Is it legal to text your customers?

Yes, as long as you have the consent the law requires for that kind of message and you stop when someone asks. The main federal law is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez (2016), the Supreme Court stated that a text message to a cell phone "qualifies as a 'call'" under the TCPA, so the same consent rules that apply to automated calls apply to business texts.

Two other layers sit on top of the federal law. States can add their own rules, and wireless carriers set registration and content requirements for business texting. Carrier rules decide whether your messages are delivered; the law decides whether you are allowed to send them. This article covers the legal side in general terms. Talk to a lawyer about your specific program, especially in regulated fields like healthcare, finance and debt collection.

Transactional (informational) texts help complete or service something the customer already asked for. Marketing texts try to sell something. The difference sets the level of consent you need.

• A dental office texting "Your cleaning is Tuesday at 2 p.m., reply C to confirm" is sending an informational text.
• The same office texting "Teeth whitening is 20% off this month" is sending a marketing text and needs written consent for it.
• When in doubt, get written consent that covers both types, since that satisfies either standard.

The FCC's regulation defines prior express written consent as a written agreement bearing the signature of the person, with a clear and conspicuous disclosure that they are authorizing the messages. An electronic signature that is valid under federal or state law counts, which covers a checked box and submit on a web form when it is built properly. The customer cannot be required to agree as a condition of buying anything.

Carrier registration adds practical requirements. Twilio's guidance for getting texting campaigns approved says web opt-ins should use an unchecked consent checkbox, include "Message and data rates may apply," state message frequency for recurring programs, explain how to opt out, and link to terms and a privacy policy.

• Name your business in the consent statement.
• Say what kinds of texts they will receive (reminders, offers or both).
• Leave the consent checkbox unchecked by default and separate from accepting your terms of service.
• State that consent is not a condition of purchase.
• Include opt-out instructions ("Reply STOP to cancel") and "Message and data rates may apply."
• Keep a record: the form wording at the time, the date, the phone number and how consent was given.

Honor them fast and in whatever reasonable form they arrive. Under FCC rules that took effect April 11, 2025, consumers can revoke consent using any reasonable method, and you cannot require a single exclusive opt-out method. A reply of "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" or "unsubscribe" counts automatically, and you must honor the request within a reasonable time not exceeding 10 business days.

You may send one confirmation text, but according to Kelley Drye's summary of the FCC rules it must go out within five minutes and contain no marketing. A related "revoke all" rule, which would make an opt-out from one type of message apply to all your automated calls and texts, has been delayed. Burr and Forman reported that the FCC pushed its effective date to January 31, 2027 while it considers changes.

In practice, opt-outs arrive in messy ways: "please stop texting me," a phone call to the front desk, an email. Train your team to record them in the same place your texting tool checks before sending.

Federal rules bar telephone solicitations to residential subscribers before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., in the recipient's local time. Because texts are treated as calls, schedule marketing texts inside that window based on the customer's time zone, not yours.

States can be stricter. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act, for example, has its own text message provisions, including a requirement that consumers reply STOP and give the sender 15 days before bringing certain claims. If you text customers in several states, check each state's rules or set your sending window to the narrowest one.

Yes, and some are still moving. Beyond the 2025 opt-out rules, courts have started questioning parts of the FCC's interpretation. In Bradford v. Sovereign Pest Control (February 2026), the Fifth Circuit held that the TCPA requires only prior express consent, not written consent, for the calls at issue. InfoLawGroup notes the ruling applies only in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, and that businesses texting nationwide still face the FCC's written-consent standard elsewhere.

The safe approach for a service business is to collect written consent for anything promotional, keep clean records and treat opt-outs generously. The statutory damages make shortcuts expensive: InfoLawGroup cites $500 to $1,500 per call or text.

Consent works best when it is built into the tools rather than left to memory. Your intake forms, booking pages and CRM should capture consent with the right wording, store it with the contact record, and block marketing texts to anyone without it. Monvell's Communications and Automation teams set up texting this way, with consent capture, opt-out syncing and carrier registration handled before the first reminder goes out.