The final amended telemarketing sales rule: what changed and what it means for your team

Last updated 2026-07-10

What is the Telemarketing Sales Rule and who does it cover?

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) is the Federal Trade Commission's main regulation for outbound phone and text marketing. Congress gave the FTC the authority to write it under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 ^[1]. The FTC first issued the rule in 1995 and has amended it several times, most recently in March 2024.

The TSR covers any "telemarketing" transaction, which the rule defines as a plan, program, or campaign to induce the purchase of goods or services (or a charitable donation) through one or more telephone calls. That definition is broader than most people realize. If your team calls prospects to set meetings, pitches on the call, or follows up a web lead by phone, you are almost certainly in scope.

There are real carve-outs. Business-to-business calls are generally exempt from the TSR's do-not-call and abandoned call restrictions, though not from its fraud provisions ^[2]. Calls to existing customers under the established business relationship (EBR) exception get more latitude, but that exception has limits the rule defines precisely. Inbound calls that consumers make in response to general media advertising also have an exemption, though the 2024 amendments narrowed it: if the ad promotes certain credit-related offers or investment opportunities, the inbound call is now covered.

For teams doing cold calling or any outbound prospecting by phone or text, the TSR is the federal floor. State laws often stack more on top. The TSR is where you start.

What did the FTC actually change in the 2024 final amendments?

The FTC published the final rule in the Federal Register on March 7, 2024 ^[3]. Most provisions became effective January 27, 2025. The agency spent years on the rulemaking, issued an advance notice in 2022, and read thousands of public comments. Here is what actually changed.

Robocall and robotext consent. This is the headline. Before the amendment, the TSR required express written consent for prerecorded telemarketing calls to consumers. The 2024 rule extends that same requirement to text messages. Send outbound marketing texts using any automated means, and you now need prior express written consent under the TSR, separate from whatever TCPA consent you already collect. A well-drafted TCPA consent form usually satisfies both. But the FTC's consent standard has its own specific elements you have to document.

Ban on consent obtained through dark patterns. The amended rule adds an explicit ban on using deceptive or manipulative interface design to get consent. The FTC calls these "dark patterns." Consent obtained through pre-checked boxes, confusing double-negatives, or misleading button labels is not valid under the new language. The FTC singled out bundling consent to multiple sellers in one checkbox as a dark pattern ^[3].

Extended coverage to certain inbound calls. The original TSR mostly left inbound calls alone. The 2024 amendments pull certain categories in: calls responding to ads for credit repair, debt relief, mortgage assistance, and some investment products. If you run inbound sales on those products, read the amended rule's inbound provisions closely.

Recordkeeping for consent. Telemarketers now have to keep records that prove consent was obtained, including the date, time, and method. The retention period is 24 months ^[3]. That sounds manageable until you realize it means capturing and storing the actual consent artifact (a recorded verbal consent, a signed web form, a confirmed opt-in text thread) for every contact, not a database flag that says "consented."

Caller ID and call abandonment. The amended rule keeps the existing caller ID rules (you have to transmit your number and name) and the abandoned call cap (no more than 3% of calls answered by a live person in a 30-day period can be abandoned), but tightens how abandonment gets measured for multi-campaign dialers.

For a full look at what the Telemarketing Sales Rule is designed to do at a policy level, that piece breaks down the FTC's stated goals against actual enforcement patterns.

How does the amended TSR interact with the TCPA?

Most compliance people get this wrong because they treat the TSR and the TCPA as copies of each other. They are not. They cover similar conduct through completely different machinery.

The TCPA (47 U.S.C. 227) is a federal statute enforced by the FCC and through private lawsuits ^[9]. The TSR is an FTC administrative rule enforced by the FTC and, in some cases, state attorneys general. Different enforcers, different consent details, different exemptions.

The consent language matters. TCPA prior express written consent requires a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the person authorizes autodialed or prerecorded calls, plus their signature. The TSR's consent requirement uses similar elements but is a separate legal standard. A form that satisfies the FCC's TCPA rules will generally satisfy the FTC's TSR rules too, but confirm the disclosure language covers both.

Here is where they split hardest. The TCPA has a private right of action, so any individual consumer can sue you in federal court. The TSR does not. Only the FTC or state AGs can bring TSR enforcement actions. That sounds like less exposure. It isn't always, because FTC civil penalties run per-violation and the agency plays rough. The two regimes stack: one phone campaign can generate FTC TSR liability and TCPA class action exposure at the same time.

For how quiet hours and time-of-day rules work under both frameworks, see TCPA quiet hours: what times you can and cannot call or text.

The TSR's time-of-day rule is 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time in the consumer's time zone ^[2]. The TCPA uses the same window. On that one point, they agree. For the practical application, see FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. local time: what it means for your team.

What are the civil penalties for violating the amended TSR?

Each violation of the TSR can cost up to $51,744 as of 2024 ^[5]. The FTC adjusts that number every year for inflation under the Federal Civil Penalties Inflation Adjustment Act. In large campaigns, where a company sends millions of robocalls or texts, the math turns catastrophic fast.

The FTC v. Dish Network case produced a $280 million judgment in 2017 across TCPA and TSR claims, one of the largest telemarketing penalties at the time ^[6]. Recent FTC actions follow the same logic: each individual call or text counts as a separate violation. A company that made 50,000 illegal robocalls is not looking at one $51,744 fine. It is looking at potential liability north of $2.5 billion, even if the agency settles for a fraction of that.

State attorneys general can also enforce the TSR under Section 6(c) of the Telemarketing Act, and many do. They can seek civil penalties and injunctive relief. Multi-state coordinated TSR actions have gotten more common since 2020.

The amended rule does not change the penalty cap, but it adds violations. Failing to keep consent records, using dark-pattern consent flows, and sending unconsented robotexts are all new or clarified violation categories. Each text or call made in violation of those requirements is a separate count.

To see how these penalties compare to TCPA class action exposure, see what the Telemarketing Sales Rule is designed to do (and what it costs to ignore it).

What is the TSR's National Do Not Call Registry requirement?

The TSR created the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry, which the FTC runs and which bars telemarketers from calling numbers on the list without a prior business relationship or express written consent ^[2]. Consumers register at donotcall.gov. The registry now holds more than 249 million active numbers ^[7].

The amended rule does not overhaul the DNC requirements, but it does make one thing explicit: text messages sent for telemarketing must honor DNC registrations too. That was a gray area before. The 2024 amendments settle it. Sending a marketing text to a DNC-registered number without consent violates the TSR.

There are three ways to legally call or text a DNC-registered number. One, the person gave you express written consent after the number was registered. Two, you have an established business relationship (EBR), defined as a transaction within the past 18 months, or an inquiry within the past 3 months. Three, you are a qualifying non-profit exempt organization, subject to specific conditions.

Telemarketers have to access the registry at least every 31 days and scrub their call lists against it ^[2]. There is a fee for commercial telemarketers, though small organizations (fewer than 5 area codes) get limited free access. Failing to scrub is itself a violation, even if none of the numbers you actually called were on the registry.

For teams doing B2B cold calling, the DNC registry is mostly irrelevant because B2B calls are generally exempt. But the moment a call reaches someone at their personal cell, that exemption can evaporate.

How does the rule handle AI voice and prerecorded calls in 2024 and beyond?

AI-generated voice calls sit at the intersection of the TSR and the TCPA, and both agencies moved on this in 2024. The FTC's amended TSR treats every prerecorded message call the same way, whether the voice is a human recording or AI-generated audio. The consent requirement does not shift with the technology. You need prior express written consent before delivering a prerecorded or AI voice marketing message to a consumer.

The FCC went further in February 2024. It ruled that AI-generated voices in robocalls count as "artificial or prerecorded voices" under the TCPA ^[4]. That means AI voice calls to cell phones require TCPA prior express written consent, same as any other robocall. The FCC's action came after AI-cloned voice robocalls hit a political campaign, but the ruling reaches commercial telemarketing too.

So if your team is looking at AI cold calling, the legal position is clean: AI voice outbound calls to consumers need the same written consent as any other robocall, under both the TSR and the TCPA. Using AI to generate the voice does not create a new exemption or a lighter standard. It is the same standard.

The TSR's language on prerecorded calls also requires an automated opt-out mechanism at the start of the message. An interactive voice or keypress option that lets the recipient bail out immediately. That opt-out has to be free to use, available throughout the call, and it has to remove the person from future calls right away.

For how the FTC's 2024 rule handles AI and B2B calling specifically, see FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, B2B calls, and AI voice in 2024.

What does the amended rule say about consent records and documentation?

This is the section most teams skip until a subpoena shows up. Do not skip it.

The final amended TSR adds a specific recordkeeping requirement for consent. Sellers and telemarketers have to keep records proving they obtained consent before placing robocalls or robotexts. The retention period is 24 months from the date consent was obtained ^[3].

What counts as a valid consent record? The FTC has not published a line-by-line checklist, but the rule's consent definition requires three things: a written agreement, including electronic form, signed by the consumer; a clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer will get autodialed, prerecorded, or text communications from the specific seller; and disclosure of the seller's identity. A screenshot of a checkbox with no timestamp and no visible disclosure language will not survive FTC scrutiny.

In practice, your CRM has to capture the consent artifact itself, not a boolean flag. A compliant setup stores the URL of the page where consent was collected, the disclosure text that was shown, the consumer's IP address and timestamp, and any confirmation message sent. Collected consent by phone? You need the recording. By text? You need the thread showing the double opt-in confirmation.

Teams that buy leads from third parties have a harder problem. The dark pattern prohibition means consent bundled across many sellers in a single checkbox is now openly questionable. If a lead vendor says "the consumer consented to be contacted by partners," that may not satisfy the TSR. You need to know exactly what disclosure language was shown, to whom, and when.

LeadCompliant's compliance kit includes a consent documentation checklist and a template disclosure document that reflects the 2024 amendments. It is free and worth running through before your next campaign.

For script guidance that builds consent language into your call flow, see cold calling scripts.

Are B2B calls exempt from the amended TSR?

Mostly yes, with exceptions that matter.

The TSR exempts calls between a telemarketer and a business, except where the call tries to induce the retail sale of nondurable office or cleaning supplies ^[2]. That office-supplies carve-out has been there since the original rule and rarely touches modern B2B sales teams. For most B2B outbound calling, the DNC registry requirements, abandoned call limits, and calling time restrictions in the TSR do not apply.

But the exemption only covers a call made to a business. If your list holds direct-to-consumer mobile numbers that happen to belong to business owners, or you are dialing personal cells of employees, the B2B exemption may not cover you. The TSR's definition of a "business" call turns on who you are calling, not what you are selling.

The TSR's fraud and misrepresentation provisions apply to B2B calls too. The rule prohibits deceptive acts or practices whether the call is B2B or B2C ^[2]. You cannot make false claims about a product, lie about the offer, or use deceptive caller ID, even in B2B telemarketing.

And again: TCPA exposure is separate. The TCPA has a much narrower B2B exemption, and class action litigation over autodialed calls to business cell phones has been a live risk for years. The TSR exemption gives you no TCPA cover.

For a full breakdown of what is legal in B2B outbound, see B2B cold calling rules: what's legal, what's not, and what to do.

What are the TSR's rules on caller ID and call abandonment?

Two rules teams break all the time without knowing it.

On caller ID: the TSR requires any telemarketer to transmit accurate caller identification. You have to send your telephone number and, if technically feasible, your name ^[2]. Displaying a number that does not reach you, using a spoofed caller ID, or displaying a number assigned to a different entity are all violations. The FCC's TRACED Act (2019) and the STIR/SHAKEN rules add caller ID authentication requirements that run alongside this TSR rule ^[8].

On call abandonment: an "abandoned call" under the TSR is any call answered by a live person but not connected to a live sales agent within two seconds of the person's greeting. The rule caps abandoned calls at 3% of all calls answered by a live person per campaign per 30-day period. When you abandon a call, the TSR requires a recorded message providing the seller's name and phone number ^[2].

The 3% cap sounds easy until you watch dialers work. A predictive dialer set to dial aggressively can spike abandonment to 10%, 15%, or higher on a bad day. Most dialer platforms let you set an abandonment target, but few teams audit their real rates monthly. The TSR requires you to keep abandonment records per campaign, and the FTC has used those records in enforcement.

Inaccurate caller ID and abandonment rates above 3% are two of the most common TSR violations the FTC cites in consent decrees. Both are easy to fix operationally. Both get ignored constantly.

How should your team update its compliance processes for the 2025 effective date?

The rule is already live. If you have not done a compliance review since January 2025, you are running on old assumptions.

Here is what a reasonable review looks like, in priority order.

First, audit your consent flows. Pull every web form, landing page, and phone script that generates a contact. Compare the disclosure language to the TSR's consent requirements. Look for the named seller identity in the disclosure, a clear statement of the communication method (calls, texts, prerecorded messages), and any bundled consent that covers multiple sellers. Fix anything that reads like a dark pattern.

Second, verify your recordkeeping. Can you produce a consent artifact for any given contact in your database right now? If your CRM stores only a boolean consent flag with no underlying record, you have a gap. Most teams find this gap the moment they go looking.

Third, check your DNC scrub cadence. Are you scrubbing the National DNC Registry at least every 31 days? Are you honoring company-specific do-not-call requests within the required window? Do you have a written do-not-call policy? The TSR requires one ^[2].

Fourth, if you use predictive dialers, pull your abandonment reports for the past 90 days by campaign. Any campaign over 3% is a documented violation sitting in your own data.

Fifth, if you use prerecorded messages or AI voice, confirm the consent records for those contacts are airtight. The consent standard for prerecorded and AI calls is higher than for live calls, and the 2024 amendments made that explicit for texts too.

Want a structured tool for this? LeadCompliant's free compliance kit includes a TSR-specific checklist that walks through each of these points against the amended rule language.

What does the TSR say about disclosures and prohibited misrepresentations?

The TSR prohibits a long list of deceptive and abusive telemarketing acts ^[2]. The 2024 amendments did not rewrite this part, but they did add clarity on a few points.

Required disclosures at the start of every outbound call: the seller's identity, that the call is a sales call (before any pitch), and the nature of the goods or services being sold. These have to happen promptly, before the solicitation begins. Failing to disclose that you are making a sales call is a per-call violation.

Prohibited misrepresentations include false claims about a product's performance, false statements about refund policy terms, misrepresenting an affiliation with a government agency, and claiming a prize promotion is real when it is not. None of this is new. But FTC enforcement on misleading AI-generated scripts has gotten sharper since 2024.

The rule also bans specific abusive practices: threatening or intimidating consumers, using profane language, causing a phone to ring repeatedly to annoy someone, and folding unlawful debt collection into a telemarketing call ^[2].

One provision catches teams off guard. If a consumer asks not to be called again during a call, you have to honor that immediately and add them to your internal do-not-call list. Calling them again in the same campaign, or handing their number to a partner who calls them, is a violation. The TSR treats an in-call opt-out as a binding do-not-call request.

For help writing scripts that fold in required disclosures without sounding robotic, see cold call script.

Frequently asked questions

When did the final amended Telemarketing Sales Rule take effect?

The FTC published the final amended TSR in the Federal Register on March 7, 2024. Most substantive provisions, including the robotext consent requirement and the dark pattern prohibition, became effective January 27, 2025. The recordkeeping requirements for consent documentation also took effect on that date.

Does the amended TSR cover text messages?

Yes. The 2024 amendments explicitly extend the TSR's prior express written consent requirement to text messages sent for telemarketing. Before the amendment, the TSR's prerecorded message consent rule clearly covered calls. The new rule treats outbound marketing texts the same way. You also cannot send marketing texts to DNC-registered numbers without consent.

What is a dark pattern under the amended TSR?

The FTC defines dark patterns as interface design choices that mislead or manipulate consumers into giving consent they might not otherwise give. Under the 2024 amendments, consent obtained through pre-checked boxes, confusing double-negatives, misleading button labels, or bundled consent across multiple sellers is not valid TSR consent. The FTC called out lead generation forms that bundle consent to many companies in one click.

How long do I have to keep consent records under the amended TSR?

The amended rule requires sellers and telemarketers to keep records proving consent for 24 months from the date of consent. The record has to be substantive, not a database flag. It needs to show the disclosure language, the date, the method of consent, and the identity of the seller the consumer agreed to hear from.

What is the per-violation civil penalty for TSR violations in 2025?

The FTC civil penalty for TSR violations is up to $51,744 per violation as of 2024, adjusted annually for inflation. Each call or text sent in violation of the rule is a separate violation. In large campaigns, this math produces potential liability in the hundreds of millions of dollars, though the FTC usually settles for far less than the theoretical maximum.

Are B2B telemarketing calls covered by the amended TSR?

Most B2B calls are exempt from the TSR's DNC, calling time, and abandoned call provisions. The exemption applies when the call is made to a business, not a consumer. But the TSR's anti-fraud and misrepresentation provisions apply to all calls, including B2B. And the B2B exemption gives you no protection against TCPA liability.

Do I need separate consent for TSR and TCPA compliance?

Not necessarily a separate form, but the consent disclosure has to satisfy both standards. The TCPA requires FCC-compliant prior express written consent language; the TSR requires disclosure of the seller's name and the nature of the communications. A well-drafted single consent form can satisfy both, but have a lawyer or compliance specialist review the language against both the FCC's rules and the FTC's amended TSR before you rely on it.

What is the TSR's abandoned call rate limit?

The TSR caps abandoned calls at 3% of all calls answered by a live person within any 30-day campaign period. A call is abandoned when it is answered by a live person but not connected to a live agent within two seconds of the consumer's greeting. When a call is abandoned, a recorded message has to play with the seller's name and a callback number.

Does the amended TSR apply to AI-generated voice calls?

Yes. Under the TSR, any prerecorded message call requires prior express written consent, and the rule does not distinguish between a human voice recording and AI-generated audio. The FCC separately ruled in February 2024 that AI-generated voices qualify as artificial or prerecorded voices under the TCPA, requiring TCPA written consent as well. Using AI voice does not create a lighter consent standard under either framework.

Can state attorneys general enforce the TSR?

Yes. Section 6(c) of the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994 lets state AGs bring civil actions to enforce TSR violations in federal court. They can seek civil penalties and injunctive relief. Multi-state coordinated TSR enforcement has gotten more common since 2020, and some states have parallel telemarketing statutes that allow extra penalties.

What disclosures are required at the start of an outbound telemarketing call?

The TSR requires the seller to identify itself promptly, disclose that the call is a sales call before any solicitation begins, and describe the nature of the goods or services offered. These are required in all outbound telemarketing calls, not only robocalls. Failing to make these disclosures at the outset of the call is a per-call violation of the rule.

How does the TSR's established business relationship exception work?

The EBR exception lets you call or text a DNC-registered consumer if you have had a transaction with them in the past 18 months or they made an inquiry or application in the past 3 months. The EBR does not apply to prerecorded calls, which always require express written consent. A consumer can revoke the EBR anytime by asking not to be called, and you have to honor that immediately.

Does the amended TSR require a written do-not-call policy?

Yes. The TSR requires any seller or telemarketer making telemarketing calls to keep a written policy for maintaining a do-not-call list. The policy has to be available on demand. You also have to honor both the National DNC Registry and any consumer-specific do-not-call request made during a call, within 30 days of the request.

What calling hours does the TSR require?

The TSR prohibits telemarketing calls before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time in the consumer's time zone. This matches the TCPA's time-of-day restriction. The rule applies to both live and prerecorded calls. For texts, the same time window applies under the amended rule's extension of TSR coverage to marketing texts.

Sources

1. FTC.gov, Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act: Congress authorized the FTC to write the Telemarketing Sales Rule under the Telemarketing and Consumer Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 1994
2. FTC.gov, Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR Part 310: TSR calling hours 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., DNC registry requirements, B2B exemption, abandoned call 3% cap, caller ID requirements, and required disclosures
3. Federal Register, FTC Final Rule: Telemarketing Sales Rule Amendments, March 2024: Final TSR amendments published March 7, 2024; effective January 27, 2025; adds robotext consent requirement, dark pattern prohibition, and 24-month consent recordkeeping requirement
4. Federal Register, FTC Adjustments to Civil Penalty Amounts (2024 inflation adjustment rule): FTC civil penalty for TSR violations is up to $51,744 per violation as of 2024, adjusted for inflation annually
5. FTC.gov, Federal Trade Commission (FTC v. Dish Network press release and case materials): FTC v. Dish Network resulted in a $280 million judgment in 2017 across TCPA and TSR claims, one of the largest telemarketing penalties at the time
6. FTC.gov, National Do Not Call Registry Data Book (annual report on registered numbers): The National Do Not Call Registry holds more than 249 million active registered phone numbers
7. Cornell Law School LII, 47 U.S.C. 227 Telephone Consumer Protection Act: The TCPA (47 U.S.C. 227) is a federal statute enforced by the FCC and through private lawsuits, covering autodialed and prerecorded calls
8. FTC.gov, Telemarketing Sales Rule rulemaking record (2022 advance notice of proposed rulemaking): FTC began the rulemaking process with an advance notice in 2022 and received thousands of public comments before finalizing the 2024 amendments