Vermont makes the federal Do Not Call rules part of its own law. Under 9 V.S.A. § 2464a, a call to a Vermont number that breaks the FTC or FCC Do Not Call rule also violates the state statute, and each call counts separately. The same section requires most telemarketers to register with the Secretary of State and to send caller ID. A business with an established relationship, a customer request, or solid compliance procedures has real defenses, and the statute itself tells courts to weigh those procedures.
Who does Vermont’s telemarketing law cover?
Telephone solicitors calling customers in Vermont, with several exclusions. The definitions in 9 V.S.A. § 2464a(a) define a “Telephone solicitor” as “any person placing telephone solicitations, or hiring others, on an hourly, commission, or independent contractor basis to conduct telephone solicitations.” A customer is someone “residing or located in Vermont.”
A telephone solicitation, under the same section, covers calls encouraging a customer to buy or lease, or to “otherwise agree to pay consideration for money, goods, or services.” It also covers calls seeking contributions to an organization that isn’t tax-exempt. Four kinds of calls are excluded. The first two are calls “made in response to a request or inquiry by the called customer” and calls by or for a tax-exempt or Vermont nonprofit organization, including one applying for that status. The other two, under the same definition, are calls by a person “not regularly engaged” in solicitation and calls “made to a person with whom the telephone solicitor has an established business relationship.”
Those exclusions are where many Vermont defenses start. A call to an existing customer, or a callback after a web inquiry, may fall outside the definition. The statute speaks of telephone calls and doesn’t mention text messages, so a business facing a text-based claim under the state law should look closely at how the complaint reads the word “telephone.”
Does a business have to register before calling Vermont?
Most telemarketers do. Under § 2464a(b)(1), “No telemarketer shall make a telephone solicitation to a telephone number in Vermont without having first registered in accordance with section 2464b of this title.” Section 2464b says every telemarketer “shall register with the Secretary of State” and that the Secretary “shall require that each telemarketer designate an agent” for service in Vermont actions.
The registration duty falls on the business that hires the callers. If a company uses callers on an hourly, commission, or contractor basis, § 2464b says “only the person who causes others to conduct telephone solicitations need register.” That matters for a seller using an outside call center, since the seller may be the party that needs to file.
Some businesses aren’t “telemarketers” at all. The definition excludes a solicitor “otherwise registered or licensed with, or regulated or chartered by,” the Secretary of State, the Public Utility Commission, the Department of Financial Regulation, or the Department of Taxes. It also excludes financial institutions subject to federal financial privacy regulations. A licensed insurance agency or a state-chartered lender should check whether that exclusion applies before assuming it must register. The definition also says solicitors registered only with the Department of Taxes must still give the Secretary of State an address and agent.
Skipping registration carries a criminal penalty. Section 2464a(d) provides that a telemarketer who solicits without registering “shall be imprisoned for not more than 18 months or fined not more than $10,000.00, or both.” There’s an affirmative defense for a telemarketer “with five or fewer employees” that “did not know and did not consciously avoid knowing” about the registration requirement.
How does Vermont use the federal Do Not Call rules?
It adopts them as state law. Section 2464a(b)(2) says “No person shall make any telephone call to a telephone number in Vermont that violates” the FTC’s Do Not Call Rule at 16 C.F.R. 310.4(b)(1)(iii) or the FCC’s rule at 47 C.F.R. 64.1200(c)(2) and (d), as those rules are amended.
That language does two things. It brings in the national Registry rule, which under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(2) bars telephone solicitations to residential subscribers who’ve listed their numbers. It also brings in the internal do-not-call procedures in paragraph (d), such as a written policy and honoring requests not to be called. A federal violation that would support a claim under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) can also support a Vermont claim.
The prohibition reaches “any person,” not just registered telemarketers. A business exempt from registration because it’s licensed by a state agency still has to follow the incorporated federal rules when calling Vermont numbers. And because the statute says “as amended from time to time,” a change to the federal rules changes the Vermont standard with it.
The federal defenses come along. The FCC’s rule has its own exceptions, including the safe harbor for a signed, written agreement, covered in the post on prior express invitation or permission. If a call didn’t violate the federal rule, it can’t violate this part of the Vermont statute.
What caller ID does Vermont require?
The caller’s number, and its name if the carrier makes it available. Under § 2464a(b)(3), a person placing a telephone solicitation “shall transmit or cause to be transmitted to a caller identification service in use by the recipient of the call” the caller’s telephone number and, “if made available by the caller’s carrier, the caller’s name.”
A vendor may show the seller’s identity instead. The statute lets a caller “substitute for its own name and number the name and the number, which is answered during regular business hours, of the person on whose behalf the caller places the call.” The number has to be one that’s answered during business hours, so a number nobody answers won’t qualify. A business that rotates caller ID numbers across campaigns should check that every number displayed meets that test.
What exposure does a business face in Vermont?
Two paths, each with conditions. Under § 2464a(c), a violation “shall constitute a violation of section 2453 of this title,” Vermont’s consumer protection statute, and “Each prohibited telephone call shall constitute a separate violation.”
Consumers also have their own claim. Section 2464c lets “Any person who receives a telephone call in violation of subsection 2464a(b)” sue in Superior Court. The same section allows “punitive damages in the case of a willful violation” and “reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.” The court “may issue an award for the person’s actual damages or $500.00 for a first violation, or $1,000.00 for each subsequent violation, whichever is greater.”
The award is discretionary, since the statute says the court “may” issue it. The private claim also covers only violations of subsection (b): the registration duty and the incorporated Do Not Call rules, plus the caller ID requirement. A Vermont claim usually runs alongside a federal one, which is why TCPA defense lawyers look at both statutes together and test whether the same call is being counted twice.
| Vermont rule | Statute | Exposure and its conditions | Defense to look for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registration with the Secretary of State | § 2464a(b)(1), § 2464b | Private claim; criminal penalty for unregistered solicitation | Licensed-entity exclusion, small-business defense to the criminal charge |
| Federal Do Not Call rules as state law | § 2464a(b)(2) | Private claim; court may weigh compliance procedures | Federal exceptions, written agreement, business relationship |
| Caller ID transmission | § 2464a(b)(3) | Private claim | Caller ID logs, substitution of the seller’s answered number |
| 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, procedures |
Do compliance procedures help a Vermont defendant?
Yes, and the statute says so twice. For civil penalties under subdivision (b)(2), § 2464a(c) lets the court consider “the extent to which a telephone solicitor maintained and complied with procedures designed to ensure compliance with the rules of the Federal Communications Commission and the Federal Trade Commission.” Section 2464c uses similar language for punitive damages.
That’s a strong reason to keep the paperwork current. A written internal do-not-call policy with documented training, and a Registry scrub before each campaign, are the procedures the statute is pointing to. The post on internal do-not-call policies covers what the federal rule expects. Other states take different approaches, as the posts on Alabama’s and Tennessee’s Do Not Call laws show, so a multistate program should map each state separately.
Records to pull when a Vermont call claim arrives
- Preserve the call logs, dialer and platform data, and consent or inquiry records for the Vermont numbers, under a litigation hold.
- Pull the internal do-not-call list and opt-out logs with dates, along with the written policy and training records.
- Pull the National Do Not Call Registry scrub records and the Registry version used for each campaign that reached Vermont.
- Collect vendor and call-center contracts, scripts, caller ID settings, and any prerecorded or AI-voice files, plus the Secretary of State registration if one exists.
- Talk to a lawyer before answering the demand, calling the consumer back, or offering a settlement.
Questions about Vermont’s telemarketing law
Does registering with the Secretary of State end a business’s exposure?
No. Registration satisfies subdivision (b)(1), but the Do Not Call and caller ID rules in (b)(2) and (b)(3) apply separately, and the Do Not Call rule applies to “any person.” A registered telemarketer that calls a Registry number without an exception can still face a claim. Registration does remove the criminal penalty in subsection (d), which applies only to solicitations made without registering.
Does Vermont’s law cover calls to existing customers?
Usually not for the definition of a telephone solicitation. The statute excludes calls to a person with whom the solicitor “has an established business relationship.” The incorporated federal rules have their own business relationship limits. The Vermont statute doesn’t define the term. A business relying on the exclusion should keep records of the purchase or inquiry that created the relationship and when it happened.
Can a Vermont consumer recover both state and federal damages for one call?
The statute doesn’t bar it. Section 2464c says it “shall not limit any other claims the person may have under applicable law.” Both claims still require proof of their own elements, and both depend on a violation of the federal rules for the Do Not Call theory. Defeating the federal violation often defeats both claims at once.
Who has to register when an outside call center makes the calls?
Under § 2464b, when a telemarketer hires others to make solicitations, “only the person who causes others to conduct telephone solicitations need register.” That points to the business directing the campaign. Vendor contracts should say who handles Vermont registration and caller ID, and should require the vendor to report Vermont complaints.
Defending a Vermont telemarketing claim
If your company has been accused of calling Vermont numbers in violation of the Do Not Call rules, the scrub records and the compliance procedures in place at the time usually shape both liability and any penalty. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving state Do Not Call and caller ID rules. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
The Vermont statutes are 9 V.S.A. § 2464a, 9 V.S.A. § 2464b, and 9 V.S.A. § 2464c.
The federal statute is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at 47 U.S.C. § 227. 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 23, 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.