Virginia residents can reduce unwanted sales calls by using the National Do Not Call Registry and making direct requests to individual businesses.
Virginia's Telephone Privacy Protection Act restricts covered solicitations to registered numbers and prohibits continued solicitation after qualifying do-not-contact requests.
Consumers may pursue statutory damages when violations are established.
How Virginia's do-not-call protections work
Virginia uses the federal National Do Not Call Registry rather than maintaining a separate statewide registration list.
Consumers can register eligible personal telephone numbers through the official registry.
Registration helps restrict covered telemarketing calls, although it does not prevent every unwanted communication.
Some calls fall outside the registry's restrictions, while others may qualify for statutory exceptions.
Virginia provides additional protections when consumers directly instruct businesses to stop contacting them.
Registering a telephone number
Consumers can visit the official National Do Not Call Registry website to register or verify eligible numbers.
The registry covers qualifying personal telephone numbers, including wireless and residential lines.
Registration generally remains active unless the consumer removes the number or the registry administrator removes it.
A registered number may still receive certain lawful calls. Registration should not be treated as a guarantee that all unwanted calls will disappear.
What businesses must do after a consumer opts out
Virginia Code § 59.1-514 prohibits covered telephone solicitations after a person at the number has stated that they do not wish to receive further solicitations from the relevant business.
A consumer can communicate the request to the telephone solicitor or the business represented.
The statute requires qualifying requests to remain effective for at least 10 years.
Businesses should maintain reliable records of these requests and ensure their marketing representatives respect them.
Established business relationships and exceptions
An established business relationship may provide an exception to certain do-not-call restrictions.
Virginia defines such relationships using specified time periods connected to purchases, transactions, inquiries, or applications.
A purchase or transaction within the previous 18 months may qualify. An inquiry or application within the previous three months may also qualify.
However, Virginia removes the established business relationship exception for the relevant solicitations once the consumer makes a qualifying request to stop.
This means a company cannot always rely on a past purchase to justify continued marketing calls.
Local spotlight: Do-not-call protection throughout Virginia
Residents of Arlington, Richmond, Norfolk, Roanoke, and smaller Virginia communities receive protection under the same statewide telephone privacy statute.
A telemarketing company does not need a physical office in Virginia for its covered calls to raise legal concerns.
For consumers who receive sales calls from businesses located in other states, the identity of the caller and the purpose of the communication remain important.
The protections also extend to qualifying calls involving Virginia-area-code numbers.
Penalties for violating Virginia's do-not-call rules
Virginia authorizes statutory damages of $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation.
Courts may increase damages for willful first or second violations to as much as $5,000.
These amounts apply to legally established violations rather than every unwanted telephone contact.
Businesses may also raise defenses under the statute.
For certain do-not-call claims, Virginia recognizes a defense involving reasonable compliance procedures and timely access to registry information.
Practical steps when calls continue
Consumers should record the date, time, caller's number, and business name.
If possible, document the purpose of the call and the product or service being advertised.
Clearly communicate the request to stop future solicitations.
When later calls arrive, preserve the records rather than relying only on memory.
These details can help distinguish an isolated mistake from a repeated pattern.
Common questions around Virginia do-not-call laws
Does Virginia maintain a separate do-not-call list?
No. Virginia relies on the National Do Not Call Registry.
Can a business call a former customer?
An established business relationship may provide an exception, but a qualifying request to stop contact changes the analysis.
How long must a company honor an opt-out request?
At least 10 years under Virginia law.
Does the registry stop political calls?
Political calls generally fall outside ordinary commercial do-not-call restrictions, although other laws may apply.
Can consumers sue over registry violations?
Qualifying violations may support legal claims under state or federal law.
For more information, visit: https://robocalllawsuit.com/autodialer-laws/virginia/
