A Kansas consumer who sues over a telemarketing call can seek a civil penalty of up to $10,000 per violation, but “not in a class action.” That combination, from K.S.A. 50-634, shapes every Kansas no-call case. The Kansas no-call act makes calling-rule and Do Not Call violations unconscionable acts under the Kansas Consumer Protection Act, so individual claims can be expensive. Class exposure under the state statute is far narrower, and the act gives callers an error defense backed by good procedures.
What calls does the Kansas no-call act cover?
Sales and credit solicitation calls to a consumer’s home or mobile number, with exclusions for requested calls, existing contracts, and recent customers.
K.S.A. 50-670 defines a “Consumer telephone call” as “a call made by a telephone solicitor to the residence or mobile telephone number of a consumer for the purpose of soliciting a sale of any property or services,” or an extension of credit, or gathering information to make those solicitations. An “unsolicited” call excludes calls made “In response to an express request or with the express written agreement of the person called,” calls about an existing debt or contract, and calls to anyone with an established business relationship who hasn’t asked the solicitor to stop.
The established business relationship covers an application, purchase, or transaction “within the 18 months immediately preceding the date of the consumer telephone call,” per the same section. Unlike the federal definition, it doesn’t include a three-month inquiry window. A quote request alone may not qualify in Kansas.
What must callers do during an unsolicited call?
Identify the caller, the business, and the purpose immediately, and stop when the consumer says no.
Under K.S.A. 50-670(b), a solicitor must identify itself, the business, and the purpose of the call “immediately upon making contact,” and must “promptly discontinue the solicitation if the person being solicited gives a negative response at any time.” A live operator or device must answer within five seconds of the start of the call.
Recorded messages are tightly limited. If a device answers, “the message provided shall include only the information required in subsection (b)(1) and (2), but shall not contain any unsolicited advertisement.” That’s stricter than the federal prerecorded-call rules, which allow advertising messages with prior express written consent. Subsection (c) bars withholding the solicitor’s number from caller ID.
How does Kansas handle Do Not Call?
Kansas uses the national Do Not Call Registry as its no-call list, and solicitors must scrub at least every 30 days.
K.S.A. 50-670a designates the national list as the Kansas no-call list and requires solicitors to consult it before calling and “not less frequently than every 30 days thereafter.” New registrations must be removed within 30 days. An established-business-relationship customer who asks to stop must be honored “for five years from the date of such request,” under 50-670(a)(3).
What does a violation cost?
Up to $10,000 per violation in an individual action, with fee-shifting, but class damages for these violations are limited.
A violation of either section is “an unconscionable act or practice under the Kansas consumer protection act.” Under K.S.A. 50-636(a), that renders the violator liable to “the aggrieved consumer” for a civil penalty “of not more than $10,000 for each violation.” The court may award fees to a prevailing consumer, and also to a supplier when the consumer brought “an action the consumer knew to be groundless,” per K.S.A. 50-634(e).
The class limit matters most. Subsection (b) of 50-634 allows damages or the civil penalty “but not in a class action.” Class damages under subsection (d) are limited to consumers who suffered loss from acts specifically proscribed in other sections, prior court judgments, or consent judgments. Plaintiffs seeking class relief over Kansas calls generally turn to the federal TCPA, where damages are $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, under the rules in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
What defenses does the act provide?
An error defense for companies with real procedures, usable once a year, and a business-number defense.
K.S.A. 50-670a(e) gives an affirmative defense if the solicitor proves “by clear and convincing evidence” that it had the updated list, had “established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to effectively prevent unsolicited consumer telephone calls,” trained its personnel and kept compliance records, and that the call “was the result of an error.” The catch: the defense “shall not be exercised by a telephone solicitor more than once within the state of Kansas in any 12-month period,” and asserting it in response to a consumer complaint counts.
That limit changes how to respond to complaints. A company that raises the error defense in a minor pre-suit complaint may lose it for a larger claim later in the year. The decision to assert it deserves a lawyer’s input.
Subsection (f) adds a defense when the consumer “affirmatively listed or held out to the public such consumer’s residential or mobile telephone number as a business number,” the solicitor relied on that, and the call was “directly related to the consumer’s business.”
| Kansas rule | Section | Individual exposure | Defense to develop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Identification and purpose at the start | 50-670(b)(1)-(3) | Civil penalty up to $10,000 per violation | Recordings and scripts |
| Stop after a negative response | 50-670(b)(4) | Same | Call recordings |
| Recorded message with no advertising | 50-670(b)(6) | Same | Exclusion: express request or written agreement |
| Calls to Do Not Call numbers | 50-670a(c) | Same | Error defense under 50-670a(e), once per 12 months |
| Calls to numbers held out as business lines | 50-670a(c) | Same | Business-number defense under 50-670a(f) |
Steps to take when a Kansas claim arrives
- Preserve call records and recordings, along with consent and written agreement records, for the Kansas numbers involved, under a litigation hold.
- Pull stop requests and internal do-not-call entries with dates, including requests from existing customers.
- Pull National Registry scrub records showing downloads at least every 30 days.
- Check whether the error defense has been asserted in Kansas in the last 12 months, and gather the training and procedures file.
- Have a lawyer review the claim before responding, and above all before asserting the error defense.
Because the error defense can be used only once a year, early strategy carries more weight in Kansas than in most states. More on defending Do Not Call lawsuits is available, and a recent post covers federal caller identification requirements.
Questions about the Kansas no-call act
Can Kansas consumers bring a class action under the no-call act?
Not for statutory penalties. K.S.A. 50-634(b) allows damages or a civil penalty “but not in a class action.” Class damages are available only in narrower circumstances under subsection (d), which require loss and a specific basis such as a prior judgment.
Can a prerecorded sales message be played to Kansas consumers?
Kansas limits device-answered messages to identifying the caller and the business, without “any unsolicited advertisement.” Calls made at the consumer’s express request or with their express written agreement aren’t unsolicited, so documented written agreement is the key protection.
Does the Kansas law cover cell phones?
Yes. The definition reaches calls to “the residence or mobile telephone number of a consumer.” The statute speaks of calls, not text messages, which gives defendants an argument that texts fall outside it.
Why does the once-a-year limit on the error defense matter?
Because asserting it in response to any Kansas consumer complaint uses it up for 12 months, whether or not a lawsuit follows. Companies with several complaints should decide which matter warrants the defense before raising it.
Defending Kansas no-call claims
If your company has received a Kansas no-call complaint or lawsuit, the timing of the error defense and the scope of the class limits usually drive the strategy. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims under state Do Not Call statutes. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
K.S.A. 50-670; K.S.A. 50-670a; K.S.A. 50-634; K.S.A. 50-636; 47 U.S.C. § 227; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of May 18, 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.