What compliance requirements do I need for lead generation?

At minimum, US lead generation businesses need TCPA-compliant consent flows (documented proof that the consumer agreed to be contacted), state-specific marketing regulations for regulated verticals like insurance and finance, and a consent verification system like ActiveProspect TrustedForm. Non-compliance is not a fine — it is a business-ending event. TCPA violations carry penalties of $500-1,500 per unsolicited contact, and class-action lawsuits in this space routinely reach seven figures.

TCPA compliance: the non-negotiable baseline

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act requires prior express written consent before making telemarketing calls or sending texts to consumers. In lead generation, this means every form submission must include clear disclosure language, an affirmative opt-in (not a pre-checked box), and a recorded timestamp of consent. The FCC's December 2025 update to the one-to-one consent rule (effective January 2026) tightened this further: consumers must now consent to each specific seller, not a blanket list of partners.

According to the TCPA litigation tracker maintained by WebRecon (2025), TCPA lawsuits averaged 3,800+ filings per year over the past five years, with average settlements ranging from $5-15 million for class actions. Individual statutory damages of $1,500 per willful violation make even small-scale non-compliance expensive.

Consent verification infrastructure

The industry standard for documenting consent is ActiveProspect TrustedForm (which acquired Jornaya LeadID, now consolidated under ActiveProspect as of January 2026). TrustedForm captures a certificate for every form interaction — recording what the consumer saw, what they clicked, and when they consented. This certificate is the evidence you produce when a buyer disputes consent or a regulator asks for proof.

Stealth Labz infrastructure runs ActiveProspect TrustedForm + Jornaya LeadID across all lead generation verticals, with TCPA-compliant consent flows built into every form and state-specific insurance marketing compliance for regulated verticals. POPIA compliance is also built in for South Africa operations through PRJ-05.

State-specific requirements for insurance and finance

If you generate leads in insurance, you must comply with state Department of Insurance regulations. Some states require lead generators to hold a producer license or operate under a licensed entity. Financial services lead generation falls under CFPB oversight, and leads involving credit products must comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) and state lending regulations.

According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), 23 states updated their lead generation regulations between 2024 and 2025, with increasing focus on disclosure requirements and consent documentation. The trend is toward stricter enforcement, not looser.

What this means operationally

Compliance is not a checkbox — it is infrastructure. Your lead capture forms, consent documentation, data storage, and delivery systems all need to be built with compliance requirements embedded. PRJ-01 handles this through its compliance stack integrated into the lead lifecycle: consent verification at capture, suppression and blacklist checking (306,676 entries) at routing, and audit logging throughout. The system processes leads through 8 lifecycle stages with documentation at every step.

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Related: What makes a lead 'qualified' in lead generation?

References

1. WebRecon (2025). "TCPA Litigation Statistics." TCPA lawsuit filing and settlement data.
2. Federal Communications Commission (2025). "One-to-One Consent Rule Update (FCC 23-107)." Regulatory update effective January 2025.
3. National Association of Insurance Commissioners (2024-2025). "Lead Generation Regulation Tracker." State-level regulatory changes.
4. Keating, M.G. (2026). "The Compounding Execution Method: Complete Technical Documentation." Stealth Labz. Browse papers