Are churches exempt from the TCPA?

No, not in the way people think. The nonprofit carve-out keeps churches off the Do-Not-Call registry rules and drops the "written" formality for some messages, but the core rule still stands: you need a person's consent before you send autodialed texts to their cell phone. There is no church-specific exemption from that.

Do we need written consent to text our members?

For promotional or marketing texts, the standard is prior express written consent. For purely informational texts, like a service-time change, oral consent can be enough. The simplest safe path for a church is to collect a documented opt-in for everyone and not split hairs over which bucket a message falls into.

Someone wrote their number on a connection card. Can we start texting them?

A phone number by itself is not consent. The card or form should say, in plain language, that they agree to receive texts from your church. Capture that, keep a record of it, and you're on solid ground. Texting a number you were given for another reason is where churches get into trouble.

How fast do we have to honor a STOP request?

Under FCC rules effective April 2025, you must honor an opt-out within 10 business days, though the right move is to honor it immediately. People can opt out any reasonable way, and words like stop, quit, cancel, end, and unsubscribe all count. You can send one final confirmation text, but nothing more.

Does using a texting app make us an autodialer?

Probably not. After the Supreme Court's 2021 Facebook v. Duguid ruling, a system only counts as an autodialer if it generates numbers randomly or sequentially, which list-based church texting tools don't do. But that doesn't free you from consent or opt-out duties, and some states define autodialer more broadly, so don't lean on it.

TCPA and Consent for Churches: What's Required (2026)

The short version

The TCPA is the federal law that governs automated calls and texts. The FCC enforces it, and yes, a text counts as a "call" under the law. Strip away the jargon and it asks three things of your church: get permission before you text someone, make it easy to opt out, and keep a record of both. Do those and you've handled the heart of it.

The myth that gets churches in trouble

Being a 501(c)(3) does less than people assume. It keeps you off the Do-Not-Call registry rules, and for some messages it drops the requirement that consent be in writing. That's it. The core rule, that you need a person's prior consent before sending autodialed texts to their cell phone, has no nonprofit carve-out. The often-quoted nonprofit exemption is about prerecorded voice calls to landlines, not texts to phones. So when a blog tells you churches are "exempt," read it as "exempt from one narrow formality," not "free to text anyone."

What actually counts as consent

There are two tiers. Promotional or marketing texts need prior express written consent: a clear, plain-language agreement that the person will get texts, that they didn't have to agree in order to buy or receive anything, and a signature, which can be electronic. Purely informational texts, like a weather cancellation, need only prior express consent, which can be spoken. For a church, the clean move is to collect a documented written opt-in from everyone and skip the guessing game about which message is which.

One trap worth naming: a phone number is not consent. Someone scribbling their cell on a connection card so a pastor can call them has not agreed to a text list. Your card or form should say plainly that they're opting in to texts from your church, and you should keep that record. See our opt-in example for wording that works.

Honoring opt-outs (the 2025 rules)

The FCC tightened this in April 2025. People can revoke consent in any reasonable way, and you can't force them to use one magic word or one specific channel. Stop, quit, end, cancel, revoke, opt out, and unsubscribe all count. You have to honor a request within 10 business days, but honestly, do it the moment it lands. You're allowed to send a single confirmation that they've been removed, with no marketing tacked on, and then nothing else.

Does a texting app make you an autodialer?

This used to be the scary part. In 2021 the Supreme Court ruled in Facebook v. Duguid that something is only an "autodialer" if it stores or produces numbers using a random or sequential generator. A church texting platform sends to a list you built, so it generally doesn't meet that definition. Useful to know, but don't build your whole compliance plan on it: consent rules, opt-out rules, and the carrier requirements below all still apply, and a handful of states define autodialer more broadly than the federal courts do.

The carriers want consent too

Separate from the law, the wireless carriers require documented opt-in and working STOP/HELP replies for any A2P 10DLC campaign, which every church texting number now is. The CTIA's messaging principles are the practical standard your provider has to meet. In other words, even if some legal argument let you off the hook, the carriers wouldn't, and unregistered or non-compliant traffic just stops delivering. The 10DLC guide covers that side.

Quiet hours and what it costs to get this wrong

Keep sends between 8am and 9pm in the recipient's local time. That window is settled for calls and is the safe, widely-enforced practice for texts. As for stakes: the TCPA lets people sue for $500 per violation, and up to $1,500 if it was willful, counted per text. Send to a few hundred people without consent and the math gets ugly fast, which is exactly why the plaintiff's bar pays attention to mass texts.

A church's short checklist

Collect a clear, written opt-in before texting, and say it's your church texting.
Keep a record of when and how each person consented.
Put STOP and HELP instructions where people can find them, and honor STOP right away.
Send between 8am and 9pm local time.
Register your 10DLC campaign, and check your state's texting law if you're in a stricter one like Florida.

Frequently asked questions

Are churches exempt from the TCPA?: No, not in the way people think. The nonprofit carve-out keeps churches off the Do-Not-Call registry rules and drops the "written" formality for some messages, but the core rule still stands: you need a person's consent before you send autodialed texts to their cell phone. There is no church-specific exemption from that.
Do we need written consent to text our members?: For promotional or marketing texts, the standard is prior express written consent. For purely informational texts, like a service-time change, oral consent can be enough. The simplest safe path for a church is to collect a documented opt-in for everyone and not split hairs over which bucket a message falls into.
Someone wrote their number on a connection card. Can we start texting them?: A phone number by itself is not consent. The card or form should say, in plain language, that they agree to receive texts from your church. Capture that, keep a record of it, and you're on solid ground. Texting a number you were given for another reason is where churches get into trouble.
How fast do we have to honor a STOP request?: Under FCC rules effective April 2025, you must honor an opt-out within 10 business days, though the right move is to honor it immediately. People can opt out any reasonable way, and words like stop, quit, cancel, end, and unsubscribe all count. You can send one final confirmation text, but nothing more.
Does using a texting app make us an autodialer?: Probably not. After the Supreme Court's 2021 Facebook v. Duguid ruling, a system only counts as an autodialer if it generates numbers randomly or sequentially, which list-based church texting tools don't do. But that doesn't free you from consent or opt-out duties, and some states define autodialer more broadly, so don't lean on it.

Sources

Consent built into setup

Vesperbell captures opt-ins, honors STOP automatically, and registers your 10DLC campaign as part of setup, so the compliance part mostly takes care of itself. See features or the 10DLC guide.

TCPA and consent for churches