Kentucky Robocall Law: 10 a.m. Calling Rule, Spoofing Lawsuits and the Do Not Call List

Kentucky’s zero call list is now the national registry

Kentucky once kept a “zero call list.” In 2007 the legislature told the Attorney General to ask the FTC to add every residential number on it as of June 26, 2007 to the national registry (KRS 367.46994). Today the Kentucky rule points straight at the federal list. It is a prohibited practice to make an unsolicited solicitation call to a residential number that “appears in the current publication of the national Do Not Call Registry” (KRS 367.46955(15)). Register at donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222.

Kentucky’s unusual rules

Several Kentucky rules are stricter or more specific than federal law. Under KRS 367.46955, a telemarketer may not:

• Call before 10 a.m. Solicitation calls to a residence are allowed only “between 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time” (367.46955(16)). Federal rules allow calls from 8 a.m.
• Use a recorded or artificial voice to a residential phone unless you gave prior express consent or a school regulated by the Kentucky Department of Education is calling about an emergency (367.46955(18)).
• Spoof caller ID or otherwise misrepresent where the call is coming from (367.46955(9)).
• Let the phone ring more than 30 seconds (367.46955(12)).
• Call a minor. The caller must ask if you are 18 or older (367.46955(8)).
• Call again after you said no to that seller (367.46955(14)).
• Use fake names, threaten you, use profanity, or call repeatedly in a harassing way (367.46955(10), (11), (13)).
• Sell information you revealed on the call without your express written consent (367.46955(17)).

At the start of the call, the caller must also give his or her actual name, the seller’s legal name, a phone number or address for the seller, and the city and state the caller is in. Within 30 seconds, the caller must say what is being offered and ask whether you want to hear the pitch, and must stop if you say no (KRS 367.46953).

The spoofing lawsuit, including class actions

Kentucky’s clearest private remedy targets fake caller ID. KRS 367.46999(4), as amended in 2018 and 2019, lets “a person or class of persons” sue if they:

1. Received a call with misleading caller ID in violation of 367.46955(9); or
2. Had their own number misleadingly shown as the caller ID on someone else’s solicitation calls.

The second category matters. If scammers used your number to spoof calls and you got angry callbacks, you may have a claim too. The case is filed in the county where you live or have your main place of business, against anyone responsible for or who knowingly took part in the violation. You may seek an injunction, actual damages, your expenses including court costs and attorney fees, and punitive damages. The statute does not set a fixed dollar amount per call. A court may also order a convicted spoofer to pay restitution.

Spoofing rules do not apply when a caller simply blocks caller ID, or when it shows the name and number of the company it is calling for. Phone carriers acting as carriers are also exempt (367.46955(9)(b)).

Other Kentucky remedies and penalties

Every violation of the telemarketing statutes is also an unfair or deceptive practice under Kentucky’s Consumer Protection Act (KRS 367.46967), which the Attorney General enforces. Knowing violations can be crimes. They are generally Class D felonies, but violations of 367.46955(7) through (16), which include the calling-hours, registry, repeat-call, and ringing rules, are Class B misdemeanors for a first offense, with up to 90 days or a $500 fine, and Class A misdemeanors after that (KRS 367.46999(1)).

Two procedural points. A claim that someone called a number on the old zero call list must be in writing and verified. And a company that used due care and reasonable procedures has a defense (KRS 367.46995).

How Kentucky law works with the TCPA

For most unwanted sales calls, Kentuckians bring the federal claim. The TCPA allows up to $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, for recorded sales calls without consent and for more than one sales call in 12 months to a number on the registry. Kentucky’s rules add facts that help: a 9:15 a.m. sales call is lawful federally but not in Kentucky, and a spoofed number opens the door to the state claim with punitive damages. The TCPA does not preempt stricter state rules (47 U.S.C. 227(f)(1)). For more on the federal rules, read our pages on calling hours and prerecorded calls.

Kentucky’s Attorney General joined the 2023 multistate lawsuit against Avid Telecom over billions of robocalls.

What to do next in Kentucky

Note the exact time of every sales call, since anything before 10 a.m. is its own Kentucky violation. If the number on your screen belongs to someone else or does not work when you call back, write that down; that is the evidence for a spoofing claim. If strangers are calling you back about calls you never made, keep a list of them too. Our guide to building a case when the caller is hidden helps with spoofed calls, and the state law hub covers Tennessee, Ohio, and Indiana.