It is critical to understand that SMS marketing laws are not one size fits all. Regulations differ by country, by state, and sometimes by city or carrier. The rules you must follow when texting customers in Texas can be different from the rules for California, Canada, the United Kingdom, or the European Union. On top of that, some industries such as healthcare and finance have extra requirements on top of general SMS and privacy laws. Because of this, you should always do your own research for each region and audience you plan to message, review the latest guidance from regulators and carriers, and have your legal counsel confirm that your opt in flows, timing rules, message content, and sending numbers are compliant for those specific locations. This article is a general overview, not legal advice, and your own due diligence for every geography you send to is absolutely essential.
Before anything else, quick disclaimer
This is general educational info, not legal advice. SMS law moves fast, and penalties can be brutal. Always run your specific program past your legal counsel or compliance team.
What actually governs SMS marketing in the US
In the United States, SMS marketing is shaped by three big layers
- Federal law
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, TCPA, plus FCC rules. TCPA is the main federal law that controls marketing texts and robocalls, including when you must get consent, what counts as telemarketing, and when you can send messages. - Industry rules
CTIA, a trade association for wireless carriers, publishes Messaging Principles and Best Practices. Carriers and aggregators rely on those rules for things like required disclosures, opt out keywords, message flow, and forbidden content. - State laws
Several US states have “mini TCPA” style laws. Texas is one of the strictest and now explicitly covers SMS and MMS marketing, with its own quiet hours and extra compliance requirements.
On top of that, carriers now require sender and campaign registration for almost all application to person traffic across US numbers, called A2P 10DLC.
Core US wide rules you absolutely need to know
- You must have prior express written consent for marketing texts
For promotional SMS, TCPA requires “prior express written consent” before you send marketing messages. This usually means
- The user clearly opted in, for example via a web form, checkout, or text to join flow
- The disclosure near the opt in explains they agree to receive marketing texts from your brand
- Consent is not bundled with something else like terms of service in a confusing way
And it must be documented and stored.
Buying or renting SMS lists is almost always non compliant under TCPA and CTIA best practices.
- You have to prove consent
If you are sued, regulators or plaintiffs will ask you to prove that consent existed. That means you should log
- Timestamp of the opt in
- Source and channel of the opt in, for example landing page URL, checkout, keyword join etc.
- The language shown at the time of opt in
Companies are now even being asked for proof of consent as part of 10DLC brand and campaign vetting.
- You must give clear disclosures at opt in and in the first message
CTIA and most carrier programs expect you to show, at minimum
- Brand or program name
- Message frequency, for example “recurring automated marketing messages” or “up to 4 msgs per month”
- That message and data rates may apply
- A link to Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy
- Instructions like “Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help”
- You must honor opt outs fast and in all reasonable formats
If someone texts STOP, END, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, or similar, you have to
- Stop sending marketing texts to that number
- Process the opt out without friction
- Treat any “reasonable” opt out wording as valid, not just the exact word STOP
The FCC’s recent guidance doubles down on this, and ignoring opt outs is one of the fastest ways to get sued.
- Time of day rules, federal quiet hours
TCPA and common guidance say you should not send marketing calls or texts
- Before 8am or after 9pm in the recipient’s local time zone
This is the baseline you follow across the US. But some states are stricter, which is exactly what is happening in Texas.
- Do Not Call rules and list sources
For promotional messages, you are expected to
- Respect the National Do Not Call Registry and some state level Do Not Call lists, unless you have the right level of prior consent
- Maintain your own internal do not call and do not text list and never contact those numbers again for marketing
Again, do not buy cold SMS lists. You need direct consent tied to your brand and program, not some generic “marketing partners” language.
- Content restrictions
Carriers and CTIA restrict certain content types in SMS marketing, even beyond what the law says. Commonly blocked or forbidden examples include
- SHAFT content, especially sex, hate, firearms, and tobacco
- Cannabis and CBD related offers, even where legal locally
- Promotion of illegal drugs, some supplements, and unregulated financial schemes
- Online gambling and many betting related programs
Even if you are technically legal in a state, carriers may still shut down your messaging.
- Recordkeeping and documentation
You should keep, for each SMS program
- Copies of consent language you used
- Logs of opt ins, opt outs, and campaign sends
- Policies and training documents
- For regulated states such as Texas, extra records of consent and timing of sends are strongly recommended
- Penalties can be huge
Under TCPA, statutory damages are typically
- Up to 500 US dollars per illegal text, and
- Up to 1,500 US dollars per text if the violation is willful or knowing
Multiply that by thousands of messages in a campaign and it becomes class action territory very fast.
Texas specific SMS marketing rules you must know
Texas has passed SB 140 and other updates to its telemarketing law, expanding it to cover text and multimedia marketing. Key pieces that matter for SMS
- Texas quiet hours for SMS marketing
Texas now has explicit quiet hours for telemarketing calls and texts to Texas consumers. Common summaries from legal and industry sources indicate
- No marketing messages before 9:00am or after 9:00pm local time, Monday through Saturday
- On Sundays, no marketing messages before 12:00pm and none after 9:00pm, local time
These rules are tighter than the federal 8am to 9pm window and are enforced based on the recipient’s local Texas time. If you text Texas residents, you should build these time limits into your automations.
- Texas Do Not Call and registration
Texas also has
- Its own Texas no call list that telemarketers must honor
- Registration requirements for some telemarketers with the state
- Stronger private rights of action under its expanded “mini TCPA” style rules
If you are running large scale SMS marketing to Texas residents, your counsel will likely recommend registering properly and tightening your compliance playbook.
- Consent and opt out under Texas law
Texas amendments explicitly cover text and graphic messages as “telephone solicitations,” which means
- You still need clear, affirmative consent before sending marketing texts
- You must honor do not call and do not text requests immediately
- Violations can be pursued under both federal TCPA and Texas state law, stacking your riskkelleydrye.com+2Paul Hastings+2
What “number approval” means in the US: 10DLC and other sender types
When you say the number has to be approved in the US, you are basically talking about A2P 10DLC and related registration. Today, you generally cannot just grab a random US local number and start blasting marketing texts.
- A2P vs P2P
- A2P, application to person, is what you do when you send via a platform such as Pulse
- US carriers treat nearly all business messaging as A2P and require registration
- 10DLC brand and campaign registration
To send SMS over a standard 10 digit local number, you must register
- Your brand, business identity
- Your specific messaging campaign or use case
through an ecosystem that includes The Campaign Registry and the carriers.Bird+2Microsoft Learn+2
By 2025, 10DLC registration is essentially mandatory for US A2P long code traffic; non registered traffic is throttled, heavily fined, or blocked.Ubiquiti Help Center+3beconversive.com+3cloudcontactai.com+3
- Toll free and short codes
You can also send from
- Verified toll free numbers, which require their own verification and approval process
- Dedicated short codes, typically 5 or 6 digits, which go through a separate carrier approval flow
In all cases, the underlying idea is the same
- Your number is tied to a real brand
- Your use case is declared up front
- Your opt in and compliance flows are documented
How Pulse fits into a compliant US and Texas SMS strategy
Pulse itself is not your lawyer, but it can be a core tool in how you operationalize compliance. In practice you would use a platform like Pulse to
- Use an approved sender
Work with an SMS provider that handles 10DLC, toll free verification, or short code provisioning for you, so your sending number is properly registered for US traffic. - Capture and store consent
Configure opt in forms, checkout flows, or keyword joins where the compliant disclosures live, then store consent data tied to each contact. - Enforce quiet hours and local time sending
Set your automation and campaigns so that- US wide marketing texts respect the 8am to 9pm local rule, and
- Texas segments are further restricted to 9am to 9pm Monday through Saturday and 12pm to 9pm on Sunday.
- Automate STOP and HELP behavior
Use built in automation so that STOP instantly flags a number as opted out across all marketing flows, and HELP returns an informational reply with brand info, help contact, and opt out instructions. - Segment by geography and consent level
Target Texas subscribers separately if you need extra rules, and separate transactional from marketing messages so you do not accidentally send promotional content without the right consent. - Keep records and reporting
Use campaign reporting, logs, and contact timelines as part of your documentation if your compliance team ever needs to review activity.
If you want an AI powered platform that can handle both SMS and Email marketing, with automation flexible enough to implement these rules, you can explore Pulse here
https://pulse.goauto.ai/signup
Quick checklist: US and Texas SMS compliance in plain language
Use this as a conversation starter with your lawyer and your operations team
- I am only texting people who have clearly and specifically opted in to marketing texts from my brand.
- I can prove when and how every subscriber opted in.
- My opt in language includes program name, frequency, rates may apply, links to terms and privacy policy, and STOP or HELP instructions.
- Every marketing text can be opted out of with a simple reply like STOP, and my system respects it immediately.
- I never send promotional texts outside 8am to 9pm local time anywhere in the US.
- For Texas residents, I never send marketing texts before 9am or after 9pm Monday through Saturday, and never before noon on Sunday.
- My sending numbers, long code, toll free, or short code, are registered and approved for A2P messaging under 10DLC or the relevant program.
- I do not promote forbidden categories like cannabis, gambling, or other blocked SHAFT content over SMS.
- I maintain and honor both national and state Do Not Call lists, plus my own internal suppression list.
- I keep good records in case I ever have to prove compliance.
