Guide
Is it legal to text clients appointment reminders?
A plain-English overview of the rules for texting appointment reminders in the United States.
Last updated
Quick answer
Is it legal to text clients appointment reminders?
Generally yes, in the US, when the client gave you their mobile number for that appointment and the text is purely informational: no promotions. Identify your business in every text, include opt-out instructions, honor STOP right away, and avoid late-night texts. Marketing texts have stricter rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
The federal rule: the TCPA
The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) covers automated calls and texts to mobile phones. It treats two kinds of texts differently:
- Informational texts, like appointment reminders and confirmations, need the recipient's prior consent. A client who gives you their mobile number when booking has generally agreed to be contacted about that appointment.
- Marketing texts, like promotions and offers, need prior express written consent, a clearer and recorded opt-in.
Keep reminders purely about the appointment. That keeps them in the informational category.
Opt-outs
Every text should tell clients how to stop ("Reply STOP to opt out"), and opt-outs must be honored promptly. Under current FCC rules, people can revoke consent in any reasonable way, not only by replying STOP, so treat messages like "don't text me" as opt-outs too. NoShow AI handles STOP, START, and HELP automatically.
Identify your business
Start or end each text with your business name so clients know who's texting. Carriers expect it, and unidentified texts are more likely to be filtered as spam.
Quiet hours
Federal telemarketing rules limit sales calls and texts to between 8 AM and 9 PM in the recipient's time zone, and some states are stricter. Reminders aren't sales messages, but keeping them to waking hours is good practice and what clients expect. Quiet hours hold texts until morning.
Carrier registration (10DLC and toll-free verification)
US carriers require businesses that send texts through software to register. Texts from regular 10-digit numbers need 10DLC brand and campaign registration; texts from toll-free numbers need toll-free verification. Unregistered traffic is filtered or blocked. When you use a reminder service, the service provides the sending number and handles its registration.
State laws
Several states have their own telemarketing laws, often called "mini-TCPAs", including Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Washington. They mostly target marketing and sales texts, adding rules about consent, hours, and how often you can text. Appointment reminders that contain no marketing generally fall outside them, but check the rules for your state. Our Florida page covers the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act.
Healthcare practices
Dental and medical offices should keep texts to the essentials (first name, practice name, time) and leave diagnoses and treatment details out. If your practice needs a Business Associate Agreement with its texting provider, arrange it before you start. See reminders for medical practices.
A checklist
- Collect mobile numbers when clients book, and note how you got them.
- Send only appointment information: no promotions.
- Name your business in every text.
- Include "Reply STOP to opt out" and honor every opt-out.
- Text during waking hours in the client's time zone.
- Use a provider with registered sending numbers.
- Read our SMS terms to see how NoShow AI handles messages.
Common questions
Do I need written consent for appointment reminders?
Written consent is generally required for marketing texts. For informational texts about an appointment the client booked, consent given by providing their number for that purpose is generally treated as sufficient. Keep a record of how each client gave you their number.
Can I add a promotion to a reminder?
Avoid it. Adding an offer or upsell can turn an informational reminder into a marketing message, which needs a stronger kind of consent and falls under stricter state laws.
What happens when a client replies STOP?
Stop texting that number right away (a single confirmation that they’ve been unsubscribed is fine). Clients can opt out in other reasonable ways too, such as saying “please stop texting me”, and those requests should be honored as well.
Are healthcare appointment reminders treated differently?
Healthcare providers have some extra flexibility under federal rules for appointment reminders, and also extra duties: keep health details out of texts and check whether you need a Business Associate Agreement with your texting provider under HIPAA.