FCC 1:1 Consent Rule 2025 Update & Language Examples

If you’re capturing leads online, there’s a critical rule you need to understand: the FCC’s one-to-one consent requirement. 

It’s not just another checkbox – it’s about being crystal clear with people about who’s getting their information.

What’s This All About?

In essence, people were getting bombarded with calls and texts from companies they’d never heard of. The FCC saw this happening and said, “Enough.”

“Next, we close the lead generator loophole by prohibiting lead generators, texters, and callers from using a single consumer consent to inundate consumers with unwanted texts and calls when consumers visit comparison shopping websites.“

Someone would fill out one form for, say, a mortgage quote, and suddenly they’re getting calls from dozens of random companies. 

The breaking point? Lead generators were playing fast and loose with people’s contact info. 

They’d collect it through one form and sell it to whoever was buying – sometimes dozens of companies. 

Meanwhile, consumers were left wondering, “How did all these people get my number?”

So if you’re planning to hand off leads to anyone – and I mean anyone – you need to spell it out. 

Not some vague “our partners” BS. We’re talking names. Real, specific company names.

What is the FCC 1:1 Consent Rule 2025 Update

The FCC one-to-one consent update is a significant modification to TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) regulations, effective January 27, 2025. It requires “prior express written consent” for all robotic calls – both sales and marketing – with stricter rules about who can contact leads.

“We now make it unequivocally clear that texters and callers must obtain a consumer’s prior express written consent to robocall or robotext the consumer soliciting their business.“

The Rule in Plain English

If you scroll through Facebook, click on a solar panel ad, and fill out a form; the last thing you expect is getting robocalls from five different solar companies you’ve never heard of. Annoying, right?

That’s exactly what the FCC 1:1 consent rule aims to prevent.

If Company A wants to contact someone through automated means, Company A needs to be named on the form. Period. 

Here is an example of TCPA consent language to put on your forms.

The theory behind TCPA compliance is that your form can’t simply state, “Hey, thanks for your details. We’ll send it over to a partner.”

No more of this “you’ll be contacted by one of our trusted partners” nonsense.

The consent must clearly state that it’s given to XYZ Solar Installers, Bob Jones Mortgage Refinancing, or any other specific entity.

The Reality Check: Who Actually Needs to Worry?

Let’s cut through the panic and break down who this rule actually affects. 

The landscape isn’t black and white – there are some clear requirements and some gray areas that deserve attention.

Who Needs to Comply?

The new rule specifically targets:

• Companies using auto-dialers (ATDS)
• Businesses using artificial or prerecorded voice messages
• Lead generators selling to companies using these methods

Who’s in the Gray Area?

These activities technically fall outside the new rule’s scope, but proceed with caution:

• Manual dialing campaigns
• Live lead transfers (like when an agent connects you directly)
• Lead generation for companies using manual dialing
• Warm transfer programs (like Zillow’s agent connection system)

Important Legal Disclaimer: While the FCC indicates these methods may be acceptable, we strongly recommend:

1. Obtaining explicit consent anyway – it’s better to be overcautious than argue in court
2. Consulting with a qualified attorney about your specific situation
3. Remembering that state laws may have additional or different requirements
4. Not treating this blog post as legal advice

The Do Not Call List Twist

One clear warning sign: there are strong indications that the FCC wants one-to-one consent for any calls to numbers on the Do Not Call registry, regardless of your dialing method.

Getting 1 to 1 Consent with One Lead Buyer Out of Many

Adding consent language to a form with one buyer is pretty straightforward. 

• You know exactly who’s buying before asking for consent
• One clear consent statement naming the specific company
• One consent record to maintain
• Clear chain of consent from consumer to single buyer

But how do you achieve compliance when you have one lead generation funnel but are potentially selling to five, ten, or even more clients? 

There’s a number of challenges:

1. Timing Challenges:

• Can’t get one-to-one consent before knowing buyer
• Need to match leads with buyers before getting consent
• Can’t get bulk consent anymore under new rules

2. Technical Complexity:

• Need system to match leads to buyers before consent
• Each consent needs individual tracking

3. Operational Issues:

• Can’t resell leads with existing consent
• Need separate consent collection for each sale
• More complex record-keeping requirements
• Multiple audit trails to maintain

4. Business Model Impact:

• May need to restructure how leads are sold
• Could require real-time buyer matching
• Might need to implement auction systems
• Could reduce lead resale opportunities

The good news is that the setup in our environment is quite simple and involves minimal complexity on the LeadsHook side.

This involves utilizing a distribution platform to handle most of the work for you. 

This platform maintains your clients, manages the ping tree, and handles other aspects of lead distribution. 

How It Works

This approach involves a decision tree (multi-step form) where you capture various details except for the phone number, name, and similar information.

Note: To achieve this, you might need to use two different nodes—one to send information and another to pull information back. Although it’s condensed to one API node here, in practice, you might use separate nodes for pushing and pulling data.

Getting 1 to 1 Consent with Multiple Lead Buyers

The process remains largely the same when dealing with multiple buyers, with a few key adjustments:

What Changes

1. API Response
   • Instead of one buyer, you’ll receive multiple matched buyers
   • Each buyer’s information needs to be displayed
2. Consent Language
   • Must list each potential buyer specifically
   • Consent language needs to be presented before the list of buyers

Latency and Testing

Be aware of the latency involved in communication with the lead distribution platform. 

Ensure you test this process to avoid keeping the client waiting too long. 

Latency is a significant bottleneck to consider.

Do you need proof of consent?

Here’s where things get interesting (and a bit murky). 

The FCC is clear that callers need proof of consent, but they’re frustratingly vague about what that proof should look like.

What We Know For Sure

• The burden of proof lies with the caller/texter
• Lead generators can’t keep the proof for you
• You need the consent record in your possession before making calls

The caller has to have that consent in their records – but what exactly constitutes a ‘record’ isn’t clearly defined.

Possible Forms of Proof

From minimal to comprehensive:

1. Basic Data:
   • Timestamp
   • IP address
   • Source URL
   • Consent language shown
2. Third-Party Verification:
   • TrustedForm certificates
   • Jornaya verification
   • Other third-party attestation services
3. Comprehensive Documentation:
   • Visual rendering playback
   • Consumer input data
   • Complete session details
   • Form interaction records

The Gray Area

While a simple timestamp and IP address might technically qualify as a record, there’s a catch: Will it hold up in court? 

Legal experts suggest courts might demand more comprehensive proof. 

The safer approach? 

Get as much documentation as you can.

While minimal proof might be legally sufficient, comprehensive documentation provides better protection against potential litigation.

When Consent is Not Enough – FRAUD

If someone fraudulently submits another person’s information through your form, and you make calls based on that submission – you’re liable. Full stop. No excuses.

The Fraud Problem

• Bad actors can submit forms with other people’s information
• The real person never gave consent
• You’re still responsible when you call them
• Courts consistently side with consumers in these cases

In the eyes of the law, the caller is always responsible for verifying consent – even if they were victims of fraud themselves.

Your Best Defense: Phone Verification

Here’s why phone verification is your strongest shield:

1. Immediate Validation
   • Send a verification code to the submitted phone number
   • Require code entry to complete the form
   • Creates an unbreakable chain of proof
2. Legal Protection
   • Proves the person who submitted the form had access to the phone
   • Makes it nearly impossible for fraudsters to operate at scale
   • Creates additional proof of consent

Why It Works

Think about it: How can a scammer claim they didn’t give consent when they had to:

1. Receive a code on the actual phone number
2. Enter that code back into your form
3. Complete the verification process

Good luck to any bad actor trying to prove they didn’t verify their phone number with a code. It’s practically bulletproof evidence of consent.

The Bottom Line: Why Go Beyond Minimum Compliance?

Look, we’ve covered a lot of ground here. And yes, there are potential loopholes and gray areas in these new FCC rules. You could try manual dialing or argue about what constitutes proper consent records. But here’s the real talk:

Why Play with Fire?

• Legal battles are expensive
• Court interpretations can vary
• State laws may be stricter
• Regulations tend to get tighter, not looser

What you might lose in lead volume by implementing proper PEWC (Prior Express Written Consent), you’ll gain back in lead quality and peace of mind.

Quality Over Quantity

Think about it: would you rather have:

• 1000 leads with questionable consent and potential legal headaches
• OR 500 high-quality leads who explicitly agreed to hear from specific companies?

Making Compliance Easy

At LeadsHook, we’ve built tools to make this transition as painless as possible:

1. Drag and drop integration with major lead distribution platforms
2. Built-in phone verification
3. Dynamic consent forms that update in real-time
4. Comprehensive consent record storage

Going Beyond Today’s Requirements

We’ve included features like phone verification not because it’s required, but because it’s smart business. It:

• Protects you from fraud
• Improves lead quality
• Creates bulletproof consent records
• Positions you ahead of future regulations

The path forward is clear: embrace proper consent practices now, before you’re forced to. 

Your business (and your stress levels) will thank you later.

Want to see how easy it can be? Take LeadsHook for a test drive and see for yourself.