What is an automatic telephone dialing system?
An ATDS, or autodialer, is equipment that can store or produce phone numbers using a random or sequential number generator and dial them.
The legal definition
The TCPA defines an automatic telephone dialing system as equipment with the capacity to store or produce telephone numbers to be called, using a random or sequential number generator, and to dial such numbers. In 2021, the US Supreme Court held that to qualify, a device must have the capacity either to store a number using a random or sequential number generator or to produce a number using one. The Court noted that a broader reading would cover virtually all modern cell phones.
Why it matters for sales teams
The TCPA restricts calls made with an ATDS or an artificial or prerecorded voice to numbers assigned to cellular and certain other services, unless the called party gave prior express consent. It also bars using an ATDS in a way that engages two or more lines of a multi-line business at the same time. The rules on prerecorded and artificial voices apply whether or not an ATDS is used.
ATDS vs auto dialer
Auto dialer is an everyday sales term for many kinds of dialing software. ATDS is a legal definition. Whether a specific system is an ATDS depends on its capacity as the courts read the statute, which is a question for counsel.
This is a general definition, not legal advice.