Consent Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act

This guide answers each question using the statute, 47 U.S.C. § 227, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.

Two levels of consent

Prior express consent. The statute requires "prior express consent" for calls to a cell phone that use an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and for prerecorded calls to residential lines. The FCC has traditionally treated a consumer who knowingly provides a phone number to a business, for a related purpose, as having given such consent. Prior express consent covers informational calls: appointment reminders, fraud alerts, and delivery notices.

Prior express written consent. The FCC's rules require more for telemarketing. Under § 64.1200(a)(2), an autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing call or text to a cell number needs prior express written consent. Under § 64.1200(a)(3), so does a prerecorded telemarketing call to a residential line.

The rule at § 64.1200(f)(9) defines prior express written consent as a written agreement that:

1. bears the signature of the person called (an electronic or digital signature counts if federal law or state contract law recognizes it);
2. clearly authorizes the seller to deliver telemarketing using an autodialer or artificial or prerecorded voice;
3. names the telephone number the person authorizes;
4. contains a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the person is authorizing those calls; and
5. states that the person is not required to give a signature as a condition of purchase.

Why it matters: a marketing call made with only prior express consent, when written consent was required, can violate the FCC's rules.

The one-to-one consent rule is gone

In December 2023 the FCC adopted a rule (FCC 23-107) that would have limited the scope of written consent to one seller at a time and to topics "logically and topically associated" with the website where the consumer agreed. On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated that rule in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC. The court held that the rule went beyond what the statute's words "prior express consent" allow.

The FCC then removed the language from its rules. The current eCFR shows the definition back in its earlier form, and the removal took effect August 29, 2025. Lead generators and comparison sites should still monitor state laws and the terms of their own consent forms.

A circuit court questions the written-consent tier

In Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control of Texas (5th Cir. Feb. 25, 2026), the Fifth Circuit has interpreted the statute to require only prior express consent, regardless of content, for a prerecorded call. The court relied on McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Corp. (2025), where the Supreme Court held that district courts in enforcement cases interpret the statute themselves and are not bound by the FCC's reading.

What this means for you: in the Fifth Circuit (Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi), a private plaintiff may have a harder time relying on the FCC's written-consent requirement alone. The rule is still on the books, the FCC can still enforce it, and other circuits have not adopted Bradford. Collecting written consent for marketing remains the safer practice.

Revoking consent

Consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable means. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld that standard in ACA International v. FCC (2018). The FCC later wrote it into its rules in FCC 24-24, adopted February 15, 2024. Those rules took effect April 11, 2025.

The current rules at § 64.1200(a)(10) through (a)(12) provide:

1. A consumer may revoke consent by any reasonable means.
2. Some methods are per se reasonable: an automated opt-out on the call, a reply text with the words "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel," or "unsubscribe," and a website or phone number the caller designates for opt-outs.
3. Other methods are presumed valid. The caller can rebut that presumption with evidence.
4. The caller must honor a revocation within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days.
5. The caller may send one confirmation text that does not market anything. It is presumed fine if sent within five minutes.
6. Today, the rule says callers "may not designate an exclusive means" of revocation.

What is changing: FCC 26-67

On September 30, 2026 the FCC adopted a new order (FCC 26-67), issued October 1, 2026. Key changes:

• Exclusive methods allowed. A caller may designate an exclusive opt-out method: a key press on the call, a reply with a standard opt-out word, or a designated website or phone number. The method must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously.
• Category-specific opt-outs. An opt-out from an informational message may be treated as applying only to that category of informational message.
• Marketing opt-outs are broad. An opt-out from one marketing call or text revokes consent to all of that caller's marketing robocalls and robotexts.
• Same deadline. The 10-business-day rule remains in effect.

The order takes effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. As of October 14, 2026, it had not been published. It replaces the FCC's waiver of the more general "revoke all" rule, which the FCC extended to January 31, 2027 in DA 26-12. The order also opened further rulemaking on timing, two-way texting, and affiliates.

Practical consent checklist

1. Match the consent to the message: written consent for marketing, prior express consent at minimum for informational autodialed or prerecorded calls.
2. Keep proof: the form, the disclosure text, the time stamp, the IP address or signature record, and the number.
3. Do not make consent a condition of purchase.
4. Honor opt-outs in every channel the rules define as reasonable, and within 10 business days.
5. Check state laws, which can add layers of their own.

The bottom line

Consent law has changed more between 2024 and 2026 than in the previous decade. The FCC's written-consent rule still applies, but one circuit has questioned it. The one-to-one rule is gone. Revocation rules are about to change again. Build your process on the strictest rule you'll encounter.