AEP Compliance Checklist for Agents: What to Verify Before Your First Appointment
Before AEP appointments, agents should confirm they're ready to sell with each carrier, use the current scope-of-appointment process, give the required TPMO disclaimer, record calls where required, and keep consumer materials approved.
Quick answer:
Ready to sell, carrier by carrier. Licensed, appointed and certified for 2027.
SOA before every personal marketing appointment. No 48-hour wait for 2027. Still in writing for in-person.
TPMO disclaimer before benefits. Not "within the first minute" anymore, and the SHIP reference is gone.
Record marketing and sales calls. Keep them at least 6 years, audio for the first 3.
Approved materials only. No cold contact.
This checklist is one piece of my AEP 2027 playbook for Medicare agents. For the why behind each rule, read my guide to SOA, the TPMO disclaimer and call recordings. This one you print.
Several rules changed for 2027. The CMS contract year 2027 final rule applies to "all contract year 2027 marketing and communications, beginning October 1, 2026." CMS's posted marketing guidelines still date to March 2022, so I cite the regulations.
This is not legal advice. Verify every item with your carrier and upline.
Ready-to-sell confirmation
"Ready to sell" is carrier language, not a CMS term. The CMS rule behind it: to represent an MA or Part D plan, you must be licensed and appointed under state law where required, and trained and tested every year with a score of 85 percent or higher (42 CFR 422.2274(b)). Plans may only pay agents who meet those requirements.
No certification, no commission.
Check each carrier portal for 2027 status in every state and product you'll write. CMS's 2027 training and testing guidelines cover the new SOA rules, so this year's certification tests the changes. Brock partners can find contracting and certifications on our agent resources page.
Marketing for 2027 plans could start October 1 (422.2263(a)), and the enrollment period on Medicare.gov runs October 15 to December 7.
Scope of appointment: what to verify this year
The rule now reads: "Prior to the personal marketing appointment, the MA plan (or agent or broker, as applicable) must agree upon and record the Scope of Appointment with the beneficiary(ies). The Scope of Appointment must be in writing for in-person personal marketing appointments" (42 CFR 422.2264(c)(3)(i)).
What changed for 2027:
No 48-hour wait. CMS eliminated it and its two exceptions. The appointment can happen any time after the SOA.
Inbound counts. CMS's training guidelines require an SOA for inbound contact too, "including walk-ins, unscheduled calls and web-based chats, and web-based forms."
Small group means related or same household. Unrelated people, like a book club, each need their own SOA.
SOAs at educational events are allowed again.
What didn't change: the SOA lists at least the product types you'll discuss, it's valid 12 months, new lines need a new SOA, and no non-health products such as annuities. For phone or virtual appointments, CMS says a recording or electronic record works. CMS's example: an SOA for 2026 plans doesn't cover 2027 plans.
TPMO disclaimer: when and how
If you sell for more than one MA organization or Part D sponsor, the disclaimer applies (42 CFR 422.2267(e)(41); 423.2267(e)(41)). If you don't sell for every organization in the area, the current standardized text 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."
A second version applies if you sell for every organization. Your counts have to be true for the client's area.
Sales calls: "Verbally conveyed during sales calls prior to the discussion of any benefits." It used to be the first minute. CMS said the mere mention of a benefit isn't a discussion of benefits.
Email and chat: conveyed electronically.
Websites and materials: prominently on your site and in print and TV materials.
The SHIP reference came out of both versions for 2027, per CMS's summary of the 2027 marketing changes. If your script still says SHIP or "first minute," fix it.
Call recording and retention
Current text: "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. 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" (422.2274(g)(2)(ii); 423.2274(g)(2)(ii)).
That's down from the 10 years CMS previously expected. Enrollment is different: plans "are still required to record the enrollment portion of the call," since it serves as the enrollment form, and enrollment records are now kept 6 years too, under the change that took effect October 1, 2026.
Ask your upline: who stores the recordings, and how do you pull one when a carrier asks?
Marketing materials and events
Multi-plan materials a TPMO builds need prior review by each plan, and nothing goes out until it's approved, deemed approved or accepted under File and Use (422.2261). No "free" for a $0 premium, no implied CMS endorsement and no Medicare card image without CMS authorization (422.2262).
Event rules (422.2264(c)):
Educational events are advertised as educational. No plan-specific marketing and no applications. You can answer attendee questions and collect reply cards and SOA forms.
Marketing events can follow an educational event if attendees are told and get "a sufficient opportunity to leave." No required sign-in sheets and no cherry-picking health screenings.
No meals regardless of value. Gifts must be nominal and never cash (422.2263(b)).
More in my Medicare agent marketing playbook.
Unsolicited contact rules
Unsolicited mail, print and email (with an opt-out) are fine. Unless the person asked, you can't (422.2264(a)):
Go door to door or leave information, unless they missed a scheduled appointment.
Approach people in parking lots, hallways or lobbies.
Send social media direct messages.
Cold call, robocall, text or leave voicemails. That includes referral calls, calls to sales-event attendees without express permission and calls confirming a mailer arrived.
Returning a call or calling someone whose reply card asked for contact isn't unsolicited. Keep proof of the request.
Documentation habits that protect you
Compliance is not paperwork. It's proof.
One client file. SOA, permission to contact, recording location, enrollment confirmation.
Same-day notes. What you discussed and what you didn't.
Doctor checks in writing. My provider network verification routine shows how.
Approval records for every ad, flyer and script.
Plans must have a system to confirm agents complete SOA records (422.2274(c)(9)). Make the audit easy.
Printable checklist
Before AEP
Licensed and appointed in every state you'll write.
2027 certification done, 85 percent or higher, ready to sell in every carrier portal.
Recording on for phone and video, storage confirmed.
Disclaimer script updated: no SHIP, before benefits, accurate counts.
Every ad, flyer, email and web page approved, with the disclaimer.
Before each appointment
SOA recorded, product types listed, in writing if in person.
Contact was requested or permitted, never cold.
During each appointment
Disclaimer before any benefits discussion.
Stay inside the SOA. New line, new SOA. No annuities.
After each appointment
Notes, SOA and recording linked in the client file.
Enrollment confirmation saved.
FAQs
Do I need a scope of appointment for every AEP meeting?
For every personal marketing appointment, in person, phone or virtual, no matter who started it. Group marketing events don't need one. In-person SOAs must be in writing.
When do I give the TPMO disclaimer?
On sales calls, before any discussion of benefits. It also goes in email, chat, websites and marketing materials. The regulation sets no separate in-person timing, so follow your carrier's process.
Do I have to record calls?
Yes. Plan contracts must require TPMOs to record all marketing and sales calls, including web-based audio, and keep them at least 6 years. The enrollment portion of a phone call is recorded too. Confirm storage with your upline.
Is the 48-hour SOA rule still in effect?
No. CMS eliminated it and its exceptions for 2027 marketing starting October 1, 2026. You still need the SOA first.
The Bottom Line
The rules got simpler this year. Not looser.
Get ready to sell. Get the SOA. Say the disclaimer before benefits. Record it and keep it.
Questions on your AEP compliance setup? Book a call and we'll walk through it with you.
