The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, known as the TCPA, is the main federal law that limits robocalls, automated text messages, and unsolicited fax advertisements. Congress passed it in 1991 after a wave of complaints about automated calls flooding homes, and it is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227. If you want a short answer to what TCPA means: it is the statute that requires companies to get your consent before robocalling or texting you, sets up the National Do Not Call Registry, and lets you sue violators for $500 to $1,500 per illegal call or message.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
What the Law Covers
The TCPA reaches nearly every automated way a business might contact you. Voice calls to landlines and cell phones are covered. So are SMS and MMS texts sent to mobile numbers. Unsolicited fax advertisements fall under the law because they use up your paper and ink without permission.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
Newer technology fits in too. In November 2022, the FCC ruled that ringless voicemail, which drops a message straight into your inbox without ringing your phone, counts as a “call” made with a prerecorded voice. That means it needs the same consent as any other robocall.2Federal Communications Commission. FCC Finds That Ringless Voicemails Are Subject to Robocalling Rules
FCC regulations also set a time-of-day rule for telemarketers: no sales calls to a residential line before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in your local time zone.3eCFR. 47 CFR 64.1200 – Delivery Restrictions
When a Company Needs Your Consent
The law uses two levels of consent, and which one applies turns on whether the caller is trying to sell you something.
Prior Express Consent
For non-marketing automated or prerecorded calls, such as appointment reminders, delivery notifications, or account alerts, the caller needs your prior express consent. You usually give this by voluntarily handing over your phone number during a transaction. No written agreement is required at this level.4Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
Prior Express Written Consent
Telemarketing robocalls and robotexts require a higher bar: prior express written consent. That means a signed agreement, and electronic signatures count. The agreement has to state clearly that the company will send automated marketing messages, and it must list the phone number that will receive them. A company can never require you to agree to robocalls as a condition of buying its product or service.4Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
The One-to-One Consent Rule
Before January 2025, a single consent form on a comparison-shopping website could authorize dozens of different sellers to call you. The FCC closed that loophole with its one-to-one consent rule, which took effect on January 27, 2025. Your written consent now applies to only one seller at a time. Each business that wants to send you telemarketing robocalls or texts has to obtain your consent on its own.4Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
How to Stop Unwanted Calls and Texts
Revoking Consent
You can take back consent you previously gave, and you do not need to follow any specific script. The FCC has confirmed that any reasonable method counts: replying “STOP” to a text, telling a live caller to stop, sending an email, or leaving a voicemail all work.5Federal Communications Commission. Order in the Matter of Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
Once you revoke, the caller has to honor your request within a reasonable time, and no more than 10 business days after receiving it. For package delivery notifications the deadline is tighter, at six business days.6Federal Communications Commission. Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 Any call or text after that window is a violation. Keep a record of when you asked to stop; that date matters if you decide to sue.
The National Do Not Call Registry
The Do Not Call Registry is a free federal database that opts you out of most telemarketing calls. Register online at DoNotCall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the phone you want to register. Your number goes into the database the next day, though it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to drop off. Once registered, your number stays on the list permanently unless you ask to be removed.7Consumer Advice – FTC. National Do Not Call Registry FAQs8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC Chapter 87A – National Do-Not-Call Registry
Registration does not block every call. Companies you already do business with can still contact you, and so can charities and political organizations. Survey calls and purely informational messages are outside the registry’s scope as well. But a telemarketer with no prior relationship who calls your registered number to pitch a product is breaking federal rules.
Calls That Are Exempt
Not every automated call needs your consent. The statute and FCC rules carve out several categories:
- Genuine emergency calls, such as weather alerts, safety warnings, and evacuation notices, with no frequency limits.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
- Calls from tax-exempt nonprofit organizations, which are not treated as telephone solicitations.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
- Automated calls made solely to collect a debt owed to or guaranteed by the federal government.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
- Non-commercial and non-telemarketing calls, capped at three per 30-day period to any one recipient.9Federal Register. Limits on Exempted Calls Under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
- Certain non-marketing healthcare messages, such as appointment reminders, lab results, and prescription notifications, if they are free to you, limited to one per day and three per week, and include the provider’s name and contact information. Billing and debt-collection calls from healthcare providers do not qualify.
What You Can Recover
The TCPA gives you a private right of action, meaning you can sue the violator yourself without waiting for a government agency. You can recover your actual financial losses or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. Each unauthorized call or text counts separately, so damages stack up quickly against a company that blasts out hundreds of messages. If a court finds the violation was willful or knowing, it can triple the award to as much as $1,500 per violation.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 USC 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment You do not have to prove financial harm; the statutory damages exist because the injury from each unwanted call is real but hard to price.
Many states also have their own telemarketing laws that stack on top of the federal TCPA. Depending on where you live, state penalties can run from $500 to $10,000 per violation, especially for willful conduct or breaches of a state do-not-call list. Some states only let the government enforce these rules rather than private plaintiffs, so what you can recover on your own varies.
How Long You Have to Sue
You have four years from the date of each illegal call or text to file a lawsuit. That deadline comes from 28 U.S.C. § 1658, which sets a default four-year statute of limitations for claims under federal statutes enacted after December 1, 1990. The TCPA was enacted in 1991, so it falls under that rule.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 28 USC 1658 – Time Limitations on the Commencement of Civil Actions Arising Under Acts of Congress
Four years sounds like plenty, but phone records disappear, text threads get deleted, and memories fade. Start documenting early. Useful evidence includes screenshots of call logs with date, time, and number; saved text threads; voicemail recordings; and written records of your attempts to opt out, such as “STOP” replies, emails to the company, or notes about telling a live caller to stop. If you registered on the Do Not Call list, save the confirmation. A simple spreadsheet tracking each unwanted contact can be the difference between a strong claim and one that falls apart.
How to File a Complaint
Even if you do not plan to sue, filing a complaint creates a government record that helps the FCC identify large-scale violators. You can file at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov or by calling 1-888-225-5322.11Federal Communications Commission. Filing an Informal Complaint The FTC accepts complaints about telemarketing violations through DoNotCall.gov. Neither complaint substitutes for a lawsuit if you want to recover damages, but agencies use complaint volume to prioritize investigations, so reporting matters even when the individual loss feels small.