TCPA Explained: Your Rights Against Robocalls, Texts and Faxes

What Is the TCPA? The Telephone Consumer Protection Act Explained

Congress passed the TCPA in the early 1990s, when automated dialers and fax machines were new sales tools. The Federal Communications Commission writes the detailed rules, found at 47 CFR 64.1200.

The law does three main things. It restricts calls made with autodialers and prerecorded or artificial voices. It created the legal basis for the National Do Not Call Registry and company do-not-call lists. And it bans unsolicited fax ads. The TCPA is unusual because ordinary people can sue under it, and the damages are set in advance, so you don’t have to prove the calls cost you money.

TCPA Rules at a Glance: Robocalls, Texts, Do Not Call, and Junk Faxes

Can I Sue Under the TCPA? Your Rights as a Consumer

You may have a claim if a company robocalled your cell phone to sell you something without your written permission. The same goes for a company that texted you from an autodialer after you replied STOP, or kept calling a number that has been on the Do Not Call Registry for over a month. Each call or text counts separately, so a dozen unlawful calls can mean a dozen violations.

The TCPA gives you two ways to sue. Section 227(b)(3) covers robocalls, prerecorded and artificial voice calls, autodialed texts, and junk faxes. Section 227(c)(5) covers Do Not Call violations, but only if the same company called you more than once in a 12-month period. Neither requires proof of financial harm.

What the TCPA Does Not Cover: Limits on Robocall Lawsuits

Knowing the law’s limits can save you time before you pursue a claim.

• It does not ban all unwanted calls. A live person dialing by hand, not selling anything, is mostly outside the law.
• It does not cover most political or charity calls under the Do Not Call rules, since those are not sales calls. Robocalls to cell phones still need consent, even from campaigns. The Supreme Court upheld that ban in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, striking only a carve-out for government debt collection.
• It does not help much against scammers you cannot identify. A lawsuit needs a defendant, and illegal callers often use spoofed numbers. Finding the company behind the call is often the hardest step.
• It does not cover one-off mistakes well. A single Do Not Call violation, with no second call within 12 months, is not enough to sue under 227(c)(5).

Recent TCPA Changes: Court Rulings and New FCC Rules

Courts and the FCC have changed how the TCPA works in the last few years:

• Autodialers narrowed. In Facebook v. Duguid, the Supreme Court limited the definition to equipment that uses a random or sequential number generator.
• AI voices covered. The FCC ruled that AI-generated and cloned voices are “artificial” voices under the TCPA.
• One-to-one consent struck down. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC’s “one-to-one” consent rule.
• New opt-out rules. Revocation rules took effect, setting a business-day deadline for honoring stop requests and recognizing standard STOP words.
• Less deference to the FCC. In McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson, the Supreme Court held that district courts are not bound by the FCC’s reading of the statute.
• Texts and Do Not Call split the courts. The Seventh Circuit held that texts are not “telephone calls” for Do Not Call lawsuits under 227(c)(5), a ruling binding in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin. The Ninth Circuit has treated texts as calls, so where you live may matter.
• FCC rewrites the “revoke all” rule. After repeated delays, the FCC adopted an order allowing callers to designate an exclusive opt-out method and limiting the reach of an opt-out from informational calls. Opt-outs from telemarketing still apply broadly. The changes take effect after publication in the Federal Register.

Our guides are updated as these rules continue to change.

TCPA vs. Telemarketing Sales Rule and State Telemarketing Laws

The TCPA overlaps with the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule, which has its own Do Not Call and calling-hours rules. The TSR allows consumers to sue only when actual damages are very large, so most people rely on the TCPA. Debt collection calls are also governed by the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. Many states have their own telemarketing laws, and some are stricter than federal law. Florida and Maryland, for example, stop sales calls at 8 p.m. rather than 9 p.m. State laws may also cover texts in places where federal Do Not Call claims over texts are limited.

How to Start a TCPA Claim: Document Every Call

Pick the guide from the table above that matches what’s happening to you. Most people want to know three things: whether their calls break the law, what a claim is worth, and whether they are still within the filing deadline. Start writing down every call and text right away, including the date, time, number, what was said, and who was selling. Our evidence call log gives you a format. Once you have a few entries, the case value calculator shows what the calls could be worth, and our guide on how to sue a telemarketer explains what happens next. That record is the foundation of every TCPA case, whether you end up in a class action, an individual claim, or neither.

TCPA FAQs: Common Questions About Robocall and Text Laws

What does TCPA stand for?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, a federal law codified at 47 U.S.C. 227. The FCC’s implementing rules are at 47 CFR 64.1200.

What is a TCPA violation?

Common violations include autodialed or prerecorded calls to a cell phone without consent, telemarketing robocalls without written consent, and repeated sales calls to a number on the Do Not Call Registry. Calls outside 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., calls that continue after you opt out, and junk faxes without an opt-out notice also count.

Can I sue under the TCPA?

Yes. Individuals can sue for $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 if the violation is willful or knowing. You need to identify the responsible company and file by the deadline, so act promptly.

Does the TCPA apply to text messages?

The FCC treats texts as calls, and appeals courts have applied the autodialer rules to texts. Whether texts support Do Not Call claims depends on where you live, because federal appeals courts have split on the question.