Pennsylvania’s Mini-TCPA Becomes Law, Compliance Deadline Set for Oct. 18

Legislative Snapshot
Bill: Senate Bill 992
Jurisdiction: Pennsylvania
Status: Signed into law by Gov. Josh Shapiro
Effective Date: Oct. 18, 2026
Key Provisions:

• Covers texts, voicemails, and ringless voicemails.
• Requires prior express written consent for robocalls.
• Prohibits Sunday telemarketing and limits weekday calling hours.
• Prohibits AI-generated deception and caller ID spoofing.
• Extends liability to businesses that hire telemarketers.
• Creates a private right of action through the UTPCPL.

Industry Impact: Businesses have 90 days to update telemarketing compliance programs, consent documentation, vendor oversight, and dialing controls before the law takes effect. Ordinary communications concerning an existing debt, contract, payment, or performance are excluded from the law’s definition of a telephone solicitation. 

Pennsylvania businesses, telemarketers, debt collectors, and service providers now have 90 days to prepare for a sweeping new state telemarketing law after Gov. Josh Shapiro signed Senate Bill 992 into law. The legislation, which creates a state-level telemarketing framework similar to the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), takes effect Oct. 18, 2026.

The new law expands consumer protections for calls and text messages while creating new compliance obligations for companies that conduct or hire telemarketing campaigns. It also establishes a private right of action through Pennsylvania’s Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law (UTPCPL), increasing litigation risk for businesses operating in the state.

New Restrictions Take Effect in October

Beginning Oct. 18, the law will:

• Apply to telemarketing text messages, voicemail messages, and ringless voicemails.
• Prohibit telemarketing calls on Sundays.
• Restrict telemarketing communications to between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. on other days.
• Require prior express written consent for robocalls.
• Prohibit AI-generated deceptive communications.
• Ban caller ID spoofing.
• Extend liability beyond the party placing the call to include businesses that hire telemarketers.

The law authorizes civil penalties of up to $1,000 per violation. That amount increases to as much as $3,000 per violation when the affected consumer is age 60 or older.

Established Business Relationship Exception Remains

One provision likely to draw attention from businesses is the preservation of the established business relationship and prior express written consent exceptions.

Communications made with prior express written consent, or those made within an established business relationship during the previous 12 months, are excluded from the law’s definition of a telephone solicitation. As a result, those communications are not subject to certain registration requirements or the statute’s calling hour restrictions.

Businesses relying on those exceptions, however, should ensure they maintain documentation sufficient to demonstrate consent if challenged.

What ARM Companies Should Do Before the Effective Date

For companies in the accounts receivable management industry, the next three months provide a limited window to review compliance programs before the law takes effect.

Areas to evaluate include:

• Consent collection and retention procedures.
• Pennsylvania-specific dialing and messaging restrictions.
• Vendor agreements governing outsourced calling and texting campaigns.
• Policies addressing AI-generated communications and caller ID practices.

Companies that rely on third-party telemarketing vendors should also review contractual indemnification and compliance provisions, particularly because the law extends potential liability to entities that hire telemarketers.

Why It Matters

As Receivables Info previously reported when Senate Bill 992 advanced through the Pennsylvania Legislature, the measure was expected to create one of the nation’s more comprehensive state telemarketing laws. Gov. Shapiro’s signature now starts the 90-day implementation period.

With a private right of action, enhanced penalties for communications involving older consumers, and broader liability for companies using outside vendors, Pennsylvania joins a growing number of states adopting telemarketing laws that supplement federal TCPA requirements. Organizations communicating with Pennsylvania consumers should review their compliance programs well before the Oct. 18 effective date.