What hours can telemarketers call?

Between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in your local time under the FTC rule.

Does the rule cover every call?

No. Some political, charity and non-sales calls are treated differently.

What time zone is Las Vegas in?

Pacific, as is nearly all of Nevada.

Glossary

Pacific time and calling hours: a glossary of the terms that matter

By Dana Whitlock, Editor, Desert Dial
Published September 25, 2026 · Updated October 6, 2026

9:30 p.m. in Las Vegas is 12:30 a.m. in New York, and only one of those clocks decides whether a sales call is allowed. This glossary keeps the terms straight: what the calling-hours rule says, how Nevada's clocks work, and what to do when a call lands at a bad hour. I'm not a lawyer, so wherever a definition touches an exception, I've said so and pointed to the official pages.

The rule

Telemarketing Sales Rule: The FTC's rule for telemarketing. It sets the calling window and other limits for sales calls, and it doesn't cover every kind of call. For the exact wording and its exceptions, read the FTC's page on the rule at consumer.ftc.gov.
Calling window: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Telemarketers may not call before or after, measured on your local time. A sales call that rings at 9:30 p.m. in Las Vegas is outside the window, whatever the caller's own clock says.
Local time: The clock where you are, not where the caller is sitting. A call center on the East Coast that dials at 10 p.m. Eastern is reaching you at 7 p.m. in Las Vegas, which is fine. The trouble starts when the caller ignores time zones and a pitch rings at 9:40 p.m. in Nevada because it's "only" 12:40 a.m. somewhere else.
Sales call: The kind of call the rule is aimed at: someone selling something, or trying to. Our guides on timeshare pitches and hotel marketing are full of examples.
Non-sales call: A pharmacy reminder, a school notice or a callback about an appointment. These are not what the calling-hours rule is aimed at, so don't expect to complain about a clinic that rings at 8:05 a.m.
Political, charity and survey calls: Categories that are treated differently. Some political and charitable calls fall outside parts of the rule, and the Do Not Call Registry doesn't cover them either. If one bothers you, ask to be removed from that organization's list.
Business you have dealt with: A company you recently bought from, or joined a rewards program with, may be allowed to contact you for a period, and the details depend on the situation. In a city of hotels and casinos that matters, and the loyalty opt-out guide covers what to do about it.

The clock

Pacific time: The clock used by nearly all of Nevada, including Las Vegas, Reno and Carson City. A 702, 725 or 775 number points to Pacific time for almost everyone who answers it.
Far eastern Nevada: A small area near the Utah border that uses a different clock. If you're calling back a number out there, check the number checker and don't assume anything about the hour.
Time difference: Las Vegas runs three hours behind Eastern time. 7:30 a.m. in Las Vegas is 10:30 a.m. Eastern, and a sales call then is too early for you. 8:00 a.m. is when the window opens. 6:00 p.m. is 9:00 p.m. Eastern and inside the window. 9:30 p.m. is 12:30 a.m. Eastern and outside it. The arithmetic only shows the clocks, and whether a given call breaks the rule depends on the kind of call.
Area-code time zone: The time zone the checker shows for an area code. It tells you where a number began, which matters for returning a call. It doesn't prove where the caller is today, because cell numbers travel.
Bulk dialing: How many late calls happen: lists are dialed in bulk and nobody sorts them by time zone. That's a guess from experience, not a measurement, and scam calls ignore the rules anyway.
Second clock: A clock for the place you call most, added to your phone. It takes thirty seconds to set up and prevents the early-morning call that earns you a block. A call at 6 a.m. in Las Vegas is 9 a.m. in New York, where a business is awake and a private person in Nevada won't thank you.

What you can do

Complaint: A report to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov or to the FCC at fcc.gov/consumers. Note the number, the date and the time as it appeared on your phone, with your time zone. A complaint can't stop a caller tonight, and I don't know what an agency will do with any one report, but reports add up to patterns. Don't argue on the call. A short note is more useful than a long conversation.
Do Not Call Registry: The national list, in place since 2003. Register at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want listed. It cuts honest telemarketing and doesn't stop scammers or the political, charity and survey calls. The Nevada Do Not Call guide explains where to complain.
Focus (iPhone): A mode under Settings > Focus. Create one for sleeping hours and let calls through only from your contacts or favorites.
Do Not Disturb (Android): A setting in Settings where you choose which contacts may ring through while it's on. Add the people who might truly need you, such as family and the school.
Silence Unknown Callers: On iPhone, Settings > Phone > Silence Unknown Callers sends numbers outside your contacts to voicemail. On Android, the Google Phone app has a spam filter under Phone > three dots > Settings > Caller ID & spam.
Voicemail: Your overnight screener. Real calls leave messages, and you'll find them in the morning without losing a night of sleep. See the 702 and 725 guide for four sample calls, and the business guide if you are the one calling.
Time of day as a clue: Not proof of anything. Scam calls arrive at all hours, and honest calls sometimes come at odd ones, such as a hospital or a shift worker's employer. A call at 11 p.m. from an unknown number is more likely junk than an emergency, since real emergencies come from family and from numbers you know. A local time that makes no sense for you tells you something about how the call was dialed. This is general information, not legal advice.