Generally, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) prohibits calls to a wireless number using an Automatic Telephone Dialing System (ATDS) without prior express written consent. However, there is a limited safe harbor in cases where a landline number was recently ported to a wireless number without prior knowledge from the marketer.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) 2015 Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) Omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order established a one-call safe harbor for reassigned phone numbers. This safe harbor applied to situations in which callers mistakenly called a phone number for which they had previously received consent but had since been reassigned to another person. Because consent is tied to the called party and not the phone number, the phone call in this situation would be considered a violation.

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) contains a private right of action, which means a private individual is legally entitled to enforce the statute, often in small claims court. As a result, TCPA violations are enforced through individual lawsuits and class actions. This is the primary enforcement mechanism for the TCPA but it is also possible that states can initiate civil actions against offenders. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also has the authority to assess penalties for TCPA violations. Those penalties could be as high as $26,000 per violation.

Consent applies to the called party. So, if a number is reassigned to a different person, whatever consent you may have had for that number is no longer valid. Because the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is a strict liability statute—meaning violation is not contingent on fault or criminal intent—any call placed to a recycled number is a potential TCPA violation.

In certain circumstances, utilities are exempt from following the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) usual consent requirements. Namely, they are allowed to use the less stringent standard of implied consent if they are a bona fide non-profit or when sending non-marketing messages. Examples of such messages would be information about such topics as emergencies, circumstances where services will be shut off, and service notifications.

In certain circumstances, schools are exempt from following the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s (TCPA) usual consent requirements. Namely, they are allowed to use the less stringent standard of implied consent if they are a bona fide non-profit or when sending non-marketing messages. Examples of such messages would be information about such topics as emergencies, school closures, and unexpected absences.

No. While there are exemptions to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) that may apply to some non-profit organizations depending on the content of the messages, there is no blanket exemption. Non-profits are still required to abide by the strictures of the TCPA.