If you buy insurance leads, the TCPA one-to-one consent rule has been the most disruptive regulatory story of the last two years. The FCC adopted the rule on December 13, 2023, pushed the effective date to January 27, 2025, and then — three days before it was to take effect — the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit vacated the rule in Insurance Marketing Coalition Ltd. v. FCC on January 24, 2025.
The aftermath has been messy. Some lead vendors walked back their one-to-one infrastructure investments. Others kept them in place. Carriers and agents are asking the same question: what should we actually do in 2026?
This guide is the answer we give every agency owner who asks. It is written by a licensed professional but is not legal advice — always run final consent workflows past your own TCPA counsel.
Current Status of the One-to-One Rule
As of this writing in 2026, the FCC one-to-one consent rule is not in force. The Eleventh Circuit's January 24, 2025 ruling held that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority under the TCPA when it interpreted "prior express written consent" to require separate consent for each individual seller and a logical-and-topical-relationship test.
The ruling means that the pre-2023 prior express written consent (PEWC) standard continues to govern, as it has since the FCC's 2012 Declaratory Ruling and implementing rules.
What Actually Changed January 24, 2025
The vacated rule would have required two specific things that are no longer mandatory:
- One-to-one consent: Consent would have had to identify the specific seller by name. Multi-seller consent (for example, "up to 5 partner insurance agencies") would have been invalid.
- Logical-and-topical relationship: The telemarketing call would have had to be logically and topically associated with the website where consent was captured.
Neither of these requirements is currently in force. However — and this is the part most agents miss — the underlying TCPA statute has not changed. The core requirement of PEWC for auto-dialed or pre-recorded marketing calls to cell phones continues in full force.
Prior Express Written Consent Is Still Required
PEWC under 47 CFR 64.1200(f)(9) still requires:
- A clear and conspicuous disclosure that the consumer agrees to receive marketing calls or texts at the specified number
- Disclosure that consent is not a condition of purchase
- A signature (electronic is acceptable under E-SIGN)
- Identification of the seller or sellers to whom consent is given
The statutory damages for TCPA violations are unchanged: $500 per violation, $1,500 for willful or knowing violations. Class actions remain the dominant enforcement mechanism. Vacatur of the one-to-one rule does not reduce this exposure — it simply removes the stricter FCC interpretation.
What Insurance Agents Should Still Do
Our recommendation to every agent and agency we advise is simple: operate as if one-to-one were still in force. Here is why.
- Plaintiffs' bar is active. TCPA class actions continue at high volume. Named-seller consent is the defense posture that wins motions to dismiss.
- States are moving independently. Florida's FTSA, Oklahoma's mini-TCPA, Washington CEMA, and other state statutes impose their own consent requirements. Some state standards are stricter than pre-2023 federal TCPA.
- Reinstatement risk is real. The FCC could re-propose the rule with a more defensible statutory basis. Agents who tore down their one-to-one infrastructure will scramble to rebuild.
- Carrier requirements. Several major Medicare Advantage and final expense carriers contractually require one-to-one-equivalent documentation from their downline agents regardless of FCC rule status.
Documenting Consent From Lead Vendors
When you buy a lead, the vendor should be able to hand you — not just claim — the following for every lead:
- URL where the form was submitted
- Full disclosure language as it appeared to the consumer
- List of sellers named in that disclosure (if shared consent) or confirmation that your business is the sole named seller (if one-to-one)
- Timestamp of consent with IP address
- TrustedForm or Jornaya LeadiD certificate token
- Opt-in method (checkbox state, click-through button label)
If a vendor cannot produce this package on demand, you should not be buying from that vendor. Price is not a substitute for documentation.
TrustedForm and Jornaya LeadiD
TrustedForm (ActiveProspect) and Jornaya LeadiD (Verisk) are the two dominant consent capture platforms. Both generate tamper-evident certificates that record:
- A session replay or screenshot of the consent page
- The exact disclosure text as rendered to the consumer
- The consumer's actions (scroll, click, checkbox state)
- IP, user agent, and timestamp
A certificate token alone is not evidence. The certificate must be retained (TrustedForm allows up to 5-year retention) and must be retrievable in discovery. Budget $0.05-$0.20 per lead for retained certificates — this is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.
Audit-Ready Workflow Checklist
Every agency should be able to satisfy the following on any lead in their database:
- Retrieve the full consent certificate within 5 minutes
- Identify the seller(s) named on the consent
- Confirm the consumer was not on the national or state DNC at time of call (mandatory for wireline calls even with consent; 31-day DNC scrubs are a floor)
- Show call recordings for the relevant time period (many states including California and Florida require two-party consent)
- Produce the agent training record on TCPA, DNC, and state-specific rules
- Produce the outbound dialer configuration proof (abandonment rate under 3%, caller ID truthful under STIR/SHAKEN)
Agencies that cannot meet this bar are exposed. The help-center TCPA and DNC guide has our recommended operational setup.
What Happens If the Rule Is Reinstated
The FCC could take one of several paths: re-propose with a narrower scope, appeal further, or pass the issue back to Congress. The Commission's 2025-2026 agenda suggests the one-to-one concept is not dead.
If a functionally similar rule is reinstated:
- Agents already operating one-to-one will experience zero disruption
- Vendors who dismantled their infrastructure will need 60-120 days to rebuild
- Spot-market CPL will spike during the rebuild because compliant inventory will shrink
- Agencies that negotiated right-of-first-refusal on one-to-one inventory will benefit
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the FCC one-to-one consent rule still in effect in 2026?
No. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the rule on January 24, 2025. Pre-2023 TCPA prior express written consent requirements continue to govern.
Can I buy shared leads again now that one-to-one was vacated?
You can, but the TCPA exposure of shared-consent leads remains higher than named-seller consent. Many carriers and IMOs contractually prohibit shared consent regardless of FCC rule status.
Do I still need TrustedForm or Jornaya certificates?
Yes. Certificate-backed consent is the evidentiary standard in TCPA litigation. Do not buy leads without a retained certificate token.
What about state laws like Florida FTSA or Oklahoma's mini-TCPA?
State laws are independent of the FCC rule. Florida, Oklahoma, Washington, and several other states impose their own consent requirements, some stricter than federal TCPA. Your consent workflow must satisfy the strictest applicable law in any state you call.
If the rule comes back, how much notice will agents get?
Rulemakings typically provide 60-180 days between Federal Register publication and effective date. The prior one-to-one rule gave 12 months. Do not count on a long runway if the FCC reissues.
Does this affect live transfer leads differently?
No. Live transfers are subject to the same PEWC requirements because the original inquiry that generated the transfer was captured under a consent disclosure. The fact that the call is warm does not change the consent analysis.
Are there any new rules agents should be tracking in 2026?
Watch the FCC's STIR/SHAKEN enforcement and the ongoing Mobile Marketing Association / CTIA guidance on A2P 10DLC text messaging. Carriers are tightening A2P registration and throughput requirements in ways that affect lead follow-up sequences.
Stay One-to-One Ready
The safest posture in 2026 is to operate as if one-to-one consent were still required, because the cost of maintaining that posture is low and the cost of rebuilding after reinstatement is high. If you want us to review your consent workflow and vendor documentation, reach out or book a 30-minute call.