Texting and Calling Leads: TCPA Rules for Real Estate Teams
Quick answer: The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) requires prior express written consent before a team sends marketing texts or makes marketing calls with an autodialer or a prerecorded or artificial voice, and it bars sales calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry unless an exception applies. Calls must fall between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s time zone, and some states are stricter. Opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days. Damages run $500 to $1,500 per call or text.
This is general information, not legal advice. TCPA law is changing in 2026 and courts disagree on key points. Check with your broker or an attorney before you launch a calling or texting program.
On this page: Why it matters · Consent · Opt-outs · Do Not Call and quiet hours · Expireds and FSBOs · Lawsuits · Checklist
Why TCPA is a team leader’s problem
Any team that texts leads, runs a dialer, uses ISAs or sends prerecorded messages is exposed to the TCPA. The law (47 U.S.C. 227) and the FCC’s rules (47 CFR 64.1200) cover calls and texts, so whoever builds the team’s lead systems and CRM automations owns the risk. If you are setting up those systems now, pair this guide with Lead Generation Systems for Real Estate Teams and CRM Setup for a Real Estate Team: What to Automate First.
What counts as an autodialer. In Facebook v. Duguid (April 1, 2021), the Supreme Court held 9-0 that an “automatic telephone dialing system” must have the capacity to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator. Equipment that only dials stored lists automatically does not qualify. That narrowed autodialer claims, but three risks remain for teams:
- Prerecorded and artificial voice. Prerecorded or artificial voice messages still need consent no matter how they are dialed.
- Do Not Call claims. The Do Not Call rules apply to telemarketing calls and texts however they are placed, including a call an agent dials by hand.
- State laws. Some states define autodialers more broadly than federal law.
Courts now read the statute themselves. In McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson (June 20, 2025), the Supreme Court held that district courts are not bound by FCC interpretations of the TCPA. Expect more variation from court to court, and do not build a program on a narrow reading of an old FCC ruling.
Consent for marketing calls and texts
The FCC rules set two levels of consent:
| Type of message | What you need |
|---|---|
| Marketing calls or texts using an autodialer, or prerecorded or artificial voice | Prior express written consent |
| Informational calls or texts (a showing confirmation, a document reminder) using the same technology | Prior express consent, which can be less formal |
| Manually dialed sales calls | No consent rule under the autodialer section, but Do Not Call rules and state laws still apply |
Prior express written consent means a written agreement, signed by the person (an e-signature or checkbox that counts as a signature under federal or state law is fine), that:
- clearly authorizes the seller to send marketing calls or texts using an autodialer or artificial or prerecorded voice,
- includes the phone number the person agrees to be contacted at, and
- discloses clearly that signing is not a condition of buying any property, goods or services.
The one-to-one rule is gone. The FCC adopted a rule in 2023 that would have required consent to name one seller at a time and to cover only topically related calls. On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit vacated it in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, one business day before the January 27 effective date. The pre-2025 standard applies. Even so, a vague consent buried on a lead seller’s page that lists hundreds of “partners” is a lawsuit waiting to happen. If you buy leads, ask the vendor for the consent language, the page it appeared on and the timestamp for each lead.
Practical rule for teams: every web form, landing page, open house sign-in and lead ad that collects a phone number should carry a clear consent line naming your team or brokerage, and your CRM should store the consent record next to the contact.
Opt-outs and revoking consent in 2026
The FCC’s 2024 revocation order changed how opt-outs work, in stages:
- Since April 11, 2025: consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable means, including replies like “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel” or “unsubscribe,” and you must honor the request within 10 business days.
- The “revoke-all” provision would have made one opt-out apply to every type of call and text from a sender. The FCC delayed it to April 11, 2026, and later to January 31, 2027.
- September 30, 2026: the FCC adopted revised opt-out rules that replace the revoke-all provision. A sender may designate a clearly disclosed exclusive opt-out method, such as replying STOP to a text. A sender may limit an opt-out from one category of informational message to that category, but an opt-out from marketing messages still stops all of that sender’s marketing. The revised rules take effect 30 days after publication in the Federal Register.
The safe setup: one STOP keyword on every texting number, opt-outs that sync across your CRM, dialer and texting tools within hours, and a one-time confirmation text.
Do Not Call, quiet hours and state laws
National Do Not Call Registry. You may not make telemarketing calls or send marketing texts to a number on the registry unless the person gave prior express invitation or permission or you have an established business relationship. The FCC confirmed in 2023 that registry protections extend to text messages. Key numbers:
- Scrub every 31 days. Lists must be checked against registry data no older than 31 days.
- Established business relationship: up to 18 months after a transaction and 3 months after an inquiry or application, unless the person asks you to stop.
- Internal do-not-call list. Anyone who asks not to be called goes on your company list, regardless of registry status.
Quiet hours. Federal rules bar telemarketing calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time. Several states are tighter:
| State | Rule (examples) |
|---|---|
| Florida | Sales calls and texts only from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; no more than 3 calls in 24 hours on the same subject; consent required for autodialed sales calls; a texting plaintiff must first reply STOP and give the sender 15 days |
| Maryland | Stop the Spam Calls Act (effective January 1, 2024) bars solicitation calls between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and requires express written consent for automated calls |
| Oklahoma | Telephone Solicitation Act (effective November 1, 2022) is modeled on Florida’s and limits calling hours and call frequency |
Several other states, including Washington, Connecticut, Texas and Virginia, have their own registration, hours or texting rules. If your team markets across state lines, build your dialer and texting schedules around the strictest state you call into.
Expireds, FSBOs and cold calling
Cold calling is legal when it follows the rules. The common mistakes on real estate teams are calling registry numbers and calling at the wrong hours.
- Expired listings. The FCC declined to exempt expired-listing calls from the Do Not Call rules. A call to solicit a new listing is telemarketing, so scrub the list first.
- FSBOs. NAR’s guidance: calling a FSBO on behalf of a represented buyer to discuss a sale to that buyer is not a telephone solicitation. Calling a FSBO on the registry to pitch a listing is.
- Data vendors. Many prospecting tools flag registry numbers, but the duty is yours. Confirm the vendor’s scrub date and keep your own internal do-not-call list.
- Texts to cold numbers. Sending marketing texts to numbers pulled from a list, with no consent, is the fastest route to a class action. Do not do it.
Lawsuits and penalties
Penalties. The TCPA lets consumers sue for actual losses or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, and a court may triple that to $1,500 per violation if the violation was willful or knowing. Each call or text counts separately, and there is no cap. State laws add their own damages.
Real estate cases:
- Keller Williams (2023): Keller Williams agreed to pay $40 million to settle a class action alleging its agents made unsolicited and prerecorded calls, including to numbers on the Do Not Call Registry. The company denied wrongdoing and agreed to create a TCPA compliance task force and expand agent training.
- Realogy / Coldwell Banker (Bumpus v. Realogy): Realogy agreed to a $20 million settlement of claims that Coldwell Banker-affiliated agents made calls to registry numbers and used prerecorded messages. The court granted final approval on March 18, 2026.
- Ongoing suits. Plaintiffs keep filing against franchisors, brokerages and individual agents. A 2025 telemarketing suit against Keller Williams was dropped when the plaintiff withdrew it, and in other cases agents have been sued personally.
The pattern: franchisors and brokerages get sued for what their agents do. A written policy, training and records are the main defenses.
A TCPA checklist for teams
- Name one owner for calling and texting compliance, usually the team leader or the marketing lead, with your broker of record signing off.
- Audit every phone capture point for a clear consent line that names your team or brokerage.
- Store consent records (wording, page, timestamp, IP or signature) in the CRM.
- Scrub prospecting lists against the registry at least every 31 days and keep an internal do-not-call list.
- Set quiet hours in every tool to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. recipient time, which meets federal rules and the stricter states.
- Make STOP work everywhere and sync opt-outs across tools well inside 10 business days.
- Vet lead vendors for consent language before you buy, and get indemnity in writing.
- Train every agent and ISA at onboarding and once a year, and keep the sign-in sheet. For routing and response time rules that sit alongside this, see Speed to Lead and Lead Routing for Real Estate Teams.
A VA or marketing generalist can run list scrubs and keep consent records. The marketing leader, full-time or fractional, owns the policy, vendor reviews and training. Teams that want a starting point can use the free Brokerage Marketing Audit to inventory every lead source and capture point.
Key takeaways
- Marketing texts and autodialed or prerecorded marketing calls need prior express written consent that names or clearly covers your business.
- The FCC’s one-to-one consent rule was vacated in January 2025 and never took effect.
- Honor opt-outs within 10 business days. Revised FCC opt-out rules adopted September 30, 2026 take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication.
- Scrub against the Do Not Call Registry every 31 days, including expireds and FSBOs you plan to pitch.
- Call between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. recipient time to meet federal rules and stricter states like Florida and Maryland.
- Damages are $500 to $1,500 per call or text, and real estate companies have settled class actions for $20 million and $40 million.
Sources
Show all 16 sources
- Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. 227 (uscode.house.gov)
- FCC rules, 47 CFR 64.1200 (Cornell LII)
- U.S. Supreme Court, Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021)
- Cooley, McLaughlin Chiropractic: Supreme Court invites new era of TCPA jurisprudence (2025)
- Venable, Eleventh Circuit overrules FCC’s one-to-one consent rule (2025)
- Federal Communications Commission, Fact sheet on strengthening consumers’ ability to revoke consent (2024) and Fact sheet on revised revocation rules (September 9, 2026)
- Wiley, FCC grants limited waiver for part of the TCPA consent revocation rule
- Troutman Pepper Locke, FCC revises TCPA revocation of consent rules (2026)
- Federal Communications Commission, Second Report and Order on texting and Do Not Call (FCC 23-107)
- Federal Trade Commission, Q&A for telemarketers and sellers about Do Not Call provisions
- National Association of Realtors, Telemarketing and cold-calling and Florida Realtors, “Do Not Call” rules and Realtors
- Manatt, Florida amends FTSA (2023) and Quarles, Florida passes new telemarketing bill
- Goodwin, Mini-TCPA laws you should know (2023)
- The Real Deal, Keller Williams to pay $40 million in cold-calling settlement (2023) and Inman, Keller Williams released from telemarketing lawsuit (2025)
- Bumpus v. Realogy settlement, Frequently asked questions and ClaimDepot, Realogy TCPA settlement
- National Law Review, TCPA claims against a Keller Williams agent
Frequently asked questions
Can my team text a lead who filled out a form on our website?
Usually yes, if the form included a clear consent disclosure that covers marketing texts from your team and the lead checked or signed it. Keep a record of the form, the disclosure wording, the timestamp and the phone number. If the lead later replies STOP, stop marketing texts to that number.
Is it legal to call expired listings and FSBOs?
Calling to solicit a listing is telemarketing, so you must scrub the numbers against the National Do Not Call Registry and your internal do-not-call list first. NAR guidance says a buyer's agent may call a FSBO to discuss a sale to a represented buyer, but not to pitch a listing to a number on the registry.
What happened to the FCC's one-to-one consent rule?
It never took effect. On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit vacated it in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, one business day before its effective date. Consent from a comparison site can still cover several sellers, but the consent must be clear and must name or clearly cover your business.
How much can a TCPA lawsuit cost?
The statute allows $500 per call or text, and up to $1,500 if a court finds the violation willful or knowing. Each call or text counts separately and there is no cap, which is why class actions against real estate companies have settled for $20 million and $40 million.