TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act)

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the foundational US law regulating commercial calls and text messages. Originally passed in 1991, it has been amended multiple times, most recently with the FCC’s 1:1 consent rule taking effect in 2026.

What TCPA requires

• Express written consent for marketing calls or texts using automated technology
• 1:1 consent (2026) — consent must be granted to one specific seller at a time, named explicitly
• Time-of-day restrictions — marketing communications restricted to 8 AM-9 PM in recipient’s local time
• Opt-out mechanisms — STOP keywords must be honored within 10 business days
• DNC list compliance — National Do Not Call Registry must be scrubbed every 31 days

Penalties

TCPA violations carry $500 per call/text in statutory damages, tripled to $1,500 for knowing or willful violations. Class actions routinely settle in the seven-figure range. The law has a private right of action, meaning the borrower can sue directly without involving the FCC.

What TCPA-compliant mortgage outreach looks like

Six operational requirements must be in place: consent capture at the source, 10DLC carrier registration completed, DNC list scrubbing, STOP/HELP automation, outbound time-window enforcement, and audit trail per message. A mortgage CRM that handles all six automatically is the practical path; assembling them across separate tools introduces gaps.