How long should I keep TCPA consent records?

Plan on at least five years from the last call or text that relied on the consent. Federal TCPA claims can be brought for four years (28 U.S.C. 1658), generally counted from each call, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule asks for five years of consent records. State laws may add their own rules.

Does the TCPA statute of limitations start when the lead was captured?

Generally no. The four years run from each call or text, so a lead you keep calling keeps the window open. Keep the consent record for as long as you rely on it, plus the limitation period.

How long does Kapture keep consent records?

With your own storage bucket, as long as you choose: the records are written to your bucket and stay yours if you leave. On KX21-hosted storage, records are kept for 90 days, which is not long enough for TCPA, so use your own bucket for consent you may need to produce years later.

TCPA · Retention

How long to keep TCPA consent records

Plan on at least five years from the last call or text that relied on the consent. Here is where that number comes from, and why the storage should be yours. This is a summary, not legal advice.

Where the numbers come from

Four years to sue: Federal claims under laws like the TCPA can be brought for four years (28 U.S.C. § 1658). The clock generally runs from each call or text, not from the day the lead was captured, so a lead you keep calling keeps the window open.
Five years of records: The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule asks sellers and telemarketers to keep consent records for five years (16 CFR 310.5).
State laws: Several states have their own telemarketing laws with their own rules. Ask counsel which apply to where you call.

Keep-until calculator

Enter the date of the last call or text that relied on a consent. Nothing is sent anywhere; it runs in your browser.

Last call or text on this consent each new call moves this date

Four-year window to sue closes—

Keep the record until at least—

Four years under 28 U.S.C. § 1658; five years of records under 16 CFR 310.5. State laws may differ, and this is not legal advice.

Why the storage should be yours

If your proof of consent sits with a vendor, it is kept for the vendor's retention period, on the vendor's terms, and it may not come with you if you switch. When the lawsuit arrives in year four, you want the record in your hands, not behind a support ticket.

That is why Kapture writes every record to your own storage bucket: Cloudflare R2, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, Wasabi, DigitalOcean Spaces, Telnyx storage or any S3-compatible endpoint. You set the retention. The records stay yours if you ever leave.

One thing to check. Kapture also offers KX21-hosted storage for accounts without a bucket, and hosted records are kept for 90 days. That is fine for a trial. It is not long enough for TCPA. For consent you may need to produce years later, use your own bucket.

Price your recordings → · What a consent record has to contain

Questions

How long should I keep TCPA consent records?: Plan on at least five years from the last call or text that relied on the consent. Federal TCPA claims can be brought for four years (28 U.S.C. 1658), generally counted from each call, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule asks for five years of consent records. State laws may add their own rules.
Does the TCPA statute of limitations start when the lead was captured?: Generally no. The four years run from each call or text, so a lead you keep calling keeps the window open. Keep the consent record for as long as you rely on it, plus the limitation period.
How long does Kapture keep consent records?: With your own storage bucket, as long as you choose: the records are written to your bucket and stay yours if you leave. On KX21-hosted storage, records are kept for 90 days, which is not long enough for TCPA, so use your own bucket for consent you may need to produce years later.