> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getnexor.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# US outreach regulations: consent, AI calls, texts and calling hours
> Legal requirements, TCPA and state regulations for AI voice calls and SMS to United States numbers: what consent must say, calling hours, do-not-call lists, penalties, and what Nexor enforces automatically.
This page covers the rules that apply when an agent calls or texts a **United States (+1) number**. It is general guidance current as of September 2026, not legal advice. Laws change often and several states are stricter than the federal floor, so confirm your program with counsel before launching.
Having marketing consent is necessary but not sufficient. For AI voice calls the consent text has to say specific things, and each state adds its own hours, frequency limits and disclosure rules. See [state-by-state rules](/docs/en/guides/compliance/us-state-rules) and [AI disclosure and recording](/docs/en/guides/compliance/ai-disclosure-and-recording).
## Why AI calls are treated differently
Under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), an AI-generated voice counts as an **artificial or prerecorded voice** (FCC ruling, February 2024). That puts every AI call in the strictest consent category:
| Contact | Purpose | Consent required |
| ------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------- |
| AI voice call | Sales, upsell, booking a sales meeting, qualifying for a sale | **Prior express written consent** |
| AI voice call | Informational (reminder, delivery, account notice, no pitch) | Prior express consent |
| SMS | Sales | Written consent (state law and carrier rules require it) |
| SMS | Informational | Prior express consent |
| WhatsApp, Instagram, Messenger, email | Any | Platform rules and state AI-disclosure laws; no TCPA |
Penalties are $500 per call or text, $1,500 if willful, with no cap and a private right of action. Class actions are routine.
## What the consent text must say
A generic "I agree to receive calls from Brand" checkbox does **not** authorize AI voice calls. Valid written consent for AI outreach includes all of the following, shown to the person before they agree:
The brand name, and that calls or texts may be **autodialed and use an artificial, prerecorded or AI-generated voice**.
The specific phone number the person is authorizing.
The sentence "Consent is not a condition of purchase."
Message frequency, "message and data rates may apply", and STOP / HELP instructions.
Timestamp, source page, the exact disclosure text shown, and the person's action (checkbox, signature, or reply). Nexor stores this for SMS consent captured through the API or the web widget.
Consent collected years ago for a human sales team usually lacks the artificial-voice wording, so those leads need to re-consent before an AI agent calls them. Oral consent recorded on a human-placed call is accepted for marketing robocalls only in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi federal courts; everywhere else, get it in writing.
## Federal rules that apply in every state
| Rule | Requirement |
| -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Calling hours | 8:00 am to 9:00 pm in the **recipient's** local time |
| Identification | State the business name at the start of the call and give a callback number |
| Opt-out | Any wording that means "stop" revokes consent on that channel; honor it within 10 business days and never contact that number again without a new, explicit opt-in |
| Do-not-call registry | Current written consent or a recent purchase or inquiry exempts the number; otherwise scrub against the national list every 31 days |
| Recording | Federal law needs one party's consent; eleven states need everyone's |
| AI disclosure | A federal rule requiring "this is an AI" at the start of every call is proposed but not final; several states already require it |
## What Nexor enforces automatically
For **SMS from a US number to a US number**, sending is blocked unless every check passes:
* A current consent record exists for that exact phone number, and the lead is not opted out, unsubscribed or marked do-not-contact.
* The recipient's local time is between 8:00 am and 8:59 pm, inferred from the area code. Florida numbers stop at 7:59 pm. Unknown area codes use a narrow, safe window.
* STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END and QUIT revoke consent immediately. Only START, YES or UNSTOP from the subscriber, or an explicit re-grant through the API, reopen the channel.
* A per-recipient monthly cap matching the volume declared to the carrier.
* The first commercial text is a single English opener with the required identification and opt-out language, and the opt-in confirmation goes out automatically.
For **calls**, the agent introduces itself with its name and your company, and follows the outbound-hours schedule you configure on the agent. That schedule is what runs, so set it in the recipient's time zone and inside the window of the states you call. Sunday, holiday and per-day limits in [state-by-state rules](/docs/en/guides/compliance/us-state-rules) are your responsibility to configure.
## Your checklist before a US campaign
Every lead has written consent that names artificial or AI voice (for calls) or automated texts (for SMS), the number, and "not a condition of purchase". Keep the proof.
Outbound hours set in the recipient's time zone, inside the state window, with Sundays and holidays excluded where the state bans them.
No more than three calls plus texts per 24 hours on the same subject to Florida, Oklahoma or Maryland numbers.
The agent says it is an AI assistant and that the call is recorded in its opener. See [AI disclosure and recording](/docs/en/guides/compliance/ai-disclosure-and-recording).
About thirty states require telemarketer registration, some with a bond. Most exempt calls to consumers who consented or are existing customers, but the exemptions differ by state.
Hours, Sunday and holiday bans, consent laws, frequency caps and recording rules for all 50 states.
Which states require the agent to say it is an AI, where recording needs everyone's consent, and how to write the opener.