Are AI Sales Calls Allowed in Germany? What Section 7 UWG Says

Short answer: in Germany, advertising by telephone to a consumer needs their prior express consent, and to another business at least their presumed consent (section 7(2) no. 1 of the Unfair Competition Act, the UWG). Advertising with an automatic calling machine needs prior express consent in every case. You must document a consumer's consent and keep the proof for five years (section 7a), and the Bundesnetzagentur can fine an unlawful call to a consumer up to 300,000 euros. Whether an AI voice agent counts as a calling machine is not settled in the texts we read, so plan on the stricter view. The product does not collect or check consent. That is your job.

What follows is a plain-language reading of official texts on 25 October 2026. Read the official text; this is not legal advice.

What does the UWG say about calls?

Section 7(1) forbids a commercial act that unreasonably harasses someone, and says this applies in particular to advertising when it is obvious the person does not want it. Section 7(2) then lists cases that count as unreasonable in every case. Number 1 is advertising by telephone to a consumer without their prior express consent, or to another market participant without at least their presumed consent. Number 2 is advertising with an automatic calling machine, a fax or electronic mail without the addressee's prior express consent. There is a narrow exception in section 7(3), but it is for electronic mail only, and it does not reach the telephone.

Do I have to prove the consent?

Yes. Section 7a says that anyone who advertises by telephone to a consumer must document the consumer's prior express consent at the time it is given, in an appropriate form, keep the proof for five years from the consent and after each use of it, and show it to the competent authority on request. Failing to document it is itself a fine of up to 50,000 euros under section 20, and an unlawful advertising call to a consumer is a fine of up to 300,000 euros. The competent authority for both is the Bundesnetzagentur.

What does the Bundesnetzagentur add?

On its page about unlawful telephone advertising, the authority says:

• Consent must exist before the call, spoken or written, and it is needed even for existing customers.
• It can be withdrawn at any time without reasons, and further contact must then stop.
• Pre-printed consents, for example in general terms or competition rules, count only if it is clear which advertising and which company they cover.
• Consent claimed from bought address lists should be viewed critically and proof demanded.
• The caller must show a telephone number. Anonymous calls and spoofed numbers are not allowed (section 15(2) of the TDDDG), and the fine for this is also up to 300,000 euros.
• It fines only advertising to consumers. A business called by a competitor or another business can act under competition law instead.

Is an AI voice agent an "automatic calling machine"?

We could not verify it. The term comes from the days of tape announcements, and we found no court ruling or authority statement on modern voice agents; the practice articles we found say the question is open. If a voice agent is treated as a calling machine, section 7(2) no. 2 applies and even business-to-business calls need prior express consent. Planning on that stricter view costs little: ask for an explicit "yes, you may call me about this" and record it.

Can I call a lead who filled in my web form?

Only if the form really asked for it. A form that says "we will call you about your request" is not the same as a clear, separate agreement to be called for advertising, and the consent must name your business and be stored with a date. A person who asks for a quote or a callback and ticks a box that says so is the safest case; the call should then stay inside what they asked for. Without such a box, the call is a risk.

How should an outbound campaign be set up?

1. Decide where each consent came from and store it with the date and the wording shown. Drop any number whose consent you cannot show.
2. Show a real number that someone can call back.
3. Write the opening line: who is calling, for which business, that it is an automated assistant, why, and that the person can ask you to stop.
4. Set calling hours for each campaign, on the called person's clock. The platform sets no window of its own, and we found no statutory calling-hours rule in the texts we read, so ask your adviser and use sensible hours.
5. Keep a do-not-contact list and add anyone who objects at once.
6. Keep the records: the product stores a transcript and outcome of each call. Recording is a per-agent switch, off by default, and has its own rule (see practices and firms).

What does the product not do?

• It does not collect or check consent.
• It does not screen numbers against any register.
• It does not announce itself as an AI unless your opening line says so.

Answering your own inbound calls is a different matter from cold calling, and most businesses start there. See where to start, voice campaigns, the Germany page and the AI receptionist.