(2), a successful plaintiff may “recover the greater of $500 or the amount of the pecuniary loss, if any,” plus court costs and reasonable attorneys’ fees, and may seek an injunction. If the violation was knowing and willful, the court “may award an individual treble the amount of the individual’s pecuniary loss.” Most plaintiffs have no out-of-pocket loss, so Utah’s willfulness multiplier usually adds little. The fee award is the real exposure. The federal TCPA doesn’t shift fees, so a Utah count pleaded next to a federal one can change how a demand is valued.
The state can act separately. Under § 13-25a-105, the Division may impose an administrative fine of $100 to $2,500 per violation. An intentional violation is a class A misdemeanor, and a violation is intentional if it occurs after the Division, the attorney general, or a district or county attorney “notifies the person by certified mail that the person is in violation of this chapter.” A certified letter from the state should stop the campaign until a lawyer has reviewed it.
| Claim | Utah rule | Exposure | Defenses |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dialer call with a recorded message | § 13-25a-103(1) | Greater of $500 or actual loss, plus attorney fees, on one call | Prior express consent to the specific solicitor, or an existing business relationship |
| Call on a Sunday, holiday, or between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. | § 13-25a-103(3) | Greater of $500 or actual loss, plus attorney fees, on one call | Prior express consent, call records showing local time |
| Missing disclosures or blocked caller ID | § 13-25a-103(5) and (6) | Greater of $500 or actual loss, plus attorney fees, on one call | Scripts, call recordings, and caller ID settings |
| Utah number on the national registry | § 13-25a-108 | Same recovery, but only after two calls and an objection | No objection after the first call, express request, existing business relationship, license exemption |
| Unregistered seller | §§ 13-26-102 and 13-26-106 | Administrative fines up to $2,500 per solicitation, criminal penalties | A § 13-26-104 exemption, proof of registration and bond |
| Federal TCPA violation | 47 U.S.C. § 227 | Up to $500, or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing | Consent, the federal autodialer definition, registry safe harbor |
How does Utah’s law fit with the federal TCPA?
It stacks on top of it. A business calling Utah numbers faces the federal rules in 47 U.S.C. § 227 and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, and Utah layers its own calling and registration duties on top. The federal Do Not Call claim lets a person who received more than one call within 12 months in violation of the regulations sue for up to $500 per violation, and a court may increase the award up to $1,500 if the violation was willful or knowing.
Utah is one of many states with its own calling rules, and the overview of state mini-TCPA laws covers how the others compare. The caller ID duty in § 13-25a-103(6) tracks the federal rules discussed in the post on caller ID and spoofing rules for businesses. A company’s Utah telemarketing claim defense usually draws on the same records under both statutes: consent, opt-out history, and call times.
What to gather when a Utah calling claim arrives
- Issue a litigation hold covering the call and text logs, dialer and texting platform data, and consent records for each Utah number in the claim.
- Pull the internal do-not-call list and any objection or opt-out from the claimant, with the date it came in.
- Collect the national registry downloads and the version dates used for the campaign, along with the Utah registration and bond or the exemption the company relies on.
- Gather the vendor and lead-source contracts, the call scripts, and any recorded or AI-voice message files.
- Have a lawyer review the claim before anyone responds to a demand letter, contacts the claimant, or offers money to settle.
Questions about Utah telemarketing law
Does Utah’s law apply to companies outside Utah?
Yes. The registry rule reaches calls to non-Utah numbers when the caller knows or reasonably should know the person is in Utah, so a customer file showing a Utah address matters more than the area code. The registration duty covers sellers whose solicitations are received in Utah, wherever the call center sits. An out-of-state company calling Utah residents should check both statutes before a campaign starts.
Are insurance and real estate agents exempt from Utah’s calling rules?
Partly. Section 13-25a-111 exempts licensed insurance producers, real estate licensees, and securities registrants acting within their licenses from §§ 103 and 108, the core of Utah’s calling rules. The exemption doesn’t cover the federal TCPA, which has its own calling-hour and Do Not Call rules, and it doesn’t cover a person’s request to a specific company to stop calling.
What changed in Utah’s telemarketing law in 2026?
Senate Bill 38, effective May 6, 2026, rewrote the Telephone Fraud Prevention Act. It renumbered the chapter to begin at § 13-26-101, dropped letters of credit as security, set out what a registration application must include, and added grounds to deny, suspend, or revoke a registration. The bond amounts stayed at $25,000, $50,000, and $75,000. SB 38 left the calling rules in Chapter 25a as they were, apart from a cross-reference.
If your company faces a Utah calling claim
If your company is accused of calling Utah residents on a Sunday or with a recorded-message dialer, the call times and the consent records for each number usually decide the case. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving calls made outside state calling hours. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The calling rules are in Utah’s Telephone and Facsimile Solicitation Act, including Utah Code § 13-25a-102, § 13-25a-103, § 13-25a-105, § 13-25a-107, § 13-25a-107.2, § 13-25a-108, and § 13-25a-111. The registration rules are in the Telephone Fraud Prevention Act, including § 13-26-102, § 13-26-104, § 13-26-106, and § 13-26-108, as amended by 2026 Senate Bill 38. The federal law is 47 U.S.C. § 227 and 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of June 26, 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.