On March 3, 2025, a petition for declaratory ruling regarding the Quiet Hour Claims was filed with the Federal Communications Commission by the Ecommerce Innovation Alliance. The Petition asks the Commission to reaffirm that the ‘Quiet Hours’ provision, prohibiting telephone solicitations between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m., is inapplicable if prior consent has been granted. The FCC has received many such petitions over the years and has decided some, while others remain pending or were withdrawn without resolution.
In this blog post, we will discuss TCPA Quiet Hours, why they matter, and why businesses are increasingly being sued for violating them, especially through text messages.
Explore More: What Is the National Do Not Call Registry and How It Limits Outreach Call
What Are TCPA Quiet Hours?
TCPA Quiet Hours regulation comes under 47 C.F.R. § 64.12000. The requirements for quiet hours state that a telephone solicitation, as defined by the regulations, cannot be made before 8 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m., period.
According to TCPA quiet hours, you cannot text your prospect before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in their local time zone. So, at the time of opt in, if somebody lives in New York and then moved to California and you text them at what you thought would have been 9:00 a.m., they get the text message at 6:00 a.m. That can set you up for significant fines.
Timing is crucial. Marketing agencies usually text or call at or near 11:00 a.m. or in the afternoon when people are scrolling on their phone and they’re going to get that text message. So, your timing is crucial.
Do TCPA Quiet Hours Apply When You Have Consent or an Existing Business Relationship?
Quiet hours are not expressly written into the TCPA statute itself. Instead, TCPA section 227(c) gave the FCC authority to put regulations in place, and the quiet hour regulations were adopted under that authority. The statute provided the FCC the ability to create rules that prevent residential subscribers from receiving telephone solicitations that are annoying to them, and the Do Not Call list is also part of these same rules.
Telephone solicitation is defined under the rules and regulations and excludes calls or texts to people who have given prior express permission or who have an established business relationship. The defense view is that quiet hours apply only if the communication qualifies as a telephone solicitation. If there is prior express permission or an established business relationship, then the quiet hours provision technically should not apply.
From the plaintiffs’ perspective, these cases have not been heavily litigated yet. Many violations have been brought, and then settled, and there is no established case law interpreting telephone solicitation specifically in the quiet-hours context. The argument being raised is that prior express permission is limited consent, meaning consumers did not give permission to be contacted outside the permitted hours.
Quiet hour regulations have existed for many years and were part of the original regulations under section 227(c). The recent surge in litigation began in 2025, with hundreds of cases filed. Plaintiffs argue that even where companies believed they were compliant due to consent or an established business relationship, the consent was limited and did not extend to communications outside the permitted hours.
Why TCPA Quiet Hours Compliance Is So Challenging
Compliance has become particularly challenging because quiet hours are based on the recipient’s local time. Businesses must respect the consumer’s time zone, not their own.
Determining a consumer’s local time can be difficult due to travel, number portability, and the limitations of using area codes or geolocation data. A consumer may receive a text before 8 a.m. local time while traveling, even though the sender believes it was compliant.
Regulatory Uncertainty and FCC Petitions
Businesses are struggling to determine how to mitigate risk and comply. As a result, petitions have been filed with the FCC requesting clarification on whether quiet hours apply only to telephone solicitations and how a recipient’s local time should be determined.
The FCC received such a petition in March, put it out for public comment, and has not yet issued an opinion.
Because quiet hours are regulatory and not explicitly stated in the statute, the issue is considered ripe for reevaluation following recent Supreme Court decisions encouraging courts to look directly at statutory language (actual text of that law) rather than blindly following regulations if the law does not clearly support them. Under the statute, express consent is not written as limited consent, which further complicates the issue.
From the defense perspective, if a communication does not meet the definition of a telephone solicitation due to consent or an established business relationship, quiet hours should not apply. As a best practice, however, businesses are advised not to send marketing messages late at night or early in the morning, even if consent exists.
State Laws and Additional Complexity
Many states have their own telemarketing regulations, and most include quiet hour provisions. While many use the same hours as the TCPA, some states, such as Texas and Florida, impose different restrictions.
Some states regulate weekend hours or prohibit marketing messages on federal holidays. Canada also regulates different hours, including weekends. This variation requires businesses to be vigilant and often necessitates a state-by-state analysis.
National companies face ongoing challenges balancing federal and state compliance while running nationwide campaigns. Determining whether to apply the most restrictive rule universally or comply state by state remains a difficult strategic decision that creates tension between legal compliance and business growth objectives.
Enforcement Reality and Public Awareness
Each illegal marketing text can be worth money for the person who received it. Under TCPA, a consumer may claim $500 per illegal text. And that amount can increase to up to $1,500 per text if the violation is considered serious or willful.
Because of this, plaintiffs’ lawyers actively look for these violations. Messages that say “DM us,” “call us,” or “contact us” are often used as examples of marketing texts that can trigger legal claims.
Public awareness is growing. Viral social media posts encourage people to sue businesses over these texts, telling consumers they are entitled to compensation and that lawyers will only get paid if the consumer wins.
People are very willing to sue, especially when there is financial incentive. Even if a business didn’t intend to do harm, violations can still lead to lawsuits.
FAQs about TCPA Quiet Hours
1: What are TCPA Quiet Hours?
According to TCPA quiet hours, you cannot text your prospect before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in their local time zone. So, at the time of opt in, if somebody lives in New York and then moved to California and you text them at what you thought would have been 9:00 a.m., they get the text message at 6:00 a.m. That can set you up for significant fines.
2: Do TCPA Quiet Hours apply to text messages as well as calls?
Yes, TCPA Quiet Hours apply to text messages as well as calls.
3: Do TCPA Quiet Hours still apply if a person has given consent or has an existing business relationship?
From the defense perspective, if a communication does not meet the definition of a telephone solicitation due to consent or an established business relationship, quiet hours should not apply. As a best practice, however, businesses are advised not to send marketing messages late at night or early in the morning, even if consent exists.
4: Why is TCPA Quiet Hours compliance so difficult for businesses?
Compliance has become particularly challenging because quiet hours are based on the recipient’s local time. Businesses must respect the consumer’s time zone, not their own. Determining a consumer’s local time can be difficult due to travel, number portability, and the limitations of using area codes or geolocation data. A consumer may receive a text before 8 a.m. local time while traveling, even though the sender believes it was compliant.
5: What happens if a business violates TCPA Quiet Hours?
Under TCPA, a consumer may claim $500 per illegal text. And that amount can increase to up to $1,500 per text if the violation is considered serious or willful.
