Last updated 2026-07-09
TL;DR
Any consumer who got an unwanted robocall, autodialed text, or prerecorded message without consent can sue under 47 U.S.C. § 227. Statutory damages run $500 per violation and up to $1,500 if the violation was willful. You can file in federal or state court without a lawyer, though class actions require one. The statute of limitations is four years.
What is the TCPA and who does it protect?
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, codified at 47 U.S.C. § 227, became law in 1991. It restricts telemarketing calls, autodialed calls, prerecorded voice messages, and text messages sent to cell phones without prior express consent. It also bars calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry.[1]
The law protects any person who gets a covered communication on their cell phone, residential landline, or fax machine. You do not need to be a business. You do not need to have lost money. The statute creates what courts call a "private right of action," which means you personally can sue without waiting for a government agency to act.
The FCC enforces the TCPA at the federal level, but that private right of action is what generates most of the litigation. Section 227(b)(3) says a person may bring an action to recover the greater of actual monetary loss or $500 for each violation.[2] That per-call, per-text structure is why TCPA cases pay so well for plaintiffs and scare companies that dial at scale.
Do you have a valid TCPA claim?
Before you file anything, four things need to be true.
First, the caller used an automatic telephone dialing system (ATDS), a prerecorded voice, or an artificial voice, OR they called a number on the Do Not Call registry more than once in a 12-month period.[1] The Supreme Court narrowed the ATDS definition in Facebook v. Duguid (2021), holding that a system must use a random or sequential number generator to qualify.[3] That ruling killed some claims, so whether the caller's technology meets that definition matters a lot now.
Second, the call or text went to your cell phone (for ATDS/prerecorded claims) or your residential line (for DNC claims).
Third, you did not give prior express written consent. If you checked a box on a website agreeing to receive marketing texts, that consent is usually valid and kills the claim.
Fourth, the caller was not exempt. Government entities, calls made for emergency purposes, and calls from certain health care providers in narrow situations have exemptions.
Line up all four and you almost certainly have a viable claim. If the consent question is murky, a TCPA attorney can help you sort it out before you spend time on a filing.
For a sense of what real violations look like, the UnitedHealthcare $2.5M settlement and the Truist Bank class action are useful reference points.
What damages can you recover in a TCPA lawsuit?
This is the number people always want first.
The TCPA gives you three damage options under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3): actual monetary loss, $500 per violation, or $1,500 per violation if the court finds the defendant willfully or knowingly broke the law. You get whichever is greatest. Actual damages from a robocall are basically zero, so almost every plaintiff claims the statutory amounts.
"Willful or knowing" does not require malice. Courts have found willfulness where a company kept calling after being told to stop, or where internal records showed the company knew about the do-not-call request.[4]
In class actions, those per-call numbers stack across every class member. A company that sent 10 million texts without consent faces $5 billion in statutory exposure at $500 per text. That math is why defendants settle. The Cash App TCPA class action settlement and the Albertsons/Safeway settlement both show how that pressure plays out in real dollars.
You can also get injunctive relief, meaning a court order telling the company to stop. Some states pile on extra damages under their own robocall statutes, which can multiply your recovery.
How long do you have to file? (TCPA statute of limitations)
Four years. The TCPA borrows the general federal four-year statute of limitations from 28 U.S.C. § 1658.[5] The clock starts on the date of each violation, which in practice means the date you got the call or text.
A few practical notes. If you got 50 calls over two years, calls from more than four years ago are gone. The ones inside the window still count. Keep records of every call or text, including dates, times, and the caller ID number, the moment you think litigation might be possible.
State courts that hear TCPA claims apply the same federal four-year period for the federal claim. If you add a state law claim, that state's own limitations period applies to that count.
Do not wait. Evidence disappears. Phone records get purged. Four years sounds long, but cases take time to file correctly, and you want to document while everything is fresh.
Should you hire a TCPA lawyer or file on your own?
For a single individual claim worth $500 to $1,500, you can file in small claims court yourself. Small claims courts in most states handle disputes up to $5,000 to $10,000, the process is fairly plain, and you do not need a lawyer.
For anything bigger, get a lawyer. Class actions require certified class counsel under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23, and no court will certify a class with a pro se plaintiff. Even for a stronger individual federal claim, a TCPA plaintiff's attorney usually works on contingency, so you pay nothing unless you win or settle. The attorney earns a percentage of the recovery or a fee award under a settlement.
If you're in Kentucky or another state with active TCPA bar work, searching for a TCPA lawyer in Kentucky or your own state is worth doing before you decide to go it alone.
Here's the honest answer. Most individual TCPA claims that are not class actions settle quickly for a few thousand dollars once a competent demand letter goes out. Lawyers know this and often resolve them before filing. Factor that into your "do I need an attorney" math.
Step-by-step: how to file a TCPA lawsuit
Here is the actual process, start to finish.
Step 1: Document everything. Save screenshots of text messages, note every call with the date, time, and number, and pull your phone bill to confirm the calls appear there. If you have a voicemail, save it. Screenshot any opt-in or opt-out confirmations. This is your evidence base.
Step 2: Identify the defendant. You need to know who called you. For texts, look up the short code or 10-digit number on the FCC's short code registry or a reverse-phone-number service. For spoofed numbers, subpoenas after filing can expose the real caller. Some cases require litigation just to find out who the defendant is.
Step 3: Send a cease-and-desist demand letter (optional but smart). Before filing, many plaintiffs send a written demand. It creates a paper trail showing the defendant knew about your objection, which helps establish willfulness for treble damages. Give them 10 to 14 days to respond. Keep a copy. Send it certified mail.
Step 4: Choose your court. Federal district court is the most common venue for TCPA claims because the statute is federal law. You can also file in state court if your state accepts federal claims. Small claims court works for single claims if the amount fits within the court's jurisdiction limit. A case with multiple violations or a class almost always belongs in federal court.
Step 5: Draft and file the complaint. For federal court, your complaint needs a statement of jurisdiction (federal question, 28 U.S.C. § 1331), a factual narrative of the violations, the specific statutory sections violated (47 U.S.C. § 227(b) for ATDS/prerecorded and/or 47 U.S.C. § 227(c) for DNC), and your prayer for relief listing the per-violation damages. File it with the clerk of the federal district court that covers your area. Pay the filing fee (currently $405 in U.S. district courts as of 2024, though fee waiver applications exist).[6]
Step 6: Serve the defendant. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4, you have 90 days to serve the defendant after filing. You can use a process server, the U.S. Marshals Service (for cases in forma pauperis), or in some cases certified mail to a registered agent. Get proof of service.
Step 7: Respond to their answer and proceed to discovery. The defendant has 21 days to answer after service. If they do not answer, you can seek a default judgment. If they do answer, the case enters discovery, where you can subpoena call records, dialer system data, consent documentation, and internal communications. This is where cases often settle.
Step 8: Settlement or trial. Most TCPA cases settle before trial. Once the defendant's call records surface in discovery and the per-violation exposure is quantified, most defendants negotiate. If you go to trial, a judge or jury decides whether violations occurred and whether they were willful.
For a look at how outcomes shake out, see the Credit One TCPA settlement and the Joseph Snyder Credit One case.
How do you file a TCPA class action lawsuit?
A class action is different in almost every way from an individual claim. You're suing on behalf of everyone who got the same unlawful calls or texts, not only yourself.
To certify a class, your attorney has to satisfy Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(a): numerosity (generally 40 or more class members), commonality (shared legal questions), typicality (your claim is representative), and adequacy (you and your attorney can represent the class fairly). Most TCPA classes clear numerosity easily because a single dialing campaign can reach millions of people.
The practical steps: find a plaintiff's firm that handles TCPA class actions, sign a representation agreement, let the firm file the complaint naming you as lead plaintiff, and let the litigation proceed with you as the class representative. You will sit for a deposition, produce your records, and take part in mediation. The attorneys do the heavy lifting.
Class settlements need court approval, which includes a fairness hearing. Individual class members get notice and can opt out to pursue individual claims, or object to the settlement terms.
The upside of a class action is that it can force a company into a multi-million-dollar settlement even when your own recovery is modest. The downside is that it takes years. The Kaiser TCPA settlement shows how the claims process works after a class settlement is approved.
Can you file a TCPA complaint with the FCC instead of suing?
Yes, but it will probably not get you money.
The FCC accepts consumer complaints through its Consumer Complaint Center.[7] The commission uses those complaints to spot enforcement targets, build data on bad actors, and in rare cases pursue its own enforcement with civil fines. The FCC's fines go to the U.S. Treasury, not to you.
Still, filing an FCC complaint creates a public record and costs you nothing. It also puts the company on notice that regulators are watching. If you also want money back, you still need to file a private lawsuit.
The FTC runs the National Do Not Call Registry and takes complaints about registry violations at donotcall.gov.[8] Same dynamic: their enforcement actions do not pay individual consumers, but the data feeds agency action. Filing with both agencies takes maybe 20 minutes total and does not block your private lawsuit.
To stop calls while you decide what to do about litigation, how to stop robocalls has practical steps.
What evidence do you need for a TCPA lawsuit?
Courts make you prove three core things: (1) you got the call or text, (2) on a covered line, (3) from a system that qualifies under the statute, without your consent.
The strongest evidence package includes:
- Phone records (from your carrier, showing incoming number and timestamp)
- Screenshots of the actual text messages, with metadata if possible
- Any voicemail recordings
- Proof the number is yours and has been yours for a period that predates the calls
- Documentation of any opt-out requests you made (a text reply of STOP, a written request, a call to their opt-out number)
- Any prior consent records, or the absence of them, which you can demand later in discovery
The ATDS question is more fact-specific after Facebook v. Duguid.[3] Expert witnesses who can pick apart the defendant's dialing system are common in contested federal cases. You likely won't have to worry about that yourself; your attorney handles it.
One thing many plaintiffs miss: if you called the company back or visited their website after the violations, that history is usually irrelevant to the claims, but defendants sometimes argue it in settlement talks to cut the payout. Document the timeline carefully.
LeadCompliant's free TCPA compliance checklist shows what a legitimate consent trail should look like, which helps you spot when a caller lacks one.
What happens after you file: timeline and likely outcomes
Here is a realistic timeline for a federal TCPA individual claim.
| Stage | Typical Timeframe |
|---|---|
| Complaint filed and served | Week 1-4 |
| Defendant answers or defaults | Week 4-7 |
| Initial disclosures and scheduling order | Month 2-3 |
| Written discovery (interrogatories, requests for production) | Month 3-6 |
| Depositions | Month 6-10 |
| Mediation / settlement talks | Month 6-18 |
| Trial (if not settled) | Month 12-36 |
Most individual TCPA cases settle before trial, often between months 3 and 12. Defendants don't want the per-call exposure validated in a judgment, and plaintiffs don't want the uncertainty of trial. Strong call records usually speed up settlement.
Class actions take longer, often three to five years from filing to final settlement distribution. After the court approves a class settlement, there is a claims period (often 60 to 90 days) where class members submit claim forms. Members who miss that deadline typically lose their share.
Default judgments, where the defendant simply does not respond, can move fast, sometimes 90 to 120 days. But collecting on a default judgment against a fly-by-night robocaller is a separate problem. The judgment exists; actually getting paid from a company with no assets is hard.
For recent developments and how enforcement trends are shifting, TCPA news tracks changes that could affect claim viability.
State law alternatives that can stack with your TCPA claim
Several states have their own robocall and telemarketing statutes that give you extra claims on top of the TCPA. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) allows $500 per call for certain violations and covers a broader range of technology than the post-Duguid TCPA.[9] Washington's Commercial Electronic Mail Act covers some text messaging contexts. California's consumer protection statutes add claims in many text marketing cases.
Texas, Indiana, and several other states run their own DNC lists with private rights of action. If a company ignored both the federal DNC registry and your state's registry, you may be able to stack those claims and argue separate per-violation damages.
This is one of the stronger arguments for hiring a plaintiff's attorney. A good TCPA litigator knows which state claims survive in your jurisdiction, how to plead them together without running into preemption problems, and how stacking claims changes settlement pressure.
State court is also an option for smaller individual claims. Many state small claims courts have judges who see robocall complaints regularly, and the filing fees are lower than federal court. You lose some procedural tools (subpoena power is weaker, discovery is limited), but for a single clear violation with solid documentation, state small claims can work fine.
Common mistakes that can sink your TCPA claim
A few patterns show up again and again in cases that fail or settle for far less than they should.
The biggest one: signing away your claims in an arbitration agreement. Many companies bury a class action waiver and mandatory arbitration clause in their terms of service. If you agreed to those terms before the calls started, your class claims may be barred and you may be stuck in individual arbitration. Courts have largely enforced these clauses since AT&T Mobility v. Concepcion (2011).[10] Check whether you have any existing relationship with the caller and whether you clicked through any terms.
Second mistake: not documenting in real time. People assume they'll remember the dates. They don't. Write it down immediately.
Third: taking a quick payment to "settle" a complaint without realizing you're signing a release. Some companies offer small payments or refunds in exchange for a release of all claims. Read what you're signing before you cash anything.
Fourth: filing too late. Four years sounds long. It isn't, once you factor in finding an attorney, discovery, and the per-call structure that drops older calls out of the window as time passes.
Fifth: suing the wrong entity. That wastes everyone's time and money. Use the FCC's short code registry, reverse-number tools, and if needed a pre-suit subpoena through a John Doe complaint to pin down the real caller before you name defendants.
Frequently asked questions
How much money can I get from a TCPA lawsuit?
The TCPA allows $500 per violation or $1,500 per violation if the court finds the defendant acted willfully or knowingly, under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3). Each call or text is a separate violation. A company that sent you 20 illegal texts faces up to $30,000 in statutory damages on that claim alone. Individual cases rarely reach a jury; most settle for amounts based on the violation count and the strength of your evidence.
Can I file a TCPA lawsuit without a lawyer?
Yes, for individual claims in small claims court. Most state small claims courts accept TCPA claims as long as the amount falls within the court's jurisdictional cap, typically $5,000 to $10,000. For federal court individual claims you can technically proceed pro se, but it's genuinely hard. For class actions, you must have a lawyer. Many TCPA plaintiffs' attorneys work on contingency, so there is often no upfront cost to you.
What is the statute of limitations for a TCPA lawsuit?
Four years from the date of each violation, under 28 U.S.C. § 1658, the general federal statute of limitations. The clock runs from each individual call or text, so older calls in a long campaign drop out of the window as time passes. If you're adding state law claims, check your state's own limitations period, which may be shorter.
Do I have to prove I was harmed to sue under the TCPA?
The Supreme Court's TransUnion v. Ramirez (2021) ruling added some standing complexity, but for concrete violations like getting an actual unwanted call or text, courts have generally found that receiving the call is a concrete injury enough for Article III standing. You do not need to show financial harm. The statutory damages exist precisely because real harm is hard to quantify.
What if the company says I gave consent?
That's a defense they have to prove, not something you have to disprove. The FCC's rules require prior express written consent for marketing calls and texts to cell phones. The company must produce a signed consent record that clearly authorizes autodialed marketing calls or texts. If their record is vague, buried in fine print, or obtained through a third party, you can challenge it. Discovery often shows consent records are incomplete or nonexistent.
Can I sue a company for texts even if I gave my number to a third party?
Possibly. Consent obtained through a third-party lead generator is only valid if it was clear and conspicuous, specific to the calling company, and the consumer knew they were consenting to calls from that company. The FCC's 2023 and 2024 rulemaking on one-to-one consent is tightening these standards further. If you gave your number on a sweepstakes form and then a mortgage company called you, that consent is probably not valid.
What is the difference between a TCPA individual lawsuit and a class action?
An individual lawsuit covers your own violations and your own damages of $500 to $1,500 per violation. A class action covers everyone who got the same unlawful calls or texts from the same campaign, and the total exposure scales with the class size. Class actions require a plaintiff's attorney and court certification under Rule 23. Individual cases can go to small claims court. Class actions take years but can force much larger settlements.
Which court do I file a TCPA lawsuit in?
Federal district court is the most common choice because the TCPA is federal law. You can also file in state court, since state courts have concurrent jurisdiction over TCPA claims. For small individual claims, state small claims court is often the simplest option. Class actions almost always proceed in federal court. File in a court that covers the area where you live or where the violations occurred.
What does it cost to file a TCPA lawsuit?
Filing a complaint in U.S. district court currently costs $405 (as of 2024). State court filing fees vary by state and claim amount, and small claims court fees are usually under $75. If you hire a contingency attorney, you pay nothing upfront; they take a percentage of any recovery. If you qualify for in forma pauperis status, the federal court can waive the filing fee.
Do TCPA lawsuits actually win?
Most settle before trial. When individual cases go to judgment, plaintiffs win frequently on clear violations with good documentation. Class actions have produced settlements ranging from hundreds of thousands to hundreds of millions of dollars. The per-violation statutory structure means even modest-sized calling campaigns create liability large enough that defendants prefer to settle rather than go to trial.
Can I file a TCPA complaint about calls to my business phone?
ATDS and prerecorded-voice protections under § 227(b) apply to cell phones. Business landlines have more limited protection. The National Do Not Call Registry protects residential lines, not business lines. Some state laws extend broader protection. If you're getting spam calls on a business cell phone, you may still have a claim under § 227(b), but the analysis is fact-specific.
What if the robocaller is overseas?
This is genuinely hard. If the caller operates from outside the U.S., serving them and collecting a judgment is very difficult. The FCC has pursued some enforcement against international robocallers through gateway provider liability, and the FTC has extradition cases in rare situations. Overseas bad actors are one of the weakest cases for private TCPA litigation. Focus first on whether a domestic company or gateway provider can be named as a defendant.
Does the TCPA cover political calls and texts?
Political calls are exempt from the Do Not Call Registry, but they are not exempt from the ATDS and prerecorded-voice rules. A political organization using an autodialer or prerecorded message to call cell phones without prior express consent still violates § 227(b). Several class actions have targeted political campaigns and PACs. The exemption only covers the DNC registry, not the autodialer restrictions.
What is the FCC's role in a TCPA lawsuit?
The FCC writes the rules implementing the TCPA under authority Congress delegated in the statute, and it can pursue its own enforcement with civil fines. But the FCC is not your attorney and does not get you money in private litigation. FCC interpretive orders and rules matter in TCPA cases because courts look to them to define terms like ATDS and prior express consent. FCC complaints are separate from and do not replace a private lawsuit.
Sources
- Cornell LII, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (TCPA full text): The TCPA restricts autodialed calls, prerecorded messages, and texts to cell phones without prior express consent, and prohibits calls to DNC-listed numbers.
- 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3) (via Cornell LII): Section 227(b)(3) allows a private right of action for the greater of actual loss or $500 per violation, trebled to $1,500 for willful violations.
- U.S. Supreme Court, Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021) (opinion available via supremecourt.gov): The Supreme Court held in 2021 that an ATDS must use a random or sequential number generator, narrowing the definition and limiting some TCPA claims.
- 28 U.S.C. § 1658 (via Cornell LII): The general four-year federal statute of limitations under 28 U.S.C. § 1658 applies to TCPA private actions.
- U.S. Courts, District Court Miscellaneous Fee Schedule: Filing a civil complaint in U.S. district court costs $405 as of 2024.
- FCC Consumer Complaint Center: Consumers can file TCPA complaints with the FCC, which uses them for enforcement data but does not return money to individual complainants.
- FTC, National Do Not Call Registry: The FTC manages the National Do Not Call Registry and accepts complaints about registry violations.
- Florida Statutes § 501.059 (Florida Telephone Solicitation Act): Florida's FTSA provides $500 per call for certain violations and covers technology beyond the post-Duguid ATDS definition.
- U.S. Supreme Court, AT&T Mobility LLC v. Concepcion, 563 U.S. 333 (2011) (opinion available via supremecourt.gov): The Supreme Court upheld class action waiver clauses in arbitration agreements in 2011, which defendants frequently use to defeat TCPA class actions.
- U.S. Courts, Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23: Rule 23 sets the requirements for class certification, including numerosity, commonality, typicality, and adequacy of representation.