Federal Communications Commission Revises Rules on Fax Broadcasting

According to the Report and Order, an "established business relationship" no longer constitutes express permission to send an unsolicited faxed advertisement. Under the old rules, a merchant was allowed to fax information about a sale, new product, etc. to customers who had shopped with him before. The revised rules state that faxers must now "obtain the prior express invitation or permission of the recipient before transmitting an unsolicited fax advertisement. This express invitation or permission must be in writing and include the recipient's signature. The recipient must clearly indicate that he or she consents to receiving such faxed advertisements from the company to which permission is given, and provide the individual or business's fax number to which faxes may be sent." If a fax recipient does not reply to a request for written permission to send faxes, this does not imply that the recipient has consented to receive unsolicited faxes from a particular sender.

We do not permit or condone sending junk faxes. However, we do realize that some of our clients use the service to send out legitimate faxes to their customers, users, and business associates. We strongly urge you to review the revised rules and obtain express written permission from all of your fax recipients before faxing any unsolicited advertisements. We recommend that you follow the guidelines established by the FCC for obtaining the proper written consent. The revised rules were published in the Federal Register on July 25, 2003, and go into effect January 1, 2005, so you should obtain any necessary permissions ASAP if you plan to send a fax broadcast after 2004 when the rules go into effect. View the full text of the Report and Order: