If automated or prerecorded calls keep reaching your phone, federal law may protect you. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act generally bars autodialed or prerecorded calls to a cell phone, and prerecorded calls to a home line, without your prior express consent. You can withdraw consent in any reasonable way, and callers must honor it within ten business days.
Most people facing repeated automated calls have already tried the obvious things. They let the calls go to voicemail, replied STOP to a text, or blocked a number only to see a new one ring the next morning. What they want to know is simpler and harder: is this allowed, did saying stop count, and does the law give them anything to do besides wait? This page walks through the federal rules on calls and texts, what consent means, how revocation works and the official options a consumer has.
What Repeated Automated Calls Are — and Which Law Governs Them
The federal law on robocalls is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. § 227. It applies across the United States and covers calls placed with certain technology, not just calls a person finds annoying.
The first of those technologies is the "automatic telephone dialing system," often called an autodialer. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(a)(1), it means "equipment which has the capacity— (A) to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator; and (B) to dial such numbers." The Supreme Court read that definition in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, No. 19-511 (April 1, 2021), holding that the equipment must use a random or sequential number generator. Under that reading, a system that simply dials a stored list of specific numbers does not qualify.
The other two technologies are an artificial voice and a prerecorded voice: a computer-generated or recorded message instead of a live person. Both are covered by 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1). A "robocall," in the FCC's words, is a call "made using an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice message."
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) writes the TCPA's rules, found at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) runs the National Do Not Call Registry, a separate tool covered below.
What the TCPA Prohibits: The Core Rules on Automated and Prerecorded Calls
Two prohibitions in the statute do most of the work.
Cell phones and similar services. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii), it is unlawful to make any call using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a number assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other radio common carrier service, or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. The statute's exceptions are calls made for emergency purposes and calls made with the prior express consent of the called party. The printed statute also contains a clause for calls collecting certain federal government-backed debts, but the Supreme Court held that clause invalid and severed it in Barr v. American Association of Political Consultants, No. 19-631 (July 6, 2020).
Home landlines. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(B), it is unlawful to initiate a call to a residential line using an artificial or prerecorded voice to deliver a message without the called party's prior express consent. Exceptions apply, including calls for emergency purposes and calls the FCC has exempted by rule or order.
The cell-phone rule reaches autodialers and prerecorded voices alike, while the landline rule turns on the prerecorded or artificial voice. In both, "prior express consent" is the threshold. What it takes depends on whether the call is telemarketing or informational. Whether a particular series of calls may violate these rules depends on the equipment used, the line called, the call's purpose and whether consent existed.
Prior Express Consent: What It Means and When It Applies
Consent under the TCPA must come from "the called party," and it must be "prior," meaning given before the call is made.
The FCC's rule sets a higher bar for sales calls. Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(2), an autodialed or prerecorded call that includes an advertisement or is telemarketing to a cell phone generally requires "prior express written consent." Narrower exceptions apply for tax-exempt nonprofits and certain health care messages. Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3), a prerecorded telemarketing call to a residential line also requires prior express written consent.
Informational calls follow a different path. The FCC's consumer guide on robocalls and texts explains that a caller needs "oral or written consent" before an autodialed or prerecorded call or text to a wireless number. It adds that commercial texts require written consent, while "for informational texts, your consent may be oral." The guide says written consent may be given "on paper or through electronic means, including website forms or a telephone keypress."
For home lines, 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(3) lets certain prerecorded calls go out without consent. These include emergency calls and some non-telemarketing calls. The caller must stay within three calls in any consecutive 30-day period and honor opt-out requests.
How a Consumer Can Revoke Consent to Automated Calls and Texts
Many readers arrive here because they already said stop and the calls kept coming. The rule on taking consent back speaks directly to that.
Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10), a called party "may revoke prior express consent, including prior express written consent," by "using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages." The rule treats certain methods as reasonable on their face:
- an automated, interactive voice or key-press opt-out on a call;
- replying "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel," or "unsubscribe" to a text;
- a website or phone number the caller designates for opt-outs.
A reply using other words must be treated as a revocation if a reasonable person would understand it that way. A sender whose texts cannot take replies must say so on each text and give other ways to revoke. Every reasonable revocation "must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days from receipt." The rule also states that covered callers "may not designate an exclusive means to request revocation of consent."
Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(11), other methods also count, such as a voicemail or email meant to reach the caller. Using one creates a rebuttable presumption, a starting assumption the caller can try to disprove, that consent was revoked once the consumer shows the request was made.
The National Do Not Call Registry and the FTC's Role
The National Do Not Call Registry is a different tool from the autodialer rules. According to the FTC's Do Not Call Registry FAQs, it is "a list that tells registered telemarketers what numbers not to call," and "it doesn't block calls."
The FTC says registration is free and "will never expire." A number usually appears on the Registry the next day, but "it can take up to 31 days for sales calls to stop." Registration happens at donotcall.gov or by calling 1-888-382-1222 from the number being registered. The FTC also notes that being on the Registry "won't stop calls from scammers making illegal calls."
The Registry does not cover every call. The FTC says companies may still call "if you've recently done business with them, or if you've given them written permission," but "if you ask them not to call you, they have to stop." The FCC guide adds that telephone solicitations are permitted with prior express permission or from tax-exempt nonprofits, and that political robocalls to landlines are allowed without prior consent.
The key distinction: the Registry concerns who is calling for sales purposes. The autodialer and prerecorded-voice rules concern how the call is placed. The do-not-call rules come from 47 U.S.C. § 227(c), which carries its own private right of action, described next.
Filing a Complaint and the Private Right of Action Under the TCPA
Federal law gives two paths: a report to an agency, and a court action brought by the consumer.
Agency complaints. The FCC guide says a consumer may report illegal calls or texts to the FCC by choosing the "unwanted calls" category. It explains that the FCC "doesn't resolve individual complaints but uses them to guide policy and possible enforcement." The FTC takes reports of phone scams and Do Not Call violations. It says it "can't respond to each one" but analyzes reports to take action against illegal callers.
The automated-call rules. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3), a person may, if otherwise permitted by the laws or rules of court of a State, bring an action in an appropriate court of that State. The action may seek to stop the violation, to recover "actual monetary loss from such a violation, or to receive $500 in damages for each such violation, whichever is greater," or both. If the court finds the violation willful or knowing, it "may, in its discretion," increase the award to not more than 3 times that amount.
The do-not-call rules. Under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5), a person "who has received more than one telephone call within any 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity" in violation of the do-not-call regulations may bring a similar action, subject to the same State-court condition. That action may seek to stop the violation, actual monetary loss or "up to $500 in damages for each such violation, whichever is greater," or both, with the same discretionary increase for willful or knowing violations. A defendant has an affirmative defense if it "established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures" to prevent such calls.
These are what the statute allows a court to award. Whether particular calls violate the TCPA depends on their facts. More on how these remedies work appears in consumer rights remedies and how consumer lawsuits work. State law may add protections, and it differs from state to state.
Practical Steps a Consumer Can Take
When the calls are constant, it helps to know which options are real and what each one does.
A consumer may register a home or cell number with the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov. It limits sales calls from telemarketers who follow the law.
A consumer may revoke consent in writing, by a reply text, a letter or an email to the caller. Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(a)(10), a written revocation also leaves a dated record of when it was sent. The FTC suggests writing down the date a consumer asked a company to stop calling.
A consumer may keep records of the calls: dates, times, the number shown on caller ID, and any voicemail or recorded message. The FTC notes that a report should include "the date and time of the call" where possible.
A consumer may file a complaint with the FCC about unwanted calls or texts, and with the FTC about Do Not Call violations or phone scams.
A consumer may also use blocking tools. The FCC guide points to call-blocking tools from phone companies and to apps for mobile devices, and the FTC describes call-blocking and call-labeling services for cell phones, landlines and internet phones. A broader overview of these laws is in the consumer law FAQ.
If You'd Like a Consumer Rights Case Review
Repeated automated calls raise questions only the details can answer: what kind of line was called, whether the calls used an autodialer or a recorded voice, whether consent was ever given, and when and how it was taken back. A conversation about calls like these can cover the call logs and voicemails, any STOP replies or written revocations and their dates, and whether the number is on the Do Not Call Registry. This page explains federal call and text rules in general and does not cover debts behind collection calls or any other area of law.
To discuss calls like these with an attorney, request a consumer rights case review through Federal Consumer Rights.
