Can a small business text its customers? The rules, in plain English

What kinds of business texts are there?

The rules depend on what the text is for. From least to most strict:

• Replies. Someone called, texted or filled in your form, and you answer about what they asked. A missed-call text back is a reply.
• Updates. Texts about a job or booking they already have: a reminder the day before, “on my way”, “your order is ready”, an invoice or payment link.
• Promotions. Anything trying to sell: an offer, a seasonal special, a “we miss you” text, a newsletter.

When do you need permission?

• Replies: they started it, so answer away, about what they asked.
• Updates: a customer who gives you their number for a booking or job has generally agreed to texts about that booking or job. Keep it to that.
• Promotions: you need clear written permission first. An unticked box on your booking form that they tick themselves, or a sign at the counter saying “Text JOIN to 555-0100 for offers”. Say what they’ll get and roughly how often, and that they don’t have to agree to buy anything.

Keep a record of when and how each person agreed. Never text numbers from a bought list, from someone else’s list, or copied off Google listings. Under the federal law (the TCPA), each unwanted text can cost $500, and up to $1,500 if it was on purpose, and states like Florida and Oklahoma have stricter laws of their own. For a big promotions program, an hour with a lawyer is money well spent.

Why are my business texts being blocked?

Usually because the number isn’t registered. The big US phone carriers now block automated texts from ordinary local numbers unless the business has registered them, a system called 10DLC. Registering has two parts:

• Your business: legal name, tax ID (EIN), address and website, which must all match each other.
• What you’ll send: the kind of texts, a few sample messages, and how people agree to receive them.

As listed by Twilio in 2026, it costs about $46 one time to register the business, $15 to register what you’ll send, and a monthly fee of a few dollars up to about $10 after that, plus tiny carrier fees on each text. Approval usually takes from a few days to two weeks. Common reasons it’s turned down: a website that doesn’t match the business name, no privacy policy saying you won’t share phone numbers, or no clear description of how people sign up.

Even once registered, texts can be filtered for link shorteners like bit.ly, ALL-CAPS offers, or sending to lots of new numbers at once.

When can you send texts?

Between 8am and 9pm in the customer’s own time zone. Florida and Oklahoma are stricter, 8am to 8pm, and Oklahoma also limits promotional texts to three a day. Courts have recently disagreed on exactly when these quiet hours apply, so the safe habit is simply never to text outside them. Replies to someone who just texted you are the obvious exception: answering a question at 9:15pm is fine.

What has to be in a business text?

• Your business name, near the start, so it doesn’t look like spam.
• A way out in the first text: “Reply STOP to opt out.” For promotions, also how often you’ll text and “Msg & data rates may apply”.
• An answer to HELP, with your business name and how to reach you.

When someone opts out, stop. Federal rules treat any reasonable way of saying it as an opt-out, not just STOP: “unsubscribe”, “cancel”, “quit”, or “please stop texting me”. You have at most 10 business days to honour it, but do it the same day. A rule that one opt-out covers every kind of text from you has been delayed to January 31, 2027; treating STOP as stop-everything now saves you changing anything later.

What should a small business text?

A few texts that customers are actually glad to get. Swap in your own name and links:

1. Reminder: “Hi from Glow Lash Studio! See you tomorrow at 2pm. Need to move it? Reply here or rebook: [link]. Reply STOP to opt out.”
2. On my way: “Sunrise Plumbing here, Dave is on his way and should be with you by 10:30.”
3. Quote follow-up: “Hi Sam, it’s Summit Painting. Any questions on the quote we sent Tuesday? Happy to walk through it.”
4. Review request: “Thanks for coming in today! If you have a minute, a Google review helps us a lot: [link]”
5. Win-back (a promotion, so permission first): “Bloom Bakery: it’s been a while! Your usual sourdough is back this weekend, 10% off with this text. Reply STOP to opt out.”

One a week is plenty for promotions; most small businesses do well with one a month.

Can I text customers from my own cell phone?

Texting a customer one to one about their job, typed by you, is normal. Problems start with automated or group texts from a personal phone: they aren’t registered, opt-outs aren’t tracked, and the conversations leave with whoever holds the phone. A business texting number, registered and shared by everyone who answers customers, keeps it all in one place.

How does ohelloo handle texting?

We do the carrier registration paperwork, write your texts in your words for you to approve, and put “Reply STOP to opt out” in the first text. Every package includes texting, with no setup fee: Basics, at $79 a month, has the missed-call text back, every text in one inbox and a review request you send with one tap. Launch, at $249 a month, adds appointment reminders and quote follow-ups. Grow, at $499 a month, sends review requests on their own and win-back texts to customers who agreed to them.