Ohio regulates telephone selling through registration, not through a do-not-call damages statute. Under Ohio Revised Code 4719.02, “No person shall act as a telephone solicitor without first having obtained a certificate of registration” from the Attorney General. Callers must also make disclosures within the first sixty seconds. The private right of action belongs to a “purchaser,” though, which narrows who can sue. A long list of exemptions takes many established businesses outside the chapter.
Who counts as a telephone solicitor in Ohio?
Anyone who makes telephone sales pitches to people in Ohio, from inside or outside the state, unless an exemption applies.
Section 4719.01 defines a “Telephone solicitor” as a person that engages in telephone solicitation “either from a location in this state, or from a location outside this state to persons in this state.” A “Telephone solicitation” is a communication initiated by or for a telephone solicitor that “either represents a price or the quality or availability of goods or services or is used to induce the person to purchase goods or services.”
The definition of “communication” reaches beyond outbound calls. It includes a written or electronic advertisement that is followed by a sales call, or that invites a call during which a salesperson tries to close a sale. The same section says that “invites a response by telephone” excludes “the mere listing or inclusion of a telephone number in a notification or advertisement.” An ad with a phone number isn’t enough by itself. An ad built to drive inbound sales calls can be.
Which businesses are exempt?
Many, and checking the list is the first step in any Ohio claim.
Section 4719.01(B) exempts, among others, one-time or infrequent transactions, religious and political callers, sellers that close the sale at a later face-to-face meeting, certain publicly traded issuers and their subsidiaries, supervised financial institutions, licensed insurers and insurance agents acting within their licenses, and cable operators. It also exempts some business-to-business sellers, such as one that, per the statute, “has been operating continuously for at least three years under the same business name” with at least 51 percent of its sales volume coming from repeat sales to existing customers.
Each exemption has conditions, and the face-to-face exemption is lost if someone else collects payment after the call. Still, an Ohio claim against a bank, an insurer, or a listed company’s subsidiary often ends at the exemption.
What must a caller say in the first sixty seconds?
The caller’s true name, the company, that the call is a sales call, and what’s being sold.
Section 4719.06(A) requires that “Within the first sixty seconds of a telephone call, and before requesting any financial information or conveying to the consumer any substantive information about a prize, product, or service,” the caller must “State the solicitor’s or salesperson’s true name and the company on whose behalf the solicitation is being made.” The caller must also state that the call’s purpose “is to effect a sale” and identify the goods or services.
If a sale closes on the call, section 4719.06(B) adds disclosures before payment, including the solicitor’s street address and phone number, total cost, material restrictions, and refund policy. And section 4719.08 bars a solicitor from intentionally blocking “the disclosure of the telephone number from which a telephone solicitation is made.”
Who can sue, and for what?
A purchaser injured by a violation. That’s the most important limit in the chapter.
Under section 4719.15, “A purchaser injured by a violation” may sue the solicitor or salesperson for damages and an injunction. If the court awards damages, it “shall award damages in an amount that is not less than the amount that the purchaser paid” and must order reasonable attorney’s fees and costs. The same section allows punitive damages on a showing that the defendant “knowingly committed an act or practice that violated” the chapter.
The statute defines a “Purchaser” in section 4719.01 as “a person that is solicited to become or does become financially obligated as a result of a telephone solicitation.” Damages keyed to the amount paid also mean a person who bought nothing has little to recover under this section. Defendants should press both points early.
Separately, section 4719.14 makes violations of the registration, disclosure, and misrepresentation provisions “an unfair or deceptive act or practice” under Ohio’s Consumer Sales Practices Act. Plaintiffs plead that statute alongside federal TCPA counts, so an Ohio complaint often carries both.
| Ohio requirement | Section | Common failure | First defense question |
|---|---|---|---|
| Register with the Attorney General | 4719.02 | Out-of-state seller never registered | Does an exemption in 4719.01(B) apply? |
| Disclosures in first sixty seconds | 4719.06(A) | Pitch begins before the seller and purpose are named | Was the call a telephone solicitation at all? |
| Pre-payment disclosures on closed sales | 4719.06(B) | Refund terms not disclosed | Was a sale completed on the call? |
| No blocking of caller ID | 4719.08 | Blocked or withheld number | Was the blocking intentional? |
| Private suit | 4719.15 | Damages claimed by a non-buyer | Is the plaintiff a “purchaser”? |
How does Ohio’s chapter fit with federal claims?
As an add-on. Chapter 4719 doesn’t set per-call statutory damages the way North Dakota’s law does, so federal Do Not Call and prerecorded-call claims under the TCPA usually lead under the federal rules in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, carrying $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing.
The Ohio counts change settlement math mainly through fee shifting and the Consumer Sales Practices Act link. A registration lapse is easy to prove, so sellers with Ohio volume should confirm registration or document the exemption before a claim arrives.
Steps to take when an Ohio claim arrives
- Preserve call and text logs, dialer data, and consent records for the Ohio numbers involved, under a litigation hold.
- Pull opt-out and internal do-not-call logs for those numbers, with dates.
- Pull the National Do Not Call Registry scrub records and version dates.
- Collect the Ohio registration certificate or the exemption analysis, scripts, and vendor contracts.
- Have a lawyer review the claim before responding to a demand, contacting the claimant, or offering anything.
Ohio claims tend to turn on exemption and standing. More on defending telemarketing and Do Not Call claims is available, and a recent post covers North Dakota’s solicitation law for comparison.
Questions about Ohio telemarketing law
Does Ohio’s act apply to a company outside Ohio?
Yes, if it solicits people in Ohio. Section 4719.01 covers solicitors calling “from a location outside this state to persons in this state.” A California seller with Ohio customers should check whether it must register or qualifies for an exemption, and keep that analysis on file.
Can someone who bought nothing sue under section 4719.15?
Section 4719.15 gives the right of action to “A purchaser injured by a violation,” and defines a purchaser by reference to becoming financially obligated, or being solicited to. Plaintiffs will argue that being solicited is enough. Since damages start from the amount paid, a non-buyer’s claim under this section is usually weak, though fees and injunctions remain in play.
Does Ohio’s act cover text messages?
The definition of “communication” includes notifications sent by “telephonic, or electronic means,” so plaintiffs argue texts fit. Whether a particular text is a “telephone solicitation” depends on whether it represents a price or availability or is used to induce a purchase. Marketing texts should be assessed under the chapter like calls.
Are insurance agents covered?
Licensed insurers and agents are exempt when soliciting within the scope of their licenses, under section 4719.01(B)(10). Federal TCPA rules still apply to their calls and texts.
Defending Ohio telemarketing claims
If your company has been sued or received a demand under Ohio’s telephone solicitation chapter, the exemptions and the purchaser requirement often decide the claim. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims under state telephone solicitation statutes. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
Ohio Revised Code 4719.01, 4719.02, 4719.06, 4719.08, 4719.14, 4719.15; 47 U.S.C. § 227.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of May 8, 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.