The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the primary federal law governing text message marketing. With enforcement actions on the rise, real estate professionals need to understand and follow these rules to avoid potentially devastating fines.
Key Requirements
Prior express written consent for marketing messages. Clear identification of the sender. Opt-out mechanism in every message. Honoring opt-out requests within 10 business days. No messages before 8 AM or after 9 PM in the recipient's time zone.
Recent Updates for 2026
The FCC has tightened rules around lead generation consent. Consent must now be specific to each party that will send messages — blanket consent forms covering multiple companies are no longer valid. This means if you're buying leads from a lead aggregator, the consent must specifically name your company.
Penalties for Non-Compliance
TCPA violations can result in statutory damages of $500 per message, tripled to $1,500 for willful violations. With text campaigns often sending thousands of messages, the exposure can be enormous. A single campaign of 5,000 messages could result in $7.5 million in potential liability.
How SimpliLeads Protects You
Every SimpliLeads SMS campaign is built with compliance at the core. We maintain opt-out lists, include required disclosures, respect time-of-day restrictions, and ensure all campaigns are properly registered via 10-DLC. Our compliance team monitors regulatory changes and updates our processes accordingly.
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Let SimpliLeads handle your lead generation so you can focus on closing.