PECR, the main law on marketing calls, sets no calling hours for B2B or consumer calls. You'll see "8am to 9pm" quoted as a rule. It isn't in PECR.
The parts of PECR that deal with calls are regulations 19 to 26 of PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003. None of them mention a time of day.
What exists instead
Three things come close, and each applies in a narrower way than people assume.
Ofcom: unsociable hours make abandoned calls worse
Ofcom's persistent misuse policy, which deals with silent and abandoned calls, says: "We are likely to regard misuse at unsociable hours as more harmful and liable to action. We do not prescribe those hours". It considers each case on its merits.
So the timing matters if your calls are already causing harm, for example a dialler abandoning calls. It isn't a rule about when you may call.
The DMA Code: members only
The Data and Marketing Association's code says: "Members must take all reasonable steps to ensure customers do not receive commercial telephone calls or SMS messages at times considered antisocial."
That binds DMA members, and it doesn't define antisocial.
The FCA: an appropriate time of day
If you're an FCA authorised firm, COBS 4.8.3R requires spoken promotions to clients to be made "only ... at an appropriate time of the day". It doesn't apply to non-retail communications, and it's a rule for FCA firms, not general law.
Choosing when to call
With no legal line to stay behind, the question is what's sensible and what works.
What's sensible depends on the number. A company switchboard during business hours is expected to ring. A sole trader's mobile in the evening may well be their personal phone, and if that number is on the TPS you can't make an unsolicited marketing call to it unless they've told you they don't object to your calls.
What works is a different question, and the data disagrees. Gong's 2022 analysis of 100,000 cold calls on its platform found 11am to noon and 4pm to 5pm gave the best results. Cognism's 2026 report puts 10am to 11am first and 2pm to 3pm second. Both are vendor data. I've set out both, with their sources, in Sales facts for 2026. Test on your own list before trusting either.
For the rules that do apply to every call, see the full UK cold calling law guide.
Questions people ask
Is it illegal to cold call after 9pm in the UK?
PECR sets no 9pm cut off, or any other calling hours. Ofcom treats unsociable hours as an aggravating factor in its abandoned and silent call policy, the DMA Code asks members to avoid antisocial times, and FCA firms making spoken promotions to clients must make them at an appropriate time of day.
Can I cold call businesses at weekends?
PECR doesn't restrict days or times. Whether it's sensible depends on who you're calling. A sole trader's number on the TPS can't receive an unsolicited marketing call unless they've told you they don't object, and a weekend call to a personal mobile is more likely to be unwelcome.
Sources
- PECR contents (regulations 19 to 26 contain no time of day rule), legislation.gov.uk
- Persistent Misuse: a statement of Ofcom's general policy on the exercise of its enforcement powers, Ofcom, 20 December 2016
- The DMA Code, Data and Marketing Association
- FCA Handbook, COBS 4.8, Financial Conduct Authority
KIK Studio is a cold calling dialler built for UK rules. Progressive dialling, a 15-second minimum ring, do not call lists respected, every call logged and recorded.
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