Glossary
TCPA Violations & Fines
How much is a TCPA fine per call?
Short answerTCPA statutory damages are $500 per call or text made with an autodialer or prerecorded voice without the required consent (§ 227(b)), and up to $500 per Do Not Call violation (§ 227(c)(5)). A court may raise either to up to $1,500 per violation where the conduct was willful or knowing. There is no cap on the total, and the plaintiff does not need to prove any financial loss. Separately, the FTC can seek civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation of the Telemarketing Sales Rule.
Checking a whole list? Preview 20 rows of it free →
On this page
The numbers
| Route | Amount | Brought by |
|---|---|---|
| TCPA autodialer or prerecorded voice, § 227(b)(3) | $500 per call or text, or actual loss if greater | Private plaintiff or class |
| TCPA Do Not Call, § 227(c)(5) | Up to $500 per violation, after more than one call in 12 months | Private plaintiff or class |
| Either, willful or knowing | Up to $1,500 per violation | Private plaintiff or class |
| TSR civil penalties | Up to $53,088 per violation | FTC |
| State telemarketing laws | Varies; some stricter than federal | State AGs and private suits |
The Telemarketing Sales Rule figure is normally adjusted for inflation each year -- it rose from $51,744 to $53,088 in the 2025 adjustment, and the FTC held it there for 2026. Check the FTC's current published amount rather than relying on a number quoted in an article, including this one.
Why totals get large
Three features of the statute compound:
- No proof of loss required. Statutory damages attach to the violation itself, so a plaintiff who suffered no harm still recovers.
- Per-message accrual. Under § 227(b), each call or text is its own violation.
- No aggregate cap. Nothing in the statute limits total exposure.
Multiply those together against a campaign list and the arithmetic is unforgiving. A single autodialed SMS blast to 20,000 numbers without the required consent carries a theoretical § 227(b) exposure of $10 million at the base rate, before any trebling -- which is why these cases settle, and why the settlements are large.
A Do Not Call claim over the same texts is smaller and less certain. It is worth up to $500 per violation, it needs more than one message to the number within 12 months, and in the Seventh Circuit it cannot be brought over texts at all after Steidinger v. Blackstone (July 2026). A federal court in Oregon has held the other way, so a sender to a national list should not rely on it.
Quick check: what a violation costs
Pick an answer to see whether it is right, and why.
Common violations
- Marketing robocall or robotext to a mobile without prior express written consent, as the FCC's rule requires. The Fifth Circuit held in Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control (February 2026) that the statute asks only for prior express consent, oral or written, and does not enforce the written requirement.
- Calling a number on the National Do Not Call Registry without consent or an established business relationship.
- Ignoring an internal do-not-call request.
- Failing to honour a revocation within 10 business days, the limit since April 11, 2025, which now also applies to a company-specific do-not-call request (previously 30 days).
- Calling outside 8am–9pm in the consumer's time zone, or breaking a stricter state rule (see telemarketing calling hours by state).
- Transmitting inaccurate or unreachable caller ID.
- Calling a reassigned number where consent belonged to the prior subscriber.
What reduces exposure
Documented consent, a maintained internal do-not-call list, DNC scrubs at least every 31 days, and a litigator check before each campaign. None of these is a guarantee, but the presence of a documented process is also what argues against a willfulness finding -- so the records matter twice.
Frequently asked questions
What makes a violation 'willful or knowing'?
The statute does not define "willfully or knowingly", and courts apply it differently. Calling after an opt-out, ignoring an internal do-not-call entry, or continuing a campaign after a complaint are the kinds of facts that support trebling.
Documented compliance processes cut the other way, which is a practical reason to keep scrub records rather than just run scrubs.
Can individuals sue, or only regulators?
Both. The TCPA's private right of action lets any recipient sue directly in state or federal court, without involving a regulator. That is what distinguishes it from most consumer statutes and what drives the class-action volume. TCPA lawsuits covers who files them and how the two claims differ.
How long do I have exposure for?
The TCPA carries a four-year statute of limitations. Retain consent and scrub records for at least that long -- they are the evidence you will need, and their absence is itself damaging.
Is each text a separate violation?
Under § 227(b), yes: each autodialed or prerecorded call or text sent without the required consent is its own violation, which is how per-message damages compound into large aggregate numbers across a campaign-sized list. Courts generally treat a text as a call there; the Ninth Circuit held it in Howard v. RNC (January 2026).
Under the Do Not Call provision, § 227(c)(5), no. A claim needs "more than one telephone call within any 12-month period by or on behalf of the same entity" to a number on the Registry, and whether a text counts at all is now contested: the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone (July 2026) that § 227(c)(5) "does not permit plaintiffs to sue for the receipt of unwanted texts", while a federal court in Oregon held the opposite in Wilson v. Skopos (2025). Where a plaintiff files changes the answer.
- 47 U.S.C. § 227 (Cornell LII)
- Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, No. 25-2398 (7th Cir. 2026)
- Wilson v. Skopos Financial, No. 6:25-cv-00376 (D. Or. 2025)
- Howard v. Republican National Committee, 164 F.4th 1119 (9th Cir. 2026)
- Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control of TX, No. 24-20379 (5th Cir. 2026)
- FTC -- Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule (penalty amount)
- FTC -- Inflation-Adjusted Civil Penalty Amounts for 2025