TCPA consent on a purchased mortgage lead
What a TCPA consent record on a purchased mortgage lead actually has to contain, why liability for the call sits with the buyer rather than the vendor, and what to ask a vendor to produce before dialing.
TCPA consent on a mortgage lead is a record that a specific consumer agreed to be called or texted about a mortgage, by a named company, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. It matters to a buyer because that record, not the sale of the lead, is what a caller answers for once a call gets challenged.
What the consent record has to name
A record worth relying on states who consented, to what, and when, in language that names the company placing the call. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Do Not Call exemption at 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(ii) requires a signed agreement naming the specific seller before that seller may call a number on the national registry. A record that never names your company as that seller does not obviously cover you, whatever label the vendor puts on it.
One named company against a list of unnamed partners
Consent language varies more than the word consent suggests, and the difference sits in who is named. A consumer who agreed to be contacted by one company named on the form gave a narrower, clearer permission than one who agreed to a list of unnamed partners. The FCC's attempt to require a separate consent per partner was adopted, then eliminated effective 29 August 2025 after the 11th Circuit vacated a related order in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC on 24 January 2025, so how specific a partner-list consent must be is genuinely open, not settled in a buyer's favor.
Why the liability sits with the caller
The statute itself, 47 U.S.C. § 227, enacted in 1991, makes it unlawful for any person to place the covered call or text without the required consent, reaching whoever initiates it. In a purchased-lead relationship the caller is ordinarily the buyer, not the vendor who sold the record earlier. Before the first call, ask the vendor to produce the exact language shown to the consumer, the date and method it was captured, and which company it named. A vendor unwilling to produce that is asking the caller to dial on their word alone.
Source: 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(ii), Federal Communications Commission telemarketing and Do Not Call rules · 47 U.S.C. § 227, Telephone Consumer Protection Act, enacted 1991 · Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, 11th Cir., 24 January 2025, and the FCC's related elimination of the one-to-one consent requirement effective 29 August 2025 · Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control, 5th Cir., 25 February 2026, which narrowed a related written-consent requirement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The area is moving: read every date here as the state of the rule on that day, not as settled law.Questions this page answers
It means a consent record exists, not that calling is risk-free. The record has to name the company doing the calling and describe what the consumer agreed to, and it has to hold up if it is ever questioned. A consent drafted to cover a list of unnamed marketing partners does not obviously cover you the way one naming your company does. The FCC’s own do-not-call exemption, at 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(ii), asks for a signed agreement naming the specific seller. Read the record itself, not the label on the page.
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, enacted in 1991, reaches whoever places or initiates the covered call or text. That is ordinarily the buyer doing the dialing, not the vendor who sold the record earlier. A vendor’s promise that a lead "has consent" describes the record, it does not transfer legal exposure. Whether a vendor could also be reached alongside a caller in a given case is a fact-specific question for your own compliance counsel, not something a lead-buying decision should rest on.
No, and the surrounding law keeps moving. The FCC adopted a rule requiring separate consent per marketing partner, then eliminated it effective 29 August 2025, after the 11th Circuit vacated a related order in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC on 24 January 2025. A further ruling, Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control in the 5th Circuit on 25 February 2026, narrowed a related written-consent requirement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Treat this as unsettled and confirm current status with counsel before relying on any consent built around it.
Buying questions rather than research ones are answered on the FAQ, and anything that is not there gets asked on a call.
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