November 3, 2026. The FCC applies its do-not-call rules to marketing texts: 47 CFR 64.1200(e) extends the national registry, the 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window and the company do-not-call rules to texts sent to mobile numbers. What changed is who can sue. On 14 July 2026 the Seventh Circuit held in Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services that texts are not telephone calls under 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5), so in federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin a 227(c)(5) suit cannot rest on texts alone. State laws, FCC enforcement and, in several circuits, the autodialer provision still reach texts, and revised federal opt-out rules take effect on 25 November 2026.
Key numbers
| Item | Number |
|---|---|
| Seventh Circuit decision in Steidinger (texts are not calls under 227(c)(5)) | 14 July 2026 |
| FCC rule extending the registry to texts took effect (89 FR 5098, now 64.1200(e)) | 26 March 2024 |
| Ninth Circuit ruling in Howard (a text is a call under 227(b)) | 13 January 2026 |
| Federal window for marketing texts (recipient's local time, 64.1200(c)(1)) | 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. |
| Damages per violation, TCPA private suit (up to $500 under 227(c)(5)) | $500 |
| Maximum per violation if willful or knowing (court's discretion, up to three times) | $1,500 |
| Deadline to honor a do-not-call request (64.1200(d)(3)) | 10 business days |
| Reply words a texter must honor (stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, unsubscribe) | 7 |
| FCC revised opt-out rules take effect (FCC 26-67, 91 FR 67214) | 25 November 2026 |
| Florida: days after a STOP reply before a text suit (Fla. Stat. 501.059(10)(c)) | 15 days |
| Pennsylvania Act 47 in force (texts count as telephone solicitations) | 18 October 2026 |
| Business relationship window after a purchase (three months after an inquiry) | 18 months |
Court opinions, eCFR (current to 30 October 2026), the Federal Register and state statutes read on 2 and 3 November 2026.
Key dates for texting and the do-not-call rules
- 26 March 2024: the FCC order that "codifies that the National Do-Not-Call (DNC) Registry's protections extend to text messages" takes effect (89 FR 5098).
- 13 January 2026: the Ninth Circuit holds in Howard v. Republican National Committee that "a text message is properly deemed to be a 'call' within the meaning of the TCPA", in a case under the autodialer and prerecorded-voice provision, 227(b). The plaintiff still lost, because the text was not a call made using a prerecorded voice.
- 14 July 2026: the Seventh Circuit reaches a different answer for a different provision, the do-not-call private right of action in 227(c)(5).
- 18 October 2026: Pennsylvania's Act 47 takes effect, 90 days after signing, and counts a text message as a telephone solicitation.
- 25 November 2026: the FCC's revised consent revocation rules take effect (91 FR 67214).
What the FCC's rules say about marketing texts
Three parts of 47 CFR 64.1200, current on eCFR to 30 October 2026, do the work. Paragraph (c) bars a telephone solicitation to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. local time, or to a number on the national registry. Paragraph (d) requires a company do-not-call list, and a request must be honored within a reasonable time that "may not exceed ten (10) business days". Paragraph (e) says both "are applicable to any person or entity making telephone solicitations or telemarketing calls or text messages to wireless telephone numbers", to the extent the FCC's 2003 order describes.
A telephone solicitation is "the initiation of a telephone call or message" to encourage a purchase. It excludes a message sent with the person's "prior express invitation or permission", one sent to someone with an established business relationship (a purchase or transaction in the past 18 months, or an inquiry or application in the past three months), and messages from tax-exempt nonprofits. The FCC's January 2024 order put it plainly: "Texters must have the consumer's prior express invitation or permission before sending a marketing text to a wireless number in the DNC Registry." The registry that covers calls is the one that covers texts; on our reading, the rule does not create a separate do-not-text list.
What the Seventh Circuit decided on 14 July 2026
In Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, recipients said marketing texts for home sleep tests kept coming after they replied "STOP" or registered their numbers. They sued under 227(c)(5), which lets a person who "has received more than one telephone call within any 12-month period" in violation of the do-not-call rules recover up to $500 per violation (47 U.S.C. 227). The court read "telephone call" as it was understood in 1991, when a telephone was "[a]n instrument for reproducing sounds at a distance", and concluded that "texts are not calls". Other parts of 227(c) use the broader term telephone solicitation, which covers a "call or message"; (c)(5) does not.
The court also declined to follow the FCC, which "has interpreted 'call' to include text messages". The registry rule rests on 227(c)(3), it said, and "we aren't bound by the FCC's interpretation", citing the Supreme Court's 2025 decision in McLaughlin Chiropractic v. McKesson. It closed: "spam messages may be curbed through agency action pursuant to other provisions of § 227, which we leave undisturbed." The ruling binds federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin. It does not rewrite the FCC's rules, and the trial court declined to hear the plaintiffs' Florida claim rather than rejecting it.
Where a text can still lead to a lawsuit
- The autodialer and prerecorded-voice provision. 227(b)(3) gives $500 per violation, and a court may raise it to three times that, $1,500, for willful or knowing violations. Steidinger did not decide it. The opinion lists 227(b) decisions from the First, Second, Ninth and Eleventh Circuits that treat texts as calls, including the Ninth Circuit's January 2026 ruling in Howard.
- Do-not-call suits elsewhere. Steidinger binds only the Seventh Circuit; courts in other circuits decide the 227(c)(5) question for themselves.
- State laws. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act defines a telephonic sales call as "a telephone call, text message, or voicemail transmission", allows $500 or actual damages (up to three times if willful or knowing), and requires a "STOP" reply and 15 days before a suit over texts. Pennsylvania's amended law counts a text message as a telephone solicitation from 18 October 2026 and allows solicitations only from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with none on Sundays. See our guides to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act, Pennsylvania's Act 47 and telemarketing laws by state.
- State attorneys general. 227(g) lets a state sue over "a pattern or practice of telephone calls or other transmissions" that break the TCPA rules, at $500 per violation. On our reading, "other transmissions" reaches texts; Steidinger did not address it.
- The FCC itself. The court left agency enforcement "undisturbed".
This is general information, not legal advice.
What changes for texters on 25 November 2026
The FCC's revised rules in FCC 26-67 take effect on 25 November 2026, 22 days from today. A sender that designates a reply text as the exclusive way to revoke consent must disclose it, and the FCC says naming "even just one of the standardized words" in each text satisfies that. Senders "still must honor revocation requests made using any of the standardized words": "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" and "unsubscribe". Pennsylvania lists the same seven words as do-not-call requests for texts. Our TCPA opt-out requirements guide covers the rest of the order.
A worked example of the exposure
Take a hypothetical campaign: two marketing texts in a year to each of 1,000 numbers on the national registry, with no permission and no business relationship. If a court counted each text as a violation at up to $500, the claim would be worth up to $1,000,000, and up to $3,000,000 if the court trebled it for willful or knowing conduct. In federal court in Illinois, Indiana or Wisconsin, that 227(c)(5) claim would now fail under Steidinger. Elsewhere it would be argued case by case, and the FCC's rule applies nationwide.
What it means for operators
- Keep scrubbing. Check numbers against the national registry before any marketing text, and honor your own do-not-call list within 10 business days. Our Do Not Call Registry cost guide covers the fees, and the reassigned numbers database covers numbers that changed hands.
- Record permission. The federal rule asks for "prior express invitation or permission"; Florida and Pennsylvania each define prior express written consent for their own rules.
- Send inside the windows. 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time under the federal rule; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and never on a Sunday under Pennsylvania's.
- Honor every reply word. Treat all seven words as an opt-out, whatever word your messages name.
- Do not plan around Steidinger. It removes one claim, 227(c)(5) suits over texts, in federal courts in three states. It leaves the FCC's rules, state laws and agency enforcement in place.
Carrier registration is a separate track; see our 10DLC registration cost guide. If an AI agent calls or texts your leads, see AI calling built around TCPA consent and, for inbound calls, AI call answering for home services. Related: TCPA vicarious liability and the TCPA statute of limitations. This is general information, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes under the FCC's rules. 47 CFR 64.1200(e) applies the national registry and company do-not-call rules to telephone solicitations and text messages sent to wireless numbers, and the FCC's January 2024 order says texters need prior express invitation or permission before sending a marketing text to a registered number. Since 14 July 2026, federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin follow Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, which holds that texts are not telephone calls under the private right of action in 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5).
Not a separate one, on our reading. The FCC codified in 2024 that the National Do-Not-Call Registry's protections extend to text messages, so a number registered against calls is covered for marketing texts too. A sender needs the person's prior express invitation or permission, or an established business relationship, before sending a marketing text to a registered number.
Only if the text is not a telephone solicitation under the FCC's definition: the person gave prior express invitation or permission, you have an established business relationship (a purchase or transaction in the past 18 months, or an inquiry in the past three months, not ended by a do-not-call request), or you are a tax-exempt nonprofit. State laws can be stricter; Pennsylvania's Act 47 counts a text message as a telephone solicitation and bars solicitations on Sundays.
On 14 July 2026 it held that 47 U.S.C. 227(c)(5) lets people sue over unwanted telephone calls but not text messages, because a telephone call in 1991 meant communication by sound. It affirmed the dismissal of the TCPA claims, said the FCC's registry rule rests on a different subsection and that it is not bound by the FCC's interpretation of call, and left FCC enforcement under other provisions undisturbed. The ruling binds federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin.
Under 47 U.S.C. 227(b)(3) a person can recover $500 per violation. Under 227(c)(5) it is up to $500 per violation where a court lets a text claim proceed; federal courts in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin no longer do. For willful or knowing violations a court may raise the award up to three times, $1,500. Florida's Telephone Solicitation Act allows $500 or actual damages, also up to three times, but a suit over texts needs a STOP reply and texts that keep coming 15 days after it.
The FCC's rules name seven standardized words: stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel and unsubscribe, and a sender must honor a revocation made with any of them. From 25 November 2026, a sender that designates a reply text as its exclusive way to revoke consent may name just one of the words in each message. Do-not-call requests must be honored within a reasonable time of no more than 10 business days.