TCPA Compliance for Outbound AI Voice Calls: A US Guide

TCPA compliance for an AI voice agent means holding the right consent before the agent dials, having the agent identify your business and offer a way to opt out, calling only during permitted hours, and keeping records that prove each step. The reason is that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has said it treats AI-generated voices as "artificial" voices under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), so an AI call carries the same obligations as a prerecorded robocall.

This guide summarizes the federal rules as of October 2026 for teams running outbound programs on Retell AI or any other platform. It is not legal advice. Rules change, and states add their own requirements, so have counsel review your consent language and call flows before launch.

Does the TCPA apply to AI voice agents?

Yes. In a February 2024 Declaratory Ruling (FCC 24-17), the FCC confirmed that the TCPA's restrictions on "artificial or prerecorded voice" calls "encompass current AI technologies that generate human voices." The ruling adds that the TCPA "does not allow for any carve out of technologies that purport to provide the equivalent of a live agent." An agent that holds a real-time conversation is still an artificial voice for TCPA purposes.

Two later developments are worth knowing. In 2024 the FCC proposed rules that would define AI-generated calls and require callers to disclose them. As of October 2026, no final rule has been published in the Federal Register. Separately, in June 2025 the Supreme Court held in McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson that district courts are not bound by an agency's interpretation of a statute. The 2024 ruling still shows how the FCC reads the law, but a court can reach its own reading. The safe plan is to treat every AI call as an artificial-voice call, and to have counsel confirm how courts in your circuit read the 2024 ruling.

Which consent does each outbound call need?

The consent you need depends on what the call says and what kind of line it reaches. Under the FCC's rules at 47 CFR 64.1200, a non-emergency artificial-voice call to a mobile number needs prior express consent, even when it is purely informational. The rules list narrow exceptions at 64.1200(a)(9) for certain calls that are free to the recipient, such as some package delivery, bank and healthcare notifications, each with strict conditions, so check with counsel before relying on one. A call that advertises or sells needs prior express written consent. Calls to residential landlines follow their own limits.

• Any non-emergency artificial-voice call to a mobile number: Consent needed: Prior express consent (narrow exemptions apply). Rule: 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1), (a)(9).
• Telemarketing call to a mobile number: Consent needed: Prior express written consent. Rule: 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2).
• Telemarketing call to a residential line: Consent needed: Prior express written consent. Rule: 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3).
• Non-sales commercial call to a residential line: Consent needed: None for up to 3 calls in 30 days, with opt-out. Rule: 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3)(iii).
• Health care message from a covered entity to a residential line: Consent needed: None for up to 1 call a day and 3 a week, with opt-out. Rule: 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3)(v).

Prior express written consent is a signed written agreement (an electronic signature counts) that includes the phone number and clearly authorizes the seller to deliver telemarketing calls using an artificial or prerecorded voice. It must also tell the person that signing is not a condition of buying anything. If your lead forms were written before you moved outbound work to an AI agent, check that their wording covers artificial-voice calls.

You may have read about the FCC's 2023 "one-to-one" consent rule for lead generators. The Eleventh Circuit vacated it on January 24, 2025 (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC), and it is not in the current rule text. Consent still has to authorize the specific seller that places the call.

What must the agent say when the call connects?

Every artificial or prerecorded voice message must state, at the beginning, the identity of the business responsible for the call, using the name it is registered under with the state. During or after the message, it must give a callback number. For telemarketing calls, and for exempt calls to residential lines, the agent must also offer an automated voice or key-press opt-out within two seconds of that identification, with brief instructions. A voicemail left on those calls must include a toll-free number that connects to the opt-out. The FCC's 2024 ruling points to these same rules, noting that they apply "to any AI technology that initiates any outbound telephone call using an artificial or prerecorded voice."

Sales calls covered by the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule also require a prompt disclosure of the seller's identity, that the purpose of the call is to sell, and the nature of the goods or services.

In Retell, put the opening disclosure in the agent's Begin Message so it plays before the person speaks. In a conversation flow agent, use a first node with Skip Response and Block Interruptions turned on, as described in the docs on opening disclaimers callers can't talk over. Then turn on Do-not-contact Handling under Security & fallback settings. When someone asks not to be called again, the agent confirms once, ends the call, and marks the contact as do-not-call. The feature works on Retell LLM and conversation flow agents, not custom LLM agents. Write the opt-out instructions into the opening line yourself, since the rule asks for them up front, and check with counsel whether your setup meets the rule's automated opt-out mechanism requirement for sales calls.

When can the agent call, and which numbers are off-limits?

Telemarketing calls must land between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. where the person is. The window follows the called party's local time, not yours. Split national lists by time zone before you schedule a batch.

Telephone solicitations to residential subscribers are allowed only between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the called party's local time. The Telemarketing Sales Rule sets the same window for telemarketing calls to a person's residence.

Numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry are off-limits for telephone solicitations unless the person has given signed, written permission to be called by that seller. The FCC's safe harbor expects callers to use a version of the registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call. You also need your own company-specific list: record each do-not-call request when it is made, honor it within 10 business days, and keep it for five years.

Consent can be revoked "by using any reasonable method." The rule lists methods that always count, including an opt-out on the call itself and a text reply of "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" or "unsubscribe." Revocations must be honored within ten business days, and you cannot require people to use one exclusive channel.

High-volume programs such as AI auto dialer campaigns need these checks wired into every path that places calls. In Retell, the do-not-call flag is checked by the Create Phone Call API when you pass honor_internal_dnc set to true, by the dashboard's Honor DNC switch (on by default), and by campaigns with internal DNC turned on. Batch calls do not check it, so scrub batch lists before upload, and split lists by time zone so each batch call time window keeps calls inside the permitted hours for its recipients. This internal list is separate from the National Do Not Call Registry, which you still need to scrub.

States add their own layer. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act, for example, requires prior express written consent for sales calls that use automated dialing or a recorded message, and lets consumers recover $500 per violation, up to three times that amount if the violation was willful or knowing. Check the rules in every state you call into.

What records should you keep?

The Telemarketing Sales Rule requires sellers and telemarketers to keep telemarketing records for five years. A complete consent record includes the person's name and number, a copy of the consent request as it was presented, the purpose, a copy of the consent, and the date it was given. A record of each telemarketing call includes the calling and called numbers, the date, time and duration, the script or prerecorded message used, and the disposition, including the number a call was transferred to.

For an AI agent, the script is the prompt or flow version that ran the call, so tie agent versions to call records. Check your retention settings as well. Retell keeps call data indefinitely by default, and per-agent data retention periods range from 1 day to 2 years. If a retention period is shorter than your record-keeping obligation, export transcripts and recordings through webhooks before they are deleted. Opt-outs leave a trail too: when a call ends on a do-not-call request, Retell records the disconnection reason as user_requested_dnc, which you can export alongside your consent records.

What does a TCPA violation cost?

The TCPA lets a person sue for actual losses or $500 per violation, whichever is greater. A court can raise the award to three times that amount if it finds the violation was willful or knowing. Damages are counted per violation, and one campaign can place thousands of calls, so exposure grows with call volume.

TCPA statutory damages: Exposure = violations × $500 (up to × 3 if willful or knowing)

2,000 calls without valid consent × $500 = $1,000,000 If a court finds the violations willful or knowing, up to 3 × $1,000,000 = $3,000,000

Damages are counted per violation, so call volume drives exposure.

What should you check before the first outbound call?

Use this list as a launch gate for any outbound agent that reaches US numbers.

• Consent on file matches the call type: prior express consent, or prior express written consent for sales calls.
• Written consent names the phone number, covers artificial-voice calls and says signing is not a condition of purchase.
• List scrubbed against the National Do Not Call Registry using a version no more than 31 days old.
• List scrubbed against your internal do-not-call list, including every batch upload.
• Opening line states the registered business name and a callback number.
• Opt-out offered with brief instructions, and Do-not-contact Handling turned on.
• Calling window set to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in each recipient's time zone.
• Consent records, agent versions and call records kept for five years.

For the full launch list, including recording and AI disclosures, use the call consent and disclosure checklist. If you also call outside the US, the guide to calling laws by country covers Canada, the UK, the EU and other markets. Healthcare teams should read the HIPAA guide for AI phone agents, which covers the TCPA's health care message exemptions.

Consent records, disclosures and opt-out handling are easiest to prove when you have tested them on real calls before scaling. Talk to Retell about a pilot on your own outbound program.