Free tool
Cold calling hours by state: can I call now?
Pick the owner’s state to see their local time and whether a sales call is allowed right now, under federal law and that state’s own calling hours. Below the checker is the calling window for all 50 states.
Checker
Can I call this owner right now?
Choose the state where the owner lives. If the state has more than one time zone, choose the part of the state too.
Pick a state to see the owner’s local time and whether a sales call is allowed now.
The checker covers calling hours only. A call inside the window still has to follow the do-not-call lists, consent and every other rule. General information, not legal advice.
The federal rule
8 a.m. to 9 p.m., in the owner’s time zone
Federal law bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called person’s location. The FCC’s rule under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule set the same window, and it applies every day of the week. Federal rules treat a text message as a call, so the safe course is to keep texts inside the same window.
States can be stricter, and where they are, the stricter rule is the one to follow. The full federal rules are in is real estate cold calling legal?
Where states are stricter
Shorter days, and no Sundays in some states
- A later start: Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Texas.
- An earlier end: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wyoming.
- No calls on Sunday: Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah.
- Shorter Sunday hours: Texas.
- No calls on legal holidays: Alabama, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Utah.
Calling hours are one rule among several. The cold calling laws by state table adds each state’s do-not-call list, call limits and wholesaling law.
Time zones
Whose clock counts
The owner’s, not the caller’s. A caller in New York who dials Los Angeles at 9 a.m. reaches the owner at 6 a.m., three hours early.
Go by where the owner lives, not the area code: people keep their mobile numbers when they move. For an absentee owner, that is the mailing address, not the property. A call to an out-of-state owner follows the hours of the state where the owner is.
Some states span two time zones: Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas. In those, set the window by the owner’s county, or call only during the hours that are legal in both zones.
All 50 states
Cold calling hours in every state
When a sales call may be placed, in the owner’s local time. Where a state has no rule of its own, the federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window applies. Checked against state statutes and agency pages in October 2026.
| State | Monday–Friday | Saturday | Sunday | Legal holidays | Time zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | No calls | No calls | Central Time |
| Alaska | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Arizona | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Arkansas | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| California | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Pacific Time |
| Colorado | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Mountain Time |
| Connecticut | 9 a.m.–8 p.m. | 9 a.m.–8 p.m. | 9 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Delaware | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Florida | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Georgia | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Hawaii | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Hawaii Time |
| Idaho | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Illinois | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Indiana | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Iowa | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Kansas | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Kentucky | 10 a.m.–9 p.m. | 10 a.m.–9 p.m. | 10 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Louisiana | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | No calls | No calls | Central Time |
| Maine | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Maryland | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Massachusetts | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Michigan | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Minnesota | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Mississippi | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | No calls | Allowed | Central Time |
| Missouri | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Montana | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Mountain Time |
| Nebraska | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Nevada | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| New Hampshire | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| New Jersey | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| New Mexico | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Mountain Time |
| New York | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| North Carolina | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| North Dakota | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Ohio | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Oklahoma | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Oregon | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Pennsylvania | 9 a.m.–7 p.m. | 9 a.m.–7 p.m. | No calls | No calls | Eastern Time |
| Rhode Island | 9 a.m.–6 p.m. | 10 a.m.–5 p.m. | No calls | No calls | Eastern Time |
| South Carolina | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| South Dakota | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | No calls | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Tennessee | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Texas | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | 9 a.m.–9 p.m. | noon–9 p.m. | Allowed | 2 zones |
| Utah | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | No calls | No calls | Mountain Time |
| Vermont | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Virginia | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Washington | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Pacific Time |
| West Virginia | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Eastern Time |
| Wisconsin | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | 8 a.m.–9 p.m. | Allowed | Central Time |
| Wyoming | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Allowed | Mountain Time |
Free printable PDF
All 50 states on a few pages
The cheat sheet puts every state’s calling hours, do-not-call list, call rules and wholesaling law in one printable table, with the federal rules on the first page. Keep it next to the dialer.
Prefer the web? Everything in it is on this page and in the laws by state table.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
What time can you legally cold call?
Federal law allows sales calls from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the called person’s local time. Some states are stricter: Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Washington and Wyoming end earlier, and Connecticut, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Texas start later.
Can you cold call on Sundays?
Federal law allows it. Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and Utah ban Sunday sales calls, and in Texas Sunday hours are shorter.
Do calling hours apply to text messages?
Federal rules treat a text as a call, and several state laws name texts outright, so keep marketing texts inside the same window.
Which time zone counts, mine or the owner’s?
The owner’s. Go by where the owner lives, not the area code, since people keep their numbers when they move.
Do these hours apply to calls offering to buy a house?
It is unsettled in most states, because most telemarketing laws are written around selling something to the person called. Keep the hours anyway: they cost a few dials, and a lawsuit costs far more.
Calls made inside the window, every time
Real estate investors: our callers dial by the owner’s local time and each state’s rules. Your first week is free, and if we don’t hand you at least 3 sellers who want an offer, you pay nothing.