TCPA Basics for Texting: What Sales Teams Need to Know

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the federal law behind most business texting rules in the U.S. It was written for phone calls, but the FCC's rules apply it to text messages too. Here are the basics every sales team should know before sending.

Texts count

The FCC's TCPA rules (47 CFR 64.1200) expressly apply the telemarketing and do-not-call requirements to text messages sent to wireless numbers. If the rule would cover a sales call, assume it covers a sales text.

Consent comes first

The TCPA restricts calls — including texts — to mobile numbers made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice without the recipient's prior express consent.

For marketing messages, FCC rules raise the bar to prior express written consent: an agreement in writing, signed by the person (electronic signatures count where federal or state law recognizes them), that clearly authorizes the business to send them. Two details matter:

• The agreement must include a clear disclosure of what the person is agreeing to.
• A person can't be required to sign it as a condition of buying anything.

Keep records of when and how each contact opted in, so you can show consent if it's ever questioned.

Quiet hours

FCC rules bar telephone solicitations before 8:00 a.m. or after 9:00 p.m. in the recipient's local time. Some states are stricter. See our guide to SMS quiet hours.

Do-not-call lists

Two lists matter:

• The national Do Not Call Registry. FCC rules prohibit telephone solicitations to numbers registered there, subject to limited exceptions in the rules.
• Your own internal list. Businesses that send marketing messages must keep a list of people who've asked not to be contacted, have a written policy available on request, train staff on it, honor requests within a reasonable time, not more than ten business days, and honor each request for five years.

Opt-outs

Make opting out easy — "Reply STOP to opt out" is the familiar pattern — and treat any clear request to stop as an opt-out. See our guide to SMS opt-out rules for more.

The penalties

The TCPA lets consumers sue directly. For violations of the core consent rules, a person can recover their actual monetary loss or $500 per violation, whichever is greater, and a court may increase the award to up to three times that amount if the violation was willful or knowing. Every message can be a separate violation, so totals add up quickly.

The short version

• The TCPA applies to texts.
• Marketing texts need prior express written consent, and consent can't be a condition of purchase.
• No marketing texts before 8am or after 9pm, recipient's local time.
• Respect the national Do Not Call Registry and keep your own do-not-contact list.
• Honor opt-outs within ten business days at most.
• Damages start at $500 per violation and can be tripled.

Signilio builds opt-out management and audit-ready logs into the platform, so your team has a paper trail behind every campaign. Talk to us about your setup.

This article is general information, not legal advice. State laws vary and change frequently; confirm the rules that apply to your recipients.