Texas SB 140 compliance features

This guide shows how Bloomreach helps you follow Texas Senate Bill 140 rules while running effective SMS and MMS campaigns.

What is changing

Previously, Texas telemarketing laws under the Texas Business and Commerce Code applied only to voice calls. With SB 140, the law now covers text messages (SMS/MMS) and other electronic solicitations. If you send marketing texts to Texas residents—or if your business is located in Texas and sends marketing texts—you may be required to register with the Texas Secretary of State and follow new compliance requirements. These changes took effect on September 1, 2025.

What is Texas SB 140 compliance support

Texas Senate Bill 140 (SB 140) became effective on September 1, 2025. This new law allows Texas residents to sue your business directly if your organization violates texting and calling restrictions. They don't need to file a government complaint first.

Find complete legal details here:

• Texas SB 140 Final Bill Text
• Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 302 for registration rules

Statutory damages range from $500 to $5,000 per violation, with additional exposure to treble damages, mental anguish damages, and attorney's fees under the DTPA. These per-violation penalties can accumulate rapidly across large messaging programs.

Bloomreach has built-in tools to help support your compliance efforts. These tools track customer permissions and check phone numbers for potential problems. When customers send a recognized opt-out keyword, the system processes it immediately and updates records with detailed timestamps. Configuring these tools correctly—and ensuring your opt-out setup captures all reasonable opt-out language—is your responsibility.

Texas SB 140 compliance benefits

• Support your compliance efforts: Built-in tools help track consent, validate phone numbers, and process opt-out requests. Correct configuration is required for these tools to work as intended.

• Manage your legal risk: Complete permission tracking can protect you from potential lawsuits. When customers unsubscribe, the system processes their unsubscribe request instantly.

• Keep complete records for proof: Every customer's permission gets saved with exact timestamps. Every campaign message gets logged, too. When you need to prove compliance, you have all the documentation ready.

• Save time on manual tracking: Your team can focus on creating campaigns instead of manually managing compliance records. The system handles logging and tracking automatically.

• Process opt-outs immediately: Recognized opt-out keywords are processed as soon as a message arrives. Configure your keyword setup carefully to make sure all opt-out phrases your business needs to honor are included.

Compliance use cases

• Online stores and ecommerce: Online retailers can send product updates and sale notices to Texas customers. The system automatically checks customer consent before sending. It also respects quiet hours, so messages arrive at appropriate times.

• Service appointments and bookings: Doctors, salons, and service businesses can send appointment confirmations safely. The system keeps compliant consent records for every customer. When someone sends a recognized opt-out keyword, it processes the request immediately.

• Restaurant chains and local marketing: Restaurant chains can send location-specific offers and menu updates. Each message automatically respects local time zones across different areas. The system also maintains proper consent records for every location.

• Banks and financial services: Banks can send account updates and promotional offers to customers. They can meet strict consent requirements while keeping detailed compliance records. This helps financial institutions avoid regulatory problems.

How Texas SB 140 compliance features work

Customer permission tracking

What it does: Automatically tracks and records when customers give you permission to text them. This includes timestamps, the type of consent provided, the method of customer identification, and expiration dates.

How it helps you comply: SB 140 requires clear, provable consent to contact Texas residents. Bloomreach securely stores these records, making it easier to demonstrate your compliance efforts if needed.

You can collect consent through automated workflows, CSV file uploads, or system integrations. All events are searchable and exportable via dashboards.

Setup resources:

• Consent management overview and setup
• Managing consent categories
• Tracking consent events and structure

Phone number validation

What it does: The system performs periodic automated checks on phone numbers to identify risks. This includes disconnected numbers, numbers recently reassigned to new owners, and numbers from high-risk litigious individuals.

How it helps you comply: Prevents sending to numbers that could raise red flags under SB 140. This reduces the chance of accidental rule violations or lawsuits.

Setup resources:

• SMS campaigns and number validation
• TCPA list validation setup

Real-time opt-out processing

What it does: When customers send a configured opt-out keyword—such as "STOP" or "UNSUBSCRIBE"—Bloomreach immediately opts them out, sends a confirmation message, and updates records with timestamps.

How it helps you comply: Ensures recognized opt-out requests are honored immediately. Under SB 140 and TCPA/FCC guidance, you're also expected to honor reasonable opt-out language beyond exact keywords—for example, "please stop sending me texts" or "take me off your list." Keyword auto-responses only trigger when the keyword appears at the start of the message, so phrases like "please STOP" won't be caught by default. Configure additional keywords and use scenarios to catch natural-language opt-outs.

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Important

Bloomreach provides tools to help you capture and process opt-out requests. It's your responsibility to configure those tools so all opt-out requests you determine are reasonable under applicable law are detected and honored. Nothing in this documentation is legal advice.

Setup resources:

• Consent management for opt-outs
• Keyword auto responses
• Keyword auto-response best practices
• Two-way messaging

Quiet hours and time zone management

What it does: Lets you define company-wide quiet hours that prohibit messages during specific times (like 9 PM to 8 AM). These hours are applied globally based on a selected time zone. To implement true local time zone quiet hours, you can configure custom scenarios.

How it helps you comply: Helps prevent messages from being sent outside the quiet hours you configure. This reduces the risk of consumer complaints and meets SB 140's local-time contact requirements.

Setup resources:

• Campaigns' silent hours configuration

Comprehensive recordkeeping

What it does: Logs every campaign and compliance event, including customer consent events, message send logs, every unsubscribe action, and system responses to opt-out requests.

How it helps you comply: Provides a transparent audit trail that can be used for legal defense or regulatory investigations. Records are available through dashboards and can be exported for official documentation.

Setup resources:

• Customer consent API
• SMS evaluation dashboard
• System events and campaign tracking

Self-service compliance settings

What it does: Most features like consent management, quiet hours, and validation options can be configured directly in your Bloomreach dashboard under SMS settings.

How it helps you comply: Makes it easy for admins to update and control compliance parameters without custom work or external intervention.

Setup resources:

• Project settings for compliance
• SMS sign-up units for consent collection
• TCPA and CTIA compliance best practices

Access compliance features

For new customers getting started

Contact your sales rep to include Texas SB 140 compliance features in your account setup. These features come with Bloomreach's SMS and MMS capabilities.

For existing customers using our platform

Compliance features are already in your Bloomreach account. Contact your Customer Success Manager for help with setup. They can review your current compliance setup. They'll help you turn on extra validation features. You can set up quiet hours and time zone settings together. They'll also help you create consent tracking workflows.

Self-service setup for independent users

You can access compliance settings through your Bloomreach dashboard. Look under the SMS settings and consent management sections. Most features can be set up by account administrators without extra support.

Telemarketer registration: Who must register and how to comply

Registration clarification for consent-based programs

Recent legal clarification from the State of Texas confirms that businesses operating consent-based text message programs—where messages are sent only to consumers who have affirmatively opted in—aren't required to register as telemarketers under Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 302.

However, this clarification addresses registration requirements only. SB 140's private right of action under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA) still applies to all SMS/MMS programs, including consent-based ones. This means your business remains exposed to:

• Potential lawsuits from Texas residents.
• Damages between $500–$5,000 per violation.
• Treble damages (triple the actual damages).
• Mental anguish damages
• Attorney's fees

This makes proper consent documentation essential—even if you don't need to register. Your compliance features in Bloomreach remain critical for managing this risk.

Who must register

If your SMS/MMS program includes any non-consented or mixed outreach to Texas residents, you may need to register with the Texas Secretary of State. Consult your Legal team to determine if registration applies to your specific program.

Businesses that place telemarketing calls or send marketing texts to Texas residents generally must register with the Texas Secretary of State. Exemptions include:

• Certain publicly traded companies and subsidiaries.
• Certain financial institutions.
• Educational institutions.
• 501(c)(3) nonprofits.
• Businesses marketing the sale of food.
• Retail sellers with brick-and-mortar locations operating under the same name for at least 2 years, with most sales occurring in-store.
• Businesses contacting current or former customers if operating under the same business name for at least 2 years.

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Important

Always review the law text and consult with your Legal team to confirm if an exemption applies.

How to register

• Complete the Texas telemarketer registration form with the Secretary of State.
• Pay the $200 annual application fee.
• Post a $10,000 security deposit via a surety bond, letter of credit, or certificate of deposit (most brands choose a surety bond for a lower upfront cost).
• Renew registration annually and submit quarterly activity reports as required.

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Important

Registration is only valid once the Secretary of State issues the certificate—not when you submit the application.

Limitations

• Legal advice note: These features help support your Texas compliance efforts. Bloomreach doesn’t guarantee full compliance with all laws. Your business must still comply with all applicable legal requirements. Talk with lawyers for advice about your specific situation.

• Registration requirements: Bloomreach doesn't handle Texas telemarketer registration for you. You must complete this registration process yourself. This includes paying the $200 yearly fee. You must also file quarterly reports as required by law. See Texas Business and Commerce Code Chapter 302 for complete details.

• Opt-out keyword matching: Keyword auto-responses only trigger when the keyword appears at the start of the message. Phrases like "please STOP" or "take me off your list" won't be caught unless you configure additional keywords or set up Scenarios to handle natural-language opt-outs. See Keyword auto-response best practices for guidance on building fuller opt-out coverage.

• Permission form checking: Our platform tracks all permission events. But it doesn't check that your permission forms meet specific Texas SB 140 format requirements. Work with your legal team to make sure your permission language follows the new law. For detailed requirements, check FCC TCPA Rules – Consent Requirements for federal guidelines. Consult qualified Legal counsel for guidance specific to your SB 140 obligations.

• Multiple state rules: These features focus mainly on Texas requirements. If you operate in multiple states with different messaging rules, you may need extra compliance steps beyond what these features cover.

• Third-party platforms: Our compliance protections apply to messages sent through Bloomreach. If you use other messaging platforms, you must make sure those systems also meet Texas SB 140 requirements.