North Carolina Telephone Solicitation Law: Escalating Damages
$500 for the first violation, $1,000 for the second, and $5,000 for the third and later ones within two years. That’s the private damages ladder in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-105 for telephone solicitations that break North Carolina’s rules. The law covers texts, folds in most of the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, and restricts recorded-message calls. It also contains a mistake defense that rewards companies with working do-not-call procedures, which is often where these claims are won.
What does North Carolina’s law cover?
Voice calls and texts made to sell, to gather sales information, to run contests, or to raise money, to North Carolina subscribers.
Under § 75-101, a “Telephone solicitation” is “A voice or text communication, whether prerecorded, live, or a facsimile, over a telephone line or wireless telephone network” made for the purpose of encouraging a purchase, rental, or investment, among other purposes. It “also includes those transactions that are defined as ‘telemarketing’ under the Telemarketing Sales Rule.”
The law reaches out-of-state callers. “Doing business in this State” means making telephone solicitations “to North Carolina telephone subscribers, whether the telephone solicitations are made from a location inside North Carolina or outside North Carolina,” per the definitions section.
What are the main calling rules?
Do Not Call compliance, honoring opt-outs, identification, calling hours, and TSR compliance.
Section 75-102 bars a solicitation to a number that “appears in the latest edition of the ‘Do Not Call’ Registry,” and to a subscriber who “previously has communicated to the telephone solicitor a desire to receive no further telephone solicitations.” The caller must “state clearly the identity of the telephone solicitor and identify the individual making the telephone solicitation” at the beginning of the call, and must not call “before 8:00 A.M. or after 9:00 P.M.”
Two provisions are broader than most state laws. Subsection (e) of § 75-102 makes a violation of TSR sections 310.3, 310.4, and 310.5 a violation of North Carolina law, which brings the FTC’s disclosure and recordkeeping rules into a privately enforceable statute. And subsection (g) requires callers to ask whether the subscriber is under 18 and to end the call if so, with limited exceptions.
The established business relationship definition tracks federal timing: purchases or transactions within 18 months, or inquiries within three months, under § 75-101. Express permission must be on “an independent form” with the phone number and the subscriber’s signature, which may be electronic.
When can a business use recorded-message calls?
Only within listed exceptions, and never for telephone solicitations without a live operator first.
Section 75-104 provides that “no person may use an automatic dialing and recorded message player to make an unsolicited telephone call,” then lists exceptions. They include calls about an existing debt or contract, appointment calls, utility outage notices, and certain health insurer calls, where “No part of the call is used to make a telephone solicitation” and the caller identifies itself. A recorded sales message is allowed only if a live operator first gets the person’s approval to play it.
The state definition of the equipment is broad. An “Automatic dialing and recorded message player” is equipment with “a storage capability of telephone numbers to be called or a random or a sequential number generator” that disseminates a prerecorded message, under § 75-101. The federal autodialer limits from Facebook v. Duguid don’t narrow it, because the state statute uses its own words.
What does a violation cost, and what defenses exist?
Escalating per-violation amounts, with a complete bar for good-faith mistakes by compliant callers.
A subscriber who receives a solicitation in violation of the article may sue for an injunction or “to recover five hundred dollars ($500.00) for the first violation, one thousand dollars ($1,000) for the second violation, and five thousand dollars ($5,000) for the third and any other violation that occurs within two years of the first violation,” under § 75-105(b). Fees go to a prevailing plaintiff only if the court finds the defendant “willfully engaged in the act or practice.”
The defense that matters most is in § 75-105(c): “No action may be brought under subsection (b) of this section if the violations are a result of mistake” and the solicitor either relied on a listed exemption or “can show that the telephone solicitor complied with G.S. 75-102(d).” Section 75-102(d) is the procedures requirement: written systems to prevent calls to opted-out and registered numbers, training and monitoring, and maintained suppression lists. A company that can document those procedures can defeat a private claim over an isolated error.
The same section also lets a North Carolina citizen bring federal TCPA claims under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3) and (c)(5) in state court, and requires subscriber suits to be tried where the plaintiff lives. Federal exposure is $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, under the TCPA.
| Claim | Statute | Private exposure | Defense to test first |
|---|---|---|---|
| Call to a number on the Do Not Call Registry | 75-102(a) | $500, $1,000, then $5,000 per violation | Mistake defense with 75-102(d) procedures |
| Call after an opt-out request | 75-102(b) | Same ladder | Timing of the request and the 30-business-day removal window |
| Missing identification at call start | 75-102(c) | Same ladder | Call recording |
| Recorded-message call | 75-104 | Same ladder | Listed exception, no solicitation content |
| TSR violation | 75-102(e) | Same ladder | Whether the TSR provision applies to the call |
Steps to take after a North Carolina claim
- Preserve call and text logs, dialer data, and consent forms for the North Carolina numbers involved, under a litigation hold.
- Pull opt-out and internal do-not-call logs with dates.
- Pull National Do Not Call Registry scrub records and version dates.
- Collect the written do-not-call procedures, training records, scripts, recorded message files, and vendor contracts that support a 75-102(d) defense.
- Have a lawyer review the claim before answering a demand, contacting the subscriber, or offering anything.
Because the mistake defense depends on written procedures, those records should be gathered first. Businesses can find more on how telemarketing and Do Not Call claims are defended, and a recent post covers Ohio’s telephone solicitation chapter.
Questions about North Carolina’s solicitation law
Does North Carolina’s law apply to text messages?
Yes. The statute defines a telephone solicitation as “A voice or text communication,” so the debate over whether a text is a “call” under federal law doesn’t carry over. Marketing texts to North Carolina numbers should be scrubbed and timed like voice calls.
How quickly must an opt-out be honored?
Section 75-102(c)(3) gives the solicitor 30 business days to remove the subscriber and stop calling, or 60 business days in the affiliate situation in subsection (c)(5). Federal rules for texts and calls may require faster action, so the stricter standard should drive the system.
What counts as written permission?
Under § 75-101, an invitation or permission “registered by the telephone subscriber on an independent form,” with the number to be called and the subscriber’s signature, which can be electronic. Consent buried in general terms is a weaker fit than a standalone form.
Can a company avoid liability for a one-time mistake?
Often. Section 75-105(c) bars a private action when the violation results from mistake and the company complied with the written-procedures requirement in 75-102(d). Documented procedures, training logs, and suppression records are what prove it.
Defending North Carolina solicitation claims
If your company has been sued or received a demand under North Carolina’s telephone solicitation law, the written procedures and scrub records usually decide whether the mistake defense applies. 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
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-101, § 75-102, § 75-104, § 75-105; 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 9, 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.