This TCPA compliance checklist helps portfolio company leaders organize evidence about consent, calls, texts and opt-out handling. It separates wording visible on public forms from records and workflows that need authorized access. Use it to prepare a review with counsel and assign follow-up work; the checklist is a legal reference, not legal advice.
In short
- Review the public lead form, then trace consent through calls, texts and follow-up.
- Consent records and proof that opt-outs reached the calling and texting systems need authorized access.
- Legal reference, not legal advice. Counsel decides which rules apply to the target and its campaigns.
The TCPA compliance checklist for calls and texts.
Use this checklist to organize the evidence for a consent and opt-out review. Public pages show the wording a customer sees; records from inside the target are needed to show what happened afterwards.
Capture the consent wording shown on public lead forms, with the page and observation date. Preserve the wording for counsel’s review.
Map the public inquiry path from form or phone number to response and follow-up. Record where calls and texts enter that path.
List the calling and texting campaigns, their purpose, and whether they use an autodialer, prerecorded voice or AI-generated voice. Ask counsel which consent requirements apply.
Match sampled calls and texts to the consent record and the wording presented when consent was collected. Send missing records and wording questions to counsel.
For AI-voice calls, request evidence of the prior express consent required by the FCC ruling, including written consent where required for telemarketing. Have counsel assess any claimed exception.
Trace an opt-out from receipt to suppression in the calling and texting systems. Retain the request and the evidence of when it was honored.
Identify the systems and vendors that pass consent and opt-out information between lead collection and follow-up. Ask for records that show the handoff.
Assign an owner to each confirmed consent or opt-out gap. Keep unresolved legal questions flagged for counsel and retest the affected follow-up path after a fix.
Source: Meo Advisors checklist. As of October 2026.
This checklist supports compliance due diligence. Legal reference, not legal advice.
How to get TCPA compliant?
Start by identifying the target’s call and text practices, then have counsel determine the requirements that apply. Use the checklist to gather the consent and opt-out evidence, correct confirmed gaps and verify the affected follow-up path.
- Capture the public consent wording and map the customer’s inquiry and follow-up path.
- Request the campaign inventory, consent records and opt-out evidence with authorized access.
- Ask counsel to review the legal questions, including the consent required for each campaign.
- Give each confirmed gap an owner, record the fix and verify that it reaches the calling and texting systems.
A completed checklist is an evidence record for review. It does not establish that a business or campaign complies with every applicable rule.
What is the key requirement for TCPA compliance?
Consent is central to this checklist: the target needs evidence of the consent required for its covered calls and texts. AI-generated voices fall within the FCC’s artificial or prerecorded voice rules; counsel should assess the consent requirement and any exception for the particular campaign.
Review the wording a person saw alongside the consent record. A public form alone cannot show that a later call had the required consent.
Who must comply with TCPA?
Businesses making calls or sending texts should assess whether the TCPA applies to their practices, especially when marketing or using an autodialer, prerecorded voice or AI-generated voice. Counsel determines how the rules apply to the target’s campaigns.
The diligence review records the public wording, the systems used and the evidence available. It flags a legal question when the requirement or the consent record is unclear.
How fast must an opt-out be honored?
For the requests covered by the cited rule, the target must honor an opt-out within a reasonable time, no later than 10 business days. Record both the receipt of the request and when the calling and texting systems honored it.
The cited limit is a ceiling, not a waiting period. Counsel should confirm the rule that applies to the particular calls and texts.
Where does the checklist test follow-up?
The response and follow-up steps are where consent and opt-outs meet the customer experience. A mystery shop can record the replies a customer receives; authorized records are needed to connect those replies to consent and suppression evidence.
| Step | What we test | TCPA check |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Find | The right number in listings, ads and AI answers | |
| 2. Inquire | Forms, numbers and chat | |
| 3. Connect | Answer and routing, including after hours | |
| 4. Respond | First-reply speed | TCPA check |
| 5. Follow up | Cadence, consent and opt-outs | TCPA check |
| 6. Book | Confirmed booking or sale |
Mystery shops use real or simulated customers, agreed with the sponsor and run within the deal’s NDA.
Which TCPA checklist items need access?
Campaign inventories, consent records, opt-out logs and evidence from the calling and texting systems need authorized access. Public consent wording can be reviewed from outside, but it cannot establish how the target’s internal records and systems work.
Keep missing records as open questions and name the evidence needed to resolve them. Legal findings go to counsel, with the wording, timestamps and records behind the finding.
Copy the TCPA checklist into your review.
Select and copy the checklist text into your working document. Keep the area and access tags, then add the evidence, status, owner and counsel question for each item.
Put consent findings beside the other diligence areas in the private equity due diligence checklist. Use the IT due diligence checklist for internal systems and vendor evidence, and the cybersecurity due diligence checklist for external exposure and authorized testing boundaries.
Meo Advisors Editorial writes and maintains this page. Its numbers are Meo Advisors’ own statements or cited external benchmarks, and every mock is labelled Illustrative. See the editorial policy and corrections process.