TCPA Checklist: A Guide to Helping Your Organization Maintain its Compliance Posture

Maintaining compliance with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires operational discipline across every part of an outbound contact program. From agent behavior and calling hours to consent documentation and vendor oversight, gaps in any one area can create significant legal and financial exposure. TCPA statutory damages range from $500 to $1,500 per call or text, and the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) carries civil penalties of up to more than $53,000 per non-compliant contact. The following 10-point checklist provides a practical framework for evaluating and strengthening your organization's TCPA compliance posture. DNCSolution® from PossibleNOW supports each of these requirements through automated scrubbing, real-time suppression, consent management, and audit-ready documentation.

"A defensible compliance program depends on consistent execution across every item on this checklist. DNCSolution® and MyPreferences® give organizations the automation, documentation, and real-time enforcement needed to maintain that consistency at scale."

Train All Telephone Agents on Compliance Responsibilities Before They Engage With Customers

Every agent who places outbound calls should complete compliance training before making contact with customers. Training should cover:

• DNC rules and opt-out procedures
• Consent requirements for calls and texts
• Required caller disclosures
• Calling hour restrictions

Inadequate training is a frequent factor in enforcement actions. Refreshers should follow any regulatory change or new campaign launch, and documented completion records support a defensible position during audits.

Only Call Consumers Between 8 AM and 9 PM Based on the Consumer's Location

The TCPA prohibits calling residences outside the hours of 8 AM to 9 PM. The applicable time zone is determined by the consumer's physical location, not the area code of their phone number.

Many states impose additional restrictions or define different windows for specific call types. Some states also observe unique rules around holidays and declared states of emergency. Organizations operating across multiple jurisdictions need processes that apply the correct calling window for each contact.

Scrub Telephone Numbers Against the National DNC Registry When No Exemption Exists

The TCPA and the TSR both prohibit telephone solicitations to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry and require telemarketers to scrub calling lists against the registry at least once every 31 days. Valid exemptions include prior express written consent and an established business relationship, provided no entity-specific do-not-call request has been made.

Beyond the national registry, organizations should account for:

• State DNC lists — several states maintain their own registries (e.g., Florida), and state telemarketing laws may impose additional requirements
• The Reassigned Numbers Database — verifying that consent previously obtained still applies to the current subscriber helps avoid calling reassigned numbers based on outdated consent.

Disclose Agent Name, Company Name, and Contact Information on Every Call

The TCPA requires callers to identify themselves at the beginning of each call. Agents must provide their name, the company they represent, and a telephone number or address where the company can be reached. These disclosures apply to both live calls and prerecorded messages.

Clear identification also helps distinguish legitimate outreach from the robocall and spoofing activity that erodes consumer confidence in phone-based communication.

Honor All Do-Not-Call Requests and Maintain a Centralized Suppression List

When a consumer requests not to be called, that request must be honored as soon as possible and no later than 10 business days after the request is received. Businesses should document and timestamp opt-out requests at the point of receipt to avoid disputes.

Federal law requires that each opted-out number be added to an internal suppression list for at least five years, though some states require 10 years, and many businesses choose to retain these records indefinitely as a best practice.

Suppression data must be centralized and accessible to every system and team involved in outbound contact. When opt-out records are siloed across disconnected platforms, the risk of contacting someone who has already opted out increases significantly. For guidance on building effective processes, see how organizations handle customer opt-outs efficiently.

Obtain Prior Express Written Consent Before Using Autodialers or Prerecorded Messages for Sales

The TCPA requires prior express written consent before delivering prerecorded or artificial-voice telemarketing messages. Written consent is also required before using an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS) for sales calls to wireless numbers. Consent must be clear, documented, and tied to a specific communication purpose.

Consent records should include the language presented to the consumer, the date and time, and the capture method. State mini-TCPA statutes in jurisdictions such as Florida, Oklahoma, and Maryland may define regulated technology more broadly than the federal TCPA, bringing additional activities under state law.

Honor All Consent Revocations Within the Required Timeframe

Consumers can revoke consent through any reasonable means — a verbal statement during a call, a "STOP" reply to a text, or an action taken through a self-service portal. Once a revocation is received, all telemarketing calls and texts using autodialers or prerecorded messages must stop as soon as possible and no later than 10 business days after the request is made.

Agents should be trained to recognize revocation language. Automated systems should parse common opt-out keywords and route revocations into the suppression workflow without manual intervention. Learn more about revocation rights here: Can Consumers Revoke Consent?

Keep the Predictive Dialing Abandonment Rate at or Below 3%

Both the TCPA and the TSR limit abandoned telemarketing calls to no more than 3% of calls answered by a live person. Under TCPA rules, that rate is measured over a 30-day period for a single calling campaign.

Every abandoned call must deliver a prerecorded message that:

• Identifies the seller by name
• Provides a telephone number the consumer can use to reach the company
• Includes an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism

Dialer settings should be calibrated to stay within this threshold, and abandonment statistics should be reviewed regularly.

Include an Automated Opt-Out Feature in Abandonment and Prerecorded Messages

The FCC's TCPA rules require that any prerecorded telemarketing message include an automated, interactive opt-out mechanism that allows the recipient to make a do-not-call request during the message. The message must also clearly identify the business responsible for the call and provide a telephone number where the company can be reached.

These requirements apply to both abandonment messages — where a live agent was unavailable — and intentional prerecorded messages. The opt-out mechanism must be functional for the duration of the call and for a reasonable period afterward.

Monitor and Enforce Compliance Across Internal and External Call Centers

Courts have consistently found that brands are responsible for the actions of their third-party marketing partners, including lead generators, vendors, and remarketers, under TCPA and TSR vicarious liability standards. If a vendor fails to honor an opt-out or scrub against required lists, the liability falls on the business that authorized the outreach.

Effective oversight includes:

• Vendor contracts that require adherence to all applicable TCPA and TSR rules
• Regular sharing of updated suppression data with all partners
• Periodic audits to verify that vendors are scrubbing and applying opt-outs correctly
• Internal monitoring of call recordings, script adherence, and consent verification processes

How PossibleNOW Helps Organizations Maintain TCPA Compliance

PossibleNOW provides enterprise-grade tools and expertise to support every item on this checklist:

• DNCSolution® automates scrubbing against national, state, wireless, and internal DNC lists. It provides access to the Reassigned Numbers Database, generates detailed audit trails, and supports real-time suppression through API and CRM integrations.
• MyPreferences® serves as the centralized system of record for consent, preferences, and revocations. It captures opt-outs across channels with full timestamps and audit history, then propagates updates in real time to connected outbound systems.
• RegInfoHub® delivers continuously updated regulatory guidance across federal, state, and channel-specific requirements, helping compliance teams stay current on calling hours, consent standards, and state-level developments.

Gaps in any of the areas covered by this TCPA compliance checklist can create regulatory exposure, litigation risk, and reputational harm. PossibleNOW's integrated platforms and deep compliance expertise help organizations close those gaps and maintain a defensible compliance posture at scale.