State attorneys general are emerging as the most aggressive TCPA enforcers in 2026, even as the Federal Communications Commission proposes to roll back several federal telemarketing rules. The bifurcation is reshaping the compliance landscape for businesses that operate outbound calling and texting programs nationally.
What’s happening at the state level
Several developments over the past year point to a coordinated escalation in state-level TCPA enforcement.
New York increased the maximum fine for violations of its state Do-Not-Call list to $20,000 per call — a substantial increase over the prior cap. Mississippi enacted H.B. 1225, shifting enforcement of its state No-Call program to the Office of the Attorney General. Eleven other states have updated their telemarketing statutes within the past 18 months to add new restrictions, expand definitions, or increase penalty ceilings.
Beyond individual state actions, all 50 state attorneys general and the D.C. AG have formed the Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force. The task force coordinates intelligence-sharing across state offices and has begun pursuing joint enforcement actions against companies alleged to violate FCC and state rules.
Why the state activity is increasing
Several factors are converging. Federal TCPA enforcement under the current FCC has shifted toward a lighter regulatory posture, with the agency proposing to scrap several long-standing rules. State officials, including consumer-protection chiefs in many AG offices, have moved to fill the perceived enforcement gap. The 51-state task force structure provides a coordinating mechanism that previously didn’t exist for telemarketing enforcement, allowing states to mobilize at greater scale than individual AG offices could on their own.
State legislatures have also been active. The number of states with active state-level DNC lists has grown to 14, several of them with provisions stricter than the federal counterpart. New York, Florida, California, and Massachusetts have all advanced legislation tightening state-level TCPA-equivalent rules within the past two years.
Implications for businesses
Companies operating outbound calling and texting programs face a meaningfully more complex compliance landscape than they did even a year ago. The federal rulebook, which has historically been the binding constraint for most national operators, is loosening. The state-by-state rulebook is tightening. The combined effect is a fragmented compliance environment in which a single program can satisfy federal rules while still violating two or three state-level requirements.
Practically, that means three things. First, businesses need to build state-aware compliance into their outbound operations — quiet-hours rules, consent rules, DNC scope, and penalty exposure all vary by state and need to be applied based on the called party’s state. Second, lead-source data needs to include accurate state-of-residence information so the right state rules can be applied. Third, internal compliance and legal functions need to monitor state AG enforcement signaling and state legislative activity, not just FCC rulemakings.
What to watch
The Anti-Robocall Litigation Task Force is expected to announce additional coordinated enforcement actions over the coming year. Watch for high-profile multistate cases that may signal the task force’s enforcement priorities and theories of liability. Several states — including Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois — have telemarketing legislation pending that could further raise the state-level compliance burden if enacted.
Businesses should also watch for state AG amicus filings in pending federal TCPA cases. State AGs have begun weighing in on federal court cases that touch on state-law issues, both as a way of shaping precedent and as a signal of enforcement priorities.
Many businesses with outbound calling or texting programs have begun screening prospect lists against known TCPA plaintiffs as part of their standard compliance routine. Services such as TCPALitigatorList.com maintain databases of consumers who have previously filed TCPA lawsuits, allowing companies to flag and remove those numbers before any outreach is sent.
The strategic takeaway
The TCPA compliance landscape in 2026 is no longer dominated by the federal layer. State AG offices and state legislatures are now driving the most consequential rule changes and the most aggressive enforcement. Businesses that view TCPA compliance as a federal-only problem are setting themselves up for state-level enforcement surprise in the next 12 to 18 months.
Sources: Searchbug; Hollingsworth; ClickPoint.