Aged Final Expense Leads: Federal Calling Rules to Check

What Makes an Aged Lead Different Under Federal Rules?

In this article, an aged lead means a consumer record that is called well after the date the consumer first asked about coverage. The age matters because both federal telemarketing rules let a seller call a number on the National Do Not Call Registry when the seller has an "established business relationship" with the person, and that relationship has an expiration date.

Under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR), a relationship based on a person's inquiry or application lasts for the 90 days immediately before the call. Under the FCC's rules implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), an inquiry-based relationship covers the three months immediately before the call. Once that window closes, the original inquiry no longer supplies the established-business-relationship exception.

Both definitions tie the relationship to a specific business: the TSR describes a relationship between a person and the seller, and the FCC rule describes one with the calling entity, based on an inquiry about products or services that entity offers. Whether an inquiry submitted through a third-party lead form counts as an inquiry to your agency is a fact-specific question to take to counsel before you rely on it.

Which Federal Rules Apply When You Call an Aged Lead?

The TSR (16 CFR Part 310) and the FCC's TCPA rule (47 CFR 64.1200) overlap on most outbound calling basics. The table below compares the provisions that come up most often with older lead records, as published in the eCFR in October 2026. Whether the TSR reaches a given insurance call depends on the FTC's limited jurisdiction over the business of insurance: under 15 U.S.C. 1012(b), the FTC Act applies to insurance only to the extent that business is not regulated by state law. Ask counsel how this applies to you.

Requirement	FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule	FCC TCPA Rule
Relationship based on an inquiry or application	Within the 90 days before the call (16 CFR 310.2(q)(2))	Within the three months before the call (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5))
Relationship based on a purchase or transaction	Within the 540 days before the call (16 CFR 310.2(q)(1))	Within the 18 months before the call (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5))
Calling a registered number without that relationship	Requires the person's express written agreement, with signature and phone number, authorizing calls by or for a specific party (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B))	Requires a signed, written agreement stating the consumer agrees to be contacted by this seller, including the phone number (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(ii))
Age of registry data used for scrubbing (safe harbor)	No more than 31 days before the call (16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv))	No more than 31 days before the call (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i)(D))
Calling hours	Outbound calls to a person's residence only between 8:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. at the called person's location, unless the person gave prior consent (16 CFR 310.4(c))	No telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party's location (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1))
Abandoned calls	Safe harbor includes abandoning no more than 3 percent of answered calls per campaign or 30-day period (16 CFR 310.4(b)(4)(i))	No more than 3 percent of live-answered telemarketing calls over a 30-day period for a single calling campaign (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(7))

Both rules treat a call as abandoned when the person answers and is not connected to a sales representative within two seconds of finishing the greeting (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iv); 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(7)). The FCC rule specifies a live sales representative.

What Do Dialers and Prerecorded Messages Change?

The FCC rule bars telemarketing calls to wireless numbers that use an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice unless the caller has the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)). That consent must be a signed written agreement that authorizes the seller to deliver those calls, names the phone number, and discloses that signing is not a condition of purchase (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9)).

The TSR separately prohibits outbound calls that deliver a prerecorded sales message unless the seller has the recipient's express written agreement to receive prerecorded calls from that specific seller (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(v)).

The FCC rule defines an automatic telephone dialing system as equipment with the capacity to store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator and to dial them (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(2)). Whether a particular dialer meets that definition is a question for your compliance team, not the vendor's sales page.

How Should You Handle Do-Not-Call Requests and Revoked Consent?

Your internal do-not-call list and consent records apply alongside the national registry.

The TSR prohibits calling a person who has said they do not want calls made by or on behalf of the seller (16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(A)).
Under the FCC rule, a residential subscriber's do-not-call request must be recorded when made and honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(3)).
The FCC rule requires a do-not-call request to be honored for five years from the time it is made (47 CFR 64.1200(d)(6)).
For autodialed, prerecorded or artificial-voice calls and texts, and telemarketing calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, a person may revoke prior express consent, including written consent, by any reasonable method, and the caller must honor it within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days. Callers may not designate an exclusive way to revoke (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)).

What About Numbers That Have Been Reassigned?

A phone number on an older record may now belong to someone else. The FCC rule gives a limited safe harbor to a caller who had prior express consent for a number, queried the FCC's reassigned numbers database, and received an erroneous "no" response showing the number had not been permanently disconnected since consent was obtained (47 CFR 64.1200(m)). The caller bears the burden of proving it qualifies.

What Should You Check Before Dialing an Aged Lead?

Record the date of the consumer's original inquiry and which company it was made to.
Compare that date to the 90-day TSR window and the three-month FCC window.
To stay within the do-not-call safe harbor, scrub against a copy of the National Do Not Call Registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call, and keep records of the process.
Check your own do-not-call list and any revocation requests.
For numbers on the registry, confirm whether you hold a signed written agreement that authorizes calls from your agency to that number.
If you use an autodialer (as the FCC defines it) or prerecorded messages, confirm you have prior express written consent that authorizes your agency, as the seller, to make those calls.
Keep outbound telemarketing calls to residences between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time at the called person's location.
Ask counsel about state telemarketing laws, which can add requirements beyond the federal rules.

Where Do Inbound Calls Fit?

This article covers outbound dialing only. Agents weighing inbound calls against outbound lead lists can read how CallX works with agents and agencies, or browse more articles on the CallX resources page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Call an Aged Lead Whose Number Is on the National Do Not Call Registry?

Both federal rules allow it only under an exception, such as an established business relationship still inside its time window or a signed written agreement that authorizes calls from your agency to that number. Confirm with counsel which exception applies to your records.

How Long Does a Consumer Inquiry Create an Established Business Relationship?

For 90 days before the call under the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule, and three months before the call under the FCC's TCPA rule.

How Recent Does My Do Not Call Scrub Need to Be?

Both rules' safe harbors refer to a version of the registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call is made.

What Hours Can I Call a Lead?

The TSR limits outbound telemarketing calls to a residence, and the FCC rule limits telephone solicitations to residential subscribers, to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. local time at the called person's location. The TSR allows other hours with the person's prior consent. Check state calling-hour rules with counsel.

How Quickly Must I Honor a Request to Stop Calling?

The FCC rule requires do-not-call requests and consent revocations to be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days, and do-not-call requests to be honored for five years.

This article is general education, not legal advice. It summarizes federal regulations as published in the eCFR in October 2026 and the U.S. Code; state laws can add requirements. Confirm your calling practices with counsel or your compliance team before relying on any exception.

Aged Final Expense Leads: Federal Calling Rules to Check Before You Dial