How to Run TCPA-Compliant Webinar SMS Reminders

The TCPA — Telephone Consumer Protection Act — is the federal framework governing marketing SMS in the U.S. Combined with A2P 10DLC (the carrier-level registration regime), it’s the two-layer compliance stack every webinar operator using SMS has to satisfy.

Step 1: Draft express written consent at opt-in

The TCPA requires express written consent before sending marketing SMS. The consent must be:

• Standalone — not bundled with a Terms of Service acceptance
• Clear about the channel — explicit reference to SMS
• Clear about the sender — the contact must know who’s sending
• Clear about frequency — “message frequency varies” is acceptable
• Clear about opt-out — reply STOP to unsubscribe

Example consent line:

“By registering, I agree to receive event reminders and follow-up messages from [Brand Name] via email and SMS. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help.”

Place this above the submit button, not below. Make sure the submit button text makes it clear that submitting equals consent.

Step 2: Register for A2P 10DLC

A2P 10DLC (application-to-person 10-digit long code) is the U.S. carrier registration regime. Required to send SMS at any meaningful volume without rate-limiting.

The registration steps (through your SMS provider — Twilio, GHL, or another):

1. Brand registration — submit your EIN, business address, and contact info. Takes 1–3 business days.
2. Campaign approval — submit a sample message, the consent language, and the opt-in funnel URL. Takes 3–7 business days.
3. Approval — once approved, you can send at the registered campaign’s throughput.

Without 10DLC registration, your SMS may be filtered, throttled, or blocked entirely.

Step 3: Configure STOP/HELP/START keyword handling

Most providers handle these automatically. The standard set:

• STOP / STOPALL / UNSUBSCRIBE / CANCEL / END / QUIT — opt-out
• HELP / INFO — returns brand contact info
• START / YES / UNSTOP — re-subscribe

Confirm these work in your test environment before launch. We’ve seen providers silently fail to handle STOP — which becomes a TCPA violation the first time a contact opts out and keeps receiving messages.

Step 4: Cap SMS volume per registration

Recommended ceiling: ~5 SMS touches per webinar registration. The cadence the snapshot ships with:

• T-1 hour: SMS reminder
• T-15 min: SMS push
• T-5 min: SMS final push
• T+30 min: replay link (if no-show)
• T+24h on replay-watch: buyer-signal SMS (if applicable)

Suppress all remaining SMS to contacts who’ve already attended live. Reduces friction and keeps the per-registration count reasonable.

Step 5: Respect quiet hours

The TCPA implementing rules treat 9pm to 8am as quiet hours in the contact’s local timezone. The snapshot suppresses SMS during these windows by default. Override only with explicit operator decision.

Step 6: Honor per-channel opt-out

If a contact opts out of SMS, they should still get email. If they opt out of email, they should still get SMS. Per-channel opt-out is the polite default and matches CAN-SPAM (the email equivalent).

Step 7: Document everything

Keep a record of:

• The consent language live on your opt-in form (screenshot, dated)
• The A2P registration approval emails
• Per-contact opt-out logs
• The list of SMS touches that fired per registration

If a TCPA complaint ever lands, these records are what defend you.

What the snapshot does

• Consent language is part of the opt-in template
• A2P 10DLC walk-through is included in the install call
• STOP/HELP/START keywords auto-handled
• Per-channel opt-out respected across every workflow
• Quiet-hour suppression on by default
• Per-contact opt-out logs visible in GHL contact records

Get the snapshot → — compliant SMS reminder layer pre-built.