Life Insurance Leads for Agents: Written Consent Checklist

Why Check Consent Before You Dial a Life Insurance Lead?

Life insurance leads for agents come as fresh web form leads, aged leads, live transfers and inbound calls. Each arrives with a different consent record, and some with none you can see. The time to find out what a lead's consent says is before the first dial, not after a complaint.

This is a pre-call review guide: what the FCC's definition of prior express written consent requires, when it applies, how it differs from Do Not Call permission, and what to ask about each lead type. For what to keep and how to prove consent once a complaint arrives, see our separate guide to the TCPA consent audit trail.

What Is Prior Express Written Consent?

The FCC defines prior express written consent in 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9) as an agreement, in writing, bearing the signature of the person called, that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver, or cause to be delivered, advertisements or telemarketing messages using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice. The agreement must include the telephone number to which the signer authorizes those messages to be delivered.

The written agreement must also include a clear and conspicuous disclosure telling the person that:

By signing, they authorize the seller to deliver those telemarketing calls using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice (64.1200(f)(9)(i)(A)).
They are not required to sign the agreement, directly or indirectly, or agree to enter into it as a condition of purchasing any property, goods or services (64.1200(f)(9)(i)(B)).

The rule says a signature includes an electronic or digital form of signature, to the extent it is recognized as valid under applicable federal law or state contract law (64.1200(f)(9)(ii)). In the 2012 order that adopted the written consent requirement (FCC 12-21), the FCC concluded that consent obtained in compliance with the E-SIGN Act satisfies the rule, including consent given by website form, email, text, keypress or voice recording (77 FR 34233, June 11, 2012, paragraph 17).

When Does TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Apply?

The written standard is not required for every call. Under the FCC's rule, it applies to telemarketing calls in two main situations:

Wireless and similar numbers, autodialer or prerecorded voice. A call that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing, made using an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a cellular number (and certain other numbers), requires the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)).
Residential lines, prerecorded or artificial voice. A call to a residential line using an artificial or prerecorded voice that includes or introduces an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing requires prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3)).

The statute, 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(1), requires prior express consent for those calls; the FCC's rule requires written consent for telemarketing. Whether your dialer counts as an automatic telephone dialing system under the FCC's definition is a question for your compliance team.

How Is That Different From Do Not Call Permission?

A separate rule covers telephone solicitations to residential numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)). That rule applies whether or not you use a dialer or a recording. One way to call a registered number is an established business relationship; a relationship based on the consumer's inquiry or application lasts for the three months immediately before the call (47 CFR 64.1200(f)(5)). Our guide to aged final expense leads calling rules covers those windows.

The other route is the consumer's prior express invitation or permission. Under 64.1200(c)(2)(ii), that permission must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement between the consumer and the seller that states the consumer agrees to be contacted by that seller and includes the telephone number to which calls may be placed.

The two overlap but are not identical: (f)(9) calls for disclosures about autodialed or prerecorded calls and the "not a condition of purchase" statement, while (c)(2)(ii) calls for a statement that the consumer agrees to be contacted by the seller. Whether one form satisfies both is a question for counsel.

What Should You Check on a Lead's Consent Record Before Calling?

The seller named. Confirm the disclosure names your agency, or the agency or carrier you are calling for, as a seller the consumer authorized. A form that names only the website or a different company raises a question you should resolve before dialing.
The phone number. Confirm it matches the number you plan to call.
The signature. Confirm how the consumer signed (typed name, checkbox, button click, keypress, recorded voice) and whether the method is one your counsel accepts as a valid electronic signature.
The calling disclosure. Confirm the disclosure says the consumer authorizes telemarketing calls using an autodialer or artificial or prerecorded voice, if you will use either.
The "not a condition of purchase" statement. Confirm the disclosure tells the consumer that signing is not required as a condition of buying anything.
The date and time. Confirm consent predates the call.
The disclosure text as shown. Ask for the exact wording and layout the consumer saw, not a summary of it, so you can judge whether it was clear and conspicuous.
The lead source chain. Ask which website or publisher captured the consent and every company the lead passed through before reaching you.
Do Not Call status. If the number is on the National Do Not Call Registry and you have no current established business relationship, confirm the record also works as a signed written agreement to be contacted by your agency under 64.1200(c)(2)(ii).
Revocations. Check your own records for any stop request from that number since consent was given.

If a vendor cannot produce these items, hold the lead until counsel has reviewed it.

What Consent Questions Does Each Lead Type Raise?

A starting point for conversations with your lead vendor and counsel, not a statement of which lead types are permitted.

Lead type	Who places the call	Consent questions to ask
Web form lead (fresh)	You or your agency	Does the form name your agency as a seller? Does the disclosure meet each part of 64.1200(f)(9)? Can the vendor show the exact form, date, time and number?
Aged lead	You or your agency	Was your agency named on the original form, or a different buyer? Is the number on the Do Not Call Registry now, and has any inquiry-based relationship passed its three-month window? Has the consumer revoked consent?
Live transfer	Someone else calls the consumer, then connects them to you	The outbound call to the consumer was made by another company. Whose consent covers that call, and whether it names your agency, is a question for counsel.
Inbound call	The consumer dials you	The consumer initiated the call. Ask counsel how the federal rules, which are written around calls a business initiates, apply to your call flow, and what records to keep if you call the consumer back later.

Does One-to-One Consent Still Apply?

A 2023 FCC order would have required consent to each seller separately and limited consent to calls logically and topically related to the interaction where it was given. On January 24, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit held that both restrictions exceeded the FCC's authority under the TCPA and vacated that part of the order (Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, No. 24-10277).

The definition that remains still requires the agreement to authorize the seller delivering the calls. For a pre-call review, that means the question is still whether your agency is a seller the consumer authorized.

What Happens If a Consumer Revokes Consent?

A consumer may revoke prior express consent, including written consent, for calls covered by 64.1200(a)(1) through (a)(3) and (c)(2), and the revocation must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10)). Until November 25, 2026, a consumer may revoke by any reasonable method and callers may not designate an exclusive means. Under FCC 26-67, effective November 25, 2026, a caller may designate exclusive methods (an automated voice or key-press opt-out during a call, standardized reply words to a text, or a designated website or phone number) if it clearly and conspicuously discloses them; a caller that designates none must process requests made by any reasonable means. A revocation in response to a call or text containing an advertisement or telemarketing covers all future such calls and texts from that caller.

What Are the Damages for Calling Without Consent?

For violations of the autodialer and prerecorded-voice restrictions in 47 U.S.C. 227(b) and the FCC's rules under it, a person may sue, if otherwise permitted by a state's laws or court rules, to stop the violation, to recover actual monetary loss or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, or both (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3)). If the court finds the violation was willful or knowing, it may, in its discretion, increase the award to not more than three times that amount. Do Not Call violations fall under a separate provision, 227(c)(5), which this article does not cover.

Where Do Inbound Calls Fit?

With an inbound call, the consumer dials the agent rather than the agent dialing the consumer. The FCC's consent rules discussed above are written around calls a business initiates, but that does not make an inbound call exempt from every rule, and a callback you place later is your own outbound call. Ask counsel how the rules apply to your call flow. To see how CallX works with final expense agents, visit the agents page.

Prefer calls where the consumer dials you? CallX connects licensed final expense agents with inbound insurance calls.
Sign up as an agent →

Frequently Asked Questions

What Is Prior Express Written Consent Under the TCPA?

It is a signed written agreement, defined in 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9), that authorizes the seller to deliver telemarketing calls using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a specific phone number, with a clear and conspicuous disclosure that signing is not a condition of purchase.

Do Life Insurance Leads for Agents Need to Name My Agency?

The definition requires consent that authorizes the seller making the calls. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the one-to-one rule, so a form may name more than one seller, but whether a given form authorizes your agency is a question to settle with counsel before you call.

Do Inbound Life Insurance Leads Need Prior Express Written Consent?

The consumer initiates an inbound call. The FCC's consent rules are written around calls a business initiates; ask counsel how they apply to your call flow and callbacks.

Does Prior Express Written Consent Expire?

The text of 64.1200(f)(9) and (a)(2) does not state an expiration date. Separately, an inquiry-based established business relationship for Do Not Call purposes lasts three months, and consent can be revoked at any time.

This article is general education, not legal advice. It summarizes federal regulations as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (October 1, 2025 edition, govinfo.gov), FCC orders in the Federal Register, a federal appeals court decision and the U.S. Code; state laws can add requirements. Confirm your lead consent review process with counsel or your compliance team.

Life Insurance Leads for Agents: The Prior Express Written Consent to Have on File