Collecting Phone Numbers Offline: Trade Shows, QR Codes, and Checkout

A phone number collected in person isn’t the same as consent to be marketed to by text. The FCC has said that consumers who give a number for a limited purpose don’t necessarily expect marketing beyond it. A business that scans badges at a trade show or asks for a number at the register has to know what it told the person, and the records of that conversation are usually thin. Fixing that costs far less than defending a claim built on a conversation nobody wrote down.

Does handing over a number count as consent?

For some purposes it does, and for others it doesn’t. The FCC’s 2012 order is the place to start. It said that “Consumers who provide a wireless phone number for a limited purpose” and who gave oral consent to service calls “do not necessarily expect to receive telemarketing calls that go beyond the limited purpose for which oral consent regarding service calls may have been granted.” That is paragraph 25 of FCC 12-21.

The same order explains why marketing consent has to be written when an autodialer or recorded voice is used: “the existence of a paper or electronic record can be more readily verified and may provide unambiguous proof of consent.” And it kept a looser rule for informational calls, which “require either written or oral consent if made to wireless consumers.”

So the question to ask about any in-person collection is what the person agreed to. A number given to schedule a follow-up is good for that. It isn’t good for a promotional text series, unless the person was told that and agreed.

How do trade shows and badge scans fit in?

They sit in a gray area, and the safest approach is to avoid depending on them. A badge scan shows that a person allowed an exhibitor to capture contact information. It doesn’t show that the person agreed to texts. Unless the registration form or the scanner’s prompt said so, treating a scanned number as marketing consent is a stretch.

The Registry rules add a second layer. For numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry, a caller needs either an established business relationship or the person’s permission. The FCC’s definition of an established business relationship in 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(5) rests on “the subscriber’s inquiry or application regarding products or services offered by the entity within the three months immediately preceding the date of the call.” A person who stopped at your booth and asked about a product may have made an inquiry, which gives you a short window. The permission alternative is stricter: “Such permission must be evidenced by a signed, written agreement between the consumer and seller which states that the consumer agrees to be contacted by this seller and includes the telephone number to which the calls may be placed,” per § 64.1200(c)(2)(ii).

I’d treat the three-month inquiry window as the working limit on following up after a show, and I’d make sure the follow-up is timed and recorded accordingly.

Is a QR code a safe way to collect consent?

It can be a good one, if you design it well. A QR code that opens a text message to a keyword number turns the consumer’s own action into the first message. The FCC addressed the response to such a request in 2015: “a one-time text sent in response to a consumer’s request for information does not violate the TCPA or the Commission’s rules so long as it” is requested by the consumer, sent once and immediately, and contains only the requested information. That is in paragraph 106 of FCC 15-72.

That protects the reply, not what follows it. If the reply includes an offer, or if you then enroll the person in a campaign, you need real consent for the campaign. A better design uses the QR scan to start a short flow: the person texts the keyword, receives one message that shows your name, what messages they’ll receive, how often, and how to stop, and confirms. The confirmation is the consent, and the record is the thread. Put the disclosure on the sign itself. Photograph the sign with a date, because signage changes.

What about the checkout counter?

This is where many companies get hurt, because the request is verbal and the record is nothing. A cashier who asks for a number for the rewards program has not obtained marketing consent for a text series, and an employee entering the number into a field leaves no evidence of what was said. A tablet on which the customer types the number and checks a box that describes the messages is much better. The customer’s act is the record.

If the register uses a paper slip, the same principle applies: the slip should state what the customer is signing up for, carry the number, and be signed. The signed slip is the type of record the FCC described as more readily verified than oral consent.

Who should collect numbers, and what should they say?

Train whoever collects numbers to say the same thing every time, and keep the script short. At a booth, that might be a sentence on the badge-scan screen or the sign-up tablet. At a register, it might be a line on the card reader’s prompt. The wording matters less than the fact that it exists, is consistent, and was in use on the date of the collection.

I’d also separate the sign-up for service messages from the sign-up for marketing. A customer who wants a text when an order is ready has given you a narrow, useful consent. A customer who ticks a second box for promotions has given you a different one. Keeping them apart protects the first when a dispute arises about the second, and it matches the FCC’s own distinction between informational messages and telemarketing.

Contractors who work events for you deserve attention too. If a staffing agency runs your booth, its employees are collecting numbers in your name. Give them the script, check the records after the event, and put the retention duty in the contract so the sign-up sheets still exist when someone asks for them a year later.

What to preserve when an in-person collection claim arrives

1. Pull the form, sheet, scan record, or message thread that produced the number, with the date and location.
2. Photograph or retrieve the signage and the script in use that day, since a later version won’t prove what was shown.
3. Identify the employee or contractor who collected the number and any training they received.
4. Export every message sent to the number and the opt-out history.
5. Wait to respond to a demand letter or contact the person until a lawyer has reviewed the file.

The firm’s California TCPA defense page describes how these claims move through court. For related reading, see the earlier posts on text-to-join and double opt-in records and on sweepstakes texts and consent.

Questions businesses ask about in-person number collection

Can we text everyone whose badge we scanned?

Not safely on the scan alone. Unless the registration or scanner told the person that they would receive texts, the scan shows contact permission of an unknown scope. A follow-up text that asks them to opt in is a safer first message.

Is oral consent ever enough?

For informational messages to a wireless number, the FCC’s 2012 order allows oral consent, but proving it is hard. For autodialed or prerecorded marketing, the rule requires written consent.

How long can we follow up after someone asks about a product?

The established business relationship definition gives a short window after an inquiry. Calendar it from the date of the inquiry and stop when it ends unless you have the person’s permission.

Do we need a second confirmation if the person already texted our keyword?

I’d send one. The person’s own text shows interest, and the confirmation message that states what they will receive, how often, and how to stop turns that interest into a record of agreement. It also gives you a clean first message that complies with the one-time-reply guidance and carries no offer.

Does a QR code scan count as a signature?

The FCC allows electronic signatures that are valid under federal or state law. A scan by itself says little. The confirmation message and the disclosure tied to it carry the weight.

Defending claims over numbers collected in person

If your company has been sued or received a demand letter claiming it texted someone who only handed over a number at an event or register, the collection record and the signage will decide much of the case. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving in-person sign-ups and event leads. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a free and confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.

Sources

The statute is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act at 47 U.S.C. § 227. The FCC’s rules are at 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200, as published in the eCFR on June 7, 2026. The FCC orders are FCC 12-21 (Feb. 15, 2012) and FCC 15-72 (July 10, 2015).

This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of June 7, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Courts and the FCC change the rules in this area often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.