Massachusetts
What Massachusetts's rule says
What are the calling hours in Massachusetts?
In Massachusetts, unsolicited telephonic sales calls to consumers are allowed only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The rule is M.G.L. c. 159C, § 3(ii), and it ends the calling day an hour earlier than the federal 9 p.m.
The law protects consumers buying for personal, family or household use; calls to existing customers and calls a consumer asked for fall outside it.
Massachusetts is also an all-party state for recording: its wiretap law (G.L. c. 272, § 99) makes secret recording a crime, so say you're recording at the start of the call.
Who the rule covers
Massachusetts's window applies on top of the federal 8 a.m.–9 p.m. rules; where both apply, follow the narrower one.
- Covers: unsolicited telephonic sales calls to Massachusetts consumers about consumer goods and services.
- Not covered: calls at the consumer's express request, about an existing debt, to an existing customer, sales closed face to face, nonprofits and polls.
Massachusetts's rules and where they come from
Telephone solicitation (M.G.L. c. 159C, § 3(ii)): No unsolicited telephonic sales call to a Massachusetts consumer between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m.
The statutes and regulator pages are linked under 'Statutes, regulators and sources' below.
Do Massachusetts's calling hours apply to texts?
The law speaks of a 'telephone call or message' without defining either; applying 8 a.m.–8 p.m. to marketing texts is the safe setting.
Time zones and area codes in Massachusetts
Massachusetts is on one clock: Eastern.
Area codes in Massachusetts: 339, 351, 413, 508, 617, 774, 781, 857, 978. A number's area code is a clue to where the person is, not proof: people keep their numbers when they move.
Calling Massachusetts from TopReach
TopReach smart lists only dial a lead inside the legal window in their own time zone (weekdays 9 a.m.–9 p.m., weekends 10 a.m.–6 p.m.) and skip statutory holidays, and a rep calling a lead outside their hours is asked to confirm first. They don't apply Massachusetts's own rule for you. To stay inside it, set your workspace's quiet hours from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m..
Recording calls into Massachusetts: All-party: secret recording is a crime. TopReach records only when your workspace policy says so (never, always, or the rep's choice), and it doesn't play a recording announcement for you, so reps say it at the start of the call where consent is needed.
