How to Start a Lead Generation or Appointment-Setting Company in the USA from Abroad (2026), Without Visiting: LLC or C-Corp, EIN Without an SSN, Bank Account, TCPA Consent, Do-Not-Call, 10DLC Texting and State Telemarketing Rules

Lead generation is how a great deal of US business finds its customers, and much of it is done from outside the USA. Appointment setters in Manila book demos for SaaS companies in Austin. Agents in Santo Domingo qualify homeowners for roofing contractors in Florida. Marketers in Lisbon, Mumbai or Medellín run ads and landing pages that sell insurance and solar leads by the thousand. SEO teams build local websites that send calls to plumbers and lawyers.

Every one of these can be run without visiting the USA, through a US company. But lead generation, especially anything involving phone calls and texts to consumers, is one of the most heavily litigated areas of US law. A single campaign without valid consent can lead to a class action that dwarfs the revenue.

This guide covers the company set-up and the rules that matter, so you can build a lead business that US clients are comfortable buying from.

In short: You can form a US LLC or C-Corporation without visiting, get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN, and open a US business bank account remotely. Agencies whose callers and marketers work outside the USA usually owe no US federal income tax through a foreign-owned single-member LLC, but must file Form 5472. Before calling or texting US consumers, you need to know the TCPA (consent for autodialed and prerecorded calls and texts to mobiles, $500 to $1,500 per violation), the National Do-Not-Call Registry, state telemarketing laws and calling hours, and A2P 10DLC registration for business texting, which needs a tax ID such as your EIN. B2B appointment setting and cold email are far lighter than B2C consumer leads.

The main lead generation models

Choose your model with the compliance cost in mind. B2B work for software and service companies is the easiest place for a new offshore agency to start.

Can you set up a lead generation company in the USA without visiting?

Yes. These are all done remotely:

• Forming the LLC or corporation online with the state, through a registered agent
• EIN without an SSN or ITIN, by Form SS-4, processed manually for foreign owners
• US business bank account without visiting, with a bank or fintech that accepts non-resident owners
• US phone numbers, a dialler and a CRM, all cloud-based
• 10DLC brand registration for texting, using the company's EIN

Expect four to eight weeks for the company, EIN and bank account. See opening a US company without visiting and EIN for non-residents.

Banking and card payments

Banks and payment processors treat telemarketing and consumer lead generation as higher risk, and some will not accept them at all. B2B appointment setting is usually fine. Describe the business precisely, show your compliance policies, and read each processor's restricted business list. See why banks reject non-resident applications.

US LLC or C-Corp?

US LLC formation for a lead generation agency

A foreign-owned single-member LLC is disregarded for US tax. When your callers, SDRs and marketers work outside the USA and you have no US office or staff, your fees are for services performed abroad, so the LLC usually has no US federal income tax. It must file Form 5472 with a pro forma 1120 every year ($25,000 penalty if missed). See Form 5472 explained.

A Wyoming LLC with EIN is $249, or $348 with a bank account, then $121 a year.

US C-Corp formation for a lead generation business

A C-Corporation (21% federal tax) fits an agency that will hire US-based sales staff or callers, raise money, or buy and sell lead businesses. It also keeps any US liability inside a corporation that is clearly separate from you. A Delaware corporation with EIN is $358, then $578 a year. See LLC vs Inc.

Whichever you choose, keep the company's money and records strictly separate from yours. In TCPA cases, plaintiffs often try to hold owners personally liable.

The TCPA: the rule that shapes everything

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act sets the rules for calls and texts. Plaintiffs can sue for $500 per call or text, up to $1,500 if the violation was knowing or wilful, and class actions multiply that across every number dialled.

What needs consent

• Telemarketing calls or texts to mobile phones made with an autodialer or an artificial or prerecorded voice need the recipient's prior express written consent: a signed (including electronically signed) agreement that clearly authorises the seller to call or text that number with marketing.
• Prerecorded telemarketing calls to landlines need prior express written consent too.
• AI-generated voices count as "artificial" voices. The FCC confirmed this in February 2024, so AI voice agents calling consumers need consent.
• Manually dialled live calls to consumers who have not consented are not banned by the TCPA consent rules, but the Do-Not-Call rules still apply.

What changed in 2025

• The FCC's one-to-one consent rule, which would have required a separate consent for each seller, was struck down by a federal appeals court in January 2025. Consent can still name several sellers, but it must be clear and conspicuous, and a consent buried among hundreds of "partners" remains risky.
• In June 2025, the Supreme Court decided in McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson that courts are not bound by the FCC's interpretations of the TCPA. Courts may now read the statute differently across the country, which makes cautious practice more important, not less.

Proving consent

If you sell B2C leads, the lead is only as good as the proof of consent behind it. Keep, for every lead:

• the exact consent wording and the page it appeared on
• the date, time and IP address
• a session record from a third-party consent certification service, which many US buyers require

Do-Not-Call rules

• The National Do-Not-Call Registry lists numbers whose owners do not want telemarketing calls. Telemarketers must access the registry (each area code they call, for a fee after the first few), and scrub their lists at least every 31 days.
• You must keep an internal do-not-call list and honour requests not to be called again.
• Calling hours under federal law are 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time. Some states are stricter: Florida, for instance, limits sales calls to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and caps attempts per day.
• B2B calls to business numbers are largely outside the Do-Not-Call rules, but calls to a sole trader's personal mobile can fall inside them.

State telemarketing laws

Many states add their own rules: registration or licensing of telemarketers (often with a bond), stricter consent and calling-hours rules, and "mini-TCPA" laws with their own right to sue, such as Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act and laws in Oklahoma and Maryland. A call centre placing consumer sales calls into a state usually needs to check that state's registration requirements before the first call.

The FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule also applies to most consumer telemarketing, and since 2024 its ban on misrepresentations covers B2B calls too.

Caller ID and call blocking

• The Truth in Caller ID Act forbids displaying a misleading caller ID to defraud or cause harm. Display a real number that rings back to you or the seller.
• US carriers authenticate calls through STIR/SHAKEN. Calls entering the US network from abroad, or with poor attestation, are more likely to be labelled "Spam Likely" or blocked. Use a reputable US voice provider that signs your calls and registers your numbers.
• Rotate numbers to avoid blocking only within your provider's rules. Aggressive number rotation is a red flag to carriers.

Texting: A2P 10DLC

Business texts to US mobiles through ordinary 10-digit numbers must be registered under A2P 10DLC through The Campaign Registry. You register:

• your brand: company name, EIN and address
• each campaign: what you send, sample messages, how people opt in and how they opt out

Unregistered traffic is blocked or heavily filtered. Having a US company with an EIN makes brand registration straightforward. Texting consumers still needs TCPA consent, and every message should include an opt-out ("Reply STOP to stop").

B2B cold email and LinkedIn

For B2B appointment setting, email is often the main channel. The CAN-SPAM Act allows unsolicited commercial email in the USA if you:

• use accurate sender details and a non-deceptive subject line
• include a valid postal address
• offer a working opt-out and honour it within 10 business days

Penalties exceed $50,000 per email, but CAN-SPAM is far more permissive than European rules. Your real limits are deliverability (email providers' bulk-sender requirements on authentication and spam rates) and the platforms' terms, such as LinkedIn's limits on automation. Buying contact data? See our guide to data enrichment and database companies.

High-risk verticals

Some B2C verticals have their own regulators and enforcement history. Approach them with specialist advice, or avoid them as a new agency:

• Medicare and health insurance: federal marketing rules for Medicare plans, and heavy enforcement against fraudulent ACA enrolment leads
• Debt relief, credit repair and loans: federal and state consumer finance rules
• Legal services and mass torts: state bar rules on solicitation
• Solar and home improvement: state consumer protection and contractor rules, and many TCPA suits

Getting paid and contracts

• Agree what counts as a billable lead, call or meeting: for example a meeting that is attended, or a call over 90 seconds.
• Set return rules for bad leads, and the window for returns.
• Put compliance responsibilities in writing: who obtains consent, who scrubs against Do-Not-Call, who keeps records.
• Clients pay by ACH to your US account. Give them a W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E if you are a foreign-owned single-member LLC, or a W-9 from a corporation. See W-8BEN-E vs W-8BEN and receiving payments from US clients.

Running the team abroad

• Callers and SDRs working from your country are typically employed by your home-country company or engaged as contractors. With a home-country company, use an intercompany agreement and record related-party payments for Form 5472.
• Contractors paid directly by the US company give a W-8BEN. Their work abroad needs no US withholding and no Form 1099. See paying contractors abroad.
• Train callers on scripts, disclosures and opt-out handling, and record calls where the law allows. Some US states require all-party consent to recording, such as California, Florida and Washington, so tell callers to announce recording.

Worked examples

These are illustrative examples, not client stories.

A B2B appointment-setting agency in Manila. Andrea's agency provides SDRs to US SaaS companies at a monthly retainer per SDR plus a bonus per meeting held. It forms a Wyoming LLC with an EIN and a US bank account, uses US numbers from a provider that signs its calls, and emails prospects under CAN-SPAM. All SDRs are in the Philippines, so the LLC has no US income tax; it files Form 5472 yearly.

A home-services call centre in Santo Domingo. A Dominican company calls homeowners who requested roofing quotes on its clients' websites, then transfers them live. It forms a Delaware C-Corp, registers its texting brand and campaigns under 10DLC with the EIN, stores a consent record for every lead, scrubs against the Do-Not-Call Registry every 31 days, and checks Florida's and Texas's telemarketing registration before calling there.

A pay-per-call SEO team in Pune. Rahul's team builds local websites for plumbing and pest control in US cities, and routes the calls to local businesses for a monthly fee. It forms a US LLC to invoice the businesses and hold the tracking numbers. Inbound calls from consumers who chose to call are outside the outbound TCPA rules, which makes this one of the lighter-regulated lead models.

Common mistakes

• Calling or texting consumer mobiles from bought lists without written consent.
• AI voice calls to consumers without consent.
• Not scrubbing against the Do-Not-Call Registry every 31 days.
• Texting without 10DLC registration, then wondering why messages vanish.
• Spoofed or rotating caller IDs that get numbers blocked and break the law.
• No written split of compliance duties between you and the client.
• Mixing personal and company money, which makes it easier to pursue the owner.

Frequently asked questions

Can I start a lead generation company in the USA from the Philippines or India without visiting? Yes. The company, EIN and bank account are all set up remotely.

Do I need an SSN or ITIN for the EIN? No. A foreign owner applies on Form SS-4.

Do I need a US company to register for 10DLC texting? Brand registration needs a business tax ID. A US company with an EIN makes it straightforward.

Is B2B cold calling legal in the USA? Generally yes, with live manual calls to business numbers, honest caller ID and opt-out handling. Consumer calls, autodialers and prerecorded or AI voices are where the strict rules apply.

Will my US LLC pay US tax if all my callers are abroad? Usually not, if there is no US office or staff. It still files Form 5472 each year.

How UCB can help

We form US LLCs and C-Corporations for lead generation and outbound sales agencies outside the USA, get the EIN without an SSN, and help open a US business bank account without visiting, through our formation, EIN and bank account package. Each year we prepare Form 5472 with the pro forma 1120, Form 1120 or Form 1065, through our US tax filing service. We do not give TCPA or telemarketing advice, register telemarketers or set up 10DLC campaigns.

Starting a lead generation agency for US clients? WhatsApp us at +1 315 961 2956 or email enquiries@ucbsolutions.com.