Compared to email communications, text messaging is governed by an entirely different set of requirements.
In the United States, text messaging governance is controlled by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) because a cell phone is classified as a radio transmitter. The governing law is the Telephone Consumer Privacy Act (TCPA) because a cell phone is a telephone. In Canada, the law governing text messages is Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL).
The laws governing SMS marketing are very strict, and the penalties for non-compliance are extremely heavy, more so than those for non-compliance with laws governing email marketing. Therefore, ensuring compliance with the regulations is critical.
It is important to follow compliance guidelines when reaching out to your contacts via SMS. There are three different types of SMS messages, each with its own compliance regulations.
Ineligible Use Cases
Before proceeding with this guide, first find out whether your intended use of SMS is eligible. Wireless carriers and government regulations are highly restrictive as to the allowed messages. Using SMS for any ineligible use case may result in a permanent suspension of your sending number and/or hefty fines.
Bear in mind also that sharing and selling end-user information (i.e., mobile numbers) to third parties for marketing purposes is forbidden. While there is no such prohibition for capturing and sharing email addresses, there is one for mobile numbers.
High-Risk Financial Services | Get Rich Quick | Controlled Substances and/or Activities | Other |
|---|
Consumer & Payday loans
Short-term & High-interest loans
Automobile, Mortgage, & Student loans
Stock Alerts
Debt Consolidation or Reduction
Credit repair services
| Multi-level marketing
Deceptive work-from-home programs
Other types of deceptive marketing
Gambling & Sweepstakes
Cryptocurrency | Cannabis
Alcohol
Tobacco
e-Cigarettes
E.D. medication
| Phishing
Fraud
Pornography
Sexual content
Profanity or hate speech
Firearms
|
Compliance Guidelines
To comply with SMS marketing regulations and wireless carrier requirements, businesses must obtain clear express consent before sending any text messages.
Whether collecting numbers through online forms or Maropost's “Text to Join” feature, it is the sender's responsibility to provide transparent opt-in disclosures, maintain proper consent records, and include references to the required Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
The guidelines below outline the key elements of a compliant SMS messaging program.
Important: Starting September 15, 2026, the privacy policy and terms and conditions URL fields will become required on all new Toll-Free Verification submissions.
Any submission missing either URL after this date will be rejected by the aggregator with error code 1206 (privacy policy or terms and conditions URL is missing, inaccessible, or lacks content). This change applies to new submissions only. Existing verified toll-free numbers are not affected.
Opt-in Consent
Compliance with SMS marketing regulations requires express consent from your contacts. Whether you are capturing mobile numbers via a web form or using Maropost's Text to Join capabilities, you are responsible for securing express consent from mobile phone owners before you can subscribe them as contacts and send them text messages.
The most common means of acquiring consent and mobile numbers is from an online form. To ensure compliance with regulations, your online form must contain the following elements:
- Consumer consent must be collected by the direct (first) party sending the message. You are not allowed to send to mobile numbers acquired through a third party.
- At the point of collection, there must be a clear description of what the person is opting in to receive when they provide their mobile phone number.
- An explicit opt-in checkbox to receive text messages.
- If you are sending both transactional messages (e.g., alerts, confirmations, notifications, etc.) and marketing messages, then you must have separate opt-in checkboxes. Recipients must be allowed to opt in to transactional messages separately from marketing messages.
- A link to the terms and conditions page explaining what the SMS marketing program is all about.
- A link to your privacy policy page.
- The disclaimers about the text messages, along with the opt-in checkboxes, must appear as close as possible to the form field where recipients enter their mobile numbers.
You should also document opt-in consent by capturing and retaining the following data wherever possible:
- Timestamp of consent acquisition.
- Consent acquisition medium (e.g., cell submit form, physical sign-up form, SMS keyword, etc.).
- Capture of experience (e.g., language and action) used to secure consent.
- Specific campaign for which the opt-in was provided.
- IP address used to grant consent.
- Consumer phone number for which consent to receive messaging was granted.
- Identity of the individual who consented (individual’s name or other identifier, e.g., online username, session ID).
For toll-free verification submissions, your opt-in flow must also meet the following conditions:
- Match the use case described in the verification submission.
- Collect consent per campaign voluntarily, not bundled with other agreements.
- Keep messaging consent separate from general terms of service or other sign-up flows.
- Use opt-in controls (checkboxes, toggles) that are unchecked or off by default. Pre-checked boxes and other pre-authorizations will be rejected.
The example below shows proper compliance for a web capture page for mobile numbers. Each required element is clearly explained in the form.
Terms and Conditions
Your website's online terms and conditions page must include a section that specifically addresses your text messaging program. This is the first page wireless carriers will review when evaluating your compliance with their requirements. Consult with your legal team to ensure the proper verbiage. At a minimum, the terms and conditions must mention the following:
- An outline of the maximum message frequency subscribers may receive.
- A statement indicating that the carriers are not liable for any delayed or undelivered messages.
- A statement indicating that message and data rates may apply to any text or SMS communication.
- Information on how a user or subscriber can opt out (for example, "Reply STOP to opt out").
For toll-free verification submissions, your terms and conditions must also be kept separate from the opt-in verbiage and must include the following:
- Program or brand name and description.
- Message frequency or recurring message disclosure.
- Customer support contact information.
- Opt-out instructions (HELP and STOP) are displayed in bold or capitalized text.
- A link to your privacy policy.
Note: Review your terms and conditions against these requirements and update the document before submitting new toll-free verifications after September 15, 2026.
Privacy Policy
Your website's online privacy policy is the second page that wireless carriers review when evaluating the compliance of your text messaging program. This page must include a specific reference to your text messaging program, including language stating that there is no sale or dissemination of end-user information to third parties.
For toll-free verification submissions, your privacy policy must also include the following:
- What data do you collect and how is it used?
- A statement that mobile opt-in information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing purposes.
Note: We recommend you consult your own legal counsel to confirm compliance with applicable laws and campaign standards.
If your privacy policy plus terms and conditions already meet these requirements, no changes are needed; however, going forward, do include both URLs on every new toll-free verification submission.
Campaign Verification
All SMS campaigns in the United States must be done using either toll-free numbers or 10-digit long codes ("10DLC") specifically approved for commercial messaging. Maropost recommends toll-free numbers because they are more cost-effective than 10DLC, and the approval process is much shorter and cheaper.
All commercial text messaging from toll-free numbers requires verification from an independent agency that all wireless carriers use for regulating message traffic on their networks.
In the United States, marketers are allowed to send text messages using unverified toll-free numbers, albeit at a low throughput and low deliverability rate (see info panel below).
In Canada, verification is required for ALL commercial messages originating from toll-free numbers. Any message originating from an unverified toll-free number will result in being blocked by the Canadian carriers.
There is currently a 5-7 week backlog for toll-free number verification. This delay exists because there's only one agency responsible for manually reviewing all verification submissions within the United States.
Important: In the United States, marketers may still send messages while their toll-free numbers are being verified. You should fully understand the risks of sending messages while your toll-free numbers are unverified.
“Restricted” Message Throughput (effective April 1, 2023)
- Daily Limit: 500 messages per day (resets at 12:00 am PT daily).
- Weekly Limit: 1,000 messages per week (resets Sunday 12:00 am PT).
- Monthly Limit: 2,000 messages per month (month refers specifically to a calendar month).
Once the toll-free number exceeds its daily/weekly/monthly limit, any further messages sent before the reset time will be blocked. The response code is 795/4795 (tfn-not-verified). You will still be responsible for paying for these blocked messages.
“Pending” Message Throughput (effective April 1, 2023)
- Daily Limit: 2,000 messages per day (resets at 12:00 am PT daily).
- Weekly Limit: 6,000 messages per week (resets Sunday 12:00 am PT).
- Monthly Limit: 10,000 messages per month (month refers specifically to a calendar month).
“Pending” means that the SMS campaign brief has been submitted for review.
Australian Sender ID Registration
From 1 July 2026, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) requires all alphanumeric sender IDs used for sending SMS messages in Australia to be registered under the ACMA Sender ID Register. Unregistered sender IDs may be labeled as "Unverified" by mobile networks, which can lower delivery rates and reduce brand trust. Maropost customers wishing to use branded sender IDs should contact support or follow the registration process outlined below.
- Submit a registration request to Maropost: Contact Maropost Support to initiate your application. You must provide your requested Sender ID (e.g., MYBRAND), official registered business name, valid Australian Business Number (ABN), and complete corporate contact details.
- Maropost submits the Sender ID registration: The Maropost compliance team reviews your provided details for accuracy. Once validated, Maropost officially creates and submits the registration request directly to the ACMA Sender ID Register portal.
- Business verification: The ACMA Sender ID Register system processes the application and issues an automated request to your nominated business contact. The authorized contact must respond to this notification to confirm legitimate business ownership of the requested Sender ID and the associated ABN.
- Registration approval: The registry evaluates the confirmed details against official Australian business records. Once ownership is fully verified and cleared by the registry, the Sender ID status is updated to registered.
- Start sending: Your registered alphanumeric identity becomes fully active on the network. All subsequent SMS messages sent from your Maropost account using this Sender ID will be identified as verified under the Sender ID Register framework.