How do I get permission to text my customers?

You get permission by collecting clear opt-in consent before you text someone: the person knowingly gives you their mobile number and agrees to receive texts from your business, and you keep a record that they did. U.S. law (including the TCPA) requires this before you send marketing texts, and carriers can suspend numbers that text people who never agreed. Here's how to do it well.

What counts as consent

Consent means the person took a clear, affirmative step to say yes to texts, and it was obvious they were agreeing to hear from your business. A pre-checked box, a number you bought from a list, or a number someone gave you for a different reason (like a delivery) does not count. The strongest consent is written and specific: a checkbox they tick themselves, or a text they send you to opt in.

Example wording for a form or website

Put a clear opt-in line next to the phone field on your intake form, estimate request, or website contact form. For example:

By providing your mobile number, you agree to receive text messages from [Your Business] about your project and appointments. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help.

Leave the box unchecked by default and let the customer check it themselves. Keep your business name, the kinds of texts you'll send, and the STOP/HELP language visible right where they opt in.

Honor STOP and HELP

Anyone can reply STOP to opt out, and you must stop texting them. Coastline does this automatically: once a contact replies STOP, we block further messages to that number until they opt back in. You're also required to answer HELP with a way to reach you; a simple auto-reply pointing to your phone or email covers it.

Quiet hours, as a courtesy

You aren't required to, but it's good practice to avoid texting before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the customer's time zone. Late-night texts draw more complaints, and complaints are what put a sending number at risk.

Keep records

Keep a record of how and when each customer opted in: the wording they agreed to, the date, and the source (which form or conversation). If a carrier or a customer ever questions a text, that record is your proof of consent. When a customer texts your number to opt in, that message is itself a durable record.

Setting up texting for the first time? See Setting up text messaging and fixing registration rejections.