Compliance
Texting customers: four rules every contractor should know
Texting is how most homeowners want to hear from a contractor. It's also where a lot of small companies take on legal risk without realizing it.
The federal law is the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). It lets a consumer sue for $500 for each message that breaks the rules, and a court can raise that to $1,500 when the violation was willful or knowing. That's per message. A reminder sequence sent to a few hundred people adds up fast.
1. Marketing texts need written consent, and you need proof of it
Under federal rules, marketing texts sent with an autodialer need the customer's prior express written consent. Many state laws set the bar just as high. The safe practice is written consent for every marketing text, with a record of what the customer agreed to, when and how. If the record isn't stored, it doesn't exist when a lawyer asks for it.
2. Opt-outs have to work, however the customer says it
Since April 2025, a customer can revoke consent by any reasonable means, not just by replying STOP. "Please don't text me anymore" counts. You have no more than 10 business days to honor it.
3. Respect the clock and the Do Not Call list
Sales calls and texts aren't allowed before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the customer's local time. Numbers on the National Do Not Call Registry are off-limits for sales outreach unless an exception applies, such as the customer's written permission or a recent business relationship. Anyone who gets more than one of those in a year can sue.
4. State rules can be stricter
Several states, including Florida and Oklahoma, have their own texting and calling laws that go further than the federal rules. If you work in more than one state, your system needs to know where each customer is.
Where fast-built software gets this wrong
AI makes it quick to build a texting tool. It doesn't make that tool compliant. The failures are ordinary: consent that isn't recorded, an opt-out that only listens for the word STOP, a reminder that fires at 7:30 in the morning, a list that's never checked against the Do Not Call registry. None of them look like a problem until a demand letter arrives.
These are the first things we check in a software audit.
Want to know where your texting stands?
A one-hour software audit lists the tools you use today, what they cost, and where the risks are.
Sources: 47 U.S.C. § 227; 47 CFR § 64.1200. This article is general information, not legal advice. Talk to your own lawyer about your situation.