Guide

Debt Collection Text Messages: SMS Best Practices for Creditors

Updated October 17, 2026 · CollectionPlacement editorial team

For creditors placing accounts with agencies. Many customers would rather read a text than take a call. Used well, text messages can make it easier for a customer to respond, set up a plan or pay. Used carelessly, they create legal exposure under federal debt collection rules and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, and that risk can reach your brand. Here's how compliant SMS collection works and what to ask an agency before you approve it. Get matched with a collection partner, free →

Are collection agencies allowed to text?

Yes, within limits. The CFPB's Regulation F (12 CFR part 1006), which implements the FDCPA for consumer debts, expressly addresses electronic communications, including text messages. Texts to cell phones are also subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), 47 U.S.C. §227. In Campbell-Ewald Co. v. Gomez, 577 U.S. 153 (2016), the Supreme Court noted it was undisputed that a text message to a cell phone counts as a 'call' under §227(b)(1)(A)(iii). The FCC has long taken the same view. State laws can add more requirements. Nothing in the law gives collectors unlimited texting, whatever older articles say.

The federal rules in plain English

Opt-out in every message

Each text a collector sends to a consumer about a debt must include a clear and conspicuous statement of a reasonable and simple way to opt out of further electronic communications to that number. The collector can't charge a fee or ask for more than the consumer's opt-out preference and the number to stop texting (12 CFR 1006.6(e)). In practice, that means instructions like "Reply STOP to opt out."

Honor the request, and the channel preference

Once a person asks a collector not to use a medium of communication, the collector generally must stop using it. After an electronic opt-out, the collector may send one confirmation that only confirms the request and that it will be honored, and may reply once if the person later reaches out through that blocked channel (12 CFR 1006.14(h)).

Time and place

The same inconvenient-time rule applies to texts as to calls. Unless the collector knows otherwise, before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the consumer's location is inconvenient (12 CFR 1006.6(b)(1)). Because people travel and area codes move with them, careful agencies schedule texts conservatively.

The 7-in-7 call limit, and how texts fit

Regulation F presumes a collector complies with the harassment rule if it places no more than seven telephone calls about a particular debt in seven consecutive days, and none within seven days after a phone conversation about that debt (12 CFR 1006.14(b)(2)). Text messages aren't counted toward this call limit (Reg F official comment 14(b)-1). But heavy texting can still be harassment under 12 CFR 1006.14(a) (comment 14(a)-1), so a flood of texts can be a violation even if the call count is fine.

Third parties and privacy

A collector generally can't discuss a debt with anyone other than the consumer and a few listed parties (12 CFR 1006.6(d)). With texts, that means confirming the number belongs to the debtor. Regulation F gives collectors a safe harbor for the bona fide error defense if their procedures reasonably confirm and document that an email or text went to an address or number meeting the conditions in 12 CFR 1006.6(d)(4) (email) or (d)(5) (texts). For texts, that generally means the consumer texted the collector from that number, or gave the collector consent to text it, and within the past 60 days the collector got a new text or renewed consent from that number, or confirmed through a complete and accurate database that the number hasn't been reassigned (12 CFR 1006.6(d)(3)–(5)). Message content should assume someone else might see the screen.

TCPA consent

The TCPA bars calls to a cell phone, and the FCC and courts apply this to texts, made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice without prior express consent, except for emergencies (47 U.S.C. §227(b)(1)(A)(iii)). In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021), the Supreme Court held that a device is an autodialer only if it can store or produce telephone numbers using a random or sequential number generator. Many collection texting platforms may fall outside that definition, but some state laws define autodialers more broadly, and consent is still the safer foundation. For creditors, the practical step is to capture written consent to receive texts about the account at the time of sale or credit application, and keep the records. Consumers can revoke consent. Under FCC rules in effect since April 2025, callers must honor revocation made by any reasonable means, including replies such as 'stop,' 'quit,' 'end,' 'revoke,' 'opt out,' 'cancel' or 'unsubscribe.' Agencies should treat all of those words as opt-outs. Revocations must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than 10 business days after the request is received. In its order FCC 26-67, the FCC adopted changes that will let callers name an exclusive opt-out method (clearly disclosed in each message) and limit an opt-out from informational texts to that category of messages. An opt-out from marketing messages still revokes consent for all of that caller's marketing. The order takes effect 30 days after it's published in the Federal Register. It hadn't been published as of October 17, 2026, so it has no effective date yet.

Industry-specific rules

Healthcare creditors should confirm that the agency's texting meets HIPAA requirements and is covered by a business associate agreement (see medical collection agency). Some states regulate collection texts or contact frequency more strictly than federal law. Ask your agency which state rules it applies. We haven't listed state rules here because they vary and change.

Writing collection texts customers respond to

• Identify clearly. Say who is texting and, in line with FDCPA disclosure rules, that the message is from a debt collector (15 U.S.C. §1692e(11); 12 CFR 1006.18(e)). Vague or mysterious messages look like scams and get ignored.
• Keep it short and specific. One purpose per message: a reminder, a plan offer, a payment confirmation.
• Offer a next step. A secure payment link, a callback number, or a reply option to set up a plan.
• Stay calm. No threats, no pressure, no all-caps. See debt collection strategies that don't annoy customers.
• Always include the opt-out, worded simply.
• Protect privacy. Avoid account details that would be harmful if someone else read the message.

Useful message types include payment reminders before a due date (from you, before placement), plan confirmations, payment receipts, and follow-ups after a letter has been sent.

Text as part of an omnichannel approach

Text works best alongside letters, email, phone and self-service payment. Let customers pick the channel they prefer, and record that choice so every contact respects it. Required notices, such as the validation notice, have their own delivery rules, so check with your agency before relying on text alone for anything legally required (12 CFR 1006.34, 1006.42).

Questions to ask an agency before approving SMS

1. How do you document TCPA consent for the numbers we provide, and what do you need from us?
2. What is your opt-out wording, and how fast are opt-outs processed across all systems?
3. What are your texting windows and frequency caps?
4. How do you confirm a number belongs to the debtor before texting?
5. Can we review your text templates?
6. Which state texting or contact rules do you apply?
7. How do you report text activity, opt-outs and complaints to us?

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Not legal advice. This page is general information, not legal advice, and laws vary by state and change over time. CollectionPlacement is a referral service, not a law firm or collection agency. Consult a licensed attorney about your situation.