CMS call recording requirements for 2026: what Medicare agencies must record and keep
Third-party marketing organizations must record every Medicare Advantage and Part D marketing and sales call in full and keep it at least 6 years: audio for years 1 to 3, then audio or a complete and accurate transcript for years 4 to 6. The TPMO disclaimer must be spoken before any benefits are discussed. CMS applies these policies to contract year 2027 marketing from October 1, 2026.
Published October 14, 2026. Sources checked October 14, 2026.
What changed in 2026
The duty to record Medicare marketing and sales calls is not new. CMS has long required recording of telephonic enrollment calls. Its May 2022 final rule (87 FR 27704) extended recording to all TPMO calls, and its April 2023 final rule (88 FR 22120) narrowed that to marketing, sales and enrollment calls. What changed is how long you keep the recordings, what format they must be in, and when the TPMO disclaimer is spoken. The changes come from the Contract Year 2027 final rule, published in the Federal Register on April 6, 2026 (91 FR 17384).
Six years, not ten
The regulation now reads: "All marketing and sales calls, including the audio portion of calls conducted via web-based technology, must be recorded and retained in their entirety for a minimum period of 6 years." The previous minimum was 10 years.
Audio first, then audio or transcript
"For the first 3 years of the retention period, records must be maintained in audio format. For years 4, 5, and 6, records may be maintained in either audio format or as complete and accurate transcript recordings."
The cut reaches old recordings
CMS said the shorter period also applies to recordings you hold today: "any marketing and sales portion of calls older than 6 years that are currently being retained would no longer need to be retained."
The disclaimer moves before benefits
The TPMO disclaimer must now be "Verbally conveyed during sales calls prior to the discussion of any benefits," replacing the earlier timing tied to the first minute of the call. References to a SHIP were removed from the disclaimer wording.
On dates: the Federal Register lists the rule as effective June 1, 2026 and applicable to coverage beginning January 1, 2027. Its executive summary says "the new marketing and communications policies in this rule are applicable for all contract year 2027 marketing and communications, beginning October 1, 2026." The recording provision carries no date of its own, so treat October 1, 2026 as the date your CY2027 marketing calls follow these rules, and confirm the rest with your compliance team.
Who the rule applies to
The rule applies to third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs) and to the Medicare Advantage and Part D plans that contract with them. CMS defines TPMOs as "organizations and individuals, including independent agents and brokers, who are compensated to perform lead generation, marketing, sales, and enrollment related functions as a part of the chain of enrollment."
The duty reaches you through your plan contracts. Under 42 CFR 422.2274(g)(2) and its Part D twin, 423.2274(g)(2), each plan's contracts and agreements with a TPMO must ensure the TPMO records and keeps those calls and uses the TPMO disclaimer. The plan is responsible for overseeing that you do.
It is not only for call centers. CMS rejected a request to limit recording to call center calls, saying "all sales and marketing calls should be recorded, not just those from call centers." An independent agent selling by phone is covered the same way as a hundred seat floor.
What must be recorded
Marketing, sales and enrollment calls, in their entirety. The May 2022 rule required TPMOs to record "all calls with beneficiaries in their entirety, including the enrollment process." The April 2023 rule narrowed that, because CMS found it too broad: it reached calls placed only to set up a meeting or to confirm a beneficiary received a plan welcome packet. As the 2026 rule describes it, CMS changed the regulation "to require only the recording of marketing, sales, and enrollment calls, including the audio portion of calls via web-based technology."
Marketing and sales calls
Recorded in full, including the audio of video or web meetings, and kept at least 6 years under the tiers above.
The enrollment portion
CMS kept this separate. Plans "are still required to record the enrollment portion of the call, as the recording in this instance serves as the enrollment form and provides proof that the beneficiary attested to their intent to enroll." Enrollment records keep their 10 year retention: the 2026 rule notes that "CMS has long required enrollment records to be maintained for 10 years," under the enrollment record rules at 42 CFR 422.504(e)(1)(iv) and 423.505(e)(1)(iv), with enrollment forms filed and retained under 42 CFR 422.60(c)(2). The enrollment portion starts when the beneficiary is told they are completing an enrollment request.
The rule does not define exactly where a sales call starts and ends. If you are unsure whether a call type counts, your compliance team decides, and recording a call you did not need costs less than missing one you did.
When the TPMO disclaimer and the recording notice must be given
The TPMO disclaimer applies to any TPMO "that sells plans on behalf of more than one MA organization." On sales calls it must be "Verbally conveyed during sales calls prior to the discussion of any benefits." There is no seconds count in the rule. The test is order: the disclaimer comes before benefits.
The wording is standardized content. If you do not sell for every MA organization in the service area, the disclaimer is:
"We do not offer every plan available in your area. Currently we represent [insert number of organizations] organizations which offer [insert number of plans] products in your area. Please contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE to get information on all of your options."
If you sell for every MA organization in the service area, it is:
"Currently we represent [insert number of organizations] organizations which offer [insert number of plans] products in your area. You can always contact Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE for help with plan choices."
What counts as a discussion of benefits? CMS said general remarks, such as that nearly all plans offer routine dental, are not necessarily one, while discussing benefit specifics to draw attention to a plan or influence a choice could be. It also said: "If there is no discussion of benefits, CMS would not expect TPMOs to provide the disclaimer to beneficiaries."
The recording notice is a different question. The CMS sections above require you to record; they do not set wording or timing for telling the caller. That comes from federal and state recording laws, which vary by state, so your compliance team sets the notice for each state you call into. Our Medicare and ACA call center script guide shows where the notice and the disclaimer sit in an opening.
Retention, indexing and retrieval
The rule sets how long and in what format. It does not say how to file recordings. A recording you cannot find on request does you little good, so the points below are practice, not regulation.
Tag every call
Store each recording with the agent, date and time, caller phone number, call type (marketing, sales, enrollment) and the plan or organization discussed. Link the enrollment portion to the enrollment record it supports.
Keep audio for 3 years, then decide
At year 3 you may keep the audio or move to a transcript. A transcript must be complete and accurate: CMS defines that as one that "documents the full recording, reflecting all statements made by the participants as it originally occurred." CMS said transcript summaries "are too limited," and enrollment attestations "provide even less information."
Test retrieval
Pull a call from last year on a schedule, and time how long the full recording takes to produce.
Delete on schedule
Marketing and sales recordings older than 6 years no longer need to be kept. Set the deletion schedule with your compliance team, and keep enrollment records on their own 10 year clock.
What an auditor checks
Plans must oversee their TPMOs. Under 422.2274(g), a plan "is responsible for ensuring that the TPMO adheres to any requirements that apply to the MA plan," and its contracts must ensure the TPMO reports to the plan monthly "any staff disciplinary actions or violations." Expect these questions from a plan or upline review:
Can you produce the full call? Every marketing and sales call, recorded in its entirety, including web calls, for at least 6 years.
Is it in the right format? Audio for years 1 to 3; complete and accurate transcripts only after that.
Did the disclaimer come before benefits? The reviewer listens for the standardized wording and checks that no benefit came first.
Is the Scope of Appointment complete? Under 42 CFR 422.2274(c)(9), plans must keep a system confirming that agents "appropriately complete Scope of Appointment records for all personal marketing appointments (including telephonic and walk-in)," and that enrolled beneficiaries understand the product.
Is the enrollment portion there? The recorded enrollment is the enrollment form, so it must exist and be kept with enrollment records.
Are subcontractors disclosed? Under 42 CFR 422.2274(g)(2)(i), TPMOs must disclose to the plan "any subcontracted relationships used for marketing, lead generation, and enrollment."
For how we review insurance calls against these items, see call center QA for insurance agencies.
A 10 point checklist for your own calls
Pull ten recent sales calls and check each one against this list. Points 1 to 8 come from the rule text above; points 9 and 10 are good practice.
- Every marketing and sales call is recorded from the first word to the last, including the audio of web calls.
- The TPMO disclaimer is spoken on sales calls before any benefit is discussed, not later in the call.
- The disclaimer uses the correct standardized wording for your situation, with current counts of organizations and products.
- Scripts no longer carry the old disclaimer wording that pointed callers to a SHIP; the current text names Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE.
- The enrollment portion of a phone enrollment is recorded and kept with your enrollment records.
- Marketing and sales recordings are kept as audio for the first 3 years.
- Any transcript used for years 4 to 6 is complete and accurate, never a summary or an attestation.
- Scope of Appointment records are complete for telephonic and walk-in appointments.
- Any recording can be found by agent, date and caller phone number within minutes, and a test pull is run on a schedule.
- Recordings past their retention period are deleted on a schedule your compliance team approves, and calls handled by AI say so at the start.
How we check this on your calls
If you would rather not do that by hand, send us 10 recorded calls for a free pilot. We score them against a checklist built from your script and the items in this guide, such as whether the TPMO disclaimer came before benefits and whether the call was recorded from the start. You get a call report for each one, with the time in the call and the evidence behind every finding, plus a summary. After the pilot, our call center quality monitoring platform runs from $95 per agent per month, English and Spanish included.
We can take calls too. An AI voice agent for Medicare agencies answers inbound calls in seconds, 24/7, says it is an AI, and warm-transfers qualified callers to your licensed agents. Nearshore live agents, provided through our partner call center, cover final expense call center outsourcing and never act as licensed agents. Our AI voice agents run under our AI voice agent compliance standards.
Sources
Quotes are from the eCFR (title 42, issue date October 9, 2026) and the Federal Register final rules listed below. Checked October 14, 2026.
- 42 CFR 422.2274, Agent, broker, and other third party requirements (Medicare Advantage)
- 42 CFR 423.2274, Agent, broker, and other third party requirements (Part D)
- 42 CFR 422.2267(e)(41), Third-party marketing organization disclaimer (Medicare Advantage)
- 42 CFR 423.2267(e)(41), Third-party marketing organization disclaimer (Part D)
- 42 CFR 422.2260, Definitions, including third-party marketing organization
- 42 CFR 422.504(d) and (e)(1)(iv), Maintenance of records and access to enrollment records (Medicare Advantage contract provisions)
- 42 CFR 423.505(e)(1)(iv), Access to enrollment records (Part D contract provisions)
- 42 CFR 422.60(c)(2), Filing and retaining election forms (Medicare Advantage)
- Federal Register, 87 FR 27704, May 9, 2022, Contract Year 2023 final rule (document 2022-09375)
- Federal Register, 88 FR 22120, April 12, 2023, Contract Year 2024 final rule (document 2023-07115)
- Federal Register, 91 FR 17384, April 6, 2026, Contract Year 2027 final rule (document 2026-06600)
Medicare call recording questions
What are the CMS call recording requirements for 2026?
Third-party marketing organizations must record every Medicare Advantage and Part D marketing and sales call in full, including the audio of web calls, and keep it at least 6 years. Audio is required for years 1 to 3; years 4 to 6 may be audio or a complete and accurate transcript. CMS applies its new marketing policies to contract year 2027 marketing from October 1, 2026.
How long must Medicare call recordings be kept?
Marketing and sales call recordings must be kept for a minimum of 6 years, down from 10. The first 3 years must be kept as audio. Enrollment records are a separate matter: the recorded enrollment portion of a call still serves as the enrollment form, and enrollment records keep their 10 year retention, so check which part of each call is which.
Do transcripts count for Medicare call recordings?
Only for years 4, 5 and 6 of the retention period, and only if the transcript is complete and accurate, meaning it documents the full recording and every statement made by the participants. CMS said in the final rule that transcript summaries and enrollment attestations do not provide enough detail, so they do not count. Years 1 to 3 must be audio.
Does the recording rule apply to calls handled by an AI voice agent?
Yes. The rule covers all marketing and sales calls and does not exempt calls handled by AI, so any part of a marketing or sales call an AI voice agent handles is recorded and kept the same way, and the TPMO disclaimer rule applies if benefits are discussed. Our AI voice agents do not sell or discuss plan benefits; they tell every caller they are speaking with an AI and warm-transfer qualified callers to your licensed agents.
Do I need to tell callers I am recording?
The CMS sections covered here set the recording and retention duty and the TPMO disclaimer, not the wording or timing of a recording notice. Whether and how you tell callers they are recorded is governed by federal and state recording laws, which vary by state. Your compliance team should set that notice for every state you call into.
What happens if I cannot produce a Medicare call recording?
A missing recording is a failure of a requirement your plan contracts impose. The rules covered here do not list a set penalty per missing file, but each plan is responsible for its TPMOs' compliance, and TPMOs must report violations to the plan monthly. A missing recording also means you cannot show what was said on the call. Check what your plan agreements say about gaps and corrective action.
This guide is a template only. Your compliance team approves anything you use, and it is not legal advice.
Check your calls against these rules
Send us 10 recorded calls and we score each one against these items, with the evidence behind every finding.