Robocall Guide · Answers
Do Robocall Laws Cover Text Messages: Yes, a Text Is a Call
Yes. Since 2003 the federal robocall law has treated a text message to a cell phone as a call. That single fact carries everything else: the same consent requirement, the same STOP rule, and the same $500 to $1,500 per message. This page gives the short answer and where it comes from. The full rulebook is on TCPA text message rules.
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Short answer
Yes. The TCPA covers text messages. The FCC ruled in 2003 that a text sent to a cell phone is a “call” under the statute, and courts have applied that reading ever since, including the U.S. Supreme Court. An automated marketing text to your cell without written consent is the same violation as a recorded call: $500 per message, up to $1,500 if willful.
The short answer
- A text to a cell phone is a call under the TCPA. Settled since 2003.
- The same consent rule applies: written permission for marketing texts.
- The same price applies: $500 to $1,500 per message.
- The detailed rules live on the TCPA text message rules page.
The one-sentence answer, and where it comes from
A text message is a call. The TCPA was written in 1991, before texting existed, but it restricts using an automatic telephone dialing system to “make any call” to a cell phone. In 2003 the FCC ruled that this language covers text messages sent to a cell phone number. Federal courts adopted that reading, and the Supreme Court has decided TCPA cases about texts without questioning it, including a 2016 case over recruiting texts and a 2021 case over security-alert texts.
What “covered” changes for you
Because a text is a call, three things follow automatically:
- Consent. A company needs your prior express consent to send automated texts to your cell, and for marketing texts that consent must be in writing.
- STOP. Replying STOP revokes consent. Texts that keep arriving after that are the same as calls after a stop request, and can be treated as willful.
- Price. Each text sent in violation is worth $500, up to $1,500 if willful, and the amounts stack across every message.
It also means texts to a number reassigned to you, about the previous owner’s account, are violations, because consent belongs to the person and not the number.
Where the full rulebook lives
This page stops at the yes. The details, which texts need written consent and which do not, how STOP and other opt-out words work, what happens with wrong-number and recycled-number texts, which transactional messages are allowed, and what to save, are laid out on the TCPA text message rules. If you already know the texts are unwanted and want to know what to do about them, the service page for spam text message lawsuits is the next stop.
Texts the law does not reach
Two kinds of messages sit outside the automated-text rule. A message a person typed and sent to you individually, without a dialing platform, is not an autodialed text, though a live salesperson still has to respect the Do Not Call Registry. And messages you agreed to receive, such as delivery updates or two-factor codes from a service you use, are consented and expected. The violations are the mass blasts you never opted into and the ones that continue after you said stop.
If those are what you are getting, save the thread with the sender’s number and timestamps visible, and get a free review from Max Morgan, Esq. No fee unless you recover.
Related: TCPA text message rules · Spam text message lawsuit · I replied STOP and they kept texting · Do I qualify?
What kind of calls are you getting?
Each of these is a real, recoverable claim under the TCPA.
Wrong-number robocalls
Prerecorded or auto-dialed calls meant for someone else. You can have a claim even though you’re not a customer.
About wrong-number robocall claimsWrong-number debt collection
Auto-dialed collection calls for a debt that was never yours. Illegal twice over, and it pays.
About wrong-number debt collection claims“Stop calling me”
You told them to stop and the calls kept coming. Each one can be a separate violation.
About claims for calls after you said stopSpam text messages
Marketing texts you never agreed to count under the TCPA too. Screenshots are often all the proof you need.
About spam text message lawsuitsDo-Not-Call violations
Registered your number and the calls didn’t stop? Continued telemarketing may entitle you to damages.
About Do Not Call violation claimsPrerecorded cell calls
Robotic or artificial-voice calls to your cell without consent are a clear TCPA violation.
About prerecorded cell call claimsRobocall laws and texts: FAQs
Which law covers spam text messages?
The TCPA, the same federal law that covers robocalls. The FCC ruled in 2003 that a text to a cell phone is a call under the statute, and courts including the Supreme Court have applied that reading. There is no separate federal spam text statute for consumers to sue under.
Does a text from a real person at a company count as a robocall text?
Not under the automated-text rule, if the person typed and sent it individually without a dialing platform. Texts sent through mass-messaging software count even when a human pressed send. A live salesperson texting you still has to honor the Do Not Call Registry.
Are ringless voicemails covered by robocall laws?
Yes. The FCC declared in 2022 that a ringless voicemail, a message dropped into your voicemail without your phone ringing, is a call under the TCPA. It needs the same consent as a recorded call to your cell.
Do robocall laws cover texts sent through an app instead of SMS?
Messages sent to your cell phone number by an automated system are covered regardless of the software used to send them. Messages inside an app that do not use your phone number are a more contested area. If you are unsure, save the messages and ask.
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