Text messaging is one of the fastest ways to reach your customers. It’s direct, it gets read quickly, and most people actually prefer it to email. But if you’ve heard anything about business texting laws, you might be worried about doing something wrong.
Here’s the good news: legal business text messaging isn’t nearly as complicated as it sounds. You don’t need to read through pages of federal regulations or hire a lawyer just to send appointment reminders. The rules exist mostly to stop spammers and shady marketers, not to trip up honest business owners.
The core idea is simple. You need permission before you text someone, and you need to make it easy for them to stop receiving messages. Get those two things right, and you’ve already avoided the vast majority of legal problems.
There are a few other details worth knowing, like what counts as real permission and what you should include in your messages. But none of it requires a law degree. Think of it like driving: there are rules, but once you know the basics, you can drive confidently without constantly worrying about getting pulled over.
This guide will walk you through the practical rules that matter most. We’ll focus on what actually keeps you compliant, not every technical detail in the law books. By the end, you’ll know exactly how to text your customers the right way.
Know which customers you’re allowed to text
Just because someone gave you their phone number doesn’t mean you can text them whenever you want. This trips up a lot of businesses. You might have a customer’s number from a delivery, a loyalty card signup, or an old purchase. That doesn’t automatically give you permission to send marketing messages.
The key difference is why they gave you the number in the first place. If someone ordered a pizza and provided their number for delivery updates, that’s not the same as saying yes to weekly promotional texts. They agreed to one thing, not the other.
So when do you actually have permission? The safest approach is when someone actively opts in to receive marketing texts from you. That means they check a box, reply with a keyword like START, or fill out a form that clearly says they’re signing up for text messages. If they text your business first asking a question, you can respond to that conversation. But you can’t automatically add them to your promotional list.
What about loyalty programs or website forms? These can count as permission, but only if it’s crystal clear what they’re signing up for. The signup process should explicitly mention text messages and what kind of messages they’ll get. A buried line in the fine print doesn’t cut it.
Rules vary depending on where you and your customers are located, and some places are stricter than others. But the universal safe bet is simple: get clear permission before you send marketing texts. When in doubt, ask first. It’s better to miss one promotional opportunity than to face complaints or fines for texting someone who never wanted to hear from you.
Always include a simple way to stop texts and honor it quickly
The fastest way to get someone angry is to keep texting them after they’ve asked you to stop. Legally and practically, you need to make opting out easy and actually follow through when someone does it.
The most common opt-out method is letting people reply STOP. It’s simple, it works on every phone, and most people already know about it. When someone texts STOP, you should immediately stop sending them messages. You can send one final confirmation text saying something like “You’ve been unsubscribed. You won’t receive more messages from us.” Then that’s it. No more texts.
Here’s something important: the opt-out has to work even if someone doesn’t use the exact word STOP. If a customer replies “please stop texting me” or “unsubscribe” or even “leave me alone,” you need to honor that. The law cares about intent, not perfect phrasing. If it’s clear they want out, let them out.
You should also handle HELP requests. When someone texts HELP, send back a short message with basic info about who you are and how to contact you. Keep it brief. Something like “This is ABC Company. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. Questions? Call 555-1234.”
The key is speed. Don’t wait days to process an opt-out while your system keeps sending promotional texts. That’s how complaints happen. Set things up so opt-outs take effect right away, or at least within a few hours. Respecting someone’s wish to stop hearing from you isn’t just legally smart. It’s also just the decent thing to do.
Send the right kind of messages at reasonable times
Not all text messages are created equal in the eyes of the law. There’s a big difference between a message that says “Your order has shipped” and one that says “Flash sale! 50% off today only.” The first is transactional—it’s giving you information about something you already did. The second is promotional—it’s trying to sell you something new.
Transactional messages usually get more leeway. Think appointment reminders, delivery notifications, password resets, and order confirmations. People generally want these, and they’re expected as part of doing business with you. Promotional messages—sales, discounts, coupons, new product announcements—need clearer, more explicit consent. This is where most businesses trip up.
Here’s a critical mistake: collecting consent for one thing and using it for another. If someone agrees to receive appointment reminders, that doesn’t give you the green light to send them weekly promotional offers. The consent needs to match what you’re actually sending. If you plan to send both types of messages, be upfront about it when asking for permission.
Beyond message type, timing matters more than you might think. Texting someone at two in the morning is a fast track to complaints and opt-outs. Use common sense: stick to normal business hours or close to it. Early mornings and late nights are off limits unless you’re in a special situation where urgent contact is genuinely expected.
Also essential: always identify your business clearly in the message, and don’t be deceptive about what you’re offering. If you’re sending ten messages a week, you’re probably overdoing it. Respect goes a long way in keeping your customers happy and your business compliant.
Use texting tools that support compliance by default
The easiest way to stay compliant is to choose a texting platform that helps you follow the rules automatically. Look for tools that capture opt-ins properly, store consent records, and handle unsubscribe requests without you lifting a finger. When someone texts STOP, the system should immediately add them to a suppression list so they never get another marketing message from you.
Good platforms also let you tag contacts based on why you’re texting them. Marketing messages have stricter rules than transactional ones, like appointment reminders or order updates. If your tool can separate these categories, you’re less likely to accidentally send a promotional text to someone who only agreed to shipping notifications.
Message logs matter too. If you ever need to prove someone gave consent or received a particular text, a searchable archive makes that simple. You want a clear record of what was sent, when, and to whom.
Pay attention to the type of phone number you’re using to send texts. Local numbers, toll-free numbers, and short codes each have different rules and best uses. A good platform will guide you toward the right option for your volume and purpose, without making it complicated.
Finally, avoid shared inboxes where anyone on your team can fire off messages without oversight. The best tools include permission controls and approval workflows. They make it harder for someone to accidentally blast an entire contact list without checking consent first. No platform makes texting legal on its own, but the right one removes a lot of the guesswork and reduces the chance of costly mistakes.
