If you send marketing text messages or make outbound calls in the United States, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) governs nearly every move you make. TCPA litigation hit an all-time high in 2024 with 2,788 cases filed — up 112% from the prior year — and average settlements now exceed $6.6 million. Understanding TCPA compliance in 2026 is no longer optional; it’s a survival requirement.

What Is the TCPA?

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act is a federal US law enacted in 1991 that restricts unsolicited telephone calls, auto-dialed calls, pre-recorded messages, and text messages to mobile phones. Violations carry fines of $500–$1,500 per call or text, and the law allows class action lawsuits.

Key TCPA Rules for 2026

• Prior express written consent is required before sending marketing SMS or using auto-dialers to mobile numbers
• Opt-out keywords (STOP, QUIT, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE) must be honoured within 10 days — FCC rules now codify these explicitly
• One-to-one consent requirement (effective 2025): a consumer’s consent for one seller cannot be resold or transferred to unrelated companies
• Reassigned number liability: calling a number reassigned to a new owner exposes you to TCPA risk even if the original owner consented
• Do Not Call Registry: scrub your lists against the national DNC list before every campaign

How Phone Number Validation Prevents TCPA Violations

Every TCPA risk point has a validation solution:

How Often Should You Validate Phone Numbers for TCPA?

The FCC processes tens of millions of number reassignments every year. A contact list that is 6 months old likely contains 3–5% reassigned numbers. Best practice: validate every number at point of collection and re-validate your entire list every 30 days before outbound campaigns.

TCPA Compliance Checklist for SMS Marketers

1. Collect and document prior express written consent at the point of opt-in
2. Validate each collected number: line type, status, carrier
3. Scrub your list against the national DNC registry (update every 31 days)
4. Check numbers against TCPA litigator databases
5. Identify and remove VoIP/landline numbers from SMS campaigns
6. Run a reassigned number check before each major campaign send
7. Process opt-outs within 10 days; maintain a suppression list
8. Log consent records and keep them for at least 4 years

Canada: CASL Is Not TCPA

If you contact numbers in Canada, CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) applies instead of TCPA. CASL requires express or implied consent, a clear unsubscribe mechanism, and identification of the sender. RealValidito’s phone validator identifies Canadian numbers and their carriers so you can apply the correct compliance framework automatically.

Validate Phone Numbers Before Every Campaign

RealValidito’s phone number validation API checks US and Canada numbers for line type, carrier, DNC status, TCPA litigator flags, and number status in a single API call. Get 1,000 free validation credits with no credit card required.