Before You Send That First Marketing Text: The 2026 SMS Compliance Checklist

SMS is one of the highest-performing channels available to home service businesses right now — it sees roughly a 45% response rate against about 6% for email, with most messages read within three minutes. But in 2026, texting customers without the right setup can get you fined or your number blocked. Here's the narrow, tactical checklist to run before your next campaign.

The three non-negotiables

Register for A2P 10DLC.

This is the mandatory baseline for any business sending marketing texts in the U.S. in 2026. Unregistered numbers get filtered or blocked by carriers, and registration typically takes a few business days, so don't wait until the week you want to launch a campaign.

Use double opt-in confirmation.

A customer giving you their number for a quote is not the same as consenting to marketing texts. Send a confirmation message and require an explicit reply or checkbox before adding anyone to a recurring text list.

Include a STOP keyword in every send.

Every marketing text needs a clear opt-out instruction. This isn't optional — it's the line between a compliant campaign and a complaint that costs you your sending number.

Why it's worth doing right

The upside is real: leads contacted within 5 minutes are roughly 21 times more likely to convert than those reached after 30 minutes, and about 78% of customers hire the first company that responds. SMS is the fastest way to hit that window — but only if your setup can survive a compliance review.

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