Text messaging feels casual. You fire off a quick promotion, a reminder, or an update. But the moment you hit send to a customer’s phone, you’re stepping into surprisingly strict legal territory.
SMS compliance isn’t complicated in theory. It boils down to three simple ideas: get permission before you text someone, be clear about who you are and why you’re messaging, and make it easy for people to opt out. That’s really it.
The problem is that small slip-ups can lead to big consequences. Send a marketing text to someone who didn’t agree to receive it? That could cost you hundreds or even thousands of dollars per message. Forget to include an opt-out option? Same problem. Use vague language about what people are signing up for? You’re opening the door to complaints and penalties.
These rules exist because text messages are personal. They land directly on someone’s phone, often with a buzz or a ping. People guard that space, and the law reflects that. Regulators take violations seriously, and class-action lawyers pay close attention to businesses that cut corners.
The good news is that staying compliant doesn’t require a law degree. Once you understand the basics of permission, transparency, and opt-outs, you can build a texting strategy that’s both effective and legally sound. Most businesses get into trouble not because the rules are confusing, but because they didn’t realize the rules applied to them in the first place.
Know what counts as a business text message
When most people think about regulated business texts, they picture promotional messages. You know the type: flash sales, discount codes, special offers. But the law casts a much wider net than that.
Business text laws often apply to any message sent by a company or organization, even if you’re not trying to sell something. That appointment reminder from your dentist? Covered. The delivery notification from your online order? Usually covered. A text from a nonprofit asking for donations? Definitely covered.
The line between marketing and informational messages matters less than you might think. Sure, a pure promotional text is obviously regulated. But even straightforward informational texts can trigger the same rules if they’re coming from a business to a consumer.
Things get especially tricky with mixed messages. Imagine sending an appointment reminder that also mentions a seasonal promotion, or a shipping update that includes a coupon for next time. That helpful extra touch can turn what feels like a courtesy message into something that falls squarely under marketing rules.
The key thing to understand is this: if your business is sending it, and it’s going to someone’s personal phone, you probably need to follow the rules. The content matters, but so does the relationship. Even purely helpful, non-promotional texts from your company need proper consent and opt-out options in most cases.
Don’t assume that because you’re being helpful rather than pushy, you’re exempt. The regulations are designed to protect people’s phones from unwanted interruptions of any kind, whether that’s a sales pitch or a friendly reminder.
Collect consent in a way you can prove later
Before you send a single business text, you need clear permission from the recipient. That permission is called consent, and it’s the foundation of staying compliant with laws like the TCPA. But getting consent isn’t enough. You also need to be able to prove you got it, sometimes years later.
A good consent moment is simple and transparent. It might be a checkbox on your website that says something like: “I agree to receive text messages from ABC Company about order updates and special offers. Message and data rates may apply.” Or it could be a customer texting a keyword like JOIN to your shortcode after seeing a sign in your store. Maybe it’s a paper form at the point of sale where someone writes their phone number and initials a box agreeing to texts.
Whatever the method, the person should know exactly what they’re signing up for. Who’s texting them? What kind of messages will they get? How often? This isn’t about burying details in fine print. It’s about being upfront so there are no surprises.
Keep records of every consent you collect. Save the timestamp, the exact language the person agreed to, and how they gave permission. If someone ever claims they didn’t opt in, that documentation is your protection.
One major risk to avoid: buying lists of phone numbers or scraping them from the internet. Those people never agreed to hear from you specifically, and using those numbers can lead to serious legal trouble. Consent has to come directly from the person, not from a third party selling access.
Set clear expectations before you send anything
The fastest way to get complaints is to surprise people. Someone signs up for appointment reminders, then gets three promotional texts a week. That’s not just annoying. It can land you in legal trouble.
Before you collect a phone number, tell people exactly what they’re agreeing to. What kind of messages will you send? How often? Will they see daily alerts, weekly updates, or just occasional announcements? If there’s a chance of message and data rates applying, mention it. And always explain how they can get help or opt out.
A mismatch between expectation and reality is where things go wrong. Imagine a nonprofit that asks supporters to “stay connected” via text. Supporters think they’ll hear about volunteer opportunities. Instead, they get donation appeals every few days. Or picture a dental clinic that says “get reminders” but also sends birthday greetings and seasonal promotions. People feel tricked, even if you meant well.
Think about your own setup. If you run a repair shop and want to send job status updates, say that upfront. Don’t later decide to add monthly specials without asking again. If you’re a yoga studio sending class schedules, don’t surprise members with affiliate product pitches. If you manage a local food pantry and plan to text about emergency closures, keep it to that unless you get new consent for fundraising messages.
You don’t need a formal legal document at sign-up. Just a few clear sentences that match what you actually plan to do. When people know what to expect, they’re far less likely to complain or report you.
Make opt-out messaging simple and immediate
An opt-out is when someone tells you they don’t want your texts anymore. It sounds straightforward, but this is where many businesses get into serious trouble. The law is crystal clear: when someone asks to stop receiving messages, you need to honor that request immediately and completely.
The experience should be dead simple for your customers. They should be able to reply with common words like STOP, END, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE and have it work instantly. Within seconds, they should get a short confirmation message saying they’ve been removed. Then no more texts, period.
Here’s where small teams often mess up. Someone texts STOP, but the message goes into a general inbox that nobody checks daily. Meanwhile, your automated system keeps sending promotions because the list wasn’t updated. Or worse, you use multiple platforms to send texts, and only one of them registers the opt-out request.
Another common problem happens when staff reply to customers from their personal phones. Those conversations bypass your main system entirely, so opt-out requests never get recorded. The customer thinks they’ve unsubscribed, but your marketing texts keep coming because the two systems never talked to each other.
Some businesses also make the mistake of processing opt-outs only once a week, or asking people to confirm their request through email or a website. That’s not good enough. The moment someone says stop, they need to stop receiving messages right then. Any delay can land you in hot water, even if you eventually comply.
If you can’t guarantee immediate processing across every tool and person sending texts for your business, you’re not truly compliant yet.
Keep message content and timing within safe boundaries
Even with proper consent, the content of your messages and when you send them can trigger complaints or legal trouble. The good news is that most violations are easy to avoid once you know what triggers them.
Always identify your business clearly in every message. Don’t assume people will recognize your number or remember signing up. A simple “This is [Your Business Name]” at the start prevents confusion and builds trust. When recipients can’t tell who’s texting them, they feel suspicious and hit the spam button.
Timing matters more than many businesses realize. Sending texts late at night or early in the morning is not just rude, it can land you in hot water. A good rule of thumb is to stick to normal business hours in the recipient’s time zone. Weekend messages are usually fine for reminders or order updates, but promotional texts are safer on weekdays.
Be extra careful with anything that touches on health, finance, or legal matters. These areas have stricter rules, so keep messages simple and factual. If you’re unsure whether something crosses a line, it probably does.
The difference between informational and promotional messages matters legally. An appointment reminder or shipping update is informational. A sale announcement or discount offer is promotional. Promotional texts face tighter restrictions, so don’t disguise marketing as information. Saying “Your order is ready, plus check out our new sale” mixes both types and creates risk.
Avoid bait-and-switch tactics completely. If someone signed up for order updates, don’t suddenly start sending daily deals. That broken expectation is what leads people to report your messages as spam, even if they technically gave consent at some point.
Stay responsible when vendors or volunteers send texts for you
When someone else sends texts on your behalf, you’re still the one on the hook legally. It doesn’t matter if it’s a marketing agency, a fundraising platform, your CRM system, or a volunteer texting from their own phone. If the law gets broken, regulators look at whose business benefited from the message.
This gets messy fast in small organizations. Maybe your fundraising software sends automated thank-you texts. Your marketing consultant runs a campaign from their platform. A volunteer coordinator asks team members to text event reminders from personal phones. Each system might be tracking consent differently, or not at all.
Before anyone sends a single message for you, have a clear conversation about a few things. Who actually owns the contact list, and can you get a copy anytime? Where are the consent records stored, and can you access them if questioned? When someone opts out, how does that information get back to you and into every system that might text them? How will you prevent the same person from getting duplicate messages from multiple platforms?
The volunteer situation needs special attention. When people text from personal phones, there’s often no central record of who said what, no automatic opt-out handling, and no easy way to prove consent existed. If you’re going this route, give volunteers a simple script that includes opt-out instructions, and make sure they report any opt-out requests immediately to someone who can update your master list.
Think of it this way: you need one source of truth about who can be texted and who can’t. Every person and system sending messages needs to check that source before hitting send.
Keep simple records that make compliance easier
Good records are your safety net. If someone claims they never agreed to receive your texts, or says they asked to stop but you kept messaging them, you need proof of what actually happened. The good news is that you don’t need a sophisticated system to protect yourself.
Start by keeping track of when and how each person gave you consent. A simple spreadsheet works fine. Note the date, where they signed up, and what method you used. If they checked a box on your website, take a screenshot of that signup form with the exact wording they saw. If they texted a keyword to join your list, save that initial message.
Save copies of the actual texts you send out, especially your welcome message and any message that explains how to opt out. You should also record when people unsubscribe. Write down the date and time, and keep a copy of their opt-out message if they sent one.
If a customer contacts you with questions or complaints about your texts, make a quick note of that conversation. It doesn’t need to be formal. Just jot down what they said and how you responded.
The key is building a habit, not creating a perfect system. Set a reminder to export your messaging platform’s data once a month. Keep everything in one folder that’s easy to find. Consistency beats perfection here. Even basic records kept reliably will help you far more than a fancy system you only update when you remember.
Think of it like keeping receipts for tax time. You probably won’t need them, but when you do, you’ll be very glad they’re there.
Avoid common small-organization mistakes that trigger complaints
One of the most common slip-ups happens when you text a number that was collected for something else entirely. Maybe someone filled out a form to download a guide, and nowhere on that form did it mention receiving promotional texts. A few weeks later, you send them a sale announcement by text. That person never agreed to marketing messages, and they’re going to be confused or annoyed when your text arrives.
The fix is simple: only text people who specifically said yes to receiving texts. If you collected their number for order updates, stick to order updates unless they opt in separately for promotions.
Another frequent problem is missing opt-out requests because someone uses different wording. They might reply with “unsubscribe” or “take me off this list” instead of typing the exact word “STOP.” If your system only recognizes one specific phrase, those requests slip through and you keep texting someone who wants out.
Make sure your messaging platform recognizes common opt-out variations, or check replies manually if you’re working with a smaller list.
Sending texts from multiple phone numbers without keeping track creates chaos. One team member texts customers from their personal phone, another uses a shared business line, and nobody knows who’s opted out where. A customer who unsubscribed from one number still gets messages from another and assumes you’re ignoring them.
Centralize your texting through one system or number so opt-outs apply across the board. If you use a shared spreadsheet to track consent, it’s easy for that document to fall out of date when multiple people edit it or forget to update it after phone calls. Outdated records mean texting people who already said no.
Finally, resist the urge to treat texts like email blasts. Texts feel more personal and intrusive, so sending too many too fast burns goodwill quickly. Space them out and keep the volume reasonable.
