β-Arrestins critically regulate G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signalling, not only ‘arresting’ the G protein signal but also modulating endocytosis and initiating a discrete G-protein-independent signal through MAP kinase^,,. Despite enormous recent progress towards understanding biophysical aspects of arrestin function^,, arrestin cell biology remains relatively poorly understood. Two key tenets underlie the prevailing current view: β-arrestin accumulates in clathrin-coated structures (CCSs) exclusively in physical complex with its activating GPCR, and MAP kinase activation requires endocytosis of formed GPCR–β-arrestin complexes^,,,. We show here, using β1-adrenergic receptors, that β-arrestin-2 (arrestin 3) accumulates robustly in CCSs after dissociating from its activating GPCR and transduces the MAP kinase signal from CCSs. Moreover, inhibiting subsequent endocytosis of CCSs enhances the clathrin- and β-arrestin-dependent MAP kinase signal. These results demonstrate β-arrestin ‘activation at a distance’, after dissociating from its activating GPCR, and signalling from CCSs. We propose a β-arrestin signalling cycle that is catalytically activated by the GPCR and energetically coupled to the endocytic machinery.