Overview
State Calling Hours in SalesExec let administrators configure calling windows within lead distribution strategies. Use these settings to align lead distribution with your organization’s approved calling schedule for each state.
Calling restrictions may depend on the recipient’s local time, day of the week, holidays, and other conditions. Review these requirements with your legal team before configuring or updating your settings.
Important: State calling hours support your compliance process but do not address every telemarketing requirement. ClickPoint Software recommends consulting your legal department about applicable federal and state regulations. This article does not constitute legal advice.
Understand calling restrictions
Time of day
Under the federal Telemarketing Sales Rule, covered outbound telemarketing calls to a person’s residence generally must occur between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM at the recipient’s location, unless the person has given prior consent to calls outside that window. State rules may impose narrower hours.
Use calling windows approved for your business and the states you contact. Do not apply one nationwide schedule without reviewing state requirements.
Call frequency
Some rules also limit how often you can call. For example, Florida Statutes § 501.616 prohibits covered commercial telephone solicitation calls before 8:00 AM or after 8:00 PM in the recipient’s time zone. It also prohibits more than three calls in a 24-hour period on the same subject matter or issue, regardless of the originating number. Have your legal team confirm applicability and exemptions.
Sundays, holidays, and emergencies
Have your legal team review any restrictions involving:
Calls on Sundays or legal holidays.
Observed holidays when a holiday falls on a weekend.
Prerecorded messages.
Calls into areas affected by a declared state of emergency.
Include applicable restrictions in your calling policy and confirm how they are enforced.
Legal Holidays by State
Several states have additional Do Not Call restrictions depending on the legal holiday. They are outlined in the following table.
Additional Details
Alabama: If any holiday falls on Sunday, the following day (Monday) is the holiday. If any holiday falls on Saturday, the preceding day (Friday) is the holiday. Ala. Code § 1-3-8(a).
Louisiana: This chart only includes DNC holidays identified by the Louisiana Public Service Commission. According to the PSC, there are no calling restrictions on other legal holidays (identified in La. Stat. § 1:55). The Governor may declare other holidays.
Mississippi: In the event any holiday falls on a Sunday, then the next following day shall be a legal holiday. Miss. Stat. § 3-3-7.
Nebraska: Does not prohibit calls on Sundays or legal holidays; however, it does restrict the use of prerecorded messages to 1pm to 9om on these days (subject to certain exceptions). Neb. Admin. Code Title 291 Ch. 11 § 3.
Rhode Island: If New Years Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day or Christmas fall on a Saturday or Sunday, the Monday thereafter shall be a legal holiday. R.I. Stat. § 25-1-1.
Utah: If any holiday falls on Sunday, the following day (Monday) is the holiday. If any holiday falls on Saturday, the preceding day (Friday) is the holiday. Utah Code § 63G-1-301.
Pennsylvania: The following holidays are those indicated by the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office as “legal holidays.” The Governor may declare other holidays, If any Independence Day, Christmas Day, or New Year’s Day falls on a Sunday, then the next following day shall be a legal holiday. 7 P.S. 113.
Review your SalesExec configuration
Open the lead distribution strategy you want to review.
Review its State Calling Hours settings.
Check each state’s calling window against your organization’s approved policy.
Save any changes.
Repeat for other distribution strategies your team uses.
If you use the Copy Tool to reuse settings, review the destination strategy afterward to confirm the correct state hours were copied.
Confirm it worked
Use test leads to check distribution eligibility inside and outside the configured calling windows.
Also verify:
How SalesExec determines the lead’s state and local time.
Whether the settings affect distribution, dialing, or both.
How holiday restrictions are applied.
Which calling methods require separate controls.
Use contact details you control if testing includes an outbound call.
Troubleshooting
Problem | What to check |
A lead is available outside the intended calling window. | Confirm the hours were saved in the correct strategy. Review the lead’s state and how its local time is determined. |
A state is missing from the configuration. | Review the strategy’s state list and add the required settings. |
Copied hours do not match the intended schedule. | Confirm the source strategy selected in the Copy Tool, then review the destination settings. |
Calls occur outside the configured hours. | Confirm whether that calling method is controlled by State Calling Hours or requires a separate restriction. |