The Texas No-Call List and Your State-Level Rights

By MercPrivacy · Published 2026-09-02 · Updated 2026-09-07

The Texas no-call list is a state registry run under the Public Utility Commission's framework, separate from the national registry. Register on both: Texas law adds its own telemarketer duties and its own private action.

The Texas no-call list is a state registry run under the Public Utility Commission's framework and governed by chapter 304 of the Business and Commerce Code, separate from the national registry the FTC runs. Register on both. Texas adds its own telemarketer duties and a private action: section 305.053 provides the greater of $500 per violation or actual damages, which a court may raise to the greater of $1,500 or three times actual damages for a knowing or intentional violation.

This article explains how the Texas list works and how it differs from the national registry, what chapter 304 requires of telemarketers, the registration regime chapter 302 imposes on telephone solicitors, what the private action in chapter 305 covers in general terms, how the 2025 amendments changed the picture for text messages, and how to use both lists together so that a call becomes a documented violation rather than an annoyance. Texas mechanics change with each legislative session, so verify the current statutory text before relying on any of it.

“Almost everyone I meet is on the national registry. Almost nobody is on the Texas list, and almost nobody knows it exists. The callers know. The list they are required to scrub against is the one you are not on.”

What the Texas No-Call List Is and Who Runs It

Chapter 304 directs the Public Utility Commission to maintain a statewide list of Texas telephone numbers whose subscribers do not want telephone solicitations, and the Commission runs the program through an administrator. Anyone with a Texas number can register, and the registration terms, including how long a listing stays active, whether it must be renewed and whether a charge applies, are set by the Commission; check the current terms when you sign up and save the confirmation, because the registration date is an element of proof. The Commission also maintains a separate electric no-call list aimed at retail electricity solicitations, which is worth registering on if those calls are part of your problem.

Telemarketers who call Texas numbers are required to obtain the current list on the schedule the statute sets and to stop calling a registered number once a short grace period after publication has passed. Chapter 304 has its own set of exemptions, which do not mirror the federal ones exactly, so a call that is exempt under one regime may not be exempt under the other. The national registry, by contrast, is administered by the FTC under federal law and applies to sellers and telemarketers calling consumers anywhere in the country. How that registry works, and where it falls short, is covered in the do-not-call registry explained.

How the Texas List Differs From the National Registry

Three differences matter in practice. First, they are separate registrations: being on one does not place you on the other, and a telemarketer's duty to scrub against the Texas list arises from state law regardless of the federal list. Second, the Texas list is tied to state enforcement by the Commission and the Attorney General and to the state's own private action, which can be pleaded alongside a federal claim in a Texas court. Third, Texas pairs its no-call list with a registration requirement for telephone solicitors, which creates a public record that helps identify who is behind a campaign.

The federal do-not-call rule has an element worth knowing: its private action requires more than one call within a twelve-month period by or on behalf of the same entity, and it reaches the seller the calls were made for, not only the company that dialed. Texas's provisions have their own elements, and the two frameworks reinforce each other when the file documents both registrations and every call that followed.

What Chapter 304 Requires of Telemarketers

A telemarketer subject to chapter 304 must purchase or otherwise obtain the current Texas list, scrub its calling lists against it on the statutory schedule, and refrain from soliciting a registered number after the grace period. Texas also restricts the hours during which solicitation calls may be placed, requires callers to identify themselves and the purpose of the call, and expects a company-specific do-not-call request to be honored. The precise hours and periods are set in the statute and the Commission's rules; verify the current text rather than relying on a summary.

Violations expose the caller to administrative penalties through the Commission and to action by the Attorney General. Since September 1, 2025, a violation of chapter 304 or chapter 305 is also actionable through the Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which adds that statute's remedies to the picture for the person who received the call. How those remedies interact is a question for an attorney, and the current text governs.

The Registration Regime for Telephone Solicitors

Chapter 302 requires a telephone solicitor selling into Texas to hold a registration certificate from the Secretary of State, to post security and to disclose details about the business, subject to a long list of exemptions for established businesses, licensed professionals and others. The registry is public. A campaign that calls Texans and cannot be matched to a registered solicitor is either exempt or out of compliance, and either answer is useful. When a file names a company, the registry and the company's entity filings often supply the legal name, the officers and the registered agent that a demand or a claim has to be addressed to.

The Private Action Under Chapter 305, in General Terms

Section 305.053 lets a person who receives a communication that violates the federal telemarketing restrictions in the TCPA or the state's own subchapter bring an action in Texas court against the party that originated it. The figures are the ones stated above: the greater of five hundred dollars per violation or actual damages, which a court may raise to the greater of fifteen hundred dollars per violation or three times actual damages when the violation was knowing or intentional. They are statutory amounts, not predictions; how such figures behave in real cases is the subject of statutory damages explained.

Senate Bill 140, signed in June 2025 and effective September 1, 2025, extended the telephone-solicitation framework to text messages and opened Deceptive Trade Practices Act remedies for chapter 304 and 305 violations. What that means for the texts on your phone is set out in what changed for Texas telemarketing texts in 2025. Filing a claim, pleading the right provisions and negotiating any resolution is legal work for a licensed attorney.

Using Both Lists Together

If you have registered on both lists and the calls keep coming, the free 30-minute privacy assessment is where a specialist reads the log and says which calls count under which statute and whether they are worth pursuing.

Where MercPrivacy Fits

MercPrivacy is a Houston, Texas firm, and the Texas framework is the one we work in every day. Our spam call defense work builds the evidence file, identifies the U.S. company behind a campaign using the state registries, entity filings, carrier records and warm transfers, and organizes the record against the elements of both the federal and the Texas provisions. When a matter calls for a demand asserting legal claims, a negotiation or a filed action, a licensed attorney is engaged to do that work.

We are not a law firm and do not give legal advice. We do not promise that registering on any list will end the calls, or that any caller will pay; the figures above are what the statutes provide. What we promise is the investigative, documentation and administrative work, on a straightforward recurring service fee set out in writing before any work starts, and the follow-through that turns a phone full of calls into a file someone can act on.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Texas no-call list the same as the national Do Not Call registry?

No. The national registry is run by the FTC under federal law; the Texas list is a separate state registry maintained under the Public Utility Commission's framework and governed by chapter 304 of the Business and Commerce Code. Registering on one does not place you on the other, and the state list carries its own telemarketer duties and its own enforcement and private-action provisions, so register on both.

How do I register for the Texas no-call list?

Through the Commission's no-call program, which accepts registrations online and by other methods it publishes. The terms, including how long a listing lasts, whether it must be renewed and whether a charge applies, are set by the Commission and should be checked at the time you register. Save the confirmation and note the date; it is the starting point for any later claim.

Does the Texas no-call list cover cell phones and text messages?

Wireless numbers can be registered, and Senate Bill 140, effective September 1, 2025, extended the state's telephone-solicitation framework to text messages, so a solicitation text to a registered number now sits inside the same rules as a call. The details of coverage and exemptions are in the current statutory text and the Commission's rules, which should be verified before relying on them.

What can I do if a telemarketer calls after I registered in Texas?

Log the call with the date, time, number and company, tell the caller to stop and to add you to its internal list, and keep the proof. File complaints with the Commission and the FTC, which build the record. If the calls continue from the same company, the file may support the private action under chapter 305, at the figures the statute provides, which is a decision to make with a licensed attorney.

Do political or charity calls have to honor the Texas list?

Chapter 304 is written around telephone solicitations, which are commercial in nature, and it carries its own exemptions, so many political and charitable calls fall outside it, as they do under parts of the federal framework. The line depends on what the call is actually selling and on the current statutory definitions. Keep a record of those calls anyway; a “survey” that turns into a sales pitch is a solicitation.

This article is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. MercPrivacy is not a law firm; when a matter requires legal representation, a licensed attorney is engaged. Statutory figures are the amounts the statutes provide, not predictions of any outcome, and laws change — verify the current text before relying on it.