Act 147 of 1996, § 3: Registration…

Section 3. Registration requirement.

(a) Requirement.--In addition to any other requirements imposed by law, a telemarketer or the telemarketing business which employs the telemarketer shall be required to register with the Office of Attorney General at least 30 days prior to offering for sale consumer goods or services through any medium. This section shall not apply to a person or business licensed by or registered with a Federal or Commonwealth agency or to a person or business specified under subsection (b.1). Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, any business which provides telemarketing services to other entities and has been under the same ownership and control for less than five years shall register under this section. ((a) amended July 20, 2026, P.L.532, No.47)

(b) Unlawful conduct.--It shall be unlawful for a telemarketer to initiate a telephone call or message to, or to receive a telephone call or message from, a residential, business or wireless telephone subscriber in this Commonwealth in connection with the purchase of consumer goods or services unless the telemarketer or the telemarketing business which employs the telemarketer is registered with the Office of Attorney General. ((b) amended July 20, 2026, P.L.532, No.47)

(b.1) Exemptions from registration.--The following shall not be required to register under this section:

(1) A person or business soliciting sales through a catalog that meets all of the following criteria:

(i) Contains a written description or illustration and the price of each good or service offered for sale.

(ii) Includes the business address of the seller.

(iii) Includes at least 24 pages of written material or illustrations.

(iv) Is distributed in more than one state.

(v) Is issued at least once a year.

(vi) Has an annual circulation of not less than 250,000 consumers.

(2) A person or business soliciting without the intent to complete, and that does not complete, the sales presentation during the telephone solicitation, but completes the sales presentation at a later face-to-face meeting with the prospective purchaser, or offers to send descriptive literature and does not require payment before the purchaser reviews the literature. This paragraph shall not apply if, directly after a telephone solicitation, the seller causes an individual whose primary purpose is to collect payment to go to the purchaser for that purpose.

(3) A book, video or record club or contractual plan or agreement:

(i) under which the seller provides the purchaser with a form the purchaser may use to instruct the seller not to ship the offered merchandise;

(ii) that is regulated under the Federal Trade Commission's trade regulation rule concerning the use of negative option plans by sellers in commerce under 16 CFR Pt. 425 (relating to use of prenotification negative option plans); or

(iii) that provides for the sale of books, records or videos not covered under subparagraph (i) or (ii), including continuity plans, subscription arrangements, standing order arrangements, supplements and series arrangements under which the seller periodically ships merchandise to a purchaser who has consented in advance to receive the merchandise on a periodic basis.

(4) A person or business conducting a business-to-business sale if the selling business has operated continuously for at least three years under the same business name and at least 50% of its dollar volume consists of repeat sales to existing businesses.

(5) A person or business engaged in a business or occupation licensed by, certificated by or registered with a Federal or Commonwealth agency while acting within the scope of the business for which licensure, certification or registration is required.

(6) Any of the following organizations unless a professional fundraising counsel or professional solicitor who is neither registered nor exempt from registration under this act is used:

(i) An educational institution, the curriculum of which, in whole or in part, is registered with or approved by the Department of Education, either directly or by acceptance of accreditation by an accrediting body recognized by the Department of Education, and any auxiliary association, foundation or support group directly responsible to the educational institution.

(ii) A hospital subject to regulation by the Department of Health or the Department of Human Services and the hospital foundation, if any, that is an integral part of the hospital.

(iii) A public nonprofit library organization that receives financial aid from the Commonwealth or a municipal government and files an annual fiscal report with the State Library System.

(iv) A senior citizen center or nursing home that is nonprofit and charitable and has been granted tax-exempt status under 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3), (5) or (8) (relating to exemption from tax on corporations, certain trusts, etc.).

(v) A bona fide parent-teacher association or parent-teacher organization recognized by the school district in which it is located in a notarized letter.

(vi) A corporation established by an act of Congress that is required by Federal law to submit annual reports of its activities to the Congress of the United States, including itemized accounts of all receipts and expenditures, after being fully audited by the Department of Defense.

(vii) A charitable organization receiving $25,000 or less in contributions annually.

(7) A person or business soliciting from prospective purchasers who have previously purchased from the business enterprise on whose behalf the person is calling, if the business enterprise has operated continuously for at least three years under the same business name.

(8) A person or business primarily soliciting the sale of a newspaper, magazine or other periodical of general circulation if the publishing business has operated continuously for at least two years under the same business name, the solicitor is an employee of the publisher or of an agent of the publisher and the solicitor discloses during the initial contact the total cost to purchase, receive or use and the quantity of the newspapers, magazines or other periodicals that are the subject of the sales offer. As used in this paragraph, the term "agent" means a person or business that has entered into a written agreement directly with the publisher.

(9) A person or business, or an agent of the person or business, that has operated a retail business establishment in this Commonwealth for at least two years under the same name used in connection with telemarketing if:

(i) products are displayed and offered for sale or services are offered for sale and provided at the business establishment; and

(ii) a majority of the seller's business involves buyers obtaining products or services at the seller's location. As used in this paragraph, the term "agent" means a person or business that has entered into a written agreement directly with the retail business establishment.

(10) A person or business providing telemarketing services continuously for at least five years under the same ownership and control and deriving 75% of its gross telemarketing sales revenue from contracts with persons or businesses exempt under this section.

(11) A person or business soliciting the sale of food or produce if the solicitation is not intended to result and does not result in a sale costing the purchaser more than $500, and the person or business has operated continuously for at least two years under the same business name.

(12) An issuer or subsidiary of an issuer that has a class of securities subject to 15 U.S.C. § 78l (relating to registration requirements for securities) and is registered or exempt from registration under 15 U.S.C. § 78l(g)(2)(A), (B), (C), (E), (F), (G) or (H).

(13) A person or business that is not engaged in telemarketing because the calls or messages initiated by the person or business do not meet the requirements of telephone solicitation.

((b.1) added July 20, 2026, P.L.532, No.47)