What are the TCPA consent requirements?

Prior express written consent has to be in writing and signed (a checkbox can count), name the seller and the phone number, say the calls or texts may use automated technology or a recorded voice, and say that agreeing is not a condition of buying anything. You also need proof the person agreed.

Is the FCC one-to-one consent rule in effect?

No. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on 24 January 2025, three days before it was due to take effect, and the FCC has since removed it from its rules. The underlying requirement for prior express written consent still applies, and several states have their own telemarketing laws.

Does recording a form submission make my leads TCPA compliant?

No tool can promise a TCPA outcome. A recording proves what happened: the page, the disclosure and the consumer's actions. Whether that consent is valid depends on the disclosure itself, which your counsel should review.

Does the TCPA apply to text messages?

Yes. The FCC treats text messages as calls under the TCPA, so marketing texts sent with an autodialer need prior express written consent, the same as calls. Keep the same proof for a text consent as for a call consent.

How long does TCPA consent last? Does it expire?

The federal rules set no expiry date. Consent lasts until the consumer takes it back, and they can do that at any time. What does run out is your proof: if the record is gone when a claim arrives, you can't show the consent existed. That is why the keep-until date runs from the last call, not the day the consent was given.

Can someone revoke TCPA consent?

Yes, at any time, in any reasonable way, such as replying STOP to a text. You then have up to 10 business days to stop. An FCC order adopted on 30 September 2026 (FCC 26-67) lets informational callers apply a stop request to just that type of call, and lets callers name one clear way to opt out. It takes effect on 25 November 2026.

Guides · TCPA

TCPA consent, in plain English

TCPA consent is a person’s permission to be called or texted by a machine. The TCPA is a federal law about calls and texts made with an autodialer or a recorded or artificial voice. For marketing, the permission has to be in writing. If someone sues, the question is simple: can you show they agreed? This guide covers the two kinds of consent, what written consent needs, sample wording, how people take it back, and how to prove it. It is a plain-English summary with links to the rules themselves. It is not legal advice; your counsel decides what your campaign needs.

What is TCPA consent?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) says you need a person’s permission before you call or text them with an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice. That permission is called consent. The FCC counts a text as a call, so the same rules cover texts.

There are two kinds of consent. Which one you need depends on why you are calling.

Why you are calling or texting	Consent you need	What that means
Marketing or a sales pitch, with an autodialer or a recorded voice, to a cell phone	Prior express written consent	A signed, written agreement. A checkbox and a submit button on a web form can count as the signature.
Marketing with a recorded or artificial voice, to a home phone	Prior express written consent	The same signed, written agreement.
Information only, with an autodialer or a recorded voice, to a cell phone (for example a reminder or an alert)	Prior express consent	Permission, which does not have to be written. Giving your number for that purpose is often enough.

Summary of 47 U.S.C. § 227(b) and the FCC’s rule at 47 CFR 64.1200. Some calls are exempt, and some states add their own rules.

TCPA consent requirements: what written consent needs

The FCC’s definition of prior express written consent asks for all of these:

In writing and signed. An electronic signature counts where federal or state law recognizes it, such as a checkbox and a submit button.
Names the seller. It says who may call or text.
Names the number. It covers the phone number the person gave.
Says how. It says the calls or texts may use automated technology or a recorded voice.
Not a condition of buying. It tells the person they do not have to agree in order to buy anything.
Clear to see. The wording is easy to see and read, next to the box, not hidden in a link.

The person has to do something to agree, like ticking a box that starts out empty. Then you need proof that they did: what a consent record has to contain.

Sample TCPA consent language

Here is an example of the wording that sits next to an empty checkbox on a web form. Change the parts in brackets, and have your lawyer check it for your calls, your texts and your states.

By checking this box and clicking Submit, I agree that [Seller name] may call and text me at the phone number I gave, about [what the calls are about], using automated technology and prerecorded or artificial voice messages. I understand that I do not have to agree to this to buy anything. Message and data rates may apply. I can opt out at any time, for example by replying STOP.

Show the wording on the same page as the button, in text people can read. Keep a copy of the exact wording each person saw, with the date. If the wording changes later, you still need to show the old one. Build a TCPA consent form that keeps its own proof →

How people take consent back

A person can take back (revoke) their consent at any time. Under the FCC’s rule, they can do it in any reasonable way, such as replying STOP to a text. You then have up to 10 business days to stop the calls and texts.

On 30 September 2026 the FCC changed this rule (FCC 26-67). For informational calls, a stop request can now cover just the type of call it was about. Callers can also name one clear way to opt out, if they show it plainly. These changes do not cover marketing calls. The order was published in the Federal Register on 26 October 2026 and takes effect on 25 November 2026. The FCC is also asking whether 10 business days should be shorter. Follow new FCC and FTC rules in our rule tracker.

The three questions a consent record has to answer

What does it have to show?: The page and wording the consumer actually saw, what they did, who they are, and when. The FTC's telemarketing rule lists five things a consent record must contain. What a consent record has to contain →
How long do you keep it?: Longer than most vendors keep it for you. Federal TCPA claims can be brought for four years, counted from each call, and the telemarketing rule asks for five years of records. How long to keep consent records → · TCPA consent retention calculator
How do you manage it?: Get it, keep proof of it, send the proof with the lead, stop when they say stop, and keep the records. TCPA consent management, step by step →
Who holds it?: If the proof that your consumer agreed lives in a vendor's system, you get it back on the vendor's terms and for as long as the vendor keeps it. If it lives in storage you own, it is there when counsel asks for it, and it leaves with you if you ever switch tools.

More plain-English guides

What changed in 2025

The FCC adopted a "one-to-one" consent rule that would have made each consent name a single seller. On 24 January 2025, three days before it was due to take effect, the Eleventh Circuit vacated it in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, and the FCC has since removed it from its rules.

That did not make consent optional. The underlying requirement for prior express written consent still stands, and several states have their own telemarketing laws, some stricter than the federal rules. The need to prove consent went up, not down.

Where Kapture fits

Kapture records each form submission as it happens: every field, the page the consumer saw, the disclosure on it and the checkbox they ticked, as a replay plus a tamper-proof record. The record is written to your own storage bucket, it carries an ID that travels with the lead, and a buyer or dialer can look that ID up before calling. Lead recordings are $0.001/certificate with your own connected storage, the same at every volume, and you keep them for as long as your retention policy says.

One thing it does not do: a record proves what happened, but it cannot make a flawed disclosure compliant, and no tool can promise a TCPA outcome.

Price your recordings → TrustedForm, compared TrustedForm alternatives Jornaya pricing TrustedForm vs Jornaya

This is not legal advice. This page is a plain-English summary for general information only. KX21 is not a law firm, and nothing here creates a lawyer-client relationship. Laws and FCC rules change, and states add their own. Talk to your lawyer about your own calls, texts and forms before you rely on any of it.

Questions

What is TCPA consent?: TCPA consent is a person’s permission to be called or texted with an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice. Marketing calls and texts need prior express written consent: a signed, written agreement, which a checkbox and a submit button can be. Informational calls to a cell phone need prior express consent, which does not have to be written.
What is an example of TCPA consent language?: For example: “By checking this box and clicking Submit, I agree that [Seller name] may call and text me at the phone number I gave, about [what the calls are about], using automated technology and prerecorded or artificial voice messages. I understand that I do not have to agree to this to buy anything.” Put it next to an empty checkbox and have your lawyer check it.
What are the TCPA consent requirements?: Prior express written consent has to be in writing and signed (a checkbox can count), name the seller and the phone number, say the calls or texts may use automated technology or a recorded voice, and say that agreeing is not a condition of buying anything. You also need proof the person agreed.
Is the FCC one-to-one consent rule in effect?: No. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on 24 January 2025, three days before it was due to take effect, and the FCC has since removed it from its rules. The underlying requirement for prior express written consent still applies, and several states have their own telemarketing laws.
Does recording a form submission make my leads TCPA compliant?: No tool can promise a TCPA outcome. A recording proves what happened: the page, the disclosure and the consumer's actions. Whether that consent is valid depends on the disclosure itself, which your counsel should review.
Does the TCPA apply to text messages?: Yes. The FCC treats text messages as calls under the TCPA, so marketing texts sent with an autodialer need prior express written consent, the same as calls. Keep the same proof for a text consent as for a call consent.
How long does TCPA consent last? Does it expire?: The federal rules set no expiry date. Consent lasts until the consumer takes it back, and they can do that at any time. What does run out is your proof: if the record is gone when a claim arrives, you can't show the consent existed. That is why the keep-until date runs from the last call, not the day the consent was given.
Can someone revoke TCPA consent?: Yes, at any time, in any reasonable way, such as replying STOP to a text. You then have up to 10 business days to stop. An FCC order adopted on 30 September 2026 (FCC 26-67) lets informational callers apply a stop request to just that type of call, and lets callers name one clear way to opt out. It takes effect on 25 November 2026.