Effective September 1, 2025: Texas Expands Telemarketing Law to Cover Text Messages

Beginning September 1, 2025, Texas will broaden the scope of its telemarketing law (Chapter 302 of the Business & Commerce Code) to explicitly include text message marketing within the definition of “telephone solicitation.” Companies using SMS for promotional purposes that include messaging consumers in Texas should assess whether they are now subject to new registration, bonding, and compliance obligations.

Key Requirements

Companies engaged in sales-oriented SMS outreach to Texas consumers must:

Register with the Texas Secretary of State
Submit a $200 filing fee
Post a $10,000 security (via a bond, irrevocable letter of credit, or certificate of deposit)
File quarterly addenda listing all salespersons engaged in solicitations
Comply with disclosure and recordkeeping mandates

These requirements have historically applied to voice-based telemarketing, but the amendment clarifies their application to modern communication platforms, including SMS.

Exemptions

A number of exemptions apply under Subchapter B of Chapter 302, most notably:

Outreach to current or former customers: No registration is required if messages are limited to prior customers and the business has operated under the same name for at least two years.
Educational Institutions and Nonprofits
Publicly Traded Companies and Financial Institutions regulated at the state or federal level
Sellers of food products, newspapers, periodicals, or cable subscriptions
Retailers with physical locations that have operated for two years under the same name, and a majority of business occurs at those locations as opposed to online
Isolated solicitations that are not part of a recurring pattern

There is not a lot of guidance on the scope of these exemptions, and they may depend on specific facts and circumstances that should be discussed with legal counsel. Also note that the law only exempts sellers (not third-party platforms) unless the provider is contracting predominantly with exempt businesses and meets other criteria.

Security Requirement

For those subject to the law, a $10,000 security deposit must accompany the registration. This can be satisfied by:

A surety bond from a licensed company
An irrevocable letter of credit from a federally insured financial institution
A certificate of deposit with restricted withdrawal rights

The purpose is to create a recovery mechanism for consumers harmed by a seller’s insolvency or contractual breach.

Broader Compliance Considerations

While Texas provides a customer-based exemption, companies should also keep in mind other states such as Florida, Maryland, and Oklahoma that have strict SMS marketing laws without such exemptions, as well as federal law (TCPA), which still requires prior express written consent for most automated marketing texts. Companies relying on marketing platforms like Klaviyo or Attentive should also review their vendor contracts to ensure data is being used only on the company’s behalf and in compliance with these rules.

Recommendations

Assess whether your SMS campaigns involve Texas consumers (or consumers in other states with registration or other special compliance requirements).
Review eligibility for exemptions, especially under the “former or current customer” carve-out.
Confirm you are properly capturing and storing user consent, ideally in a verifiable format.
Evaluate whether your platform provider meets service-provider-only criteria, or whether any contract amendments are needed.
Prepare registration materials and financial security, if required.

Please reach out to the Coblentz team for further information or assistance.