On January 1, 2026, the amendments to the Virginia Telephone Privacy Protection Act (VTPPA), Va. Code § 59.1-510 et seq., went into effect. The amendments expand the scope of the VTPPA to explicitly include both calls and texts and provide enhanced statutory damages for willful or repeated violations. With the added requirements and heightened damages, including the recovery of attorneys’ fees, we expect these changes to the VTPPA will invite a wave of litigation.

The VTPPA primarily has 5 requirements governing telephone solicitations: (1) time restrictions (§ 59.1-511); (2) identification requirements (§ 59.1-512); (3) caller identification requirements (§ 59.1-513); (4) opt-out requirements (§ 59.1-514); and (5) recently added abandoned telephone solicitation messages (§ 59.1-513.1). Under the previous iteration of the VTPPA, the restrictions were limited to “telephone solicitation calls,” (despite broadly defining “telephone solicitation” to include text messages). However, as amended, the restrictions now apply broadly to all “telephone solicitations,” making it clear that the restrictions apply to both telephone calls and text messages alike. These restrictions include:

• § 59.1-511 – a caller may not make a telephone solicitation at any time other than between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. local time at the contacted person’s location, unless the telephone solicitor has obtained the prior consent of the contacted person.
• § 59.1-512 – persons making a telephone solicitation via telephone call must provide their first and last name, along with the identity of the person or entity the caller is calling on behalf of.
• § 59.513 – the telephone solicitation must transmit the telephone number (and, when available, the name of telephone solicitor) which, if contacted during regular business hours, a consumer may request not to receive telephone solicitations. For text message solicitations, this requirement is satisfied if the number from which the message is sent is a number through which the recipient may make an opt-out request.
• § 59.514 – prohibits any telephone solicitation after a consumer has requested to no longer receive telephone solicitations from the seller (i.e., the person on whose behalf the solicitation is made). Such a request may be made to either the telephone solicitor or the seller. For text message solicitations, the words “UNSUBSCRIBE” or “STOP” shall constitute an opt-out. All opt-out requests must be honored for 10 years.
• § 59.513.1 – The newly added § 59.513-1 also provides that if a live person is not available within 2 seconds of a telephone solicitation call, then the telephone solicitor must play a prerecorded identification message that states the name and telephone number of the person on whose behalf the telephone solicitation is being made, which the consumer may contact to make an opt-out request. 

The VTPPA provides for a private right of action and permits a “natural person” to recover statutory damages in the amount of $500 for the first violation, $1,000 for a second violation, and $5,000 for each subsequent violation. § 59.1-515(A). If a court finds that a violation is willful, then it may increase the amount of damages awarded for a first or second violation to up to $5,000. § 59.1-515(B). The VTPPA further provides for the recovery of reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses for a prevailing plaintiff (but does not provide for any fee-shifting for a prevailing defendant). § 59.1-515(C).

The VTPPA imposes joint and several liabilities on the telephone solicitor and the seller on whose behalf the solicitation is made, and it creates a rebuttable presumption that telephone solicitations are made on a seller’s behalf—regardless of whether an agency relationship exists, or if the seller directed or requested the solicitation. § 59.1-514.1. The presumption may be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence that the seller did not retain or request the telephone solicitor to make telephone solicitations on the seller’s behalf or for the seller’s benefit and that the telephone solicitations offering or advertising the seller’s property, goods, or services were made by the telephone solicitor without the seller’s knowledge or consent.

In sum, while the only new addition to the VTPPA relates to abandoned telephone solicitation calls, the recent amendments make clear that its restrictions extend to both telephone calls and text messages. As to the requirements relating to opt-out requests, the VTPPA is unambiguous compared to the current iteration of the TCPA: only the words “UNSUBSCRIBE” or “STOP” constitute valid opt-out requests. See § 59.1-514 (“In the case of a telephone solicitation via text messages, such statement shall be made by replying to the text message with the word “UNSUBSCRIBE” or “STOP”). However, given the steep statutory damages—particularly for repeated violations, which can equal up to $5,000 per violation—and the ability to recover attorneys’ fees, we expect the VTPPA will be popular amongst the plaintiff’s bar. We will keep you posted!