FAQ

What is TCPA?

July 22, 2025 Comments Off on What is TCPA?

This guide is provided for informational purposes only. We strongly recommend consulting with legal counsel to obtain tailored advice concerning the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and general SMS marketing best practices. Please be aware that calls and texts sent via your account are classified as ‘Robocalls’ and ‘Robotexts’ by the FCC, and we expressly discourage any form of SMS spamming.

Our users based in the United States often request guidance for adhering to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which regulates the mass dissemination of text messages (SMS) and phone calls within the U.S. To help address TCPA-related concerns and promote FCC compliance, we have compiled this concise, comprehensive guide.

Intended Audience

This guide is designed for anyone distributing SMS and/or IVR messages within the United States. When transmitting text messages or phone calls that are not bidirectional or initiated by the contact (i.e., triggered by a keyword or an uncaught message), you are utilizing automated telephone dialing, the primary activity regulated by the TCPA.

TCPA Requirements

Organizations must secure prior express written consent from contacts before dispatching messages. Under the E-SIGN Act, this written consent can include electronic or digital signatures (e.g., agreements obtained via email, website forms, text messages, dial pads, or voice recordings), website form submissions, or text message opt-ins.
When obtaining consent, adhere to the following:

  1. The consumer’s consent must be unambiguous. This requires a “clear and conspicuous disclosure” informing them they will receive future calls/texts delivering autodialed and/or pre-recorded telemarketing messages; that their consent is not a condition of purchase; and they must provide a phone number for contact. Consent cannot be made a condition of sale.
  1. When inviting contacts to use your service (via web form, point of sale, mobile opt-in, or paper document), you must include this disclosure: “By participating, you consent to receive text messages sent through an automatic telephone dialing system.”
  1. This disclosure must be clear and conspicuous before opt-in. The use of an “automatic telephone dialing system” must be disclosed near the mobile phone number input field.

Condition of Purchase

The TCPA mandates that contacts be informed their consent is not a condition of purchase. They cannot be compelled to consent to receive texts from your account when buying from your organization. You must disclose: “Consent to these terms is not a condition of purchase.”
Related requirements:

  • All advertising and promotional materials must clearly state if the service is a subscription.
  • Subscription terms and billing intervals must be disclosed to your contacts.
  • You must clearly communicate all material terms and conditions of the program.
  • All advertising, promotional material, and your “Help” message must clearly display opt-out information.
  • The service should not be promoted as “free” if premium fees apply for a reasonable level of participation.

CTIA Requirements

While focused on TCPA, you should also consider Cellular Telephone Industries Association (CTIA) requirements. The CTIA represents wireless telecommunications companies. Key CTIA requirements for advertising a recurring SMS service include:

  • Recurring program description (e.g., ‘subscribe to receive recurring SMS offers’)
  • Stop instructions (e.g., ‘Text STOP to opt out’)
  • Disclosure that message and data rates may apply (e.g., ‘msg&data rates may apply’)
  • T&C/privacy policy link (e.g., ‘T&C/Privacy Policy: www.acme.co/privacypolicy‘)

Opting-Out

The TCPA grants contacts the right to opt-out at any time.

How Twilio Manages Opt-Outs

If a contact sends STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, or QUIT to a Twilio number, Twilio blocks further messages until the contact responds with START. The confirmation message is:
“You have successfully been unsubscribed. You will not receive any more messages from this number. Reply START to resubscribe.”

The resubscription message is:

“You have successfully been resubscribed to messages from this number. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. Msg&Data Rates May Apply.”

How the Rapidpro App Manages Opt-Outs

When Twilio notifies us a contact has blacklisted a number, we place that contact in the default ‘Stopped’ group in your Contacts tab. The contact is removed from all other groups and marked to block outbound messages.
Configure alerts in your Twilio account to be notified of errors like the 21610 blacklist error.

Learn more about tracking and managing opt-outs here.

Sending Timeframe

The TCPA restricts text messaging to between 8 a.m. and 9 p.m. in the recipient’s local time zone. For services targeting multiple time zones, contact us to discuss available options.

Record Keeping

To safeguard against future disputes, we advise retaining proof of each contact’s consent for a minimum of four years from the date it was given, aligning with the federal statute of limitations for TCPA actions.