Maryland's Stop the Spam Calls Act establishes rules for businesses that contact residents through telephone solicitations. The legislation restricts certain automated calls, limits calling frequency, regulates caller identification, and provides potential legal remedies for violations.
The law took effect January 1, 2024. Additional legislation enacted in April 2024 clarified consumers' ability to pursue damages.
Unwanted telephone solicitations are more than an inconvenience. They can expose consumers to misleading sales pitches, repeated interruptions, and attempts to collect personal information.
Maryland lawmakers responded by creating rules that go beyond several federal telemarketing requirements.
How the Stop the Spam Calls Act works
The legislation appears in Maryland Commercial Law §§ 14-4501 through 14-4503.
Its restrictions apply to covered telephone solicitations, which generally involve organized calling campaigns intended to promote sales, offers, or certain other commercial activities.
One important provision concerns automated dialing technology.
Under § 14-4502, covered telephone solicitations involving an automated system for selecting or dialing telephone numbers generally require prior express written consent.
The same consent requirement applies when a recorded message plays after the call connects.
Written consent must satisfy the statutory conditions. A consumer's phone number appearing in a company's database does not necessarily establish permission.
Calling hours and frequency restrictions
Maryland prohibits covered telephone solicitations between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. in the recipient's time zone.
This restriction applies regardless of whether a person or automated technology places the call.
The law also limits how frequently businesses may contact the same consumer about one subject.
More than three covered calls within 24 hours about the same matter can violate the statute, even when different originating numbers are used.
For example, a company that contacts a resident four times in one day about the same service may face questions about compliance.
The precise circumstances, including applicable exemptions, remain important.
Did you know? Maryland regulates misleading caller identification
The law also addresses how telephone solicitors identify themselves.
Covered callers generally must transmit their originating telephone number. They must also transmit their name when that information is available through the calling carrier.
Deliberately displaying another number to conceal the caller's true identity is prohibited.
The statute permits certain legitimate substitutions, including displaying the seller's customer service number.
This distinction helps separate ordinary business calling practices from deceptive attempts to hide a caller's identity.
Maryland also restricts intentionally altered voices used to conceal identity for fraudulent or otherwise prohibited purposes.
Legal remedies for violations
The 2024 amendment created an express damages provision for aggrieved consumers.
Under § 14-4503, qualifying plaintiffs may seek damages of up to $500 or actual damages, whichever is greater.
Courts may award up to three times the applicable amount for willful or knowing violations.
However, the statute does not expressly establish a fixed $500 payment for every call.
Consumers should avoid assuming that every unwanted call creates an identical financial claim.
Common questions around Maryland's Stop the Spam Calls Act
Does the law cover every business telephone call?
No. The statute includes exemptions for certain communications, such as qualifying noncommercial calls and specified existing business relationships.
Can companies call after 8 p.m.?
Covered telephone solicitations generally cannot occur between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
Are prerecorded sales messages restricted?
Yes. Covered solicitations involving prerecorded messages generally require prior express written consent.
Can consumers sue for violations?
The statute permits qualifying aggrieved consumers to pursue legal action, subject to the applicable requirements.
