SMS Opt-Out Rules: How Sales Teams Should Handle STOP

Every sales team that texts will get replies like STOP. How you handle them is one of the clearest signals carriers and regulators look at — and since April 2025, the rules around it are stricter. Here's what changed and how to stay on the right side of it.

What counts as an opt-out

Under the FCC's consent revocation rules, a person can withdraw consent to your texts by any reasonable means. You don't get to choose the channel or the wording.

The FCC named a set of keywords that always count as a revocation when someone replies to your text:

• stop
• quit
• end
• revoke
• opt out
• cancel
• unsubscribe

These are the floor, not the ceiling. A reply like "take me off your list" or "don't text me again" reasonably communicates the same thing, and should be treated as an opt-out. So should a request that arrives by email, phone, or through your sales rep.

How fast you must honor it

Opt-outs must be honored within 10 business days of the request. In practice, your system should stop sending immediately — waiting out the clock just creates chances to text someone who asked you not to, which is exactly the kind of message that turns into a complaint.

The confirmation text

You're allowed to send one confirmation message after an opt-out, as long as it:

• Goes out within five minutes of the request
• Contains no marketing or promotional content
• Doesn't try to talk the person out of opting out

A good confirmation is short and final:

"[Your business name]: You're unsubscribed and won't receive more texts from us."

If someone has signed up for more than one type of message from you, that confirmation can ask which messages they want to stop. If they don't answer, the safe course is to treat it as an opt-out from everything that required their consent.

Where sales teams get this wrong

1. Opt-outs stuck in one rep's inbox. A prospect texts "stop" to a rep's conversation, and the next campaign goes out anyway because the opt-out never reached the master list. Opt-outs have to apply across every number and every campaign you send from.
2. Only listening for STOP. "Please stop messaging me" is an opt-out even though it isn't a single keyword. Someone needs to catch the free-text ones.
3. Re-importing old lists. A contact who opted out months ago shows up again in a fresh CSV. Your suppression list has to be checked on every import, not just every send.
4. A "last chance" reply. Responding to STOP with an offer is a promotional message to someone who just revoked consent.

Why it matters beyond compliance

Carriers track how often your recipients opt out and complain. A team that honors opt-outs cleanly and messages people who actually want to hear from them keeps its numbers healthy, and healthy numbers get delivered. Treating opt-outs as a chore to minimize is how sending reputations erode.

The short version

• Honor any reasonable opt-out request, not just the word STOP.
• Stop sending immediately; the legal outer limit is 10 business days.
• Send at most one confirmation, within five minutes, with no marketing in it.
• Make opt-outs apply everywhere you send from, including future imports.

Signilio honors opt-outs automatically — including on every list you import — and keeps audit-ready records if anyone asks. Talk to us about getting set up.

This article is general information, not legal advice. Parts of the FCC's consent revocation rules have been delayed or may change; confirm current requirements for your business.