SiriusXM TCPA settlement: what it means for your business

Last updated 2026-07-10

What was the SiriusXM TCPA settlement?

SiriusXM Radio agreed to pay $25 million to settle a federal class action that accused it of calling and texting people without the prior express written consent the TCPA requires. The company did not admit liability, which is how nearly every TCPA class case ends. The settlement resolved consolidated claims, with a primary resolution in federal court around 2021.

The core allegation was narrow and familiar. SiriusXM used an automatic telephone dialing system, or ATDS, to reach consumers on their cell phones. That group allegedly included people who never subscribed and former subscribers whose consent had gone stale. The TCPA, at 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A), bans any call using an ATDS or prerecorded voice to a cell phone without the called party's prior express consent ^[1].

Big settlements like this are common for subscription and media companies. You can read about similar outcomes against UnitedHealthcare and Truist Bank. But $25 million sits near the top of the TCPA settlement range, and a number that size tells you something about the call volume SiriusXM allegedly ran.

Who was included in the SiriusXM settlement class?

The class covered people in the United States who got autodialed or prerecorded calls or texts from SiriusXM on their cell phones during a set window, roughly 2014 through the 2021 settlement date. The exact period and eligibility rules lived in the settlement agreement filed with the court.

To qualify, a class member generally had to show three things:

• They got a call or text on a cell phone from a SiriusXM number, or a number calling on SiriusXM's behalf
• The call or text used an autodialer or a prerecorded message
• They never gave prior express written consent, or their consent had lapsed

Class sizes in settlements this large run into the millions of potential claimants. Actual filing rates are almost always low, often under 5 percent of eligible people ^[2]. That gap is exactly why defendants agree to big headline numbers: the real payout lands far below the advertised figure.

If you got a notice by mail or email and the deadline has passed, you cannot file a new claim for this settlement. Claim windows in TCPA class actions are hard deadlines. They do not reopen.

How much did individual claimants receive?

Per-person payments in TCPA settlements depend almost entirely on how many valid claims get filed. Start with the $25 million gross fund. Take out attorneys' fees (usually 25 to 33 percent), administrative costs, and named plaintiff incentive awards (often $5,000 to $10,000 per representative). What is left for the class is somewhere around $16 to $17 million.

Divide that by the number of approved claims and you get the check. In comparable TCPA settlements, per-claimant payments have run from a few dollars to a few hundred dollars. The statutory rate is much higher: $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 for willful ones. Class settlements almost never pay that. Courts approve reduced amounts because writing full statutory checks to millions of people would bankrupt most defendants and deter nobody ^[3].

Here is how the payment structures stack up across the biggest TCPA settlements.

How do major TCPA class settlements compare in size?

The table below shows real settlement amounts in notable TCPA class actions. These are final or reported settlement figures, not the statutory damages that could theoretically apply.

Company	Settlement Amount	Approximate Year	Primary Allegation
SiriusXM	$25,000,000	2021	Autodialed calls/texts without consent [4]
Capital One	$75,500,000	2014	Debt collection robocalls [5]
JPMorgan Chase	$34,000,000	2018	Unsolicited automated calls
Dish Network	$61,000,000	2017	Telemarketing violations (FTC/DOJ action)
Credit One Bank	~$14,000,000 (multiple)	2019-2022	Autodialed collection calls [6]

SiriusXM's number is large but not the largest. What sets it apart is the type of conduct. SiriusXM's alleged violations were marketing-driven, not debt collection. Debt collection robocalls have historically produced the biggest settlements, but subscription-marketing calls are closing the gap as FCC enforcement gets sharper ^[7].

You can see the same marketing-call pattern in the Albertsons/Safeway TCPA settlement and the Cash App class action.

What specific TCPA violations did SiriusXM allegedly commit?

The complaints against SiriusXM described four distinct problems. Each one maps to a specific piece of the TCPA or the FCC's rules.

First, calling cell phones with an ATDS without prior express written consent. The TCPA at 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) bans this for telemarketing. SiriusXM allegedly reached people who never consented or whose consent had expired, which the FCC has long said happens when enough time passes or the customer relationship ends ^[1].

Second, calling numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry. The FTC and FCC jointly run the list. Calling a registered number for telemarketing after it has been on the list for 31 days is a separate violation with its own $500-per-call exposure ^[8].

Third, prerecorded voice messages. Even without an ATDS, dropping a prerecorded or artificial voice message on a cell phone needs prior express consent under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A).

Fourth, calling people who had already opted out. Once a consumer says stop, the TCPA requires the company to honor it. Keep calling after an opt-out and you are looking at a near-automatic willfulness finding, which triples per-call damages.

Volume is what turned this into a $25 million case instead of a handful of small-claims filings. Automate dialing at scale and a single error stops being one mistake. It becomes thousands of them.

What does this mean if you run outbound calls or texts?

The SiriusXM case reads like a map of what breaks at scale. Here are the operational lessons that actually matter.

Your consent records have to outlive your memory of the call. SiriusXM's real problem was more than getting consent, it was proving it years later. The FCC's 2012 order (FCC 12-21) requires prior express written consent for every telemarketing call to a cell phone, and the record has to be specific: the consumer authorizes contact at a particular number from a particular company ^[7]. A vague checkbox buried in a terms-of-service page does not count.

Former customers are a trap. When someone cancels, their marketing consent does not ride along. The FCC has been clear that consent for service messages is different from consent for marketing. Run a win-back campaign to lapsed subscribers on an ATDS without fresh written consent and you have built the exact fact pattern that spawns class actions.

List hygiene is not optional. Carriers recycle phone numbers, sometimes within 45 days of disconnection. Call a recycled number and you are calling a stranger who never consented, no matter what your records say. The FCC built the Reassigned Numbers Database (RND) for precisely this ^[9].

Opt-out processing has to be same-day and permanent, across every channel. Someone who texts STOP should never get a call two weeks later from a different campaign list.

For a quick starting point, the LeadCompliant TCPA news hub covers consent documentation and a DNC scrubbing checklist any small team can run without a lawyer.

Also worth a read: the how to stop robocalls guide gives you the consumer's view, which is the fastest way to learn what actually triggers complaints.

How did the SiriusXM settlement get approved, and what was the court's reasoning?

TCPA settlements clear a two-step court process. First comes preliminary approval, where the judge checks the basic fairness of the deal and greenlights notice to the class. Then comes final approval, where the judge weighs objections and signs a final order.

Courts judge these settlements under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23(e), which demands a deal that is fair, reasonable, and adequate. Judges look at the strength of the plaintiffs' case, the risk of dragging litigation out, whether the fee request is reasonable, and whether class members are treated equitably against each other ^[3].

The biggest litigation risk on the plaintiffs' side, here as in most large TCPA cases, was the ATDS definition. The Supreme Court's April 2021 ruling in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid narrowed what counts as an autodialer. The Court held that a system must use "a random or sequential number generator" to store or produce numbers to qualify as an ATDS ^[10]. That killed off a wave of claims that would have survived a year earlier. Defendants with pending cases had a reason to settle before plaintiffs' counsel rebuilt their theory, and plaintiffs had a reason to take a sure payment rather than bet the trial on the ATDS question.

That Duguid uncertainty is probably why the deal closed when it did.

What is the current TCPA consent standard for calls and texts?

The TCPA and the FCC's rules stack on top of each other, which trips up a lot of outbound teams. Here is how the consent tiers actually work.

Calls or texts to cell phones using an ATDS or prerecorded voice for telemarketing need prior express written consent. The FCC's 2012 order defined this as an agreement that clearly authorizes the seller to send messages using an ATDS or prerecorded voice, names the specific number the consumer signed up, and is not required as a condition of purchase ^[7].

Informational, non-marketing calls to cell phones using an ATDS need only prior express consent, not necessarily in writing. But the line between informational and marketing is thin, and plaintiffs fight over it constantly.

Calls to landlines using a prerecorded voice for telemarketing carry the same written consent requirement.

Manual, non-autodialed calls are not restricted by the TCPA on cell phones, though the National DNC list still applies to telemarketing calls no matter the technology.

The FCC issued a big new order in January 2024 (FCC 23-107) aimed at lead generator consent practices. Starting January 27, 2025, one consent form cannot authorize calls from multiple sellers. Consent has to be one-to-one, meaning the consumer specifically agrees to each company that will contact them ^[11]. That rule hits SiriusXM-style situations head on, where a consumer's info gets collected through a third-party form and then handed to the company's dialer.

Can SiriusXM still be sued for TCPA violations after the settlement?

The settlement released only the claims that fell inside the defined class period and class definition. Class members who got notice are bound by that release and generally cannot bring individual TCPA suits over the same calls.

The release has limits. People who opted out kept their individual claims. People who were never class members, because their calls fell outside the period or missed other criteria, can still sue. And the release only covers past conduct. SiriusXM can be sued for any new non-compliant call it makes after the settlement.

Settlements do not buy permanent immunity. Credit One Bank has faced multiple separate TCPA suits over the years despite earlier settlements, because each new campaign is a fresh batch of potential claims. See the Joseph Snyder Credit One TCPA matter for how repeat-defendant dynamics play out.

The TCPA's private right of action lets any consumer file in federal or state court without going through the FCC first. Class action firms watch high-volume callers with weak consent records for a reason. The math is blunt: 1,000 calls at $500 each is $500,000 in statutory exposure, before you even reach the willfulness multiplier.

How does the FCC's 2024 one-to-one consent rule change the risk picture?

The FCC's January 2024 order is the biggest TCPA-adjacent rulemaking since the 2012 consent rules. The core provision, effective January 2025, says consent to receive marketing calls or texts has to be specific to a single company, not a broad category of sellers ^[11].

Before this, a standard lead-gen move was to have a consumer check a box reading something like "I agree to be contacted by SiriusXM and its marketing partners," then sell that lead to dozens of buyers. The FCC treated that as a loophole that made the consent requirement meaningless, and its order says such consent does not qualify as prior express written consent under the TCPA.

For subscription companies like SiriusXM, this tightens the whole consent chain. Buy leads from a third-party comparison site and you cannot lean on language that bundles dozens of companies together. You need a separate, specific consent that names your company.

Any company that has not audited its lead-acquisition contracts since early 2025 is almost certainly sitting on some non-compliant consent records right now. That is not a hypothetical. That is the same fact pattern behind $25 million settlements.

Start with your opt-in language. If it names more than one company, it is a problem, and a plaintiff's attorney will find it before you do.

What should outbound teams do right now to avoid a SiriusXM-style TCPA lawsuit?

Nobody has clean data on the exact odds of a TCPA suit at a given call volume. What we do know: the plaintiffs' bar is organized, and filings have run in the thousands of cases per year for most of the last decade ^[12]. The steps below are not complicated. Doing them consistently is where most teams fall down.

Audit your consent documentation. Every lead source needs a paper trail showing the exact language the consumer saw, the date, and what they agreed to. If you cannot reconstruct that for a call you made 18 months ago, you have a records problem, not a maybe.

Scrub against the National DNC Registry at least every 31 days. The FTC runs the registry at donotcall.gov and licenses access to callers. A number only has to sit on the list 31 days before calling it becomes a violation. Plenty of teams scrub at launch and never again, which leaves a 90-day campaign exposed from day 32 on ^[8].

Check for reassigned numbers. The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database launched in 2021 so callers can verify whether a number changed hands after consent was given ^[9]. Using it is not strictly mandatory, but skipping it forfeits your safe harbor defense.

Process opt-outs the same day and push suppression to every list and campaign immediately. Weekly batch processing is too slow.

Train your calling team and lock down your vendors. The TCPA has no easy vicarious liability escape. If a dialing partner calls on your behalf without complying, you can be on the hook. Put explicit TCPA compliance representations and indemnification into every vendor contract.

For teams running text message marketing, the same consent and opt-out rules apply, and SMS platforms usually make suppression easier to automate than voice dialers do.

Frequently asked questions

How much was the SiriusXM TCPA settlement?

SiriusXM agreed to pay $25 million to settle TCPA class action claims that it made autodialed calls and sent texts without proper prior express written consent. The settlement was reached around 2021. After attorneys' fees of roughly 25 to 33 percent and administrative costs, individual claimants received far less than the full statutory $500-per-violation rate.

Can I still file a claim in the SiriusXM TCPA settlement?

Almost certainly not. TCPA class action claim deadlines are set by the court and are final. Once the notice period and claims deadline pass, the settlement stops accepting claims. Check the settlement administrator's website for official status. If you got unwanted calls or texts from SiriusXM after the class period, you may have separate rights as an individual under the TCPA's private right of action.

What did SiriusXM do wrong under the TCPA?

SiriusXM allegedly used an automatic telephone dialing system to call and text people on cell phones without prior express written consent, as required by 47 U.S.C. § 227. The alleged violations included calling former subscribers without fresh consent, contacting numbers on the National DNC Registry, and continuing to call consumers who had asked for no further contact.

Did SiriusXM admit to violating the TCPA?

No. Like nearly every TCPA class action defendant, SiriusXM denied liability as a condition of the settlement. Admitting liability would open the door to follow-on litigation and regulatory action, so defendants almost always settle without conceding wrongdoing. The $25 million payment reflects the cost and risk of continued litigation, not a formal finding of guilt.

What is the TCPA and why does it apply to SiriusXM?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227, restricts unsolicited telemarketing calls and texts made with automatic telephone dialing systems or prerecorded voices. It applies to any company, including subscription services like SiriusXM, that contacts consumers by phone for marketing. Violations carry statutory damages of $500 per call, or up to $1,500 for willful ones, which makes class actions worth filing for plaintiffs' attorneys.

How did the Supreme Court's Facebook v. Duguid decision affect the SiriusXM case?

The Supreme Court's April 2021 ruling in Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid narrowed the definition of an automatic telephone dialing system, requiring that it use a random or sequential number generator. That weakened many TCPA class claims. The SiriusXM settlement timing lined up with this uncertainty, giving both sides a reason to resolve the case rather than gamble on the ATDS question at trial.

What is the FCC's one-to-one consent rule and how does it relate to SiriusXM?

The FCC's January 2024 order (effective January 2025) requires telemarketing consent to be specific to a single named company, not a broad list of sellers. Before this rule, lead generators routinely collected blanket consent covering many companies at once. That practice is now prohibited. It directly affects how subscription services like SiriusXM can acquire leads from third-party comparison and affiliate sites.

How often do TCPA class action settlements reach $25 million or more?

Large TCPA settlements of $25 million or more are uncommon but not rare. Capital One settled for $75.5 million in 2014, and Dish Network faced a $61 million government-initiated action in 2017. Most individual TCPA class settlements land in the $1 to $15 million range. Deals above $25 million usually involve very high call volumes, strong evidence of willful conduct, or both.

Do former SiriusXM subscribers have to opt out of the settlement class?

Class members who did not want to be bound by the release had to follow the opt-out process in the court-approved notice within the stated deadline. If you got a class notice and did nothing, you were automatically included and bound by the release. Opting out preserves your right to sue individually but forfeits any settlement payment.

What is the National Do Not Call Registry and how does violating it relate to this case?

The National Do Not Call Registry is run by the FTC under 15 U.S.C. § 6151 and bars telemarketers from calling registered numbers more than 31 days after registration. Calling a registered number is a separate TCPA-adjacent violation with its own $500-per-call exposure under FCC rules. The SiriusXM allegations included contacting numbers on this list, which compounds per-call damages in class litigation.

How can my company avoid a TCPA lawsuit like the one against SiriusXM?

Obtain and document prior express written consent before making autodialed or prerecorded marketing calls to cell phones. Scrub your lists against the National DNC Registry at least every 31 days. Check the FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database for recycled numbers. Honor opt-out requests immediately. Audit third-party lead sources to confirm one-to-one consent compliance under the FCC's 2024 rules.

What attorneys' fees were paid out of the SiriusXM settlement fund?

The exact fee award is set by the court and disclosed in the final approval order. TCPA class settlements typically see fee requests of 25 to 33 percent of the gross fund. On a $25 million settlement, that is roughly $6.25 to $8.25 million. Courts sometimes trim requests that look disproportionate to class recovery, but awards at or near 25 percent are routinely approved in TCPA cases.

Can SiriusXM face more TCPA lawsuits in the future even after settling?

Yes. The settlement releases only claims inside the defined class period and definition. Future calls that violate the TCPA are fully actionable as new claims. Companies that have settled TCPA class actions before, like Credit One Bank, have faced later separate actions over new conduct. A settlement buys resolution of past claims, not immunity from future ones.

What is the Kaiser TCPA settlement and how does it compare to the SiriusXM case?

The Kaiser TCPA settlement involved healthcare-related robocall claims and had its own separate class period and claim deadline. It is a different case against a different company in a different industry. Both are examples of large institutional defendants settling TCPA class actions rather than litigating to verdict. See the Kaiser TCPA settlement article on LeadCompliant for that case's timeline and payment structure.

Sources

1. Cornell LII, 47 U.S.C. § 227 (TCPA statute text): 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(1)(A)(iii) prohibits making any call using an ATDS or prerecorded voice to a cell phone without prior express consent
2. Federal Trade Commission, rules and legal library: Actual claim filing rates in large class action settlements are often under 5 percent of eligible class members
3. Cornell LII, Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 23: Courts evaluate class settlements under FRCP 23(e) for fairness, reasonableness, and adequacy; reduced per-person payouts are approved when full statutory damages would be disproportionate
4. PACER, U.S. federal court docket access: SiriusXM agreed to a $25 million class settlement resolving TCPA allegations of autodialed calls and texts without consent
5. PACER, U.S. federal court docket access (Capital One TCPA settlement, reported $75.5M, 2014): Capital One settled a TCPA robocall class action for $75.5 million in 2014, the largest TCPA class settlement at the time
6. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, enforcement actions: Credit One Bank has faced multiple separate TCPA-related suits and settlements over autodialed collection calls between 2019 and 2022
7. FTC, National Do Not Call Registry: Telemarketers must scrub lists against the National DNC Registry; numbers registered for 31 days or more cannot be called for telemarketing without prior express consent
8. FCC, Reassigned Numbers Database: The FCC's Reassigned Numbers Database launched in 2021 so callers can verify whether a number changed hands since consent was given
9. Supreme Court of the United States, Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021): The Supreme Court held that an ATDS must use a random or sequential number generator to store or produce numbers, narrowing the TCPA autodialer definition
10. WebRecon LLC, TCPA filing statistics (annual reports): TCPA lawsuit filings have run in the thousands of cases per year for most of the last decade, with plaintiffs' law firms systematically monitoring high-volume callers