Is the FCC One-to-One Consent Rule in Effect in 2026? What Lead and Call Buyers Need to Know

About this guide

This guide is for marketing, partner, procurement and compliance teams that buy calls or leads. It sets out what the primary sources say: the court decision, FCC orders, the Federal Register and the current text of the rule in the eCFR. Every source was read on November 2, 2026, and each one is linked below.

It isn't legal advice. Consent questions depend on your forms, your dialing technology and the states you call into, so have counsel review your campaigns.

What happened to the one-to-one consent rule?

In December 2023 the FCC adopted a rule meant to close what it called the "lead generator loophole." It would have required consent to telemarketing robocalls and robotexts from one seller at a time, about subjects "logically and topically associated with the interaction that prompted the consent". It never took effect. Here is the sequence, from the primary sources:

• The court's reasoning: the TCPA's term "prior express consent" carries its ordinary meaning, and a consumer can give it "clearly and unmistakably" to more than one seller. The FCC can implement the statute but can't add restrictions that change what consent means.
• The court gave its own example: a consumer can consent to calls about loan consolidation while shopping online for auto loans. The "logically and topically" test would have barred that consent.
• The FCC said its August 2025 change was ministerial. It "lacks discretion to depart from this mandate."

What does prior express written consent require in 2026?

The definition now in 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9) is the one the FCC adopted in 2012. Prior express written consent is a written agreement, signed by the person called, that:

• Clearly authorizes the seller to deliver, or cause to be delivered, advertisements or telemarketing messages using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice.
• Names the telephone number those calls may go to.
• Includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure that, by signing, the person authorizes those calls.
• Includes a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the person is not required to sign, directly or indirectly, as a condition of buying anything.
• Is signed. An electronic or digital signature counts if it is valid under federal law or state contract law.

When does this standard apply?

Under 64.1200(a)(2), prior express written consent is required for telemarketing or advertising calls made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to wireless numbers. Under 64.1200(a)(3), it is required for artificial or prerecorded telemarketing messages to residential lines. The revocation rules in 64.1200(a)(10) apply to both calls and text messages made under these paragraphs.

Two points follow from that. First, a single form can name more than one seller, as long as the consent is clear and unmistakable for each of them. Second, "clear" still matters. On an ActiveProspect panel (February 28, 2025), attorney Alexandra Krasovec of Manatt said that consent forms linking to lists of hundreds or thousands of companies, or using vague marketing language, may not meet the clear-and-unmistakable standard. That is one practitioner's view, but it is the question courts now decide case by case.

Does the TCPA still apply to pay-per-call and live transfers?

Yes. Only the one-to-one rule was vacated. The rest of the TCPA and the FCC's rules still apply. What applies depends on who dials:

• An inbound call the consumer places to a tracking number is not an outbound robocall. But callbacks, follow-up texts and dialer campaigns run from the lead record are covered by the consent rules above.
• Do-not-call rules cover telephone solicitations however they are dialed. That includes the national registry (64.1200(c)(2)) and calling hours of 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time (64.1200(c)(1)). It also includes company-specific do-not-call requests, which must be honored within 10 business days and kept for 5 years (64.1200(d)(3) and (d)(6)).
• The Reassigned Numbers Database safe harbor (64.1200(m)) protects a caller only if it checked the database and the database gave a wrong "no" answer.
• The private right of action is unchanged. Under 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3), damages are actual loss or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, and a court may treble them for willful or knowing violations.

Why court decisions carry more weight now

In McLaughlin Chiropractic Associates v. McKesson Corp. (June 20, 2025), the Supreme Court held that district courts in TCPA enforcement cases are not bound by the FCC's interpretation of the statute. They must decide what the law means themselves, while giving the FCC's view appropriate respect. For buyers, that means an FCC order is no longer the last word on consent. Your consent records need to hold up in front of a court applying the statute's ordinary meaning.

What changes on November 25, 2026: revoking consent

The rule that matters most this month is about revocation, not one-to-one consent. The FCC adopted an order (FCC 26-67) on September 30, 2026, released it October 1, and published it in the Federal Register on October 26, 2026 (91 FR 67214). It takes effect November 25, 2026. It replaces the "revoke-all" requirement in 64.1200(a)(10). That requirement had been delayed twice: to April 11, 2026 (DA 25-312, April 7, 2025) and then to January 31, 2027 (DA 26-12, January 6, 2026).

What lead buyers should do before November 25

If you or your vendors call or text from purchased leads, check three things before November 25:

• Decide whether to designate an exclusive revocation method and where you will disclose it on calls and in texts.
• Make sure every one of the seven standard words is honored in replies, even if your texts only mention "stop."
• Confirm that a telemarketing opt-out on one campaign suppresses all telemarketing from your company, and that vendors and dialers share that suppression list.

Why many buyers still require one-to-one consent

The vacatur removed a federal mandate. It didn't make seller-specific consent less useful. A form that names your company alone is the simplest record to defend when a consumer says they never agreed to hear from you. It is also easier to defend than a form that names a long list of partners. ActiveProspect's write-up of the panel cited above makes the same point, summarizing founder Steve Rafferty: a consumer's explicit consent to be contacted by your brand is the "gold standard." The panel also noted that Congress or a state legislature could bring back a one-to-one requirement, even though the FCC can't.

Medicare marketing has its own CMS rules on sharing beneficiary data with other marketing organizations. Those rules come from a different statute and aren't covered here. Check current CMS guidance before relying on this page for Medicare.

Checklist: consent questions to ask any lead or call vendor in 2026

• Does each lead or call come with a TrustedForm certificate or Jornaya LeadiD that you can retrieve and verify yourself?
• Does the consent language name your company, or point to a partner list? If it points to a list, how many companies are on it, and is the list on the same page as the form?
• Does the disclosure say that calls may use an autodialer or prerecorded voice, and that consent isn't a condition of purchase?
• Is the consented phone number captured in the record, and does it match the number delivered to you?
• How long are consent records, recordings and form versions kept, and how fast can you get them in a dispute?
• Is the lead scrubbed against the national DNC registry, internal DNC lists and the Reassigned Numbers Database before delivery?
• Is the lead or call sold to you exclusively, or to other buyers too? Each buyer that calls adds risk on the same record.
• How are revocations and opt-outs passed back to you, and how will that work under the November 25, 2026 rule?

How MGM ScaleCraft handles consent

We built our consent process for buyers who want it to be easy to defend. As our compliance overview states:

• Consent scope is buyer-specific, not blanket.
• Every lead carries a TrustedForm certificate or a Jornaya LeadiD, retained and retrievable for 5 years.
• Do-not-call and revocation requests are honored across every property we own.
• Traffic comes from our own consumer brands, with media bought in-house on Meta, TikTok and NewsBreak, and each call or lead goes to one buyer.

Review your consent chain

If you're reviewing vendors before the November 25 revocation change, book a partner briefing and we'll walk you through our consent chain against your requirements. For what calls cost by vertical, see Cost Per Call in 2026. For how the two buying models differ, see Pay-Per-Call vs Pay-Per-Lead.

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