You can join the Florida No Call List for free by registering your home or cell number with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). Once your number goes active, most telemarketers are barred from calling or texting you to sell goods or services, and if they do, you can sue for at least $500 per violation under Florida Statutes Section 501.059.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation
How to Register Your Number
The quickest way to sign up is through the FDACS online portal at csapp.fdacs.gov.2Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Florida Do Not Call It takes a few minutes. If you prefer the phone, call 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352) on weekdays from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern. Spanish-language assistance is at 1-800-FL-AYUDA (1-800-352-9832).
Have your 10-digit phone number ready along with the name and address on the account. Enter that information exactly as it appears on your phone bill so the system can verify it.
Section 501.059 covers residential landlines, mobile phones, and paging devices. A line used primarily for business does not qualify. A single cell phone you use for both work and personal calls can still be registered, because the statute focuses on the subscriber rather than how the phone gets used.
When Your Number Goes Active and How Long It Lasts
Registration is not immediate. Your number becomes active on the first day of the calendar quarter after you sign up. Register in mid-February, and you are protected starting April 1. Telemarketers are required to refresh their call lists quarterly, and any sales call to your number after it appears on the active list is a potential violation.
Florida registrations last five years. After that, you have to re-register or your number drops off. That is one reason to also sign up for the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number you want to list. Federal registrations do not expire unless you remove the number or it gets disconnected and reassigned.3Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry FAQs The two lists are separate programs, so signing up for both gives you two enforcement paths when someone breaks the rules.
What Calls the Law Still Allows
The statute regulates “telephonic sales calls,” which it defines as calls, text messages, or voicemails made to sell consumer goods or services, solicit credit, or gather information for a future sales pitch.1Florida Senate. Florida Code 501.059 – Telephone Solicitation Anything outside that definition is not covered. Political calls, opinion surveys, and debt collection calls can still reach your phone.
Several sales-related contacts are also allowed:
- Companies you have previously done business with can call you. Florida sets no time limit, but the federal 18-month cap after your last transaction applies as the stricter standard.4Federal Trade Commission. Q&A for Telemarketers and Sellers About DNC Provisions in TSR
- A company you specifically asked to call you can call you. Your invitation overrides the registration.
- Calls about a debt or contract you have not fully paid or performed are not treated as unsolicited sales calls.
- Newspaper publishers and their employees are excluded when calling in connection with their business.
Charities occupy a middle ground. They can call, but once you tell a specific charity to stop, that organization must honor the request. Continuing to call after you have said no violates Section 501.059(5).
Text Messages Are Covered, With One Extra Step
Florida’s law treats text messages and voicemail transmissions the same as phone calls. An unsolicited marketing text to a registered number is a violation.
Before you can sue over unwanted texts, though, you have to reply “STOP” to the number that sent the message. The sender then has 15 days to stop. If the texts continue after that window, you can bring a private lawsuit. This step does not apply to phone calls; you can complain or sue over an unwanted sales call without any prior notice to the caller.
How to File a Complaint
Report violations through the FDACS online portal.2Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services. Florida Do Not Call Write down the caller’s name or company, the date and time, the number on your caller ID, and what they were trying to sell. FDACS uses those details to decide whether the contact was a do-not-call violation, a different telemarketing violation, or something the law does not reach.
For federal violations, file a separate complaint with the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov.5Federal Communications Commission. Consumer Inquiries and Complaints Center You can also report unwanted calls to the FTC through donotcall.gov. Filing with both the state and federal agencies makes it more likely a pattern of violations gets flagged.
Penalties and Your Right to Sue
FDACS can impose civil penalties of up to $10,000 per violation against telemarketers who call numbers on the state list, and it can seek court orders stopping further calls.6Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. What Are the Penalties for a Do Not Call Violation
You do not have to wait for the state to act. Section 501.059(10) gives you a private right of action. You can sue and recover your actual damages or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. If a court finds the violation was willful or knowing, it can triple the award to $1,500 per violation. The prevailing party also recovers attorney fees, which is why a lawyer may take one of these cases without upfront payment.
Federal law adds a parallel remedy. Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, unauthorized robocalls or autodialed calls to your cell phone carry damages of $500 per call, tripled to $1,500 for willful violations.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment Because the state and federal laws are independent, a single illegal call can create liability under both.