Medicare call recording requirements: What call centers need to know in 2026

If your contact center markets or sells Medicare Advantage or Part D plans, call recording isn't optional. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) requires these calls to be recorded in full, and the rules around those recordings changed again for the 2027 contract year, effective October 1, 2026.

This guide covers what CMS currently requires, what changed, and how Medicare plan providers and the call centers that sell on their behalf can put the right processes and technology in place. It's a general overview, not legal advice. Review the current CMS rules and guidance with your compliance team before making changes.

Medicare call recording requirements at a glance

• What must be recorded: all marketing, sales, and enrollment calls for Medicare Advantage and Part D plans, in their entirety, including the audio portion of calls held through web-based technology.

• Who it applies to: third-party marketing organizations (TPMOs), including independent agents and brokers, and the Medicare Advantage and Part D plans that contract with them.

• Disclaimer timing: on sales calls, the TPMO disclaimer must be conveyed verbally before any discussion of plan benefits.

• Retention: marketing and sales call recordings made on or after October 1, 2026 must be kept for at least six years. Audio is required for the first three years, and a complete and accurate transcript can be kept in place of the audio for years four through six.

Who do Medicare call recording requirements apply to?

The requirements apply to TPMOs: organizations and individuals who are compensated to perform lead generation, marketing, sales, or enrollment functions for Medicare Advantage or Part D plans. That includes independent agents and brokers, call centers, and other entities in the chain of enrollment.

Medicare Advantage organizations and Part D sponsors are responsible for making sure the TPMOs that work on their behalf follow these rules. In practice, plans build the requirements into their TPMO contracts and oversight processes, so call centers that sell on behalf of multiple plans often need to meet the same standards for each one.

CMS first extended call recording requirements to TPMOs in a rule that took effect in October 2022. A later rule narrowed the scope to marketing, sales, and enrollment calls, and the 2027 rule updated the disclaimer and retention requirements covered below.

Which Medicare calls need to be recorded?

Under CMS's TPMO requirements, marketing, sales, and enrollment calls must be recorded in their entirety. That includes the audio portion of calls conducted through web-based technology, such as virtual meetings, not just traditional phone calls.

Calls that don't involve marketing, sales, or enrollment, such as routine member service questions, don't have to be recorded under this rule. In practice, a service call can turn into a sales conversation, so many call centers choose to record all calls on Medicare sales lines rather than rely on agents to start recording at the right moment.

CMS outlines these requirements in its annual guidance for plans, agents, and brokers, including the Medicare marketing guidelines and agent and broker training guidelines.

What changed for the 2027 contract year?

CMS's final rule for contract year 2027 included several marketing and communications changes that took effect October 1, 2026, at the start of the annual enrollment season. Two of them directly affect how call centers handle recorded calls.

TPMO disclaimer timing and wording

TPMOs must give beneficiaries a standardized disclaimer explaining that they don't offer every plan available in the area and directing them to Medicare.gov or 1-800-MEDICARE for information on all of their options.

Two things changed:

• Timing: previously, the disclaimer had to be read within the first minute of a sales call. Now, it must be conveyed verbally before any discussion of plan benefits. The trigger is the start of the benefits conversation, not a set time on the clock.

• Wording: the reference to State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) was removed, so the disclaimer now points beneficiaries to Medicare.gov and 1-800-MEDICARE.

Call centers should update scripts, call flows, and agent training to reflect both changes, and confirm the exact disclaimer language in current CMS guidance or with the plans they represent.

Call recording retention

CMS also shortened how long marketing and sales call recordings must be kept. For recordings made on or after October 1, 2026:

• Recordings must be retained for at least six years, down from ten.

• Audio must be kept for the first three years.

• For years four through six, a complete and accurate transcript can be kept in place of the audio.

Other records, such as enrollment documentation, may be subject to separate retention requirements, and plans may set stricter contractual terms. Check both before changing your retention settings.

What call centers still need to get right

While some details changed, the core expectations stayed the same:

• Record every in-scope call in full, including web-based calls, without gaps when calls are transferred between agents or departments.

• Read the disclaimer consistently at the right point in the conversation.

• Store recordings securely and make sure you can find and produce a specific call when a plan or CMS asks for it.

• Monitor compliance, not just record it. Recordings only help if someone, or something, checks that agents followed the rules.

How Medicare call centers can stay compliant with the right technology

Manual processes, like asking agents to start recordings or having supervisors spot-check a handful of calls, can leave gaps. The right contact center software can help automate the parts of call center compliance that are easiest to miss.

With Dialpad Support for contact centers, Medicare sales teams can:

• Record calls automatically. Admins can turn on automatic call recording for contact centers so in-scope calls are captured from the start, without relying on agents to remember.

• Transcribe every recorded call. Dialpad AI creates transcripts of recorded calls, which makes calls easier to search and review, and can support the transcript option for later years of the retention period.

• Check for required disclosures. QA scorecards can help supervisors evaluate whether agents covered required language, like the TPMO disclaimer, without listening to every recording from start to finish.

• Set data retention policies. Admins can configure retention policies for call recordings and transcripts to align with their compliance requirements.

• Back up and export recordings. Contact center recordings can be backed up to your own cloud storage, and recordings can be exported when you need to respond to a plan or regulator request.

If your organization runs both inbound service lines and outbound sales teams, Dialpad Sell offers the same recording and transcription foundation for agents and brokers who make outbound calls.

Don't forget state call recording laws

CMS requirements sit alongside state laws on call recording consent. Some states require only one party to consent to a recording, while others require all parties to consent. Medicare call centers that serve beneficiaries in multiple states should make sure their recording notices and consent practices meet the strictest applicable requirements, and review them with counsel.

Keep Medicare calls compliant as the rules evolve

CMS updates its marketing and communications rules regularly, and the 2027 changes are a reminder that call scripts, training, and retention settings need periodic review. Building compliance into your call center's technology, rather than relying on manual checks, can make those updates easier to manage.

Dialpad brings calling, the contact center, sales tools, and AI together on one AI platform for customer experience, so insurance teams can record and review conversations consistently and turn them into operational insight. Contact center compliance covers broader requirements beyond Medicare, from PCI to TCPA.