TCPA Compliance Checklist for Final Expense Agents

What Is TCPA Compliance?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. 227, restricts how businesses use automatic telephone dialing systems and artificial or prerecorded voices, and directs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to protect consumers who do not want telephone solicitations. The FCC's rules carrying out the statute sit mainly in 47 CFR 64.1200, with caller ID rules for telemarketers in 47 CFR 64.1601(e).

In practice, TCPA compliance for a final expense agent means two things: following those rules on every outbound sales call, and being able to show later that you did. That is why each item in the TCPA compliance checklist below names both the rule and the record that supports it.

Which Calls Does a TCPA Compliance Checklist Cover?

Most of the rules below apply to calls you initiate. Some apply only when you use certain technology, such as an autodialer (as the FCC defines it) or a prerecorded voice. Others, like the National Do Not Call Registry rule and calling hours, apply to "telephone solicitations" whether or not you use a dialer.

The FCC defines a telephone solicitation in 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(15) as initiating a call or message to encourage the purchase of property, goods or services. The definition excludes calls to a person who gave prior express invitation or permission and calls to a person with whom the caller has an established business relationship.

What Belongs on a TCPA Compliance Checklist for Final Expense Agents?

This list follows the federal text as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (October 1, 2025 edition) and the FCC's revocation order FCC 26-67 (released October 1, 2026; published October 26, 2026).

Confirm prior express written consent before autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing. Telemarketing calls to wireless numbers using an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice, and prerecorded telemarketing calls to residential lines, require the called party's prior express written consent (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2), (a)(3)). Under 64.1200(f)(9), that consent is a signed written agreement that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver those calls, includes the phone number, and clearly and conspicuously discloses that signing authorizes such calls and is not a condition of purchase. Electronic signatures count if valid under applicable federal law or state contract law. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC's one-to-one consent rule in January 2025 (Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC, No. 24-10277), but the remaining definition still requires the agreement to authorize the seller.
Scrub against the National Do Not Call Registry. Telephone solicitations to residential numbers on the registry are prohibited unless one of the routes in 64.1200(c)(2) applies: (i) the safe harbor, which requires written procedures, trained personnel, an internal list of numbers you may not contact, and use of a registry version obtained no more than 31 days before the call, with records documenting the process; (ii) a signed, written agreement in which the consumer agrees to be contacted by that seller and that includes the phone number; or (iii) a personal relationship with the person called. Separately, a call within an established business relationship is not a telephone solicitation at all (64.1200(f)(15)(ii)); an inquiry-based relationship lasts three months under 64.1200(f)(5).
Keep an internal do-not-call list. Anyone making telemarketing calls to residential subscribers must maintain a company do-not-call list under 64.1200(d): a written policy available on demand, trained personnel, requests recorded when made and honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days, and each request honored for five years.
Honor consent revocations under the right regime. A consumer may revoke consent for calls covered by 64.1200(a)(1) through (a)(3) and (c)(2), and you must honor it within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days (64.1200(a)(10)). Until November 25, 2026, a consumer may revoke by any reasonable method, and callers may not designate an exclusive method. From November 25, 2026, under FCC 26-67 (91 FR 67214, published October 26, 2026), a caller may designate exclusive revocation 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 made in response to a telemarketing call or text covers all future such calls and texts from that caller.
Respect calling hours for telephone solicitations. No telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party's location (64.1200(c)(1)). Because invited calls and established-business-relationship calls are excluded from the definition, whether the federal rule reaches a particular callback depends on the facts. State rules can be stricter, so check them with counsel.
Transmit accurate caller ID. Telemarketers must transmit caller ID that includes either CPN or ANI and, when available from the carrier, the telemarketer's name, and may not block it (47 CFR 64.1601(e)). You may substitute the seller's name and customer service number if that number accepts do-not-call requests during regular business hours. The statute separately prohibits knowingly transmitting misleading or inaccurate caller ID "with the intent to defraud, cause harm, or wrongfully obtain anything of value" (47 U.S.C. 227(e)(1)).
Identify yourself on the call. Under 64.1200(d)(4), the person called must receive the individual caller's name, the name of the entity on whose behalf the call is made, and a telephone number or address where that entity can be contacted.
Set dialer ring and abandonment limits. Let unanswered telemarketing calls ring for at least 15 seconds or four rings before disconnecting (64.1200(a)(6)). Keep abandoned calls to no more than three percent of live-answered telemarketing calls over a 30-day period for a single campaign, where a call is abandoned if it is not connected to a live sales representative within two seconds of the person's completed greeting (64.1200(a)(7)). When no representative is available within two seconds of the greeting, play a prerecorded message that identifies the business, gives a number for do-not-call requests and offers an automated opt-out mechanism (64.1200(a)(7)(i)), and keep records showing compliance (64.1200(a)(7)(iii)).
Check for reassigned numbers. A number you had consent for may now belong to someone else. 64.1200(m) gives a limited safe harbor if you queried the FCC's reassigned numbers database, received an erroneous "no" response showing the number had not been permanently disconnected since consent was obtained, and the call resulted from that error. You bear the burden of proving it.
Keep the records that prove each item. See below.

What Records Prove TCPA Compliance?

The checklist is only as strong as the records behind it. For a full walkthrough, see our guide to building a TCPA consent audit trail. At a minimum, an audit file usually includes:

Consent capture. The exact disclosure text and layout the consumer saw, the seller named, the phone number, the signature method, and a date and time stamp.
Lead chain of custody. Which website or publisher captured the consent and every company the record passed through before it reached you.
Dated scrubs. The registry version date used for each campaign, your internal do-not-call list check, and any reassigned-number query and its response.
Revocations and do-not-call requests. When each was received, how, and when it took effect.
Dialer settings. Ring-time and abandonment settings and reports per campaign.

A call recording proves what was said on the call. It does not prove the consumer consented before you dialed. None of the federal rules cited in this article requires recording final expense calls, and recording carries its own consent rules under state law.

On retention, federal law sets a catch-all limitations period: a civil action arising under an Act of Congress enacted after 28 U.S.C. 1658 must be commenced within four years after the cause of action accrues, except as otherwise provided by law (28 U.S.C. 1658(a)). Ask counsel what retention period fits your state and claims.

What Are the Penalties for Missing a Checklist Item?

The TCPA separates private lawsuits, state actions, FCC penalties and criminal penalties. In brief, as written in 47 U.S.C. 227:

Private lawsuits, autodialer and prerecorded calls. A person may sue for actual monetary loss or $500 per violation, whichever is greater; if the court finds the violation willful or knowing, it may increase the award to up to three times that amount (227(b)(3)).
Private lawsuits, do-not-call. A person who received more than one call within 12 months from the same entity in violation of the do-not-call rules may sue for actual loss or "up to $500" per violation, with trebling available for willful or knowing violations (227(c)(5)). It is an affirmative defense that the defendant established and implemented, with due care, reasonable practices and procedures to prevent such calls.
State actions. A state may sue on behalf of its residents to enjoin violations, to recover actual monetary loss or $500 in damages per violation, or both, and the court may increase damages to up to three times that amount for willful or knowing violations (227(g)(1)).
FCC forfeitures. The FCC may impose forfeiture penalties for violations of 227(b), with an additional penalty not to exceed $10,000 for violations committed with intent (227(b)(4)). For caller ID spoofing, civil forfeitures may not exceed $10,000 per violation, or three times that amount for each day of a continuing violation (227(e)(5)(A)).
Criminal fines. Willful and knowing caller ID spoofing violations can bring a criminal fine of up to $10,000 per violation, or three times that amount for each day of a continuing violation (227(e)(5)(B)).

For more detail, see our articles on do-not-call violations and TCPA violations and fines for insurance agents.

Where Do Inbound Calls Fit?

The TCPA's restrictions are mostly written around calls the seller initiates: autodialed or prerecorded calls, and telephone solicitations, which the FCC defines as initiating a call. When a consumer dials the agent, the agent did not initiate that call, so on one reading most of this checklist does not apply to the inbound call itself. That reading is worth confirming with counsel for your call flow. Any outbound callback or follow-up you place later is a separate call, and the checklist applies to it on its own terms.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What Is TCPA Compliance in Simple Terms?

Following the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and the FCC's rules under it, mainly 47 CFR 64.1200, on consent, do-not-call lists, revocations, calling hours, caller ID and dialer behavior, and keeping records that show you did.

Does the TCPA Apply to Final Expense Agents?

The statute and FCC rules apply to the calls a business makes, not to an industry. If you or your agency place outbound telemarketing calls, the rules in this checklist apply to those calls. Ask counsel how they apply to your specific practices.

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

The FCC's safe harbor refers to a registry version obtained no more than 31 days before the call (47 CFR 64.1200(c)(2)(i)(D)).

How Fast Must I Honor a Stop Request?

Do-not-call requests and consent revocations must be honored within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days, and do-not-call requests must be honored for five years (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), (d)(3), (d)(6)).

This article is general education, not legal advice. It summarizes federal law as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (October 1, 2025 edition, govinfo.gov), the U.S. Code, an FCC order in the Federal Register and a federal appeals court decision; state laws can add requirements. Review your calling practices with counsel or your compliance team.

TCPA Compliance Checklist for Final Expense Agents: 10 Items and the Records That Prove Them