TCPA: definition and how it works
Published and updated
The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) is the United States law, implemented by the FCC in 47 CFR 64.1200, that requires prior express consent before automated calls or texts and written consent before marketing ones.
How it works
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1991 for robocalls and has applied to text messages for as long as the courts have treated a text as a call. The Federal Communications Commission implements it in Part 64 of Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations. The core rules are short. A call or text made with an automatic telephone dialing system to a mobile number requires the prior express consent of the called party. When the message advertises or telemarkets, the consent must be prior express written consent, meaning a clear disclosure the person agreed to, in writing or its electronic equivalent.
Consent can be withdrawn. The regulation says a recipient may revoke it in any reasonable manner, that the sender must honour the revocation within ten business days, and that the sender may not dictate one exclusive way to revoke. In practice that means treating STOP, unsubscribe, a reply in plain words or a phone call as valid opt-outs.
The statute has a private right of action with per-message statutory damages, which is why it drives so much of how United States businesses text. Class actions over unconsented marketing texts are common.
The rules turn on consent and content, not on the technology used to send. A message sent by software from a phone is covered in the same way as one sent through a cloud provider.
- 47 CFR 64.1200 requires the prior express consent of the called party for calls or texts made with an automatic telephone dialing system, and prior express written consent when the message advertises or telemarkets. ecfr.gov, checked on September 4, 2026
- A recipient may revoke consent in any reasonable manner, the sender must honor it within ten business days, and may not designate one exclusive means of revocation. ecfr.gov, checked on September 4, 2026
How this applies with textbee
Sending from your own phone through textbee does not change what the TCPA requires. Collect and record consent before texting United States numbers, keep marketing on written consent, and treat any reasonable reply as an opt-out. Automated texts to people who never agreed carry the same liability whatever the sender is.
Related terms
- Opt-in: Opt-in is the recipient's recorded agreement to receive text messages from you, collected before the first message and kept as proof, with a higher written standard for marketing.
- STOP keyword: STOP is the conventional reply a recipient sends to opt out of a sender's text messages, which the sender must recognise and honour by ending the messages and confirming once.
- 10DLC: 10DLC (ten-digit long code) is the United States system for sending application-to-person SMS from ordinary ten-digit phone numbers, with the sending brand and its campaign registered and verified in advance.
- A2P and P2P messaging: P2P is a text one person sends to another; A2P is a text an application sends to a person, and carriers apply different rules, filters and prices to each.
Sources
- TCPA, ecfr.gov, checked on September 4, 2026