Texting laws, rules, and guidelines: On paper and in action

What do business texting and driving have in common? You should get familiar with the rules of the road before you get started with them. Like driving, texting has laws in place to keep people safe from potential hazards.

In the United States and Canada, where SimpleTexting offers services, you have federal and local SMS marketing laws to keep in mind as you text. Let’s go over the most important regulations and what you can do to stay compliant.

There are a few layers of regulation governing text message marketing. Let’s explore each one in descending authority.

• Federal regulators: These organizations regulate communications on a national level. The United States has organizations like the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Federal Trade Commission (FTC), and Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA).  Meanwhile, Canada has regulators such as the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
• States and provinces: Some states and provinces have their own texting laws to consider on top of federal laws. Depending on who you have in your contacts, you may have to follow multiple states’ or provinces’ laws in your texting.
• Mobile carriers: AT&T, Verizon, and other mobile carriers provide the infrastructure needed for texting to exist, so they also have a say in regulations.
• Messaging providers: You already know one messaging provider – that’s us. These groups offer services that help people and businesses text.
• Senders: That’s you and your business. While you may not have a seat at the law-making table, you do have an ethical responsibility to your audience to learn the rules and stick to them.

These are the most important text message marketing laws for businesses to know in the United States and Canada:

• The FCC’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) (United States)
• The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) (United States)
• Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) (Canada)
• The FCC’s Truth In Advertising Laws (United States)
• The Competition Act (Canada)
• Copyright laws
• Your local laws

FCC’s Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) (United States)

Originally written to regulate calls and faxes, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) now covers texts as well. This FCC text  message regulation protects consumers’ privacy by cutting back on annoying and intrusive calls and texts. The main principle of this law for you to know is that businesses need consent from customers before texting them – otherwise, it’s illegal spam.

Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) (United States)

The Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) controls telemarketing actions like phone calls and texts to ensure that consumers get fair telemarketing (or none at all, if they choose). While American readers might not have heard of this law, they probably know the Do Not Call Registry, which the TSR established.

Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL) (Canada)

Canada’s equivalent to the TCPA, Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), achieves similar goals to its American counterpart. It reduces spam for consumers while ensuring healthy competition among businesses. Like TCPA, it requires businesses to get a customer’s consent before texting them.

FCC’s Truth In Advertising Laws (United States)

Since business texting is a form of marketing, it falls under marketing and advertising laws in the United States and Canada. The United States has truth in advertising laws that dictate that any claims made in advertising must be true, not misleading, and supported with scientific evidence if possible. That means American businesses must tell the truth and not mislead customers when they text them.

The Competition Act (Canada)

The Canadian government also has rules related to truth in advertising under The Competition Act. As a whole, The Competition Act aims to promote the Canadian economy while making it fair for businesses and consumers. Parts of this act prevent “misleading” advertising and govern marketing actions like giveaways and influencer partnerships.

Copyright laws

Both the United States and Canada have copyright laws that limit what you can do with other people’s creative properties. Photos, videos, art, music, and other media have copyrights that prevent others from using them without permission. Businesses must use media that belongs to them or has a license for free commercial use in their marketing.

Your local laws

States and provinces also put their own laws into place that regulate texting and marketing. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives consumers more control over personal info such as phone numbers. I’d be here all day if I listed all of the local text message marketing laws in North America, but you can research texting and advertising laws in your state to see what applies.

North America also has a few registries to be aware of when you begin text message marketing:

• The Campaign Registry (TCR) (United States)
• The Do Not Call Registry (United States) and National Do Not Call List (Canada)

The Campaign Registry (TCR)

Certain carriers require businesses with 10DLC (local) numbers to register with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to send texts. Fortunately, it’s a pretty easy process. Some texting providers, like SimpleTexting, handle most of it for you.

The Do Not Call Registry (United States) and National Do Not Call List (Canada)

The United States and Canada have The Do Not Call Registry and the National Do Not Call List respectively to opt consumers out of marketing calls and texts. Anyone can join their country’s registry to be excluded from telemarketer calls and texts unless they give permission.

At this point, you’re probably wondering “So, what do I do about these SMS regulations?” Here are some things to do to stay compliant:

• Register your number: Register your number with The Campaign Registry to avoid getting filtered out by carriers that require it. Follow our guide to get on the list.
• Get consent from your customers: Under CTIA regulations, the TCPA, and the CASL, you need to get your customers’ permission to text them. Ask them to join your texting list through a web form, text-to-join campaign, text-to-win contest, or text-to-vote event.
• Add disclaimers to your calls-to-action: As you develop one of the above ways to get customer permission, add a disclaimer to your call to action to sign up for your list. The FCC and CTIA require you to be transparent about signing up customers for your list and what they can expect. Check out our guide to opt-in language for guidance and look at State Farm’s disclaimer as an example.
• Confirm list signups: Once your customers sign up for your list, they need to get confirmation that they did so according to CTIA regulations and TCPA requirements. Some texting providers make this step easy by automating the process, such as SimpleTexting and its keywords.
• Keep your texts genuine: The United States’ truth in advertising laws and Canada’s Competition Act forbid misleading or incorrect advertising content. Only send true messages that you can back up with evidence, and don’t exaggerate your product’s features.
• Age gate adult content: Some content geared towards adults is fine to send, but you have to make sure only adults see it. The CTIA requires you to age-gate adult content to keep minors out. List segments offer a simple way to accomplish this goal.
• Text during appropriate hours: The TCPA limits business texting to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. And that’s on a federal level – some states have their own limits on times and days you can send business texts.

Here’s one example of a compliant text. After signing up for Vampire Weekend’s 2024 tour presale, I got this confirmation setting clear expectations. It even included a contact card so I could identify the number when I get texts in the future.

With the do’s come the don’t’s. Here are some habits to avoid to keep your text messages legal:

• Buy contact lists: The CTIA prohibits businesses from buying lists of contact numbers for texting. Buying numbers also goes against the principle of getting customer consent you learned previously. Always get permission to text someone’s number.
• Use trademarked or copyrighted material: Don’t send any media that you don’t own or have a license for. This rule applies to images you find on the internet, too – just because you can find it through Google Images doesn’t mean it’s fair game.
• Send prohibited content: Prohibited content spans messages including deceptive, abusive, harmful, hateful, violent, malicious, confidential, unlawful, or otherwise inappropriate content. SMS service providers and the CTIA ban these messages. It’s not always immediately clear, like in the case of cannabis-related content, which is legal in certain states in the United States but not on a federal level.
• Send texts to unsubscribers: If a customer unsubscribes from your texting list, you shouldn’t text them again unless they give you permission. The CTIA and TCPA mandate that you follow your customer’s wishes.

• You must follow texting laws to send texts to your customers without getting filtered or blocked.
• Both the United States and Canada have laws requiring you to get customer permission when texting and provide truthful advertising information.
• Copyright laws and local SMS regulations also affect what you can and can’t do when texting.
• Register your number through The Campaign Registry to stay compliant with carrier rules and don’t call or text customers on the Do Not Call Registry.
• Texting laws may seem intimidating when you read the full text, but following them mainly involves being a clear communicator, respecting your customers, and following familiar federal laws.

This advice is for informational purposes only – we are not lawyers, and this isn’t legal advice. Talk to your lawyer or regulatory compliance team to get advice specific to your situation.