Is It Legal for Companies to Text Me?
Which texts companies are allowed to send, which ones break federal rules, where the courts stand on texts in 2026, and what to do if the spam keeps coming.
Short answer: sometimes. A company can text you if you gave it permission, or if the text is not trying to sell you anything, like a delivery update. But sales texts to a number on the Do Not Call Registry, texts after you said STOP, sales texts late at night, and sales texts that never say who they are from can all break federal rules. The law allows up to $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 if a court finds it willful or knowing.
Texts that are usually allowed
- Texts you signed up for, like a store’s deals list, until you tell them to stop.
- Informational texts that are not selling anything: order and delivery updates, appointment reminders, fraud alerts and login codes.
- A company you recently did business with. For Do Not Call purposes, a purchase gives the company 18 months, and asking about something gives it 3 months. That ends as soon as you tell them to stop.
- Political, charity and survey texts follow different rules and are not covered by the Do Not Call Registry.
Texts that can break the rules
- Sales texts to a number on the Do Not Call Registry. If your number has been registered for more than 31 days and the same company texts you to sell something two or more times in 12 months, without your permission or a recent business relationship, that can be a violation. What counts as a Do Not Call violation
- Texts after you said STOP. Companies have to honor a STOP, or any other reasonable way of saying stop, within 10 business days. Your rights after STOP
- Sales texts before 8 AM or after 9 PM your local time.
- Sales texts that never say who they are from. Companies that market by phone have to identify themselves and honor stop requests. Lots of “Hi, it’s Jessica” texts with no company name can point to more violations.
Some states, including Florida and Oklahoma, have their own laws on sales texts that can add protection on top of the federal rules.
Where the courts stand on texts in 2026
The federal law was written in 1991 and talks about “calls.” For years, courts and the FCC have treated a text message as a call. Many courts still follow that, but it is being tested:
- The Ninth Circuit, which covers California and most of the West, ruled again in January 2026 that a text message is a call under the TCPA.
- The Seventh Circuit, which covers Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin, ruled in July 2026 that texts are not calls for Do Not Call Registry claims. A few federal trial courts elsewhere, including in Colorado and northern Florida, have ruled the same way.
- Other courts are still deciding, and the question may end up at the Supreme Court.
What this means for you: where you live matters. If texts do not count as calls in your area, other rules and state laws may still apply, and calls from the same company still count. Our reports list recent rulings we know of for your state, as general information.
What to do if you are getting spam texts
- Keep everything. Screenshot each text with the number, date and time in one frame.
- Do not tap links or reply YES.
- Sign up for the Do Not Call Registry if you have not. It is free and never expires.
- Take the free 2-minute spam check to see which general rules your answers touch on.