TCPA and Do Not Call Basics for Outreach to Owners

Everyone · Updated 2026-10-16

TCPA and Do Not Call Basics for Outreach to Owners

Information, not legal advice. Laws change; check the current statute or rule and talk to a Texas attorney before you act.

Calling and texting owners is the fastest way to reach someone behind on taxes or facing a sale. It is also where most legal trouble in this business starts. Federal and Texas phone laws give consumers the right to sue for each unwanted call or text, and the damages add up quickly.

This guide covers the main rules. Whether a particular call to an owner counts as a "telephone solicitation" (for example, an offer to buy a house, as opposed to selling something) is a question courts have answered in different ways. Many careful operators simply follow the rules as if they apply.

The federal layer

The TCPA (47 U.S.C. §227) and the FCC's rules (47 C.F.R. §64.1200)

1. Autodialed, prerecorded and artificial-voice calls. Calls to a cell phone using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice need the person's prior express consent. If the call is telemarketing, it needs prior express written consent (§64.1200(a)(1)-(3)). Texts count as calls for this purpose.

• The Supreme Court narrowed what counts as an "autodialer" in Facebook v. Duguid (2021). The device must use a random or sequential number generator.
• The prerecorded and artificial-voice rule still applies to any dialer. In February 2024 the FCC ruled that AI-generated voices are "artificial" voices under the TCPA. The FCC has also ruled (2022) that ringless voicemail is a call under the TCPA.

2. Quiet hours. No telephone solicitation to a residence before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time where the person is (§64.1200(c)(1)).

3. The National Do Not Call Registry. No telephone solicitation to a residential number on the registry unless you have the person's signed written permission or an established business relationship (§64.1200(c)(2)). The safe harbor requires, among other things:

• written procedures and staff training;
• a version of the registry no more than 31 days old;
• a record of how you scrub.

4. Your own do-not-call list. If someone asks you to stop, you must record it and honor it within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days (§64.1200(d)(3)). You need a written policy and must give your name and a contact number.

5. Revoking consent. Since April 11, 2025, a person can revoke consent by any reasonable means. Replies like "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" or "unsubscribe" count. The revocation must be honored within 10 business days (§64.1200(a)(10)).

• The FCC delayed the part that would make one revocation cover every kind of message from the caller ("revoke all"). It was most recently pushed to January 31, 2027. Check its current status.

6. Damages. A consumer can sue for $500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing (47 U.S.C. §227(b)(3)). Do Not Call claims need more than one call in 12 months (§227(c)(5)).

What changed in 2025

• The one-to-one consent rule is gone. The FCC had adopted a rule that consent from a lead form must name one seller at a time. On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit vacated it in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, days before it took effect. Consent still has to be real, clear and given before the call.
• Courts no longer have to defer to the FCC's reading. In McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (June 2025), the Supreme Court held that district courts in private TCPA suits are not bound by the FCC's interpretations. Results can now vary more by court.

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (16 C.F.R. part 310)

The FTC's rule mainly covers interstate campaigns that sell goods or services. Two points matter for anyone handling owner lists:

• No reselling or sharing the registry. It is a violation for any person to sell, rent, lease, buy or use the national registry for any purpose except compliance (§310.4(b)(2)). Each seller pays for its own access, and cost-sharing is banned (§310.8).
• Helping a violator. Giving "substantial assistance" to someone you know, or consciously avoid knowing, is breaking the rule is itself a violation (§310.3(b)).

The Texas layer

Texas adds rules on top of federal law.

Chapter 302 has a list of exemptions, and whether one fits your situation depends on the facts. Read the current statute with your lawyer.

A practical checklist

1. Scrub every number against the national registry (your own account), the Texas no-call list if it applies, and your internal do-not-call list before each campaign.
2. Keep the hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday, in the owner's time zone. That satisfies both the federal and Texas windows.
3. No prerecorded, AI-voice or ringless voicemail messages, and no autodialed texts, to cell phones without the right consent.
4. Honor stop requests in any reasonable form, within 10 business days or sooner. Faster is safer.
5. Identify yourself by name and give a call-back number.
6. Write down your policy, train everyone who dials, and keep records of scrubs and opt-outs.
7. Check registration under ch. 302 if you call or text Texans.
8. Mail is different. Direct mail isn't covered by the TCPA, which is one reason tax lenders lean on it. Property tax lenders have their own advertising rules (see property tax lender advertising rules).

How this shows up in Agentix Data

Agentix Data does not sell phone numbers or emails, does no skip tracing, and does not share Do Not Call registry data. Our files are property and public-record facts: owner name and mailing address, property, and the filings tied to it. If you add phones from another source, the scrubbing, hours and consent rules above are yours to follow.

Sources

• 47 U.S.C. §227 (TCPA): https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/47/227
• 47 C.F.R. §64.1200 (FCC rules): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/47/64.1200
• 16 C.F.R. §310.3, §310.4, §310.8 (Telemarketing Sales Rule): https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.4 , https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.3 , https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/16/310.8
• Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC (11th Cir. Jan. 24, 2025), summary: https://www.mofo.com/resources/insights/250130-eleventh-circuit-vacates-fcc-s-tcpa-one-to-one-consent-rule
• FCC delay of the "revoke all" provision, summaries: https://www.manatt.com/insights/newsletters/client-alert/fcc-delays-revoke-all-provision-of-new-revocation-rules , https://www.burr.com/telephone-consumer-protection-act/the-fcc-delays-effective-date-of-tcpa-revoke-all-rule-until-january-31-2027
• FCC declaratory ruling on AI-generated voices (Feb. 8, 2024), summary: https://cooley.com/news/insight/2024/2024-02-15-fcc-ai-generated-robocalls-illegal-under-the-tcpa
• Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021): https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/19-511_p86b.pdf
• McLaughlin Chiropractic Assocs. v. McKesson Corp., No. 23-1226 (June 20, 2025), docket: https://www.supremecourt.gov/docket/docketfiles/html/public/23-1226.html
• Bus. & Com. Code §301.051 (calling hours): https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._bus._and_com._code_section_301.051
• Bus. & Com. Code ch. 302: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.302.htm
• Bus. & Com. Code ch. 304: https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.304.htm
• Bus. & Com. Code §305.053: https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._bus._and_com._code_section_305.053
• SB 140 (2025) bill analysis: https://capitol.texas.gov/tlodocs/89R/analysis/html/SB00140F.htm ; summary: https://www.morganlewis.com/pubs/2025/09/texas-telephone-solicitation-law-now-covers-text-messages

General information, not legal or financial advice.