compliance
Express written consent
A signed, clear agreement from a person that you may call or text them with automated or recorded marketing, naming your company and the number you'll use.
Express written consent is a clear, signed agreement from a person saying you may contact them with automated or pre-recorded marketing calls and texts. It is the strongest form of permission, and in the US it is what the rules require before you send a Robocall or an automated marketing text to a mobile phone. A casual opt-in or implied interest is not enough for that kind of call; the bar is deliberately high.
Valid consent is specific. The agreement has to name your company, state plainly that the person agrees to receive automated calls, include the exact number being signed up, and not be buried as a condition of buying something else. A pre-ticked box, a vague "we may contact you" line in the fine print, or consent bundled into an unrelated purchase generally does not hold up. An e-signature on a web form usually counts if the wording is clear and the person took a deliberate action to agree.
Keep proof
The consent only protects you if you can show it later. Record the date, the exact wording shown on the page, and the Lead source for every number you load. The TCPA places the burden on the caller to prove consent, not on the consumer to prove they never gave it, so vague paperwork is a losing position in a dispute. Consent can also expire over time or be withdrawn at any moment, so honor every DNC (do not call) request the instant it comes in and stop dialing that number.
Consent is tied to a specific person and a specific number, so check the Reassigned Number Database (RND) before a campaign in case the number quietly changed hands. The Cellphone calling rule makes mobile numbers especially sensitive, since automated calls to a cell phone face the strictest treatment. This is a practical definition, not legal advice. Have your consent language and your record-keeping reviewed by a lawyer before you scale a campaign that depends on it.
Related terms
Cellphone calling rule
The cellphone calling rule requires prior consent before an autodialer or prerecorded message reaches a mobile number, separate from the rules for landlines.
DNC (do not call)
DNC (do not call) is a list of numbers VICIdial must never dial — people who opted out or are legally off-limits — checked before every outbound call.
Lead source
The origin of a lead, such as a web form, purchased data, or referral, tracked so you can measure which sources produce the best results.
Reassigned Number Database (RND)
A US lookup tool that tells callers whether a phone number has been given to a new owner since a date, so you do not keep calling someone who never consented.
Robocall
An automated phone call that plays a recorded message or dials by machine, often without a live agent on the line when the call connects.
TCPA
The TCPA is a US law restricting automated calls and texts, requiring consent before dialing cell phones with autodialers and limiting when and how often you may call.