# Cold Calling Laws by Country (2026)

B2B cold calling is legal in most of the 18 countries we cover, but the rules differ. Calls to businesses are allowed with basic care in the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Japan. The UK, Ireland and Switzerland add register checks before you call. The UAE and Germany are strict, and in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Morocco the rules for live B2B calls aren't settled.

Reviewed October 2026. A plain summary for business-to-business calls, not legal advice.

| Country | B2B cold calling | Main rule |
|---|---|---|
| [United States](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/usa) | Allowed | Check personal and mobile numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry. No robocalls. |
| [United Kingdom](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/uk) | Allowed with checks | Screen every number against the TPS and CTPS registers. |
| [Ireland](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/ireland) | Allowed with checks | Check landlines against the NDD opt-out register. Mobiles need consent. |
| [Canada](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/canada) | Allowed | B2B calls are exempt from the National DNCL. Keep an internal do-not-call list. |
| [Australia](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/australia) | Allowed | Follow the Industry Standard's calling hours, caller ID and identification rules. |
| [New Zealand](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/new-zealand) | Allowed | No government register. The Privacy Act and Fair Trading Act apply. |
| [United Arab Emirates](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/uae) | Restricted | Calls only 9am to 6pm, no Do Not Call Registry numbers, heavy fines. |
| [Saudi Arabia](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/saudi-arabia) | Unclear | Rules lean towards prior consent. Take local legal advice. |
| [Singapore](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/singapore) | Allowed | B2B calls are outside the DNC rules. Check personal numbers first. |
| [Germany](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/germany) | Restricted | Needs at least presumed consent under UWG section 7. |
| [Switzerland](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/switzerland) | Allowed with checks | Don't call numbers marked with an asterisk in the directory. |
| [Sweden](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/sweden) | Allowed | Check private numbers against NIX-Telefon. |
| [Norway](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/norway) | Allowed | The consumer opt-out register doesn't cover businesses. |
| [Denmark](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/denmark) | Allowed | The consumer call ban doesn't cover companies. Check sole traders' numbers. |
| [Finland](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/finland) | Allowed | Telemarketing rules focus on consumers. GDPR applies. |
| [Japan](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/japan) | Allowed | Telemarketing rules protect consumers; B2B contracts are generally outside them. |
| [Qatar](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/qatar) | Unclear | Prior consent for electronic marketing; unsettled for live calls. |
| [Morocco](https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-services/morocco) | Unclear | The CNDP leans towards prior consent and declaration. Take local advice. |

## Is B2B cold calling legal in the US?

Yes. Calls to business numbers are mostly outside the National Do Not Call Registry, and the TCPA is aimed mainly at robocalls and calls to consumers. Since 2024, the Telemarketing Sales Rule's ban on misleading claims also covers B2B calls. You still have to honour do-not-call requests, and some states add rules of their own.

Source: [FTC: Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/complying-telemarketing-sales-rule)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in the UK?

Yes. Live B2B marketing calls are allowed under PECR, as long as you don't call numbers registered with the TPS or CTPS (unless that business has said it's happy to be called) and you stop when asked.

Source: [ICO: Business-to-business marketing](https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/direct-marketing-and-privacy-and-electronic-communications/business-to-business-marketing/)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Ireland?

Yes, with conditions. Marketing calls to business landlines are allowed unless the number is on the National Directory Database opt-out register, but marketing calls to mobiles need the subscriber's consent first.

Source: [Data Protection Commission: NDD FAQs](https://www.dataprotection.ie/en/organisations/rules-electronic-and-direct-marketing/ndd-faqs)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Canada?

Yes. Telemarketing calls to businesses are exempt from the National Do Not Call List rules, but you still have to follow the CRTC's other telemarketing rules, including keeping an internal do-not-call list.

Source: [National DNCL: Exemptions](https://lnnte-dncl.gc.ca/en/Organization/Exemptions)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Australia?

Yes. Business numbers can't be registered on the Do Not Call Register, but telemarketing calls still have to follow the Industry Standard's rules on calling hours, identifying yourself and showing caller ID.

Source: [ACMA Do Not Call Register: Industry standards](https://www.donotcall.gov.au/industry/industry-overview/industry-standards)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in New Zealand?

Yes. New Zealand has no government do-not-call register, but the Privacy Act 2020 and the Fair Trading Act still apply to how you call and what you say.

Source: [Marketing Association: Do Not Call](https://marketing.org.nz/do-not-call-do-not-mail)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in the UAE?

Telemarketing is legal but tightly regulated since August 2024: calls only between 9am and 6pm, no calls to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry, and heavy fines. How far the rules reach business-to-business calls isn't settled, so check with a UAE legal adviser.

Source: [Mondaq: New telemarketing regulations in the UAE](https://www.mondaq.com/advertising-marketing-branding/1495836/new-telemarketing-regulations-introduced-in-uae)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Saudi Arabia?

Business-to-business calling isn't banned, but Saudi rules on marketing lean towards prior consent and a clearly identified sender, and how they apply to live B2B calls is less settled than in the UK or the US. Take local legal advice before a large campaign.

Source: [Al Tamimi & Co: Marketing consent in Saudi Arabia](https://turtl.tamimi.com/story/law-update-issue-367-saudi-arabia-and-competition/page/11)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Singapore?

Yes. B2B marketing calls to organisations are excluded from the PDPA's Do Not Call rules. Calls to people in a personal capacity have to be checked against the DNC Registry first.

Source: [PDPC: Advisory Guidelines on the Do Not Call Provisions](https://www.pdpc.gov.sg/-/media/Files/PDPC/PDF-Files/Advisory-Guidelines/Advisory-Guidelines-on-the-DNC-Provisions-1-Feb-2021.pdf)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Germany?

Yes, but Germany is one of the strictest countries in Europe. Under the Act against Unfair Competition (UWG), a sales call to a business needs at least its presumed consent: a concrete reason to believe it would welcome your call. Pure cold calls with no such reason risk cease-and-desist letters from competitors and trade associations.

Source: [UWG § 7, official text (German)](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/uwg_2004/__7.html)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Switzerland?

Yes. Advertising calls are allowed in principle, but under the Swiss Act against Unfair Competition (UWG) it's unfair to call a number marked with an asterisk (*) in the phone directory, which means the subscriber doesn't want advertising calls.

Source: [law.ch: Telephone advertising and cold calling (German)](https://law.ch/lawnews/2016/10/telefonwerbung-kaltakquise-ein-ueberblick/)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Sweden?

Yes. Sweden's NIX-Telefon register lets private individuals opt out of sales calls, and marketers must check private numbers against it. Company numbers aren't covered by NIX, but GDPR applies to named contacts, and a company that asks not to be called must not be called again.

Source: [Kontakta: The NIX registry](https://kontakta.se/the-nix-registry)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Norway?

Yes. Norway's opt-out register (Reservasjonsregisteret) and its telephone sales rules protect consumers. Calls to businesses aren't covered by those rules, though they must still follow good business practice, and GDPR applies to named contacts.

Source: [Norwegian Government: rules on telephone sales (Norwegian)](https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/horing---forslag-til-endringer-i-reglene-for-telefonsalg/id2427308/)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Denmark?

Yes. The ban on unsolicited sales calls in Denmark's Consumer Contracts Act (section 4) protects consumers, not companies. Sole traders can count as individuals under the Robinson list rules in the Marketing Practices Act, and GDPR applies to named contacts.

Source: [Consumer Contracts Act § 4 (Danish)](https://danskelove.dk/forbrugeraftaleloven/4)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Finland?

Yes. Finland's telemarketing rules and its Robinson opt-out service are aimed mainly at consumers, and live sales calls to companies are generally allowed. GDPR applies to named contacts, and a company that objects must not be called again.

Source: [ASML: Telemarketing code of conduct (PDF)](https://asml.fi/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Telemarketing-Code-of-Conduct-2013-2.pdf)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Japan?

Yes. Japan's telemarketing rules in the Act on Specified Commercial Transactions are written to protect consumers, and contracts a company makes for its business are generally outside them. The Act on the Protection of Personal Information (APPI) still applies to named contacts.

Source: [Consumer Affairs Agency: Specified Commercial Transactions Act guide (Japanese)](https://www.no-trouble.caa.go.jp/)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Qatar?

Calling businesses isn't banned, but Qatar's Personal Data Privacy Protection Law (Law No. 13 of 2016) requires prior consent for direct electronic marketing to individuals, and whether that covers live phone calls isn't clearly settled. Take local legal advice before a large campaign.

Source: [Clyde & Co: Guidelines on Qatar's data protection law](https://www.clydeco.com/en/insights/2021/03/new-regulatory-guidelines-on-the-qatar-persona-1)

## Is B2B cold calling legal in Morocco?

Calling businesses isn't banned, but Morocco's data protection law (Law 09-08) and the guidance of its regulator, the CNDP, lean towards prior consent for direct marketing, and the processing has to be declared to the CNDP. How this applies to live B2B calls isn't settled, so take local legal advice.

Source: [CNDP: Direct marketing guidance (French, PDF)](https://www.cndp.ma/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/fiche_CNDP_Prospection_RT_fr.pdf)

Page: https://switchstack.io/cold-calling-laws-by-country