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Writing to a person you know needs a lawyer is a solicitation, and states regulate it more than any other ad. Many set a waiting period after an accident; a few have each targeted letter filed with the bar; several want a label on the envelope. Each table cell comes from our state rules library and links its source.
Key facts
- 17 states set a waiting period before targeted contact about an injury or accident.
- 14 of them use 30 days; the longest is Connecticut’s, at 40 days.
- 4 states file only targeted solicitations, such as letters: Indiana, Maryland, South Dakota and Wisconsin.
What counts as a solicitation letter?
A letter, email, text or social message sent to a specific person because you know they need help with a specific matter: an accident report, a court filing, an arrest list or a foreclosure notice. A mailer to every home in a neighborhood is an ordinary ad. The difference matters, because waiting periods and solicitation labels apply to targeted messages. Filing can reach both: some states file general mail ads too, so check the row.
Live contact is different again. In-person visits, live phone calls and, in some states, real-time texts to a stranger who needs a lawyer are banned outright in most states, whatever the timing.
How long must you wait after an accident?
Many states set a waiting period for targeted contact about a personal injury or a death, and the facts above count them. The period usually runs from the accident; some states also cover wrongful-death claims, disasters or criminal matters, and some put it in a statute as well as a court rule. The left-hand column of the table gives each state’s cell, in its own words.
Federal law adds one more: after an airline or passenger-rail accident, a federal no-contact period applies to injury claims, in every state. Our state rules library lists it among the national rules.
Which states file targeted letters with the bar?
A few states that don’t file ordinary ads still file targeted solicitations, and the states that file all ads usually include letters too. The right-hand column shows each state’s filing rule. Where filing applies, it usually means a copy of the letter, a sample envelope and a list of where it went, sent before or soon after mailing. See how to submit ads to the bar for each form.
What must a solicitation letter carry?
Besides the name of a responsible lawyer, several states set a label. California’s rule uses “the word ‘Advertisement’ or words of similar import on the outside envelope” (California Rule 7.3(c)); Illinois, Indiana, South Dakota and Wisconsin use “Advertising Material.” Our label page lists every state’s wording in context.
Every state and DC: waiting period and filing
P means we read the primary source, S a secondary summary we verify before relying on it for a client, D the ABA model default where we have not yet read the state’s own text. The “source” link opens the document behind the cell.
| State | Waiting period before targeted injury contact | Ad filing or review |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 21 days after the accident, event or disaster for solicitation about a personal-injury or wrongful-death matter (7.3(b)(1)). In a pending civil or administrative proceeding, not until service of process is obtained and filed (7.3(b)(2)). In a pending criminal proceeding, not until seven days after the person was served with a warrant or information (7.3(b)(3)). Live, in-person and real-time solicitation of someone who has not asked is banned, and the comment says texts initiated by or for the lawyer count as real-time (7.3(a)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Alaska | The rules set no waiting period before contacting someone after an accident or injury. Rule 7.3 bans live in-person, phone or real-time contact for pay unless there is a prior or family relationship (7.3(a)), and any contact after a refusal or involving coercion (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Arizona | The rules set no waiting period. ER 7.3 bans live person-to-person solicitation for pay, with exceptions, and does not bar mail or email. A statute makes unlawful solicitation of a tort victim at the scene of an accident a class 1 misdemeanor (A.R.S. 13-2924). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Arkansas | Marked D: we haven’t read Arkansas’s own text on waiting periods at an official source, so our national default applies until we do: no targeted contact with injured people at all. DABA model default source | No filing DABA model default source |
| California | The rules and the State Bar Act set no waiting period. In-person, live-telephone and real-time electronic solicitation is barred where pecuniary gain is a significant motive, unless the person is a lawyer or has a family, close personal or prior professional relationship (Rule 7.3(a)). Written, recorded or electronic solicitation carries "advertisement" on the envelope and at the start and end of a recording (7.3(c)). A lawyer may not solicit a respondent in a domestic-violence restraining order case until the respondent is served and proof of service is on the court docket (7.3(f)). Runners and cappers are barred (B&P 6152(a)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Colorado | Targeted solicitation about personal injury or wrongful death is barred for 30 days after the incident, unless the lawyer has a family or prior business or professional relationship with the person (Rule 7.3(d); C.R.S. 13-93-111). The statute does not reach radio, television, newspaper or yellow-pages advertising. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Connecticut | 40 days. A lawyer may not solicit about a personal injury or wrongful death action, or an accident or disaster involving the person or a relative, unless it happened more than forty days before the solicitation is mailed (7.3(c)(4)). Live person-to-person solicitation is separately banned (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | Filed at or before first use; fee No fee PPrimary source source |
| Delaware | The rules set no waiting period before contacting accident victims. Rule 7.3 bars live contact for pay and targeted contact the person has refused or that involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(a), (b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| District of Columbia | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 7.1(b) bars in-person contact (which includes phone calls but not email) with a person who is not able to exercise reasonable judgment about choosing a lawyer. Comment [5] gives solicitation of an accident victim shortly after the accident as an example. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Florida | A written communication for the purpose of obtaining employment that concerns an action for personal injury or wrongful death, or relates to an accident or disaster involving the addressee or a relative, is barred unless the accident or disaster was more than 30 days before mailing (Rule 4-7.18(b)(1)(a)). In-person, phone and real-time video solicitation of people with no family or prior professional relationship is barred when pecuniary gain is a significant motive (4-7.18(a)). Separately, Fla. Stat. 817.234(8)(b) bars soliciting a person in a motor vehicle accident by any means other than advertising directed to the public within 60 days after the accident. PPrimary source source | Filed before first use; fee $250 ($750 late) PPrimary source source |
| Georgia | A written solicitation about a personal injury or wrongful death action, or about an accident or disaster involving the person or a relative, is barred unless the accident or disaster was more than 30 days before the communication (7.3(c)(3)). Live person-to-person contact for pay is banned with exceptions (7.3(b)); text messages are not live contact (7.3 cmt. [2]). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Hawaii | A lawyer may not solicit a prospective client about a personal injury or wrongful death involving that person or a relative unless it happened more than 30 days before the communication is sent (7.3(e)(1)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Idaho | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 7.3 bars in-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation when a significant motive is the lawyer's gain (with exceptions), and any solicitation after a refusal or involving coercion, duress or harassment. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Illinois | The rules set no waiting period after an accident or injury. In-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation for pay is banned with exceptions (7.3(a)). Soliciting a respondent in a case under an ex parte protective-order law is barred until the respondent has been served (7.3(b)(3)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Indiana | 30 days: a lawyer may not solicit about a personal injury, wrongful death or other accident or disaster involving the person or a relative until more than 30 days after it, by in-person, written, recorded, audio, video or electronic means (7.3(b)(3)). PPrimary source source | Only targeted solicitations filed; fee $50 (solicitations) PPrimary source source |
| Iowa | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 32:7.3 bars live person-to-person solicitation when a significant motive is the lawyer's gain, with exceptions, and bars solicitation after a refusal or involving coercion, duress or harassment. Written and electronic contact is not covered by the live-contact ban. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Kansas | The rules set no waiting period. KRPC 7.3 bars in-person, live telephone and real-time electronic solicitation when a significant motive is the lawyer's gain (with exceptions), and any solicitation after a refusal or involving coercion, duress or harassment. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Kentucky | 30 days after a disaster: no communication may be sent to people involved in a disaster, or related targets of solicitation, until 30 days have passed since it happened (4.5(4)). The rule defines a disaster as an emergency that draws persons to solicit clients, such as an air crash, major fire, flood or major rail or traffic accident (7.60(3)). The rules set no waiting period for ordinary accidents. PPrimary source source | Voluntary review; fee $75 (voluntary) PPrimary source source |
| Louisiana | 30 days. An unsolicited written communication about a personal injury, wrongful death, accident or disaster may not be sent unless the event was more than thirty days before the mailing (7.4(b)(1)(a)). Email is held to the same limit (7.6(c)(1)). In-person and live phone solicitation is banned outright (7.4(a)). PPrimary source source | Filed at or before first use; fee $175 ($275 late) PPrimary source source |
| Maine | The advertising rules (7.1 to 7.6) set no waiting period before contacting someone after an accident. Rule 7.3 bars solicitation only where it involves harassment, coercion, duress or similar conduct, or after the person has said no (7.3(a), (b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Maryland | A lawyer may not send a covered communication (recording, online, fax, letter, telegraph, telephone or video) about a personal injury, wrongful death, accident or disaster unless the event was more than 30 days before sending (Bus. Occ. & Prof. 10-605.1(b)). The 30 days do not apply to a communication the prospective client asked for (10-605.1(c)). PPrimary source source | Only targeted solicitations filed PPrimary source source |
| Massachusetts | The rules set no fixed waiting period after an accident. Rule 7.3(c)(3) bars solicitation of a person whose physical, mental or emotional state means the person cannot exercise reasonable judgment in hiring a lawyer, for a fee. A comment says a person in active medical treatment for traumatic injury is unlikely to be in that state (7.3 cmt. [6]). Rule 7.3(b) bars live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain, with exceptions. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Michigan | No waiting period in the Rules of Professional Conduct. By statute, no one may intentionally contact a person known to be injured in a motor vehicle accident, or an immediate family member, with a direct solicitation until 30 days after the accident, unless that person asked for the contact (MCL 750.410b(1)). A violation is a misdemeanor. A separate statute makes soliciting an injured person for a personal-injury claim a misdemeanor (MCL 750.410(1)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Minnesota | The advertising rules (7.1 to 7.3) set no waiting period before contacting someone after an accident. Rule 7.3(b) bars live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain, with listed exceptions. Rule 7.3(c) bars any solicitation after the person says no, or where it involves coercion, duress or harassment. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Mississippi | The advertising rules (7.1 to 7.7) set no waiting period before contacting someone after an accident. Rule 7.3(a) bars live in-person, phone or real-time contact for pecuniary gain with someone the lawyer has no family, close personal or prior professional relationship with. Rule 7.3(b) bars any solicitation after the person says no or where it involves coercion, duress or harassment. PPrimary source source | Filed before first use; fee $25 ($150 late) PPrimary source source |
| Missouri | A written solicitation about a personal injury or wrongful death, or an accident or disaster involving the person or a relative, may not go out if the event happened less than 30 days before (4-7.3(c)(4)). In-person, telephone and real-time contact with people the lawyer has no relationship with is banned outright (4-7.3(a)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Montana | The advertising rules (7.1 to 7.5) set no waiting period before contacting someone after an accident. Rule 7.3(b) bars solicitation after the person says no, where it involves coercion, duress or harassment, or where the person's physical, emotional or mental state prevents reasonable judgment in hiring a lawyer. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Nebraska | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 3-507.3 bars live in-person, telephone or real-time electronic solicitation for pecuniary gain, with exceptions for lawyers and people with a family, close personal or prior professional relationship (3-507.3(a)). It also bars solicitation of anyone who has said no, or by coercion, duress or harassment (3-507.3(b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Nevada | A written communication to an injured person (or a family member or legal representative) seeking to represent them in a personal-injury or wrongful-death matter is barred for 30 days after the incident (Rule 7.3(d)). The bar applies to lawyers for actual or potential defendants too. After 30 days the mail must still carry the required disclaimers and red-ink notice (7.3(b)-(c)). Rule 7.3(a) separately bars in-person and other direct solicitation of prospects with no family or prior professional relationship when pecuniary gain is a significant motive. PPrimary source source | Filed after first use; fee $100 PPrimary source source |
| New Hampshire | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 7.3(b) bars contact with a prospective client who asked not to be contacted, contact involving coercion, duress or harassment, and contact where the person's physical, mental or emotional state means they cannot exercise reasonable judgment (7.3(b)(1)-(3)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| New Jersey | Unsolicited direct contact with a prospective client within thirty days after a specific mass-disaster event, about compensation arising from the event, is barred (7.3(b)(4)). For other specific events, direct contact where pecuniary gain is a significant motive is barred except a regular-mail letter that meets the content rules (7.3(b)(5)); no further waiting period is set. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| New Mexico | Marked D: we haven’t read New Mexico’s own text on waiting periods at an official source, so our national default applies until we do: no targeted contact with injured people at all. DABA model default source | No filing DABA model default source |
| New York | None for plaintiffs' lawyers since June 1, 2026. Rule 4.5 bars unsolicited contact with an injured person before the 30th day after the incident, but only for lawyers for actual or potential defendants (15 days if a filing is due within 30 days). Live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain stays banned except to lawyers, people with a family, close personal, or prior business or professional relationship, and people who routinely use such legal services for business (7.3(b)). Judiciary Law 479 makes soliciting legal business unlawful for any person. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| North Carolina | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 7.3 bars live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain with exceptions (7.3(b)), and bars solicitation of someone who said no or by coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(c)). The solicitation statute, G.S. 84-38, has no day count. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| North Dakota | The rules set no waiting period. Rule 7.3 bans live (in-person, phone, real-time) solicitation of someone known to need legal services unless a relationship exists (7.3(a)), and bars written solicitation that is unwanted, coercive or imposes a cost (7.3(b)); neither sets a time delay. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Ohio | The rules set no waiting period. A solicitation sent within thirty days of an accident or disaster that may give rise to a personal injury or wrongful death claim must include the 'Understanding Your Rights' notice (7.3(e)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Oklahoma | No Oklahoma waiting period could be confirmed. The OBA ethics counsel's summary of Rule 7.3 describes a ban on live contact for pecuniary gain and on solicitation of a person who asked not to be solicited, with no waiting period. The ABA Model Rule default (none) applies. DABA model default source | No filing DABA model default source |
| Oregon | The rules set no waiting period. A lawyer may not solicit anyone who cannot exercise reasonable judgment because of their physical, emotional or mental state, anyone who has said no, or by coercion, duress or harassment (7.3). By statute, a lawyer may not solicit business at factories, mills, hospitals or other places, or use runners or solicitors, to obtain personal-injury business (ORS 9.510). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Pennsylvania | No day count. The rules allow targeted direct mail (7.3(c)) and ban live person-to-person contact for pay except with lawyers or people with a family, close personal or prior professional relationship (7.3(b)). The comment says live contact includes text messages. In a domestic relations case, the lawyer waits until proof of service appears on the docket before contacting the named defendant (7.3(d)(4)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Rhode Island | The rules set no waiting period before contact with an accident or injury victim. Targeted written or electronic solicitation is allowed unless the person has asked not to be solicited or the lawyer knows the person's state makes sound judgment unlikely (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | Filed after first use PPrimary source source |
| South Carolina | 30 days. A lawyer may not solicit by direct written, recorded or electronic communication, or by in-person, telephone or real-time electronic contact, about a personal injury, wrongful death, accident or disaster unless it happened more than thirty days earlier (7.3(b)(3)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| South Dakota | The rules set no waiting period after an accident or injury. The only timing rule is the 30-day deposit of written or recorded solicitations with the State Bar (7.3(c)). Solicitation is barred if the person said no, or if it involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | Only targeted solicitations filed PPrimary source source |
| Tennessee | 30 days. A lawyer may not solicit, for pecuniary gain, a person about a personal injury, divorce or legal separation, workers' compensation or wrongful death matter, or an accident or disaster involving that person or family, unless the event was more than 30 days before the mailing or transmission, or the lawyer has a family, close personal or prior professional relationship (7.3(d)(3)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Texas | Under Penal Code 38.12(d), a lawyer commits an offense by sending a written communication, or making a solicitation (in person, by phone, by social media direct message or other electronic communication), to someone who has not sought the lawyer's services, concerning personal injury, wrongful death, or an accident or disaster involving that person or a relative, before the 31st day after the accident or disaster. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor and a repeat is a third-degree felony (38.12(g)-(h)). Paying someone to solicit employment is a third-degree felony (38.12(a)(4), (f)). The Disciplinary Rules also ban in-person and regulated phone, social-media or electronic solicitation of non-clients, with exceptions (Rule 7.03(b)); communications aimed at the general public or sent on request are not solicitations (7.03 cmt 2). PPrimary source source | Filed after first use; fee $100 PPrimary source source |
| Utah | 30 days. A lawyer may not directly communicate with a prospective client to get work if the matter concerns a disaster, or a personal injury or wrongful death action, unless the event was more than 30 days earlier, the person is a relative, close friend or prior client of the lawyer or firm, or the person or a close third party started the contact (7.1(c)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Vermont | The rules set no waiting period before contact with an accident or injury victim. Targeted written or electronic solicitation is barred only if the person has said not to, or the solicitation involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Virginia | The rules set no waiting period after an accident or injury. Rule 7.3(b) bars solicitation of someone who has said no, or by harassment, undue influence, coercion, duress, compulsion, intimidation, threats or unwarranted promises of benefits. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Washington | The rules set no fixed waiting period. A solicitation is barred if the lawyer knows or should know the person's physical, emotional or mental state is such that they could not exercise reasonable judgment in hiring a lawyer, if the person said no, or if it involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(a)). Comment [10] names soliciting an accident victim shortly after the accident or while in medical distress as the kind of circumstance the rule covers. PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| West Virginia | The rules set no waiting period before contact with an accident or injury victim. Targeted written or electronic solicitation is barred only if the person has said not to, or the solicitation involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
| Wisconsin | The rules set no fixed waiting period. A solicitation is barred if the lawyer knows or should know the person's physical, emotional or mental state makes it unlikely they would exercise reasonable judgment in hiring a lawyer, if the person has said no, or if it involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(b)). PPrimary source source | Only targeted solicitations filed PPrimary source source |
| Wyoming | The rules set no waiting period. Live person-to-person solicitation for pecuniary gain is barred unless the person is a lawyer, has a relationship with the lawyer or firm, or routinely uses such services for business (7.3(b)). All solicitation is barred if the person asked not to be solicited, or if it involves coercion, duress or harassment (7.3(c)). PPrimary source source | No filing PPrimary source source |
What the table shows: the waiting period, not the label, is what most often stops a mailing, so check it first for every state on your list.
What this means for your firm
- Keep a send log with the incident date, the state, the waiting period applied and the date mailed. It is the first thing a grievance asks for.
- Run letters past your responsible attorney with the state’s row from this table attached.
- Track letters to signed cases. A dedicated phone number or web address per campaign shows whether the mailing pays for itself.
We handle your state’s ad rules for you, on mail, search and social. See where your firm stands, or get a free review of your current marketing.
Reviewed by our rules reviewer. Marketing information, not legal advice. Confirm every rule with your state bar and your own counsel before you send a solicitation.