Does this cover texts to other businesses?

The Act defines consumer goods and services as things used for personal, family or household purposes, so texts selling business services may fall outside it. Its definitions do include business phone lines, so ask a lawyer before texting other businesses to sell to them.

Do federal rules still apply?

Yes. The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and FCC rules still apply on top of Pennsylvania's. If you text through software from a regular 10-digit number, carriers require that number to be registered (10DLC) through your texting provider, or they block the texts.

Do I have to register as a telemarketer?

The registration rules are aimed at businesses that send telephone solicitations, and the law exempts businesses whose calls and messages don't meet that definition. Texts about current jobs and texts to recent customers fall outside it. If you plan sales texts to people who haven't hired you in the past 12 months or given written consent, ask a lawyer about registration. Being exempt from registering doesn't excuse the other rules.

Is this legal advice?

No. It's a plain-English summary of the enacted text from someone who builds texting systems for contractors. For anything you're unsure about, ask a lawyer.

Pennsylvania Texting Law 2026: A Contractor's Guide

By Max DeAngelo, AmplifyOctober 11, 2026 · 8-minute read

What's new as of October 18

Starting October 18, 2026, Pennsylvania's telemarketing rules cover sales texts, and sales calls get tighter hours too: 9 AM to 7 PM, and no Sundays. The change comes from Act 47 of 2026, passed as Senate Bill 992 and signed July 20. October 18 is a Sunday, so be ready by Saturday, October 17. If your shop texts customers, the law decides which of those texts can stay as they are and which now have to follow telemarketing rules.

This is a plain-English read of the enacted text by someone who sets up texting systems for contractors. It's practical guidance, not legal advice.

The short version:

Sales texts now count as telephone solicitations, along with calls, voicemails and ringless voicemails.
Texts about work you're already doing don't count, and texts to people who hired you in the past 12 months usually don't either.
Sales texts can only go out from 9 AM to 7 PM, and never on a Sunday or a legal holiday.
Any reply saying they don't want them is an opt-out, including STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL and UNSUBSCRIBE.
Robocalls need written consent, and computer-generated messages can't be used to deceive or mislead anyone.

Which of your texts count

The law covers a text sent to sell goods or services, or to collect information for a sales pitch. It then carves out texts tied to existing work and texts to recent customers.

Appointment confirmations, on-my-way texts, invoice and payment reminders

Covered by the new rules?No

The law excludes messages about an existing contract, payment or performance.

A promotion to a customer you served in the past 12 months

Covered by the new rules?Usually no

A purchase in the past 12 months creates a business relationship the law excludes. A quote or inquiry alone may not carry that far. Honor opt-outs anyway.

A promotion to a customer you last served more than 12 months ago

Covered by the new rules?Yes, unless they gave written consent

The 12-month window has closed.

Texts to people who have never done business with you, such as bought lists

Covered by the new rules?Yes

No exception applies.

An automatic reply to someone who just called and didn't get through

Covered by the new rules?Gray area

The Act treats an inquiry as a business relationship, but only for that inquiry unless the person agrees to more. A reply that only answers their call is the lower-risk version. Anything that pitches a deal should follow the full rules.

Which kinds of contractor texts the new rules cover
The text	Covered by the new rules?	Why
Appointment confirmations, on-my-way texts, invoice and payment reminders	No	The law excludes messages about an existing contract, payment or performance.
A promotion to a customer you served in the past 12 months	Usually no	A purchase in the past 12 months creates a business relationship the law excludes. A quote or inquiry alone may not carry that far. Honor opt-outs anyway.
A promotion to a customer you last served more than 12 months ago	Yes, unless they gave written consent	The 12-month window has closed.
Texts to people who have never done business with you, such as bought lists	Yes	No exception applies.
An automatic reply to someone who just called and didn't get through	Gray area	The Act treats an inquiry as a business relationship, but only for that inquiry unless the person agrees to more. A reply that only answers their call is the lower-risk version. Anything that pitches a deal should follow the full rules.

The rules for texts that count

If a text falls under the law, these rules apply to it. They come from the bill text unless marked as good practice.

Send between 9 AM and 7 PM only, and never on a Sunday or a legal holiday.
Treat any stop request as a stop. Any reply saying they don't want sales texts is an opt-out, including STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL and UNSUBSCRIBE. When someone signals a sales conversation should end, end it. If you text someone who already opted out, you're protected only if all four are true: you have written procedures and follow them, you trained your staff on them, you keep a recorded do-not-contact list, and the text was an error.
Say who you are and why you're texting at the start, and what you're selling if anything.
Get written consent before any robocall. The law defines a robocall as a sales message an automated dialing system delivers with a prerecorded or artificial voice. Whether automated sales texts count as robocalls isn't settled, and at least one law-firm summary says they need written consent too, so the safe move is to get it for those as well.
Make written consent count. It has to be an agreement with your business, name the phone number, clearly say the person agrees to get sales calls or texts from you, say consent isn't required to buy anything, and be signed. An electronic signature can work, but tricks to get consent are banned. Have a lawyer check how your form words it.
Never use technology or computer-generated messages to deceive or mislead. Good practice: if an assistant writes or sends your texts, say so in the first message.
Don't hide or fake your caller ID, and don't use tricks to get past call or text filters.
Check do-not-call lists. Unless someone hired you in the past 12 months or gave written consent, check their number against Pennsylvania's do-not-call list, which updates quarterly, and the national Do Not Call Registry.

Missed-call text-back under the new law

Missed-call text-back sends a text when a call goes unanswered, so the caller hears from you in seconds instead of trying the next company. Here's how I set it up for Pennsylvania shops to keep risk low, so you can confirm the choices with your lawyer:

The first text only answers their call. It names your business, mentions the missed call and asks what they need. No deals, prices or promo links.
It says it's automated. For example: "Hi, this is the automated assistant for [your company]. Sorry we missed your call. What can we help with? Reply STOP to opt out."
Opt-outs work everywhere. Any reply asking you to stop ends texts from every number you send from, not only the seven keywords. Replies like "stop texting me" get flagged for a person to check, and each opt-out is logged.
You choose the hours. The most cautious setup holds replies to new callers from 7 PM to 9 AM, on Sundays and on legal holidays until the next allowed window. If you take emergency calls at night, a reply that only answers the call is the version to send, and the hours are worth settling with your lawyer.
Web forms ask for consent. Any form that leads to sales texts gets an unchecked, optional box that names your business, and each signup's wording, date and number is saved. Purchased leads need their own check for consent before anyone texts them.
Customer texts stay separate. Appointment and invoice texts run on their own and never carry sales offers.

The $500 Automation Audit checks every kind of text your shop sends against these rules and flags the ones that may count as sales texts.

Penalties and who is responsible

Penalties under the existing Act stay where they were: up to $1,000 per violation, or up to $3,000 when the person contacted is 60 or older (Kelley Drye). TCPAWorld adds that a violation also counts under Pennsylvania's consumer protection law, which lets consumers sue (TCPAWorld).

TCPAWorld also notes the law reaches the business that hires someone to send texts, not only the company sending them. If an agency or software vendor runs your texting, ask them how they handle the new rules.

Checklist before October 18

List every kind of text your shop sends, and who or what sends it.
Mark which ones are sales texts, using the table above.
Set sales texts to go out only from 9 AM to 7 PM, Monday to Saturday, skipping legal holidays. Pennsylvania's include Election Day (November 3), Veterans Day (November 11), Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Make sure any stop request ends texts, not only the seven keywords, and keep a recorded do-not-text list.
Write down your texting procedures and train whoever sends texts on them.
Add a consent checkbox to any web form that leads to sales texts, and check purchased or old lead lists for consent before texting them.
Check that automated texts name your business and say they're automated.
Ask any agency or software vendor that texts for you how they comply.

Questions contractors ask

Does this cover texts to other businesses?: The Act defines consumer goods and services as things used for personal, family or household purposes, so texts selling business services may fall outside it. Its definitions do include business phone lines, so ask a lawyer before texting other businesses to sell to them.
Do federal rules still apply?: Yes. The federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act and FCC rules still apply on top of Pennsylvania's. If you text through software from a regular 10-digit number, carriers require that number to be registered (10DLC) through your texting provider, or they block the texts.
Do I have to register as a telemarketer?: The registration rules are aimed at businesses that send telephone solicitations, and the law exempts businesses whose calls and messages don't meet that definition. Texts about current jobs and texts to recent customers fall outside it. If you plan sales texts to people who haven't hired you in the past 12 months or given written consent, ask a lawyer about registration. Being exempt from registering doesn't excuse the other rules.
Is this legal advice?: No. It's a plain-English summary of the enacted text from someone who builds texting systems for contractors. For anything you're unsure about, ask a lawyer.

Want your texts checked?

The $500 Automation Audit reviews every kind of text your shop sends, along with your calls, web leads and Google listing, and ranks the fixes.

Book a 15-minute call

Pennsylvania's new texting law: what contractors need to know