Maryland Telephone Solicitation Laws and Texting

Maryland is one of a growing number of states that has layered its own telephone solicitation rules on top of the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). If your organization sends text messages to Maryland residents, whether you are a business, a healthcare provider, a school, or a nonprofit, you need to understand two pieces of state law: the Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act, found in the Commercial Law Article of the Maryland Code at Title 14, Subtitle 32, and the Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023, codified separately in the Commercial Law Article at Section 14-4501 and following, which added new consent and conduct requirements that took effect January 1, 2024.

The Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a state statute that makes any violation of the federal TCPA a violation of Maryland law as well, giving Maryland residents a state-court path to the same statutory damages available under federal law. That one-sentence summary is the key to understanding how Maryland regulates texting: rather than inventing an entirely separate scheme, Maryland's original approach was to incorporate the federal TCPA by reference, and its 2023 amendments then added Florida-style "mini-TCPA" provisions on top.

This guide explains what each layer does, how the rules apply specifically to SMS, and what compliant texting looks like in practice for organizations that message Maryland numbers.

The Two Layers of Maryland Text Message Law

Layer 1: The Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act (MTCPA)

The MTCPA, codified at Md. Code, Com. Law Section 14-3201 and following, has been on the books for years. Its core mechanism is simple: a person may not violate the federal TCPA (47 U.S.C. 227) or the FCC regulations issued under it (47 CFR 64.1200). By incorporating federal law, the MTCPA automatically covers everything the TCPA covers, including:

• Autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts sent without the required level of consent
• Calls and texts to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry
• Failure to honor opt-out requests
• Caller identification requirements

Because courts and the FCC have long treated text messages as "calls" for TCPA purposes, the MTCPA reaches SMS and MMS messaging the same way federal law does. If a text would violate the TCPA, it also violates Maryland law, and the sender can be pursued in Maryland state court.

The MTCPA ties its remedies to Maryland's Consumer Protection Act, which means a violation can support both private lawsuits and enforcement by the Maryland Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division. Damages track the federal TCPA framework, which provides statutory damages of $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 per violation where the conduct is willful or knowing. Because each individual text can count as a separate violation, exposure scales quickly for bulk campaigns.

Layer 2: The Stop the Spam Calls Act of 2023

In 2023 the Maryland General Assembly passed the Stop the Spam Calls Act, modeled closely on Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act, the law that kicked off the state "mini-TCPA" wave. The Act was codified in the Commercial Law Article at Section 14-4501 and following, a separate subtitle from the MTCPA, and took effect January 1, 2024. If you are new to the state-law landscape, our explainer on what a mini-TCPA is covers how these state statutes differ from the federal TCPA and why they matter even for organizations that already have a federal compliance program.

The Stop the Spam Calls Act added several requirements that go beyond federal law:

• Prior express written consent for automated solicitations. A telephone solicitation made using an automated system for the selection or dialing of telephone numbers, or the playing of a recorded message, requires the recipient's prior express written consent. This is a broader trigger than the federal TCPA's autodialer definition as narrowed by the Supreme Court in Facebook v. Duguid, because the state language focuses on automated selection or dialing rather than random or sequential number generation. Most modern texting platforms fall within it.
• Calling time restrictions. Telephone solicitations, including texts, are restricted to the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in the recipient's local time zone.
• Frequency limits. The Act limits the number of solicitation attempts to the same person on the same subject matter within a 24 hour period. The statute sets a specific numeric cap (three attempts), so campaign platforms should enforce per-contact frequency controls.
• Caller ID integrity. Solicitors may not display false or misleading caller identification information, and the number displayed must be one the recipient can call back.
• A private right of action. Consumers can sue for violations, with damages tied to the TCPA-style statutory framework, including enhanced damages for knowing or willful violations.

The consent standard matters most for texting programs. "Prior express written consent" under these statutes generally means a signed written agreement (electronic signatures count under E-SIGN) that clearly discloses the consumer will receive automated marketing messages, identifies the sender, and states that consent is not a condition of purchase. A web form checkbox or a compliant text opt-in flow can satisfy it if the disclosures are right.

What Counts as a "Telephone Solicitation" in Maryland

The state rules aim at solicitation, meaning communications made for the purpose of encouraging the purchase of goods or services, or seeking other commercial ends. That has two practical consequences:

1. Marketing texts are squarely covered. Promotions, sales offers, upsells, win-back campaigns, and lead follow-up all qualify.
2. Purely informational texts are generally outside the solicitation rules but still inside the TCPA layer. Appointment reminders, service alerts, account notifications, and emergency messages are typically not solicitations, but they still require appropriate consent under the federal TCPA as incorporated by the MTCPA. Informational messages need prior express consent, which can be as simple as the person knowingly providing their number for that purpose.

Nonprofit fundraising sits in a gray area that varies by statute. Federal telemarketing rules treat calls by or on behalf of tax-exempt nonprofits differently from commercial telemarketing, and many state solicitation laws include nonprofit exemptions or narrower definitions. Nonprofits texting Maryland supporters should still obtain documented opt-in consent, honor opt-outs immediately, and respect quiet hours, both because the TCPA layer still applies to autodialed texts and because carriers require consent under the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices regardless of what any statute says.

Maryland vs. Federal TCPA vs. Other State Laws

Note that Maryland's 8 p.m. cutoff is one hour earlier than the federal telemarketing window. A message that is lawful at 8:30 p.m. under federal rules can violate Maryland law. Multistate senders should default to the most restrictive applicable window, which for a national campaign generally means ending sends by 8 p.m. in each recipient's local time. For a look at how a very different state approaches the same problem, see our guide to Washington's CEMA text message law, which regulates commercial texts through an anti-spam statute rather than a telemarketing statute.

Compliance Checklist for Texting Maryland Numbers

• Collect prior express written consent before sending any automated marketing text, with clear disclosures of who is texting, what kind of messages will be sent, message frequency, the "consent is not a condition of purchase" statement, and "message and data rates may apply" language per CTIA guidelines.
• Keep consent records. Store the timestamp, source, IP address or keyword, and the exact disclosure language shown at opt-in. In litigation, the sender bears the practical burden of proving consent.
• Enforce quiet hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. based on the recipient's local time, not your office time zone.
• Cap frequency so no contact receives more than the permitted number of solicitation attempts on the same subject in a 24 hour period.
• Honor opt-outs immediately. Process STOP, and recognize common variants, then send a single confirmation and suppress the number.
• Use accurate sender identification. Register your 10DLC campaigns, identify your organization in message content, and never mask or spoof originating numbers.
• Scrub against do-not-call lists for any solicitation messaging, including the National Do Not Call Registry as incorporated through the TCPA layer.

How FRANSiS Helps

FRANSiS builds these guardrails into the platform layer: documented opt-in capture, automatic STOP handling, send-window scheduling tied to recipient time zones, frequency controls, and 10DLC registration support. The AI Powered Helper drafts message content inside your configured compliance rules, so campaigns to Maryland numbers respect consent status and quiet hours without manual gatekeeping.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and change over time, so confirm your own obligations with qualified counsel or the relevant regulator.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Maryland's Stop the Spam Calls Act apply to text messages?

Yes. Like the federal TCPA, Maryland's telephone solicitation rules treat text messages as calls. The Stop the Spam Calls Act's consent requirement, quiet hours, frequency limits, and caller identification rules all apply to SMS solicitations sent to Maryland residents.

What are the penalties for violating Maryland's texting laws?

The Maryland Telephone Consumer Protection Act ties remedies to TCPA-style statutory damages, generally $500 per violation and up to $1,500 for knowing or willful violations, and violations can also be pursued under Maryland's Consumer Protection Act by the Attorney General. Each text can count as a separate violation.

Do I need written consent to text customers in Maryland?

For automated marketing texts, yes. The Stop the Spam Calls Act requires prior express written consent for solicitations made with automated dialing or selection systems, which covers standard texting platforms. Purely informational texts require prior express consent under the federal TCPA layer, which is a lower but still real standard.

What hours can I legally text people in Maryland?

Telephone solicitations, including marketing texts, may only be sent between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. in the recipient's local time zone. This is stricter than the 9 p.m. federal cutoff, so multistate campaigns should end sends by 8 p.m. local time.

Are nonprofits exempt from Maryland's telephone solicitation law?

Nonprofit fundraising is treated differently from commercial telemarketing under many solicitation statutes, but the federal TCPA consent rules incorporated by the MTCPA still apply to autodialed texts, and carrier rules under the CTIA Messaging Principles require opt-in consent for all organizations. Nonprofits should follow the same consent, quiet-hours, and opt-out practices as commercial senders.

Text Maryland Audiences with Confidence

FRANSiS gives nonprofits, healthcare organizations, schools, and government agencies a texting platform with consent tracking, quiet-hours enforcement, and automatic opt-out handling built in, plus an AI Powered Helper that keeps message content inside your compliance rules. Contact our team to see how FRANSiS supports compliant texting in Maryland and every other state.