Free reference
Telemarketing calling hours by country
When you’re allowed to make sales calls in 45 countries and 20 US states: which hours are set in law, which are only industry practice, which countries need consent first, and the source for each.
| Country | Permitted hours (local time) | These hours are | Consent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Mon–Fri 9am–8pm · Sat 9am–5pm · Sun none | Set in law | Opt-out |
| Canada | Mon–Fri 9am–9:30pm · Sat 10am–6pm · Sun 10am–6pm | Set in law | Opt-out |
| France | Mon–Fri 10am–1pm, 2pm–8pm · Sat none · Sun none | Set in law | Opt-in |
| Germany | Mon–Fri 8am–8pm · Sat none · Sun none | No calling-hours law; business norm | Opt-in |
| India | Every day 9am–9pm | Set in law | Opt-out |
| Ireland | Every day 9am–8pm | No calling-hours law; cautious default | Opt-out |
| Italy | Every day 9am–8pm | No calling-hours law; cautious default | Opt-out |
| Netherlands | Mon–Fri 9am–10pm · Sat 10am–4pm · Sun none | Set in law | Opt-in |
| New Zealand | Mon–Sat 8am–9pm · Sun none | Industry code, not law | Opt-out |
| Spain | Every day 9am–9pm | No calling-hours law; cautious default | Opt-in |
| United Kingdom | Mon–Sat 8am–9pm · Sun 9am–6pm | Industry code, not law | Opt-out |
| United States | Every day 8am–9pm | Set in law | Opt-out |
States with stricter hours
These 20 states narrow the federal 8am to 9pm window. Florida, Alabama, Kentucky and Michigan are taken from the statute or rule itself; the others from telemarketing compliance references, so check the state code before relying on a single row.
Countries with no calling-hours law
We checked these 33 countries and found no law fixing calling hours. What decides whether a call is lawful is consent or a do-not-call register. Sysevo applies a cautious default here: 9am to 8pm, Monday to Saturday, no Sundays.
Consent needed first (opt-in)
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia
Allowed until they opt out
Argentina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Malta, Mexico, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland
For the EU and EEA, the shared rule is ePrivacy Directive 2002/58/EC, Article 13, which each country implements as opt-in or opt-out for live marketing calls.
How Sysevo applies these hours
This is the same table the Sysevo dialer and AI calling campaigns check before every outbound call. The check uses the time where the person you’re calling is, not where you are, and if their time zone is unknown the call waits. In the US, state rules can only narrow the federal window, never widen it. A request to be called back at a set time is the one exception to the window. See outbound campaigns and the dialer.
Questions
What are the legal hours for telemarketing calls?
It depends on the country, and on the time where the person you call is. In the US it is 8am to 9pm under the TCPA, with some states stricter. Canada allows 9am to 9:30pm on weekdays and 10am to 6pm at weekends. France allows only 10am to 1pm and 2pm to 8pm, Monday to Friday. The UK has no law on hours; the industry code is 8am to 9pm.
Which countries have no calling-hours law?
Most. The UK, Germany, Spain, Ireland, Italy and most of Europe, along with Switzerland, Singapore, Japan, South Africa and much of Latin America, set no hours in law. There, consent rules and do-not-call registers are what decide whether a call is lawful.
Does calling within the hours make a call legal?
No. In many countries, including France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, marketing calls to consumers need their consent first, so no hour makes an unconsented call lawful. Elsewhere you must still screen national do-not-call registers.
Researched 8 August 2026 from the sources linked on each page. This is a reference, not legal advice: rules change, consent and do-not-call registers often matter more than the clock, and you are responsible for the calls you make. Check the source before relying on any one figure.
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