Virginia Robocall Law: The Telephone Privacy Protection Act and $500 to $5,000 Claims

Why the Virginia law is worth knowing

The Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act (VTPPA) has an escalating damages scale that grows fast when a company keeps calling. It also lets you bring the case in general district court or small claims court, where the process is simpler than federal court. And it now reaches texts and calls to any phone with a Virginia area code, not only home landlines.

Who is protected

A “telephone solicitation” under Va. Code 59.1-510 includes:

• A call to any person’s residence in Virginia.
• A call to any landline or wireless phone with a Virginia area code, or registered to a Virginia resident.
• A text message to a wireless phone with a Virginia area code, or registered to a Virginia resident.

The call or text must offer or advertise property, goods, services, or credit, or be made for fraudulent activity, including displaying false caller ID. So if you moved to Maryland but kept your 703 or 804 number, the Virginia law still reaches sales calls to it.

The rules telemarketers must follow in Virginia

• Hours: only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time, unless you consented to another time (59.1-511).
• Names: the caller must promptly give his or her first and last name and the name of the company the call is for (59.1-512).
• Caller ID: the caller must transmit a phone number and, when the carrier allows, a name. False or misleading caller ID is barred (59.1-513).
• Company-specific opt-out: once you tell a seller or its telemarketer that you do not want its calls, it may not call again (59.1-514(A)).
• National registry: no telephone solicitation to a number on the National Do Not Call Registry (59.1-514(B)).

New in 2026: reply STOP, and it lasts 10 years

Senate Bill 1339 of 2025 (2025 Acts, ch. 626) took effect January 1, 2026. For a solicitation by text, your request not to be contacted is made by replying “UNSUBSCRIBE” or “STOP.” The seller must honor any do-not-contact request, by call or text, “for at least 10 years from the time the request is made” (59.1-514(A)). The bill’s sponsor, Senator Creigh Deeds, told a Charlottesville news station, “the texts come all the time. They’re very annoying.”

Keep a screenshot of your STOP reply. If the texts keep coming, that screenshot is the center of your case.

What does not count

For the do-not-call rules in 59.1-514, a call is not a telephone solicitation if it is made:

• With your prior permission shown by a signed, written agreement that names the company and includes the number.
• By a company with which you have an established business relationship.
• By someone with a personal relationship to you.

The business and personal relationship exemptions end once you tell the company to stop calling (59.1-514(D)). A company can also defend a do-not-call claim by showing it had reasonable procedures, including using a copy of the national registry no more than 31 days old (59.1-514(C)). That defense does not apply to the hours, identification, or caller ID rules.

Damages under the VTPPA

Section 59.1-515 lets any natural person harmed by a violation sue the responsible person for:

The court may also award reasonable attorney fees and court costs (59.1-515(C)). You can file for damages in general district court or small claims court if the amount fits those courts’ limits. A case asking for an order to stop the calls goes to circuit court (59.1-515(D)).

A quick example of how this grows. Say a solar company calls you six times after you told it to stop. On the statute’s schedule that is $500, then $1,000, then four calls at $5,000 each, for $21,500. Courts decide how to count violations, so treat that as a ceiling rather than a promise.

Using the VTPPA and the TCPA together

The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act pays $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 if willful or knowing. Its do-not-call claim requires more than one call in 12 months to a number on the national registry. Virginia’s statute adopts the same registry and adds its own escalating amounts. Both can be brought in one case. See how the federal do not call rule and federal calling hours compare. Virginia’s escalating scale is one of the few that rewards you for documenting repeat calls from the same company.

Virginia’s do not call list

Virginia does not maintain a separate state list. The VTPPA uses the National Do Not Call Registry directly (59.1-514(B)). Register at donotcall.gov or 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to list. The Attorney General can also investigate and sue under 59.1-516 and 59.1-517.

When you probably do not have a Virginia claim

Calls from political campaigns, surveys, and charities are not sales calls, so the VTPPA does not reach them. Debt collection calls are also outside it, though other laws may apply; see our page on debt collector calls. And a single call from a company you already do business with, before you asked it to stop, is usually not a violation.

What to do next in Virginia

Tell each company clearly to stop, by voice or by replying STOP, and write down the date. Then count every contact after that. Under Virginia’s scale, the third and later violations are where the numbers climb. Note the caller’s name and company, because 59.1-512 requires them to give it. Our guide to suing a telemarketer covers small claims filing, and the state law hub covers nearby states.