The top 10 FCC TCPA questions and answers for lead gen businesses

Businesses rely heavily on communication technologies, including websites, telephone dialing technologies, and text messaging, to reach customers. However, these channels must operate within the legal telemarketing framework set by the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). With updates frequently proposed to the FCC TCPA rules, businesses must keep their compliance practices up-to-date to avoid costly penalties. 

This article will delve into the intricacies of the latest FCC TCPA regulations updates, providing answers to 10 crucial questions that will help organizations navigate the regulatory landscape and safeguard their operations. 

Along the way, we will introduce you to ActiveProspect’s TrustedForm, a cutting-edge solution designed to help businesses stay ahead of the curve and maintain the highest compliance standards for documenting and retaining consent to contact transactions.

FCC changes to the TCPA

In 2025, the FCC introduced major updates to the TCPA that directly impact how businesses handle consumer consent and revocation of consent for automated marketing calls and text messages.

Originally, the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule, which required businesses to match consent from a consumer directly to the specific seller contacting them, was set to go into effect on January 27, 2025. This rule aimed to tighten compliance for lead generation and telemarketing campaigns. 

However, on January 24, 2025, the FCC issued a formal delay of the rule for up to 12 months. The same day, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Insurance Marketing Coalition’s petition, ruling that the FCC lacked the authority to enforce the one-to-one rule. As a result, the FCC’s one-to-one consent requirement was overturned and is no longer moving forward.

Separately, the FCC’s revised revocation of consent rules officially began rolling out on April 11, 2025. These new TCPA compliance rules apply to automated marketing communications via phone and SMS and require businesses to:

• Accept revocations of consent by any reasonable method, including text, phone, or email.
• Process Do Not Call (DNC) requests within 10 business days.
• Understand that failure to respond to a confirmation text is considered confirmation of the opt-out.

However, the broad application of revocation across all communication types (both transactional messages and/or marketing messages) from a single sender, originally part of the update, has been postponed until April 11, 2026.

1. What is the FCC’s guidance on the TCPA?

Before we dive into the main TCPA-related questions, let’s recap the FCC TCPA guidance. The FCC’s guidance on the TCPA emphasizes key regulations aimed at protecting consumers from unwanted telemarketing and robocalls. Under the FCC TCPA rules, companies must:

• Obtain prior express written consent before making calls or sending text messages using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) to consumers.
• Obtain explicit written consent for telemarketing calls and messages, including robocalls and pre-recorded messages.
• Comply with the National DNC Registry and maintain internal Do-Not-Call lists to avoid contacting registered individuals. Keep in mind that some states also have their own DNC regulations that differ from federal ones.
• Call only during specific hours, typically between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s time zone. Note that some states have their own specific calling hours.
• Remember that if they outsource call center services to third parties, they must ensure that these third parties also comply with TCPA regulations.
• Be aware that non-compliance with the FCC TCPA guidance can result in hefty fines, ranging from $500 to $1,500 per violation, depending on the severity and willfulness of the violation.
• Provide a clear and easy way for consumers to opt out of receiving future calls or messages.

2. Why should we expect the FCC to continue to crack down on the lead gen ecosystem?

According to ActiveProspect CRO Margaret Wise, “We’re having this conversation because the FCC looks out for consumers. And one of the biggest complaints consumers have is receiving unwanted calls and unexpected calls, particularly robocalls.”

Wise continued: “They [FCC] identified that the lead generation industry spawns a lot of unwanted calls. And so they are trying to really tighten up that consumers are only receiving calls that they expect to receive from the people or entity from whom they expect to receive a call regarding a topic they expect to receive a call.”

3. How do the recent (Q1 2024) FCC TCPA rules updates impact lead gen businesses?

Here is a short timeline and bullet points regarding some of the FCC’s key updates: 

January 2024: Advanced methods to target and eliminate unlawful robocalls

• Extends Do Not Call (DNC) protections to text messages.
• One-to-one consent requirements redefine prior express written consent (PEWC) to mean an agreement that “clearly and conspicuously” authorizes one identified seller at a time (lead buyer) to contact a consumer.
• Requires that calls must be “logically and topically” associated with the website interaction that prompted the consent.
• New record-keeping requirements: Brands (lead buyers) must maintain documentation of consent to call and cannot rely on documentation held by the lead sellers.
• FCC can demand mobile/VOIP numbers be blocked.

February 2024: Empowering consumers to block robocalls and robotexts

• Updates allow consumers to revoke consent for “regulated technology” calls and texts at any time by using “any reasonable manner” (call, text, email, postal mail, etc)
• Requires companies to honor company-specific DNC and revocation-of-consent requests as soon as practicable, and within no more than 10 business days after receipt of the request.

August 2024: The TCPA now applies to AI technologies that generate human voices on a call

• The use of AI-generated voices on a phone call will require PEWC.

4. What is one-to-one consent?

The FCC TCPA one-to-one consent rule was proposed in early 2024 as an update to clarify that lead generators or lead sellers could  no longer obtain a single consent to contact about a product or services and then share (sell) individual contact info  onward to an unrestricted number of other businesses.

On January 24, 2025, the FCC announced a formal postponement of the one-to-one consent rule for up to a year. That same day, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the Insurance Marketing Coalition’s challenge, stating that the FCC did not have the authority to revise the rule as written. This effectively invalidated the new proposed one-to-one consent update.

5. When does the one-to-one FCC TCPA regulations update go into effect?

The one-to-one consent requirement will no longer be implemented as previously written. After entering into an appeals process, on April 30, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals issued its mandate officially terminating the challenge to the FCC’s TCPA one-to-one consent rule.

6. What if my company manually dials/texts?

Be cautious. According to Attorney Alexandra Krasovec, Partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a distinction does exist between automated and non-automated calling, but that does not fully protect your business from possible litigation. So why risk it?

“If you are making marketing outreach… Get that heightened prior express written consent,” Krasovec explained. “It is the laundry list of things that you have to have, but if you obtain it, that is as good as gold.”

7. What about processing revoked consent or a consumer’s “Do Not Contact” response?

Krasovec stated plainly, “The FCC’s made it very clear, consumers can revoke their consent by any reasonable means, and if you get that revocation, you need to honor it.”

The new FCC revocation update to the TCPA – that took effect on April 11, 2025 –  heightens the urgency of processing “Do Not Contact” requests and specifically identifies the number of days (10) allowed to process consent revocation when consumers provide a “reasonable” revocation request. 

This is a move towards clearer consumer rights and requires businesses to adapt swiftly to respect customer preferences while mitigating potential legal repercussions.

8. What are potential TCPA penalties?

TCPA violations can result in penalties that range from $500 to $1,500 per violation (per call), potentially leading to tens of millions of dollars for large-scale marketing campaigns. TCPA violation penalties also extend beyond financials — businesses can risk irreparable reputation damage and the permanent loss of customer trust.

Furthermore, as long as there is money to be made, these steep penalties are never going away. As Attorney Gary Kibel, Partner at Davis+Gilbert, LLP, explained, “You know, regulators are trying to make businesses do the right thing, protect consumers, and get corrective action; class action lawyers are after the money. That’s it. In fact, class action lawyers don’t want corrective action because they want to be able to come back again and sue other parties making the same mistakes.”

9. How does the 2024 FTC update to the Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) impact lead-gen businesses?

In addition to the FCC TCPA rules, businesses also need to be aware of the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) rules and regulations regarding consumer protection and telemarketing. The FTC’s rules and powers are wider and broader than the FCC TCPA rules. The FTC’s scope can cover unfair or deceptive acts or practices (UDAP) affecting commerce and can apply to a wider range of businesses and organizations.

In March 2024, the FTC announced updates to the TSR, which include:

• The FTC has extended the TSR scope and can investigate and take action on deceptive B2B (Business-to-Business) calls. However, Do-Not-Call protections were not extended to B2B calls.
• Expanded B2C (Business-to-Consumer) record-keeping requirements from 2 years to 5 years. 

10. How can I help my business adhere to the FTC and FCC TCPA rules?

It is clear that the FCC and FTC want the lead gen ecosystem to  set and maintain a higher standard, and you should make sure your lead generation solutions and partners are maximizing the use of the highest standard for independent proof of consent. 

ActiveProspect’s TrustedForm helps document and retain consent for TCPA compliance while providing transparency into the consumer experience, origination, and authenticity of leads. TrustedForm documents the creation of digital leads for over 55,000 websites and is the recognized standard for proof of consent to contact transactions.

Bonus question: Where can I stay up to date on the latest FCC TCPA compliance news?

If you want to stay ahead, stay where you are; you’re in the right place.

ActiveProspect has you covered with an exclusive hub related to all things FCC and TCPA. We are committed to helping your business remain at the forefront of the evolving regulatory landscape.

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