Do Not Call Resources
- Pennsylvania Telemarketer Registration Act
- Pennsylvania Attorney General Do Not Call List resources
- Information about the list, including registration and filing complaints, is at the top of the page; an FAQ is linked from the bottom of the page.
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Do Not Call List Consumer FAQ
- Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Do Not Call List Telemarketer FAQ
- Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule reviews all aspects of federal compliance, published by the FTC. Note that some information may be incorrect, in that Pennsylvania’s law is more restrictive than the Federal rules in several areas.
- NAR Do-Not-Call Resources NOTE: These resources are only valid for federal regulations. Certain requirements in the Pennsylvania Do-Not-Call law are more restrictive than the Federal regulations.
- JustListed: Updates to the Do Not Call Law: What Realtors® Need to Know
- JustListed: How Changes to the Do Not Call Law Will Affect Your Prospecting Calls and Texts
CAN-SPAM Act
Federal “CAN-SPAM” Legislation, which became effective in January 2004, regulates the sending of commercial email advertisements. This legislation totally supersedes any state law, so there is no other “layer” of Pennsylvania law on this issue.
The primary requirements of the law (as stated by the FTC) are as follows:
- It bans false or misleading header information. Your e-mail’s “From,” “To,” and routing information – including the originating domain name and e-mail address – must be accurate and identify the person who initiated the e-mail.
- It prohibits deceptive subject lines. The subject line cannot mislead the recipient about the contents or subject matter of the message.
- It requires that your email give recipients an opt-out method. You must provide a return e-mail address or another Internet-based response mechanism that allows a recipient to ask you not to send future e-mail messages to that e-mail address, and you must honor the requests. You may create a “menu” of choices to allow a recipient to opt out of certain types of messages, but you must include the option to end any commercial messages from the sender.
- Any opt-out mechanism you offer must be able to process opt-out requests for at least 30 days after you send your commercial email. When you receive an opt-out request, the law gives you 10 business days to stop sending emails to the requestor’s e-mail address. You cannot help another entity send an email to that address or have another entity send an email on your behalf to that address. Finally, it’s illegal for you to sell or transfer the e-mail addresses of people who choose not to receive your e-mail, even in the form of a mailing list, unless you transfer the addresses so another entity can comply with the law.
- It requires that commercial e-mail be identified as an advertisement and include the sender’s valid physical postal address. Your message must contain clear and conspicuous notice that the message is an advertisement or solicitation and that the recipient can opt out of receiving more commercial emails from you. It also must include your valid physical postal address.
CAN-SPAM Resources
Do Not Fax
The FCC adopted rules restricting “Junk faxes,” as required by the Junk Fax Protection Act of 2005.
