TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)

The 1991 U.S. federal law governing telemarketing, robocalling, and consumer phone privacy.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227, is the foundational federal law governing telemarketing and consumer phone privacy in the United States. Enacted in 1991, it has been the single biggest legal risk surface for U.S. lead generators for three decades.

What it prohibits (high level)

• Telemarketing calls or texts to cell phones using automated dialing or prerecorded voice without Prior Express Written Consent.
• Prerecorded calls to residential landlines without consent.
• Telemarketing calls to consumers on the Do Not Call Registry (with limited exceptions).
• Calls during restricted hours (before 8am or after 9pm consumer local time).
• Failure to honor a consumer's revocation of consent within 10 business days.

Damages

$500 per violation, $1,500 per willful violation. Uncapped. Class actions are common — a campaign of 10,000 non-consented calls produces up to $15M in statutory exposure on its face. Settlements regularly reach seven and eight figures for larger violators.

Recent developments

The 11th Circuit vacated the FCC's one-to-one consent rule in January 2025 in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC. The April 2025 revocation rule remains in force. State-level legislative activity continues.