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California

Telecom Compliance Reference — Updated January 2025

Mini-TCPA State — High Risk

Calling Hours

8:00 AM–9:00 PM

Min Penalty

$5,000

Registration

Required

Overview Calling Hours Consent Registration DNC Enforcement Case Law Legislation

REI Wholesaling Telemarketing Compliance in California

Real estate investor cold calling and SMS compliance in California

Guide last reviewed: January 2025

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Mini-TCPA State — Cal. Pub. Util. Code §§ 2871-2876; Cal. Penal Code § 632

California imposes stricter consent and calling requirements than federal TCPA.REI Wholesaling companies operating here face $5,000 per-violation penalties.

California REI Wholesaling Overview

California is a high-risk jurisdiction for REI cold calling but the compliance path is clear: manual dialing to non-DNC numbers is still viable and legal without prior written consent. For automated outreach, you need first-party written consent naming your company specifically. CIPA makes call recording uniquely dangerous in California — a single unauthorized recording is $5,000 in statutory damages, and class actions routinely aggregate into seven and eight figures. The DRE license exemption for registration provides some cost savings (no $100,000 bond) but does not reduce compliance obligations for how calls are made, recorded, and followed up. Direct mail and inbound marketing driving calls to you (where you can collect consent at point of contact) are lower-risk lead generation methods for CA property owners.

Penalty/Violation

$5,000

Willful

$10,000

Calling Hours

8:00 AM–9:00 PM

Private Suit

Allowed

Compliance Checklist

✓Determine if telephonic seller registration with CA AG is required — DRE licensees are EXEMPT from registration only, not from calling rules,If not DRE-licensed: register with CA AG ($50 fee + $100,000 surety bond) at least 10 days before making any calls,Obtain prior express written consent before any automated texting or robocalling CA consumers,FCC one-to-one consent (Jan 2025): consent must name YOUR company — purchased lead lists with bundled consent are legally unusable,CIPA compliance: if recording ANY call to CA consumers, obtain all-party consent BEFORE recording begins,ADAD compliance: if using prerecorded messages, a live person must introduce the call, identify the business, and ask if the person consents to hear the recording,Calling hours for automated calls: 9 AM to 9 PM California time; manual calls: 8 AM to 9 PM local time,Scrub against National DNC Registry (no separate CA state list) before every campaign — minimum every 31 days,Honor opt-out requests immediately,Manual (human) dialing to non-DNC numbers is your safest cold calling method in CA,CCPA compliance: CA consumers can request deletion of their personal information from your databases,Never use predictive dialers or auto-send CRM features on CA contacts without written consent,Maintain consent records for minimum 5 years,If using AI voice agents: AB 2905 requires AI disclosure at call start (effective Jan 1, 2025)

What Gets Companies Sued

✗Top California violations for REI wholesalers: (1) Recording calls to CA property owners without two-party consent — CIPA exposure at $5,000 per call; (2) Using CRM auto-send or text blast platforms without prior express written consent; (3) Assuming DRE license exempts them from ALL calling rules (it only exempts registration); (4) Buying lead lists from aggregators with bundled consent and using them for automated outreach; (5) Calling DNC-registered numbers after property owners request no further contact; (6) Using AI voice agents without AB 2905 disclosure.

Special Exemptions

DRE-licensed real estate agents and brokers are exempt from CA telephonic seller registration (B&P § 17511.1(e)) when the solicited transaction is governed by their real estate license. This exemption does NOT extend to: CIPA two-party consent for recording, ADAD rules for prerecorded messages, DNC list requirements, CCPA data privacy obligations, or federal TCPA consent requirements. Unlicensed REI wholesalers who are not DRE licensees must register as telephonic sellers and post the $100,000 bond.

Key State Rules

Mini-TCPAYes

RegistrationRequired

Class ActionsAllowed

Consent Requirements→Registration Details→DNC List→

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This is a compliance reference tool, not legal advice. Data compiled from public statutes, LegiScan, CourtListener, state AG offices, and AI-assisted analysis. Verify all information with qualified counsel before relying on it. Full terms & data sources →