Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, prior express written consent is a signed agreement in which a consumer authorizes a specific business to send telemarketing calls or texts to a designated phone number using an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice. Without that signed agreement, each unauthorized robocall or text can cost a business $500 in statutory damages, or $1,500 if the violation is willful. A rule that took effect in January 2025 raised the bar again: consent now runs to one seller at a time, not to a list of marketing partners bundled into a single checkbox.
What the Signed Agreement Must Say
The FCC’s rule at 47 C.F.R. ยง 64.1200 defines the standard. The agreement must be in writing, must bear the signature of the person being contacted, and must clearly authorize the seller to deliver telemarketing robocalls or robotexts to a specific phone number the consumer provides.1eCFR. 47 CFR 64.1200 – Delivery Restrictions A generic “I agree to be contacted” line does not qualify.
Two disclosures are mandatory, and both must be clear and conspicuous, meaning apparent to a reasonable consumer and visually distinct from the surrounding fine print:2eCFR. 47 CFR Part 64 Subpart L – Restrictions on Telemarketing, Telephone Solicitation, and Facsimile Advertising
- The signer is authorizing the seller to deliver telemarketing calls or texts using an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice.
- Signing is not a condition of buying any product or service.
The consent must also be tied to the specific phone number the consumer supplies. If either disclosure is missing, or the authorized number is not identified, the consent is void even when the consumer actually signed.
How to Capture the Signature
The rule accepts any signature that would be valid under federal or state contract law, including electronic and digital signatures.1eCFR. 47 CFR 64.1200 – Delivery Restrictions The federal E-SIGN Act gives electronic signatures the same weight as handwritten ones for transactions in interstate commerce. In practice, three methods dominate.
Website Checkboxes
The checkbox must not be pre-checked. At least one federal court has upheld a pre-checked box in narrow circumstances, but the FCC’s rules and enforcement posture favor an affirmative act by the consumer. The one-to-one consent rule reinforces this by requiring a separate box for each seller on comparison-shopping pages.3Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
Text Opt-In
A reply of “JOIN,” “YES,” or a similar keyword to a clear prompt creates a documented consent record. Many businesses layer on a double opt-in, where the first reply triggers a confirmation the consumer must respond to again. Double opt-in is not required, but it helps show that the actual phone owner, not a mistyped number’s recipient, gave consent.
Records That Can Prove It Later
The business carries the burden of proving consent if it is sued. Capture the date and time, the IP address for web-based consent, and the exact disclosure language the consumer saw. Under the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, sellers and telemarketers must retain consent records for five years.4eCFR. 16 CFR 310.5 – Recordkeeping Requirements Companies outside the TSR often follow the same five-year practice because TCPA private lawsuits can be filed up to four years after the violation.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1658 – Time Limitations on the Commencement of Civil Actions Arising Under Acts of Congress
The One-to-One Consent Rule
Before January 2025, one checkbox on a lead-generation site could authorize robocalls from dozens of companies. A consumer shopping for auto insurance might unknowingly agree to marketing calls from fifteen insurers at once. The FCC’s one-to-one rule, effective January 27, 2025, ended that practice.3Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
Written consent now authorizes robocalls and robotexts from one identified seller at a time. Comparison sites must let the consumer check a separate box for each seller they want to hear from. The rule also requires that the calls and texts be “logically and topically related” to the website where consent was given. Consent captured on a mortgage comparison site does not support robocalls promoting satellite TV.
When Written Consent Is Required
The written standard applies to automated telemarketing. Other categories of automated contact have lower or different requirements.
Telemarketing Calls and Texts
Any call or text that advertises a product, encourages a purchase, or promotes a service, delivered by autodialer or by prerecorded or artificial voice to a wireless number or residential line, requires prior express written consent.6Federal Communications Commission. FCC Fact Sheet – TCPA Consent Rules The FCC confirmed in a February 2024 declaratory ruling that AI-generated voices, including voice-cloning technology, are “artificial voices” under the TCPA, so AI-voiced telemarketing needs the same written consent as any other prerecorded pitch.7Federal Communications Commission. Declaratory Ruling – Implications of Artificial Intelligence Technologies on Protecting Consumers from Unwanted Robocalls and Robotexts
Ringless Voicemail
Technology that drops a prerecorded message into voicemail without ringing the phone is treated as a “call” under the TCPA. Because the message is prerecorded, telemarketing use requires prior express written consent.8Federal Communications Commission. Declaratory Ruling and Order FCC 22-85
Informational and Non-Marketing Messages
Messages that do not advertise or promote generally require only basic prior express consent, which can be as simple as the consumer providing their number. Autodialed or prerecorded debt collection calls to cell phones still need that basic consent, but not the written form, because debt collection is not telemarketing. Healthcare notifications regulated under HIPAA have a specific exemption for prerecorded calls to residential lines.9Federal Register. Limits on Exempted Calls Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 Account alerts, fraud warnings, and appointment reminders sit in the same lower tier.
How Consumers Revoke Consent
A consumer can withdraw consent at any time, using any reasonable method. The FCC has stated that callers cannot force consumers to use one specific opt-out procedure as the exclusive route.10Federal Communications Commission. Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 Telling a live operator to stop, replying to a text, or submitting a website request all qualify. Under the 2024 ruling, a reply text containing “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel,” or “unsubscribe” is automatically a reasonable revocation.
The FCC adopted a rule requiring callers to honor revocation within 10 business days, but enforcement of that specific deadline is on hold. The Commission extended a waiver through January 31, 2027, while it works out implementation.11Federal Communications Commission. CGB Extends the Effective Date of the TCPAs Consent Revocation Rule Callers must still honor requests within a “reasonable time.” Calls continuing weeks after a clear opt-out invite litigation regardless of the waiver, and continued contact after a clear revocation is treated as willful, triggering treble damages.
What Noncompliance Costs
The TCPA gives consumers a private right of action in state court. For each violation, a consumer can recover actual damages or $500, whichever is greater. A willful or knowing violation can be tripled to $1,500 per call or text.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment No proof of financial harm is needed.
The per-message math is what drives class actions. A campaign that sends 50,000 unauthorized texts carries potential exposure of $25 million to $75 million. Consumers have four years from the date of the violation to sue, and many states have their own telemarketing statutes that stack additional penalties on top of the federal award. Corporate officers who personally directed a noncompliant campaign can face individual liability alongside the company. That combination, per-message statutory damages, class-wide aggregation, and a long limitations window, makes the written-consent rules some of the highest-stakes compliance obligations any business with automated outreach faces.