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TCPA demand letter timeline worksheet
A TCPA matter is decided by dates as much as by facts. When the calls happened sets what is inside the four-year limitations period. When you were asked to stop sets willfulness. When the letter arrived sets the deadline. This sheet records every date in one place so the sequence is clear when a lawyer asks, and it will be the first thing they ask.
The clocks that are running
The deadline in the letter
Set by the sender, not by law. Missing it does not create liability on its own. What it does is end the pre-litigation stage: the file goes to whoever files, and the figure stops being negotiable on the same terms. An extension requested in writing before the deadline is often granted. An extension requested after it is a favour.
The four-year limitations period
TCPA claims use the four-year federal period in 28 U.S.C. § 1658. It is measured from the violation to the filing of a lawsuit, not to the letter. A call made three years and eleven months ago is still claimable today and will not be in two months. That is one reason a sender may move quickly on older calls and slowly on recent ones. Put your campaign start date on the sheet and your lawyer can tell you what is inside the window.
The stop request
If a listed number asked you to stop and you contacted it again, the gap between the request and the next contact is the number a court looks at when deciding whether the later call was willful. The FCC's rules require companies to honour do-not-call requests and maintain an internal list; the specifics of the time allowed to process a request depend on the rule and the date, so write down both dates and let your lawyer apply them.
The calling-hours window
Telephone solicitations are restricted to 8am to 9pm in the local time of the person called, under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1). If any listed call falls outside that window, note the time zone of the called number. It is a separate violation and easy to prove from the log.
Insurance notice
Policies set their own notice periods, often "as soon as practicable". Late notice can lose cover that would otherwise have applied. The date you notified, or decided not to after reading the exclusions, goes on the sheet either way.
Keeping it current
Add a line every time something happens. The sheet is useful in the first week and essential in month three, when the question becomes "when exactly did they agree to the extension?" and the answer is on one page rather than in four inboxes.
Short answers
What happens if I miss the deadline in the letter?
The sender treats the pre-litigation stage as over. Typically the matter is referred to litigation counsel, who may file. The deadline is not a legal limitation period, so a late response is still better than silence, but the terms available after referral are usually worse.
How long does a TCPA claimant have to sue?
Four years from each violation, under 28 U.S.C. § 1658, the default limitations period for federal claims created after 1990. The period is measured to the date a case is filed, not the date of the demand letter.
Does the deadline move if I ask for an extension?
Only if the sender agrees in writing. A short written request sent before the original deadline, giving a reason and a proposed date, is usually granted. Record both the request date and the written agreement on the sheet.
Can calls after 9pm be a separate violation?
Yes. Telephone solicitations are limited to 8am to 9pm local time of the called party under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(c)(1). Check the time zone of each listed number against the call time in your log.