Can You Text DNC Numbers? Consent, Fines, and Reporting

Texting numbers on the Do Not Call Registry is generally illegal. Since March 26, 2024, the FCC has formally treated a text message the same as a phone call under the registry’s rules, meaning a business that sends marketing texts to a registered number without your prior consent is breaking federal law.¹ Each unlawful text carries statutory damages of $500, tripled to $1,500 if a court finds the sender acted willfully.

What the 2024 Rule Changed

The National Do Not Call Registry has been run by the Federal Trade Commission since 2003. Any consumer can add a home or mobile number for free at donotcall.gov, and once listed, the number stays on permanently. Telemarketers have 31 days to scrub registered numbers from their calling lists.²

For years the registry’s language talked about calls, and text restrictions came separately through the Telephone Consumer Protection Act. Federal agencies and courts had long taken the position that a text is a “call” under the TCPA, but the rule wasn’t written into the registry itself. In January 2024, the FCC codified it. The new rule took effect March 26, 2024, and it closes any argument that registry protections stop at voice calls.¹

The practical rule is now simple. If a number is on the registry, a business that wants to send marketing texts to it needs the recipient’s prior consent. Without that consent, the text is a violation.

When Texting a Registered Number Is Still Allowed

The registry doesn’t block every type of message. A few categories of senders can still text you even if your number is listed:

Charities and nonprofit organizations
Political campaigns and groups
Debt collectors, who must identify themselves and include an opt-out
Survey organizations that aren’t selling anything
Companies you have an existing business relationship with, for up to 18 months after your last transaction — but only for transactional or informational messages, not marketing³
Emergency messages, which are exempt from TCPA consent requirements entirely⁴

Beyond those exceptions, a business needs your permission before sending a commercial text. For marketing or advertising messages sent using an autodialer, the standard is higher: prior express written consent, meaning a signed physical or electronic agreement that names the specific seller allowed to text you.⁵ Verbal permission alone doesn’t clear that bar.

Every commercial text must also identify the sender and give you a clear way to opt out. The most familiar version is a “Reply STOP” instruction, but the sender can’t force you into one specific channel while blocking others.

How to Revoke Consent

If you once said yes to texts from a company and now want them to stop, you can revoke that consent in any reasonable way that makes your wishes clear. The FCC has been explicit that companies can’t require you to use a single opt-out method.⁶

Certain reply words are treated as automatically valid: “stop,” “quit,” “end,” “revoke,” “opt out,” “cancel,” and “unsubscribe.” You aren’t limited to those exact words, though. If a reasonable person would read your reply as a request to stop, the sender has to treat it as one. Once you revoke, the company has no more than ten business days to stop all automated texts and calls to your number. A revocation you send by text applies to both texts and calls from that sender, regardless of which medium you used to deliver it.⁶

Some texting platforms only send one direction and can’t accept replies. When that’s the case, the sender is required to say so in each message and provide another opt-out method, such as a phone number or website link.

What Violators Pay

Illegal texts carry consequences on two tracks: private lawsuits by the recipient and enforcement actions by federal agencies.

Private Lawsuits

The TCPA lets you sue in state court for each illegal text you receive. Damages are set at $500 per violation, tripled to $1,500 if the court finds the conduct willful. Because each text counts separately, even a modest campaign of unwanted messages can accumulate into a meaningful claim. For Do Not Call Registry violations specifically, you need to have received more than one illegal contact within a 12-month period from the same entity before you can file suit.⁷

Small claims court handles many of these cases. State jurisdictional limits typically range from $2,500 to $25,000, enough to cover most individual TCPA claims without hiring a lawyer.

Government Penalties

The FTC can impose civil penalties of up to $53,088 per violation under the Telemarketing Sales Rule against companies that text numbers on the registry without consent.⁸ The FCC enforces the TCPA separately and can issue its own forfeiture penalties, with the amounts adjusted annually for inflation.⁹ For businesses that treat unsolicited texting as a cost of doing business, coordinated agency actions can climb into the millions.

How to Report an Unwanted Text

You have three reporting channels, and each does something different:

Forward the message to 7726 (SPAM). This goes to your wireless carrier, which uses the report to block similar messages going forward.¹⁰
File a complaint at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC uses complaints to build cases against repeat offenders.¹⁰
File a complaint with the FCC at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov, especially when the texts involve spoofed numbers or automated dialing.

Reporting alone won’t stop texts already hitting your phone, but it feeds the enforcement pipeline and improves carrier filters. If the same sender keeps texting after you’ve opted out, save the messages. That pattern strengthens both any private lawsuit you file and any agency action against the sender.

1
Federal Communications Commission. Targeting and Eliminating Unlawful Text Messages, Implementation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
2
Federal Trade Commission. National Do Not Call Registry
3
Federal Trade Commission. The Do Not Call Registry
4
Federal Communications Commission. Enforcement Advisory No. 2016-06 – Robotext Consumer Protection
5
Federal Communications Commission. One-to-One Consent Rule for TCPA Prior Express Written Consent Frequently Asked Questions
6
Federal Communications Commission. Rules and Regulations Implementing the Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991
7
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 47 U.S. Code 227 – Restrictions on Use of Telephone Equipment
8
Federal Trade Commission. Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule
9
Federal Communications Commission. Annual Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalties To Reflect Inflation
10
Federal Trade Commission. How to Recognize and Report Spam Text Messages