TCPA and 10DLC Compliance for Business Texting

Why this matters

Trade businesses text customers for appointment reminders, technician-on-the-way notifications, invoice links, follow-up surveys, and marketing. As of recent years, two compliance regimes have layered on top of each other: the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), which has governed automated text messaging since the early 1990s and produces some of the largest plaintiff-class actions in consumer-protection law, and the wireless carrier 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) registration scheme that all US carriers have mandated since 2021 for any business-to-consumer texting on standard 10-digit phone numbers. A business that texts customers without compliance with both regimes faces statutory damages under TCPA (per-text amounts that scale fast in a class action) plus carrier filtering of unregistered traffic.

What TCPA covers

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 USC 227, restricts:

• Automated telephone calls to residential lines without consent
• Pre-recorded voice messages to residential lines without consent
• Calls or texts to mobile numbers using an "automated telephone dialing system" (ATDS) without consent
• Calls to numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry for telemarketing purposes
• Calls outside the 8am to 9pm local time window of the recipient

For text messaging specifically: a text sent by an automated system to a mobile number without proper consent is a TCPA violation.

The 2021 Supreme Court decision in Facebook v Duguid narrowed the ATDS definition, providing some relief for businesses that send messages from systems that do not use random or sequential number generation. However, FCC interpretation and state-level rules have continued to enforce consent requirements broadly. Compliance discipline does not rely on the ATDS exception.

The consent levels

TCPA recognizes three consent levels:

1. Express written consent. Required for marketing/promotional messages and autodialed calls. Consumer signs (electronic or paper) authorizing specific message categories from a clearly identified business.
2. Express prior consent. Required for non-marketing automated texts. Can be inferred from voluntary provision of phone for a specific purpose (scheduling an appointment).
3. Established business relationship. Some informational messages to existing customers permissible without express consent if reasonably related to the relationship.

Trade-business operational texts (appointment reminders, technician notifications, invoice links) qualify under express prior consent obtained at customer intake. Marketing texts (promotional offers to existing or new customers) require express written consent.

Every text must include the opt-out mechanism: "Reply STOP to unsubscribe." The recipient sends STOP; the business honors immediately. Continuing after a valid STOP is a separate per-text violation. Most platforms process STOP, HELP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL automatically.

10DLC registration

10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) refers to standard 10-digit numbers used for application-to-person (A2P) messaging. Since 2021, US carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile) require mandatory registration through The Campaign Registry (TCR) for any 10-digit business-to-consumer texting.

Registration has two layers: brand registration (legal business name, EIN, address, vertical) and campaign registration (each use case: Customer Care, Promotional, Account Notifications). Registered brand/campaign pairs receive a Trust Score that drives per-day limits and per-message fees. Unregistered traffic is throttled or blocked.

Workflow: pick a messaging provider (Twilio, Telnyx, Bandwidth, or whatever the FSM platform uses), register the brand, define campaigns with sample messages, submit and pay registration fees, wait days to weeks for approval, then start messaging.

Toll-free numbers (800-series) have a parallel SMS Verification registration path. Short codes (5- or 6-digit) work for high-volume marketing only; lease cost is substantial.

State overlays and enforcement

Florida (FL Stat 501.059, 2021), Oklahoma (Okla Stat 24-901, 2021), and Washington (RCW 80.36.400) impose stricter consent rules with private rights of action. Multi-state businesses default to the strictest applicable state.

TCPA provides a private right of action with statutory damages of 500 per call/text per violation, trebled to 1,500 for willful violations. In class actions, exposure scales to seven figures even at statutory minimums. The plaintiff bar pursues TCPA class actions aggressively; compliance cost is dramatically less than a single class action.

The compliance workflow

1. Define use cases. List every text category sent (reminders, notifications, marketing). Determine required consent level for each.
2. Capture consent at intake. Standard checkbox or signature: "By providing my phone number, I consent to receive appointment reminders, technician notifications, and invoice links via text. Reply STOP to unsubscribe. Reply HELP for help. Message and data rates may apply." Marketing texts require a separate opt-in.
3. Register brand and campaigns through the messaging provider with The Campaign Registry.
4. Implement technical controls. Every text includes STOP / HELP language periodically; the platform processes STOP automatically; sends only 8am to 9pm local time; consent records retained.
5. Train the team. Intake person knows the consent process; nobody sends manual texts from personal phones.
6. Audit periodically. Sample texts and verify consent records; review opt-out compliance; review message content against campaign categorization.

Retain consent records for the longer of four years (TCPA statute of limitations) or the duration of the messaging relationship plus four years. State data-protection laws may require longer.

References

• 47 USC 227 - Telephone Consumer Protection Act
• 47 CFR 64.1200 - Restrictions on Use of Automated Telephone Equipment
• FCC TCPA Order 2003 - Established prior express consent standards
• Facebook v Duguid, 141 S Ct 1163 (2021) - Supreme Court ATDS interpretation
• Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, FL Stat 501.059
• The Campaign Registry (TCR) brand and campaign registration documentation
• CTIA Short Code Monitoring Handbook (industry guidelines for SMS messaging)