This page explains where overflow leads come from, who works them, which fields matter most once the real-time window has passed, and what to check in the consent record before anyone calls. Delivery method and terms for overflow MVA leads are set during onboarding, by email.
What overflow MVA leads are
In Summit’s real-time ping/postPing/postA real-time selling method in which a lead is pinged to buyers with partial data, buyers bid, and the winning bidder receives the full lead by post. Glossary auction, buyers whose filters and remaining caps match the lead receive a ping, reply with a bid or a decline, and the winning bid receives the full lead by post. A lead that no buyer wins in that auction leaves it unsold. Those leads are overflow MVA leads.
The lead itself does not change when the auction ends. The claimant’s answers, the contact details and the consent record stay exactly as they were captured at submission. What changes is time: an overflow lead reaches its buyer later than a lead sold in the auction, and the fields below let the buyer see how much later.
Before an MVA leadMVA leadA motor vehicle accident lead: a person injured in a car, motorcycle, commercial vehicle or rideshare accident who is looking for legal help. Glossary is offered in the auction, it is checked against the quality bar described on car accident leads: documented injury, clear or favorable liability, recency, representation, contact data and consent.
Who buys overflow MVA leads
Overflow MVA leads are for operations that work leads after the real-time window rather than in the first minutes after submission. In practice that means:
- Buying desks that run several injury campaigns and have intakeIntakeThe process a law firm or its intake team uses to screen a potential client, collect the facts of the accident and injury, and decide whether to take the case. Glossary capacity beyond what their real-time campaigns fill.
- Aggregators whose clients accept leads by their own recency rules, measured from the accident date rather than from the minute of submission.
- Intake and call teams that follow up by phone over several days and are set up to confirm each claimant’s situation on the first call.
Buyers that need a claimant in the first minutes after submission should buy in the real-time auction instead: see car accident leads and MVA leads. How Summit works with desks in general is on aggregators and buying desks.
What comes with each overflow MVA lead
An overflow lead carries the same fields as the sample car accident lead: the claimant’s contact details, state, ZIP code, city and county, the eight accident and injury answers, and the consent record fields. The sample page lists each field with its meaning and an invented example. For an overflow buyer, these fields carry the most weight:
| Field | What it tells an overflow buyer |
|---|---|
| submission_time | The original date and time the claimant submitted the form. It does not change when the auction ends, so it shows how old the lead is when it reaches you. |
| accident_date | When the accident happened. Read it together with submission_time to see how long ago the accident was. |
| represented | Whether the claimant said they already had a lawyer, as answered at submission. |
| doctor_treated, injury, serious_injury | The claimant’s answers about treatment and injury at the time of the form. |
| tcpa_text, ip_address, landing_page_url | The consent record: the opt-in language the claimant saw, the device’s IP address and the page where the form was submitted. |
The full field specification, with formats and required fields, is sent during onboarding.
Reading the age of an overflow lead
Because overflow leads arrive after the real-time window, a buyer needs two time measures for each one, and both come from the lead’s own fields:
- Time since submission: the gap between submission_time and the moment the lead reaches your system. This is how long the claimant has waited since asking for help.
- Time since the accident: the gap between accident_date and submission_time, plus the time since submission. Recency rules on car accident leads are based on how long ago the accident happened, so this is the measure a recency rule applies to.
Every answer on the lead describes the claimant on the day of submission. A claimant who had no lawyer then may have hired one since, and treatment may have started or ended. For that reason, confirm representation and treatment on the first call, before any other step. State filing deadlines, which differ by state, are on each state page: see car accident leads by state.
Consent on overflow MVA leads
Each overflow lead carries the consent record captured at submission: the opt-in languageOpt-in languageThe consent disclosure shown next to the submit button on a lead form. Glossary the claimant saw, the submission timestamp, the IP address and the page URL. The record is not refreshed after the auction. Buyers review it against their own use before contacting the consumer, for example who the language allows to make contact, by which means, and whether the time since submission matters for the way they plan to call or text.
For the rules behind those questions, see TCPA compliance for MVA leads, TCPA consent and record keeping for TCPA consent. Store the consent record with Summit’s lead ID, so the record behind any overflow lead can be found later.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Whether a consent record supports your contact with a claimant after the real-time window is a question for your own counsel.
How to start buying overflow MVA leads
Email the team
Use the button on this page. Tell us your states, your recency rules, how your team works leads after submission, and the delivery method you prefer.
Set delivery and terms
Delivery method and terms for overflow MVA leads are set during onboarding and agreed in writing before going live.
Map the fields
Your developer maps the fields from the specification, including submission_time and accident_date, so your system can sort leads by age.
Test, then go live
Test leads confirm that every field lands in the right place before live leads are sent.
ReturnReturnA buyer's request for credit on a lead that fails agreed standards, such as a disconnected number, a duplicate or a lead outside the filters. Glossary terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live; how returns work describes the usual process. If you also buy MVA leads in real time, both can be discussed in the same email.
Frequently asked questions
How can a buyer tell how long ago an overflow MVA lead was submitted?
From submission_time, which holds the original date and time the claimant submitted the form. It is not reset when the real-time auction ends, so comparing it with the time the lead reaches you shows its age.
Does an overflow MVA lead keep its original consent record?
Yes. Each overflow lead carries the consent record captured at submission, unchanged after the auction. Review it against your own use before contacting the consumer.
Is the represented answer on an overflow MVA lead still current?
It is the claimant’s answer at submission. A claimant may have hired a lawyer since, so confirm representation on the first call.
How are overflow MVA leads delivered?
The delivery method is set during onboarding, together with the terms. Email the team with the method your system supports.
Related guides
Working MVA leads after the real-time window?
Tell us your states, recency rules and delivery method. Delivery and terms for overflow MVA leads are set during onboarding.
Or write to team@summitleads.ai. We reply by email.
What happens next
- Step 1: You email us.
- Step 2: We reply by email.
- Step 3: Return terms are agreed on the onboarding call, before you go live.
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