SMS opt-in language that holds up

An opt-in for text messages needs to say who will text, what kind of messages, roughly how often, that message and data rates may apply, and how to stop. It needs to be a separate, unticked choice for marketing, and it needs to be recorded with the wording, the time and the source. "By submitting you agree to receive texts" in grey type under a button is the version that does not hold up. This post explains the shape; it is not legal advice.

The five things a consent line says

1. Who. Your business name.
2. What. The kind of messages: appointment reminders and replies, or promotions and offers.
3. How often. "Message frequency varies" is common; a rough number is better.
4. Costs. "Message and data rates may apply."
5. How to stop. "Reply STOP to opt out. Reply HELP for help."

Marketing consent under the strictest reading of the TCPA also needs to be clear that consent is not a condition of purchase, and needs to be in writing (an electronic checkbox counts).

Two kinds of consent, kept separate

Consent to receive reminders and replies about your appointment is one thing. Consent to receive promotions is another, and legally the stricter one. Bundling them ("agree to receive texts") gives you weak consent for both. Ask twice, plainly, and let people say yes to reminders and no to marketing.

Examples

Booking flow, reminders: "☐ Text me reminders and updates about my appointments from Northside Dental at this number. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."

Web form, marketing: "☐ I would like to receive occasional offers and news from Northside Dental by text (up to 4 per month). Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help."

Paper form at the desk: the same wording, with a signature line and the date, scanned to the record.

In conversation: "Can we text you appointment reminders at this number? Reply YES to confirm." A YES reply, logged with the question and the timestamp, is a usable record for reminders. For marketing, use a written form.

Mistakes that make consent unusable

A pre-ticked box. Consent buried in terms and conditions. One checkbox for reminders and marketing. No record of what the person actually saw. Consent collected on a form for one purpose used for another. Consent collected for one number and used from another business's number. And consent that predates a change to what you send: if you start sending promotions, ask again.

The record

For every opt-in, keep: the phone number, the exact wording shown, the date and time, the source (which form, which conversation), and any identifying detail like the IP address for web forms. Keep opt-outs the same way. If a complaint arrives, this is what answers it. Our post on keeping a consent record goes into detail.

Honouring the answer

STOP stops everything from that number immediately and is remembered permanently. A customer who says "please stop texting me" in a reply has also opted out, even without the keyword, and the system should recognise it. Re-consent requires a new, explicit yes; do not treat a later booking as one.

Frequently asked questions

Does a customer texting us first count as consent?

For replying to them, yes, in practice. For sending them reminders or marketing later, ask explicitly and record it.

Can I get consent by phone?

For reminders, a verbal yes noted on the record is common practice. For marketing, the safer course is written consent, which a text reply to a clear question can be.

How long does consent last?

Until revoked, but ask again if what you send changes or if the customer has been inactive for a long time.

What Frontiva does here

In Frontiva, reminder consent is an unticked checkbox at booking and the exact wording is saved onto the contact; every outbound message passes one send check that reads consent, opt-out and purpose; STOP and START are handled without the AI; and HELP gets the carrier-required disclosure. Marketing sends are refused entirely today, because nothing in the product captures marketing consent yet. See STOP, HELP and the texts you must answer for the keyword mechanics.

Wording is half of it; the other half is honouring what it promised. Frontiva records an opt-out against the person rather than the thread, so a STOP on SMS stops the sends, and the unified inbox shows the block before somebody types a reply that would be refused.