Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278

In the 1992 TCPA Order, the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) implemented final rules pursuant to the requirements of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 (TCPA), Pub. L. No. 102-243, Dec. 20, 1991. The TCPA added Section 227 to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, to restrict the use of automatic telephone dialing systems (autodialers), artificial or prerecorded messages, facsimile machines, or other devices to send unsolicited transmissions. The rules prohibit prerecorded message calls to residential lines absent an emergency or the prior express consent of the called party. Exceptions to this prohibition originally applied if the call: (a) is not made for a commercial purpose; (b) does not transmit an unsolicited advertisement; (c) is made by a calling party with whom the called party has an established business relationship; or (d) is made by a tax-exempt nonprofit organization. In 2012, the Commission eliminated the established business relationship exemption for calls to a wireless telephone number or prerecorded telemarketing calls to a residential line, and the elimination of the exemption became effective at the end of 2013. However, the other exceptions remain in place. In addition to the remaining exceptions, the rules prohibit any call, absent an emergency or the prior express consent of the called party, using an automatic telephone dialing system or a prerecorded voice when calling any emergency telephone line (including any “911” line and any emergency line of a hospital, medical physician or service office, health care facility, poison control center, or fire protection or law enforcement agency), any telephone line of any guest room or patient room of a hospital, health care facility, elderly home, or similar establishment, or any telephone numbers assigned to a paging service, cellular telephone service, specialized mobile radio service, or other common carrier service or any service for which the called party is charged for the call. The rules further require that telephone solicitors maintain and use company-specific lists of residential subscribers who request not to receive further telephone calls (company-specific do-not-call lists), thereby affording consumers the choice of which solicitors, if any, they will hear from by telephone. Telephone solicitors also are required to have a written policy for maintaining do-not-call lists, and are responsible for informing and training their personnel of the existence and use of such lists. Moreover, the rules require that those making telephone solicitations identify themselves to called parties, and that basic identifying information also be included in telephone facsimile transmissions. With respect to facsimile transmissions, the rules ban the use of a telephone facsimile machine, computer, or other device to send an unsolicited advertisement unless the sender has an established business relationship with the recipient and the facsimile number is voluntarily obtained in the course of the established business relationship or the number is obtained from the recipient’s public distribution of its facsimile number, and the sender includes certain notification and disclosure information in the transmission.

The latest form for Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278 expires 2021-09-30 and can be found here.

Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991, CG Docket No. 02-278

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