Robocall Help · Rhode Island
Robocall Lawyer in Rhode Island: $500 to $1,500 Per Illegal Call
Rhode Island’s Telephone Sales Solicitation Act, Chapter 5-61 of the General Laws, requires telephonic sellers to register, limits prerecorded and synthesized voice pitches, and adopts the federal do-not-call rules instead of a state list. If illegal calls or texts are hitting your phone in Rhode Island, you may be owed $500 to $1,500 per call under the federal TCPA.
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Rhode Island robocall law at a glance
The federal TCPA is the consumer’s remedy here. Rhode Island’s chapter 5-61 regulates the sellers but does not give you a claim of your own.
Rhode Island’s law is aimed at the sellers themselves. Section 5-61-3 requires a telephonic seller to register with the state, 5-61-3.4 bars automatic dialing-announcing devices unless you asked for the message or a live operator gets your consent first, 5-61-3.5 requires sellers to keep do-not-call procedures that comply with the FCC and FTC rules, and 5-61-3.6 confines unsolicited calls to the Act’s hours of operation, defined in 5-61-2 as 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturdays. Violations are misdemeanors with fines of up to $500 per violation, prosecuted by the state, and the Act does not give consumers their own claim. A second statute, R.I. Gen. Laws Section 11-35-26, requires automatic dialing systems to disconnect within five seconds after you hang up. The consumer remedy in Rhode Island is the federal TCPA.
Two laws protect Rhode Island residents
A federal law covers everyone, and Rhode Island’s own rules can add to it.
The TCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the nationwide law behind every claim.
- Protects everyone in Rhode Island, no matter the state rules.
- Bars autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts to your cell without consent.
- $500 to $1,500 per call, stacking with every violation.
- You can sue personally, you don’t wait on the government.
Telephone Sales Solicitation Act, R.I. Gen. Laws ch. 5-61
Rhode Island’s telephonic-seller registration law, enforced by the Attorney General.
- Registration: § 5-61-3 requires telephonic sellers to register with the state before calling.
- Prerecorded messages: § 5-61-3.4 bars automatic dialing-announcing devices unless you consented or a live operator gets your consent first.
- Calling hours: § 5-61-3.6 limits unsolicited calls by covered sellers to weekdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
- Do Not Call: § 5-61-3.5 adopts the federal do-not-call rules; Rhode Island keeps no separate list.
How the law works in Rhode Island
The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the law that pays in a Rhode Island robocall case. It bars autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts to a cell phone without prior express consent and bars telemarketing to numbers on the national Do Not Call Registry. The remedy is $500 per violation, up to $1,500 per call when the violation was willful or knowing, and every call or text counts separately. A Providence collector that autodials the wrong 401 number for three months has built a substantial case for you.
Rhode Island’s Telephone Sales Solicitation Act, chapter 5-61 of the General Laws, regulates the sellers. It requires telephonic sellers to register and post security, restricts prerecorded or synthesized voice messages unless you asked for them or a live operator gets your consent, requires sellers to keep do-not-call procedures that follow the FCC and FTC rules, and confines unsolicited calls by covered sellers to weekdays 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Act carries criminal penalties of up to $500 per violation and civil enforcement by the Attorney General, but it does not give a consumer a private claim. Section 11-35-26 separately requires automatic dialing systems to release your line within five seconds after you hang up. That is why the TCPA, with its private right of action, is the law a Rhode Island consumer actually sues under.
Federal TCPA suits from Rhode Island are filed in the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Providence, which covers the whole state: Providence, Cranston, Warwick, Pawtucket and every other town under the single 401 area code. Because chapter 5-61 gives consumers no claim of their own, the federal claim is the case; a Rhode Island complaint to the Attorney General runs alongside it as an enforcement matter, not as part of your damages.
Max Morgan, Esq. reviews Rhode Island call records for free. Cases are handled nationwide under the federal TCPA. Local counsel is associated where Rhode Island rules require it. You pay no fee unless you recover. The federal TCPA limitations period is four years, but talk to us before assuming there is time; each call has its own date.
Getting illegal calls in Rhode Island? Do this.
- Keep the evidence.Your carrier’s call log, the voicemails and screenshots of the texts are what the case is built on. Do not delete calls from rotating 401 numbers.
- Register at donotcall.gov.Rhode Island keeps no separate state list; section 5-61-3.5 simply requires sellers to follow the federal do-not-call rules. Telemarketing that continues more than 31 days after registration is a separate violation.
- Report to the Rhode Island Attorney General.File a Consumer Complaint through the form at riag.ri.gov or call 401-274-4400 (prompt 1). The office assigns an investigator in the order complaints arrive and refers matters outside its jurisdiction.
- File with the FTC and FCC.Report the number at donotcall.gov and fcc.gov/complaints. Our page on how to report a robocall walks through both.
- Get a free case review.Tell us what is hitting your phone and we will tell you whether it looks like a TCPA case. Start with our two-minute case check.
Why Rhode Island residents reach out
If any of these sounds like your phone, it’s worth a free look.
What we help Rhode Island residents with
Each of these is a real, recoverable claim under the TCPA.
Wrong-number robocalls
Prerecorded or auto-dialed calls meant for someone else. You can have a claim even though you’re not a customer.
About wrong-number robocall claimsWrong-number debt collection
Auto-dialed collection calls for a debt that was never yours. Illegal twice over, and it pays.
About wrong-number debt collection claims“Stop calling me”
You told them to stop and the calls kept coming. Each one can be a separate violation.
About claims for calls after you said stopSpam text messages
Marketing texts you never agreed to count under the TCPA too. Screenshots are often all the proof you need.
About spam text message lawsuitsDo-Not-Call violations
Registered your number and the calls didn’t stop? Continued telemarketing may entitle you to damages.
About Do Not Call violation claimsPrerecorded cell calls
Robotic or artificial-voice calls to your cell without consent are a clear TCPA violation.
About prerecorded cell call claimsHow it works
Three steps. No cost to find out. No obligation to go further.
Tell us what happened
Answer a few plain-English questions about the calls or texts. It takes about two minutes.
Max reviews it free
Max Morgan’s team looks at your answers and tells you, honestly, whether you have a claim worth pursuing.
If you qualify, he fights for it
You pay nothing up front and nothing unless you recover. Max handles the case.
Real cases Max has helped win
The TCPA is federal, so these results apply to Rhode Island residents too.
Wrong-number prerecorded debt-collection calls.
Lucas v. Synchrony Bank (N.D. Ind.)
Telemarketing to Do-Not-Call list & after opt-out.
Campbell v. Everything Breaks (D. Nev.)
385 wrong-number calls at $1,500 each.
Higgs v. Golden Title Loans (W.D. Tenn.)
Prerecorded calls to cell phones without consent.
Key v. Miracle Faith Center (N.D. Fla.)
Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Every case is different.
Rhode Island robocall FAQs
Does Rhode Island have its own Do Not Call list?
No. Section 5-61-3.5 of the Telephone Sales Solicitation Act requires telephonic sellers to keep do-not-call procedures that comply with the FCC and FTC rules, which means the national Do Not Call Registry. Register once at donotcall.gov and both the state Act and the federal TCPA apply to your number.
Which court hears a Rhode Island robocall case?
TCPA claims are federal, so they go to the United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island in Providence, which covers the whole state. We handle the filing; you do not need to appear at the courthouse to get started, and most cases resolve without a trial.
Do I need a Rhode Island lawyer?
Not necessarily. The TCPA is a federal statute, so your claim does not depend on hiring a lawyer licensed in Rhode Island. Cases are handled nationwide under the federal TCPA. Local counsel is associated where Rhode Island rules require it.
Does Rhode Island law add anything to a TCPA claim?
Not much for the consumer directly. Chapter 5-61 regulates sellers through registration, calling hours and limits on prerecorded messages, but its penalties are criminal fines and Attorney General enforcement, not a private claim. Your money claim for spam texts or recorded calls comes from the federal TCPA at $500 to $1,500 per call.
What are Rhode Island’s telemarketing calling hours?
For sellers covered by chapter 5-61, section 5-61-3.6 limits unsolicited calls to the Act’s hours of operation: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding holidays, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. The federal telemarketing rule of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. applies to everyone else. Log the times; calls outside both windows show a caller ignoring the rules.
Explore: Wrong-number robocalls · How to sue a telemarketer · Robocall laws in all 50 states · Settlements
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