On Saturday, July 9, the President signed the Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 (S. 714) into law. The bill maintains the “established business relationship” (EBR) exception that allows associations and companies to send unsolicited commercial faxes to their members and clients. 

In addition to restoring the EBR, the fax bill requires that all unsolicited commercial faxes include an opt-out provision on the first page of the fax, providing a cost-free, 24-hour means for the recipient to request to be removed from the fax distribution list; requires that fax numbers be obtained either directly from the recipient or from a public source to which the recipient gave the number for publication (i.e., a Web site, advertisement or directory); and “grandfathers” in fax numbers in the possession of the sender at the time of enactment.

In anticipation of the passage of S. 714, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued an immediate six-month stay on their pending regulations that would have eliminated the EBR exemption for unsolicited advertising faxes altogether.

What It Means to Agents:  The enactment of S. 714 signals a major win for PIA’s grassroots campaign, which was launched so that agents could continue to conduct business via fax without having to obtain permission from clients before sending any fax that could be considered an advertisement. In addition, Congress has now recognized the importance of applying the EBR exemption to all means of communication with one standard set of rules. PIA will continue to provide members with up-to-date reports as this issue continues to progress.

July 12, 2005