Texas Do Not Call List and Robocall Law: Your Rights Under Chapters 302, 304 and 305

The Texas no-call list in plain terms

Texas did not fold its list into the federal registry. The Texas Telemarketing Disclosure and Privacy Act, Business and Commerce Code chapter 304, tells the Public Utility Commission (PUC) to run a state database. By statute it is a combined list: people who signed up with Texas, plus every Texas number on the National Do Not Call Registry (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 304.051).

• Where to sign up: texasnocall.com, operated for the PUC by a contractor. Online registration is free (304.054(b)). You can also register by mail.
• What numbers qualify: the PUC says Texas residential, wireless, and business numbers may be listed.
• How long it lasts: a listing expires on its third anniversary unless you renew (304.053). This is the detail most Texans miss.
• When it starts working: the list is published January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1. A telemarketer may not call a listed number more than 60 days after it appears on the current list (304.052).
• Complaints: the PUC Customer Protection Division, 1-888-782-8477, or online through the PUC.

Texas also runs a separate “Electric No Call” list for retail electricity sales calls on the same site.

Four Texas statutes, four different lawsuits

Texas spreads its telemarketing rules across several chapters. Each has its own remedy, and they do not work the same way.

1. Section 305.053: the Texas mirror of the TCPA

If a call or text violates the federal TCPA or its FCC rules, you may also sue in Texas under section 305.053. A winning plaintiff gets the greater of $500 per violation or actual damages. If the court finds the violation knowing or intentional, it can raise that to the greater of $1,500 per violation or three times actual damages (305.053(b), (c)). Federal courts in Texas treat this claim as rising or falling with the TCPA claim, as in Ortega v. DiTommaso (W.D. Tex. 2025).

2. Chapter 302: unregistered telephone sellers

A seller may not make a telephone solicitation from Texas or to a Texas buyer without a registration certificate from the Secretary of State for each calling location (302.101). Registration costs $200 and requires a $10,000 bond (302.106, 302.107). There are many exemptions, and the seller must prove one applies (302.051). A violation is a deceptive practice under the Texas DTPA (302.303). Federal judges have used the $5,000 civil penalty in 302.302(a) as a per-call measure for private plaintiffs. In Guadian v. United Tax Defense (W.D. Tex. 2024), a magistrate judge recommended $25,000 for five chapter 302 violations, on top of TCPA damages.

3. Chapter 304: calls to numbers on the Texas list

This remedy has hoops. You may sue over the second or later violation only if you (1) notified the telemarketer, (2) filed a verified complaint with the PUC, the attorney general, or the caller’s licensing agency within 30 days of the call, and (3) the agency did not act before the 121st day (304.257(a)). Damages are up to $500 per violation, and only for willful or knowing violations (304.257(b)).

4. Chapter 301: calling hours and identification

Solicitors may call a Texas home only from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, and from noon to 9 p.m. on Sundays (301.051(b)(2)). They must give their name, the business, and the purpose right after you answer. A consumer injured by a chapter 301 violation can recover at least what he or she paid the seller, plus attorney fees (301.104).

What SB 140 changed on September 1, 2025

Senate Bill 140 (Acts 2025, ch. 964) applies to conduct on or after September 1, 2025. It did three things:

• Texts count under chapter 302. A “telephone solicitation” now includes “a transmission of a text or graphic message or of an image” (302.001(7)). Before this, federal courts held chapter 302 did not reach texts.
• DTPA remedies for chapters 304 and 305. New sections 304.2581 and 305.054 make violations of those chapters deceptive practices that any public or private DTPA remedy can enforce.
• No penalty for repeat plaintiffs. Past recoveries “may not limit recovery in a future legal proceeding in any manner” (302.003(b), 304.005(b), 305.055).

SB 140 did not create the DTPA link for chapter 302. That link has existed since 2009. Two open questions remain. A retail trade group sued over the text provision in Ecommerce Marketers Alliance v. Texas, No. 1:25-cv-01401 (W.D. Tex.). The case was dismissed by agreement in November 2025, and the dismissal order stated, without deciding it, that consent-based text marketing is exempt from chapter 302. The Secretary of State then asked the attorney general for a formal opinion (RQ-0626-KP). We have not found a court ruling applying SB 140. Also unsettled: whether the DTPA route lets a plaintiff skip the chapter 304 complaint-and-wait steps.

DTPA rules that come with those claims

A DTPA claim brings its own procedure. You generally must send written notice at least 60 days before suing, describing the complaint and the damages (Tex. Bus. & Com. Code 17.505). The limitations period is two years (17.565). A prevailing consumer recovers attorney fees (17.50(d)). A defendant can recover fees if the suit was groundless or brought to harass (17.50(c)).

How this stacks with the federal TCPA

A Texan can bring a TCPA claim for $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing, and a section 305.053 claim based on the same call. Courts generally will not pay twice for the same injury, but the state claims add remedies the TCPA lacks, such as the chapter 302 registration claim. The federal limitations period is four years, longer than the DTPA’s two. Read our explainers on the federal do not call rule and the TCPA filing deadline for the federal side.

Robocall equipment has its own Texas rules too. A business using an automated dial announcing device needs a PUC permit, and the recorded message must state the caller’s identity and callback number within the first 30 seconds (Tex. Util. Code 55.127, 55.129).

What to do next in Texas

Check whether your number is on the Texas list and when it expires. If a telemarketer keeps calling, file the verified PUC complaint within 30 days of the call, because that preserves the chapter 304 claim. Save texts with timestamps and write down any company name the caller gives, then search the Secretary of State’s telephone seller registrations. Our guide to building a case when you do not know the caller helps with that. You can compare statutes in other states on the state robocall law hub. When you have a log, a free case review can tell you which of these claims fits.