Compliance Basics for Calling and Texting

Why this matters

US consumer protection laws on calls and texts carry penalties of hundreds of dollars per call or text, and more if the violation is deliberate. A single caller making a few hundred non-compliant calls can create a lawsuit worth more than a client's whole year of business. Some people actively look for violations so they can sue.

Compliance is not the legal team's job alone. The person dialling is where compliance actually happens.

The Narqix compliance rules at a glance

1. Call and text only lists your campaign has scrubbed and approved.
2. Call only inside the permitted hours in the recipient's local time.
3. Say who you are and who you represent at the start of every call.
4. Give the recording disclosure on every call.
5. Honour every stop request immediately, in any wording, and code it as do-not-call.
6. No more than 3 attempts per person per 24 hours, across all numbers and channels, unless your campaign sets a lower limit.
7. Prerecorded voicemail drops and first-touch cold texts only to approved, scrubbed lists, in the client's approved wording. No AI voices without verified written consent.
8. Only the client's approved numbers and systems. No personal phones, no fake caller ID.
9. Never lie about who you are, who you represent or why you are calling. Answer location questions with the client's approved wording and never mention your own country.
10. Escalate legal threats, regulator mentions and "lawsuit" language the same shift.

1. Consent

• Calls or texts to mobile phones made with automated dialling systems, or with AI or other artificial voices, need the person's prior express consent. For marketing, that consent must be written.
• Prerecorded voicemail drops and first-touch texts to cold lists are allowed on lists your campaign has scrubbed and approved, using the client's approved wording.
• AI-generated and cloned voices count as artificial voices.
• Consent must be real and provable: who gave it, when, how and for what. Your client keeps these records.
• If you are unsure whether a contact has given consent or is on an approved cold list, do not text or use an automated method. Ask your Campaign Lead.

2. Do-not-call (DNC)

There are three kinds of do-not-call list. Your campaign's lists are checked ("scrubbed") against all of them before you dial.

List	What it is	What it means for you
National Do Not Call Registry	Numbers whose owners do not want sales calls	Lists are scrubbed against it at least every 31 days and before each campaign
State do-not-call lists	Some states keep their own lists	Scrubbed where they exist
Internal do-not-call list	Everyone who has asked your client to stop contacting them	You add to this list every time someone asks to stop

How fast to honour a stop request: US rules give companies a short legal window (currently up to 10 business days). The Narqix rule is immediately, on the same call or text, before you move to the next contact.

What counts as a stop request: any reasonable way of saying it. On texts, replies like STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL and UNSUBSCRIBE always count. On calls and in free text, these also count:

• "Don't call me again." / "Take me off your list." / "Remove my number."
• "Stop texting me." / "Leave me alone." / "I'm not interested, don't call back."
• "Wrong number" (suppress the number for this person)
• Any of the above in any language

3. Calling hours

Federal law allows telemarketing calls only between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM in the recipient's local time. Several states are stricter.

State	Permitted window (local time)	Extra limits
Federal default	8 AM to 9 PM	None beyond federal rules
Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, Washington	8 AM to 8 PM	Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland: no more than 3 calls per 24 hours on the same subject
Texas	9 AM to 9 PM Monday to Saturday; noon to 9 PM Sunday	Texts count as telephone solicitations
Connecticut	9 AM to 8 PM	Identify yourself quickly
Rhode Island	9 AM to 6 PM weekdays; limited Saturday hours	No Sundays or holidays
Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Utah	Restricted hours	No Sunday or holiday sales calls

Narqix default window: 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM recipient local time, Monday to Saturday, no Sundays and no US federal holidays, unless your client's compliance team sets a different window. This meets almost every state's rules. Some states (like Rhode Island) need additional limits, which your dialer settings and Campaign Lead will apply.

Which "local time"? Area codes travel with people. A number with a Florida area code may belong to someone now living in California. Call only when the time is permitted in both the area code's time zone and the property or mailing address time zone.

4. Recording disclosure

Several US states require all parties to agree before a call is recorded. These include California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington. When the two people are in different states, the stricter rule applies.

Narqix rule: give the recording disclosure on every call, in every state, early in the call, exactly as your script says:

"Just so you know, this call may be recorded for quality."

If the person objects to recording, follow your campaign's instructions (usually: offer to stop the recording if the system allows, or politely end the call and note it).

5. Honest identity

• State your name and the company you represent at the start of the call. Some states require this within the first 10 to 30 seconds.
• Use your real first name, or a work name only if Narqix and the client have approved it and it is used consistently. Never pretend to be a specific real person, the business owner, or a licensed professional you are not.
• Never mention your own country. If asked where you are calling from, answer with the client's company and the client's market or office, following the client's approved wording, for example: "I'm with (COMPANY NAME). We work with homeowners all over (MARKET)."
• Never use caller ID that is false or misleading. Dial only through the client's approved system and numbers.
• Never send texts from personal phones, personal SIM cards or personal messaging apps.

6. Texting basics

• Text only contacts your campaign has approved for texting (people who gave consent, agreed on a live call to be texted, or are on an approved cold list for first-touch texts).
• Your first text identifies the business.
• Include opt-out language as your campaign's template requires (for example, "Reply STOP to opt out").
• No texts outside the permitted hours in the recipient's local time.
• Watch every reply for opt-outs written in normal words, not just keywords.
• After an opt-out, at most one short confirmation message, if your campaign uses one. Then nothing more.

7. Voicemails

• Live voicemails (you speaking) are allowed within calling hours and campaign rules.
• Prerecorded voicemail drops are allowed within calling hours and campaign rules, using only the client's approved recording and approved lists. Each drop names the company, gives a callback number and offers a simple way to opt out.
• AI voices and voice clones require prior express consent (written for marketing). Narqix does not use them without verified consent.
• Never leave sensitive information on a voicemail. See Voicemail Basics in the Script Library.

8. Red flags: escalate the same shift

Escalate to your Campaign Lead and code the contact as directed if you hear:

• "Are you recording this?" followed by questions about your company's legal name or address
• "Send me your do-not-call policy."
• "I'm on the Do Not Call list." / "This is illegal."
• "My lawyer will be in touch." / "I'm going to sue."
• Mentions of a regulator, attorney general or complaint

Stay calm and polite. Do not argue, admit fault or explain the law. Say: "I understand. I will make sure your number is not contacted again and I will pass your concern to my manager." Then end the call, code it, and escalate.

Compliance checklist before every calling block

• The list I am dialling is approved and scrubbed (scrub date confirmed)
• I know the current local time in each zone I will call, and each zone's cut-off
• Today is not a Sunday or a US federal holiday for restricted states
• My script includes my name, the company name and the recording disclosure
• I know how to code a DNC in under 10 seconds
• Attempt limits are set (3 per 24 hours or stricter)
• I am using only the client's approved number and system

Check yourself (100% required)

1. A homeowner says, "Please just stop calling." What do you say, and when do you code the DNC?
2. It is 8:30 PM in Miami, Florida. Can you call a Florida number?
3. What is the Narqix default calling window?
4. When do you give the recording disclosure?
5. A customer asks, "Are you in America?" You are in Dhaka. What do you do?

Answers

1. "Understood. I will remove your number right now. Sorry to bother you, have a good day." Code it DNC immediately, before your next dial.
2. No. Florida's window ends at 8:00 PM local time.
3. 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM recipient local time, Monday to Saturday, no Sundays or US federal holidays, unless the client's compliance team sets a stricter or different rule.
4. On every call, early in the call, as scripted.
5. Answer with the client's company and market, using the client's approved wording, for example: "I'm with (COMPANY NAME). We work with homeowners all over (MARKET)." Never mention your own country.

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