Can you call and text roofing leads legally?

This page is general information, not legal advice. State laws can be stricter than the federal rules below, and courts and agencies change the rules. Talk to a lawyer about your own calls and texts. We name no state here, so check the rules where your homeowners live.

The four questions to answer before you dial

1. What did the homeowner agree to? Which words did they see, what did they sign or tick, and did that cover your company and the way you are about to contact them?
2. Is the number on a Do Not Call list? The national registry, and your own list of people who told you to stop.
3. What time is it where they live? Not at your office.
4. Has anyone said stop? By any method, to any person on your team or to your lead seller.

The rest of this page works through those four, then email, then what a mistake can cost.

What applies to which channel

Two things the table cannot settle for you: whether your texting or dialing tool counts as an autodialer, and whether a given number is personal or business. Ask your lawyer and your software vendor.

Consent: what the rule says and what to keep

For a marketing call or text that falls under the written-consent rule, the FCC's text, read through Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute on October 13, 2026, defines it as an agreement in writing, bearing the signature of the person called, that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver the messages. In plain terms:

• It covers a phone number the person gave.
• The person cannot be required to sign it, directly or indirectly, as a condition of buying anything.
• An electronic or digital signature counts if federal or state law recognizes it.

When a lead arrives, you want to be able to show five things: the exact consent wording the homeowner saw, the time they agreed, the phone number they gave, how they agreed (a tick box, a signature field), and the page it happened on. Some lead sellers also keep a third-party certificate that records the visit. Ask yours what it keeps and whether you can get a copy. With a HomeAnvil roofing lead, the homeowner agrees to be contacted on the last step of the quote form, and we record when they agreed. Keep that record with the lead.

If you cannot produce proof, treat the lead as one you may not text or autodial, and ask your lead seller to supply it before you do.

Shared leads and the consent chain

A shared lead goes to several companies. The question is whether one homeowner agreement covers all of them. We covered the history in exclusive vs. shared leads. The short version, checked against the primary sources today:

• In December 2023 the FCC adopted a rule that would have required consent to name one seller at a time.
• On January 24, 2025, the Eleventh Circuit, in Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited v. FCC, No. 24-10277, vacated that part of the order and sent it back to the FCC. The court held that the FCC had exceeded its authority because the rule conflicted with the ordinary meaning of "prior express consent."
• The FCC rule text we read today has no one-to-one language. It refers to the seller.

That does not mean a long list of companies behind a small link is safe. The court's reasoning was about common-law consent, which must be clear and given beforehand. A homeowner who never saw your company's name or a clear sharing disclosure is a weak position to defend. Ask any seller of shared leads which companies the homeowner saw named, and whether you are one of them.

One stricter case: for prerecorded sales calls, the FTC's guide to its Telemarketing Sales Rule says the seller needs a signed written agreement that covers only the single named seller, not affiliates or marketing partners, and that the seller must get it directly, not through a lead generator. If any of your outreach uses a prerecorded voice, that rule is the one to check first. An AI-generated voice is a separate question to put to your lawyer.

The National Do Not Call Registry

What the FTC and FCC pages we read say:

• What it covers. Personal numbers, cell phones included. Business numbers are not covered. A registration does not expire.
• How often you scrub. Sellers and telemarketers must remove registry numbers from their call lists at least every 31 days. A registry version older than 31 days does not meet the rule. The FTC says a newly registered number can still get sales calls for up to 31 days.
• The inquiry exception. For live calls (not robocalls), the FTC says an established business relationship exists for three months after a consumer's inquiry or application, and for 18 months after a purchase. It belongs to the seller, not its affiliates. Whether a form filled out through a lead seller counts as an inquiry to your company is a question for your lawyer. The consent record above matters here too, because the FCC rule also allows a call with the person's signed, written permission.
• Your own list. The FCC's rule requires a written policy for your own do-not-call list, honoring each request promptly, and keeping it for five years. The FTC rule requires its own entity-specific list as well.

The FCC's safe harbor helps if a call goes to a listed number by mistake. You must be able to show written procedures, training and a registry version no more than 31 days old. The FTC says its entity-specific list and a documented process for avoiding listed numbers are part of its safe harbor too. Write the procedure down before you need it.

STOP and other opt-outs

The FCC's rule says a person can revoke consent by any reasonable method that clearly expresses a wish not to get further calls, and that you cannot designate one exclusive way to ask. A STOP reply to a text counts. The rule sets a fixed, short time to honor it, so read the current text with your lawyer. Do not use the whole allowance as a plan. Put the number in your CRM the moment the reply arrives, and make sure everyone who dials or texts uses the same list.

The rule may change. An FCC draft order dated September 9, 2026, circulated for the commission's September 30, 2026 meeting, would let callers designate an exclusive way to revoke and narrow what a revocation covers. It is a draft that says it does not constitute official action. We could not confirm today whether it was adopted, so read the current rule before you design around it.

Also tell your lead seller. If a homeowner replies STOP to you, the seller may need to know so the number is not sold or routed again.

Hours

The FCC's rule bars telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party's location. Use the lead's address, not your office. Some states set shorter windows. We name none, so look up yours.

Email

CAN-SPAM covers commercial email, and the FTC says it makes no exception for business-to-business email. The FTC's compliance guide lists: accurate header and sender information, a subject line that matches the content, a clear label that the message is an ad, a valid postal address, a clear way to opt out, and honoring an opt-out promptly, within the time the rule sets. You cannot hand off the duty to a vendor. Each violating email can carry a penalty of up to $53,088. Transactional messages, such as an appointment confirmation the homeowner asked for, get lighter treatment, but the FTC says a message that mixes commercial and transactional content may be treated as commercial. This guide does not cover text messages under CAN-SPAM.

What a mistake can cost

• TCPA, autodialed or prerecorded calls and texts. 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3) lets a person sue, where state law allows, for actual loss or $500 for each violation, whichever is greater. A court may raise that up to three times for a willful or knowing violation.
• TCPA, Do Not Call. Under 227(c)(5), a person who gets more than one call in 12 months from or for the same entity in breach of the rules can sue for up to $500 per violation. A defense exists for a company that built and followed reasonable procedures with due care.
• FTC. A call to a number on a seller's own do-not-call list can carry a civil penalty of $53,088 per violation, the FTC says.

These figures show why proof and procedures matter more than speed.

Keep it proportionate

You do not need a compliance department to call a roofing lead. You need five habits: keep the consent record with each lead, scrub on a schedule, check the clock where the homeowner lives, honor stops at once, and write your procedure down. Some buyers also screen numbers against lists of repeat plaintiffs. That is a business choice, not a duty we found in the sources below.

Our terms, in brief

Exclusive leads

Each new lead goes to one contractor only during your exclusivity window; after it, a lead may be offered again, under the terms the homeowner saw.

No contract term

A prepaid balance your card tops up when it runs low. No cancellation fee. Pause or stop any time.

Credits for bad leads

Report a wrong number or out-of-area lead within 7 days, unless your agreement says otherwise. Accepted returns are credited back.

Your ZIPs, your cap

Choose the ZIP codes you serve and how many leads you want each week.

Our full pricing and terms

Frequently asked questions

Where this information comes from

We read each source on October 13, 2026.

• FCC rule 47 CFR 64.1200, via Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute: definition of prior express written consent, revocation by any reasonable method, no exclusive means, calling hours, registry safe harbor, internal list rules.
• 47 U.S.C. 227, via Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute: private right of action and the $500 damages for autodialed and prerecorded calls, and for do-not-call violations.
• Insurance Marketing Coalition Limited v. FCC, No. 24-10277, opinion of the Eleventh Circuit, filed January 24, 2025: vacating Part III.D of the 2023 order.
• FTC, Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule: established business relationship periods, the 31-day scrub, entity-specific list, prerecorded-call agreements, civil penalty.
• FTC, National Do Not Call Registry FAQs: personal numbers, cell phones, no expiry, business numbers not covered, up to 31 days.
• FTC, CAN-SPAM Act: A Compliance Guide for Business: requirements, opt-out handling, B2B coverage, penalty.
• FCC, September 9, 2026 fact sheet and draft order, CG Docket No. 02-278: the draft revocation changes, and its statement that the TCPA requires prior express consent for robocalls to wireless numbers.
• Not read: the FCC's own page on its July 2025 removal of the one-to-one language, which returned an access error. Our statement about the current rule text rests on the eCFR text read via Cornell.

We will update this page when these sources change, and the date above will say when.