Is ringless voicemail legal? The FCC rule, explained

What the FCC ruled on ringless voicemail

The FCC ruled that a ringless voicemail is a call. A message dropped straight into a mobile voicemail box counts as a call made with a prerecorded voice, so the TCPA applies. The order is FCC 22-85, adopted 11/14/2022 and released 11/21/2022, in CG Docket No. 02-278.

A ringless voicemail (RVM) is a recorded message delivered to a voicemail box without ringing the phone. The vendor in the case, All About the Message, argued that its software made a "landline to landline" session with the carrier's voicemail server, so no call reached the consumer. The FCC rejected that. Paragraph 1 of the order says ringless voicemail to wireless phones "requires consumer consent because it is a 'call' made using an artificial or prerecorded voice."

The FCC gave three reasons:

• It had already treated texts sent through a carrier's server as calls, and the effect on the recipient is the same.
• The TCPA bars prerecorded voice calls "irrespective of the type of technology used."
• Drops cannot be blocked, and consumers must listen to them to delete them.

The petition itself was withdrawn in 2017. The FCC ruled anyway because of more than 8,000 comments and heavy litigation. The agency analyzed drops under the prerecorded voice rule, so the autodialer question did not matter. Read the full order at the FCC.

The federal floor: wireless, landline and business numbers

Marketing drops to mobiles need prior express written consent. Prerecorded marketing calls to residential landlines need the same. Business-to-business calls are treated differently under the FTC rule but not under the FCC mobile rule. The FCC's text is 47 CFR 64.1200.

Mobile numbers. Section 64.1200(a)(1)(iii) bars prerecorded calls to cellular numbers without consent. Section 64.1200(a)(2) requires prior express written consent when the call includes an advertisement or is telemarketing. Written consent means a signed agreement that authorizes the seller to deliver messages by prerecorded voice to a stated number (64.1200(f)(9)).

Residential landlines. Section 64.1200(a)(3) bars prerecorded calls to a residential line without prior express written consent. It exempts emergency calls and, within a limit of three calls in 30 days, non-commercial calls, commercial calls that are not advertising or telemarketing, and calls by tax-exempt nonprofits. Healthcare messages covered by HIPAA are also exempt. The FCC ruling addresses wireless numbers only. No FCC order decides whether a drop onto a landline voicemail box is a call, so this page treats it as a prerecorded call under (a)(3). That is our reading of the rule text, not an FCC holding.

The FTC layer. The Telemarketing Sales Rule, 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(v), allows prerecorded sales calls only when the seller has a signed written agreement from the recipient that includes the number. That agreement cannot be a condition of purchase.

B2B. The FTC rule exempts calls "between a telemarketer and any business to induce the purchase of goods or services" (16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)). The exemption keeps the misrepresentation bans in 310.3(a)(2) and (a)(4) and excludes retail sales of nondurable office or cleaning supplies. The FCC mobile rule has no such exemption. A drop to an owner's personal mobile is a drop to a wireless number.

What each scenario requires

The table maps common sends to the consent they need. It follows the rule text above and is not a safe harbor for any one fact pattern.

Scenario	Consent needed	Cite
Marketing drop to a consumer mobile	Prior express written consent	47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)
Marketing prerecorded message to a residential landline	Prior express written consent	47 CFR 64.1200(a)(3)
Prerecorded sales call to any consumer under FTC rule	Signed written agreement with the number	16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(v)
Drop to a registered Do Not Call number	Written permission or established business relationship	16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii)(B)
Drop to a business landline, B2B sale	No FTC consent rule; FCC (a)(3) covers residential lines only (our reading)	16 CFR 310.6(b)(7)
Drop to an owner's personal mobile, B2B sale	Prior express written consent	47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)
Informational drop, no advertisement, to a mobile	Prior express consent	47 CFR 64.1200(a)(1)(iii)
Drop to a Florida number	Signed written consent naming the number	Fla. Stat. 501.059

Every marketing drop to a consumer also falls under the calling-hours rule of 8am to 9pm at the called party's location (64.1200(c)(1)).

State law: Florida and where to look next

Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act is the clearest state rule on drops. Section 501.059(8)(a) bars an unsolicited sales call that involves an automated dialing system or "the playing of a recorded message when a connection is completed" without prior express written consent. The definition of written consent covers a call, text message or voicemail transmission.

The consent must be signed, name the number, and carry a clear notice that signing is not a condition of purchase. Damages are actual damages or $500, whichever is greater, and a court may treble them for a willful or knowing violation (501.059(10)). Texts have a separate 15-day STOP-notice step before suit.

This page cites only Florida by statute. Other states restrict recorded or automated calls, and several allow private suits. The cold calling laws by state page lists the state overlays. Check each target state's statute before sending, and see telemarketing penalties for enforcement.

What changed in the last 24 months

Three changes since 10/2024 affect how drops are litigated and honored. None changes the 2022 ruling itself.

• 01/24/2025. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC's one-to-one consent rule in Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277. The older prior express written consent standard still applies.
• 04/11/2025. The revocation rule took effect. Consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable method, and callers must honor it within 10 business days (64.1200(a)(10)). Pressing a key on a prerecorded message to opt out counts as a reasonable method. The FCC delayed only the part that makes one opt-out cover unrelated messages, now to 01/31/2027 (DA 26-12).
• 06/20/2025. The Supreme Court decided McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson, 6 to 3. District courts no longer must follow an FCC interpretation of the TCPA. They give it appropriate respect and decide the meaning themselves.

The third change creates a defense argument, not a safe harbor. A court could read "call" differently from the FCC. Until one does so for drops in your circuit, treat the 2022 ruling as the working rule. See consent revocation rules for the opt-out mechanics.

Penalty exposure

Private plaintiffs can recover $500 per violation, and a court may raise that to three times the amount for a willful or knowing violation (47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3)). Each message is a separate violation. The FTC can seek up to $53,088 per violation under the Telemarketing Sales Rule. The FCC assesses forfeitures under 227(b)(4).

Worked example for a 5,000-number drop with no valid consent:

Line	Calculation	Result
Statutory damages, base	5,000 x $500	$2,500,000
Statutory damages, if trebled	$2,500,000 x 3	$7,500,000

Those figures show the ceiling a class could claim. Courts have discretion on trebling, and real outcomes vary. The FCC's own order cites past FCC forfeitures of $225,000,000, $9,918,000 and $9,997,750, each for illegal spoofed robocalls (footnote 3). For how penalties stack across statutes, read TCPA explained and the hub at compliance.

The single policy that clears all of it

One policy covers every row in the table:

• Send drops only to numbers with signed written consent that names your company, the channel (prerecorded voice or voicemail) and the number.
• Do not make consent a condition of purchase. Say so on the form.
• Get consent directly from the consumer. Do not rely on a purchased list.
• Scrub against the National Do Not Call Registry at least every 31 days (16 CFR 310.4(b)(3)(iv)) and your own suppression list daily.
• Send between 9am and 8pm in the recipient's time zone, inside the federal window.
• Open the message with your name and business, and give a toll-free callback number with an opt-out.
• Honor any stop request, by any method, within 10 business days. Doing it the same day is safer.
• Keep the consent record, timestamp and source for every number.

This policy applies the strictest rule found above in each category. It is stricter than the federal text for B2B landlines, on purpose. For the operating side, see ringless voicemail prospecting. To estimate how many consented-eligible owners sit in a market, check the homeowner counts or the markets index.

Next step

If you plan a drop campaign, size the audience first. Request counts for your markets and compare them to the consent you hold.

This page is a plain-English summary with sources, not legal advice. Last reviewed 10/10/2026.

Questions people ask

Q01Can I rely on consent my list seller or drop vendor collected?

No, not for prerecorded sales messages. The FTC says the seller must obtain the written agreement directly from the consumer and cannot place prerecorded calls to people whose information came from third parties. Collect the consent on your own form, naming your company and the number.

Q02Can I send ringless voicemail to a business phone line?

Often yes, with care. The Telemarketing Sales Rule exempts most business-to-business calls, but the FCC rule on prerecorded voice to cellular numbers has no business exemption. A business owner's mobile is a wireless number, so written consent applies there.

Q03Does the FCC ruling bind courts after McLaughlin?

Not automatically. The Supreme Court held on 06/20/2025 that district courts decide the statute's meaning themselves and give FCC views appropriate respect. The 2022 ruling still carries weight. Until a court in your circuit reads "call" differently for drops, treat the ruling as the working rule.

Q04Is a voicemail drop a text or a call for Florida's law?

Neither label matters. Florida's definition of written consent expressly covers the transmission of a prerecorded voicemail, and the statute bars playing a recorded message without that consent. A drop to a Florida number therefore needs signed written consent that names the number.

Q05What does a compliant ringless voicemail contain?

It states your name and business, a callback number, and an easy way to opt out. FCC rule 64.1200(b)(3) requires a toll-free callback number reaching an opt-out mechanism on prerecorded messages left on voicemail. Honor any stop request within 10 business days.

Sources

1. FCC 22-85, Declaratory Ruling and Order, All About the Message, LLC (CG Docket 02-278) (adopted 11/14/2022, released 11/21/2022)docs.fcc.gov
2. 47 CFR 64.1200, delivery restrictionslaw.cornell.edu
3. 47 U.S.C. 227, restrictions on telephone equipmentlaw.cornell.edu
4. 16 CFR 310.4, abusive telemarketing actslaw.cornell.edu
5. 16 CFR 310.6, exemptions (business-to-business)law.cornell.edu
6. FTC: Q&A for telemarketers about the DNC provisions of the TSRftc.gov
7. Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, Fla. Stat. 501.059leg.state.fl.us
8. FCC DA 26-12, Order extending the 64.1200(a)(10) waiver (confirms 04/11/2025 effective date; revoke-all part delayed to 01/31/2027)docs.fcc.gov
9. McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson, No. 23-1226 (U.S. 06/20/2025)law.cornell.edu
10. Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC, No. 24-10277 (11th Cir. 01/24/2025)media.ca11.uscourts.gov