SMS Compliance and Deliverability Guide [Download] - Klaviyo
2026-03-10 22:53 Diff
https://www.klaviyo.com/marketing-resources/sms-compliance-deliverability

Once you’ve chosen your new SMS marketing platform, you’ll work on building up a list of subscribers who sign up to receive your text messages.

But this can’t be a process that you undertake lightly. In the U.S., the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) implements and enforces laws—like the TCPA (The Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and CAN-SPAM—that regulate SMS marketing to protect the rights of consumers. That’s a fancy way of saying the government wants to make sure people don’t receive text messages they haven’t directly given consent to get.

In Canada, the law governing commercial electronic messages—which includes email, SMS, and more—is the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). SMS in the European Union (EU) is regulated by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and SMS in the UK is regulated by the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Public and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR). SMS messages in Australia are regulated by the Spam Act 2003 and the Spam Regulations 2021.

It’s imperative, and frankly mandatory, that you grow your SMS subscriber list and send your text messages in a way that’s compliant with applicable laws, industry guidelines, and carrier requirements. If you don’t, you could face hefty fines and complicated lawsuits, which is probably the last thing you need.

To have peace of mind that you’re growing your list and communicating in a compliant way, you need an SMS marketing platform that takes compliance seriously.

That way, you can focus on segmenting your audience and brainstorming different ways you can personalize your customer outreach to build strong relationships across all of your owned channels—like email and SMS.

Confidently grow your SMS list, without sacrificing compliance

Compliance can be a tricky topic to navigate, and you shouldn’t be alone left to wrangle with its complexities—your SMS provider should be a true partner that provides the resources and tools to help you comply with the laws that apply to your text messaging program.

As you begin to build your SMS list, you first need to collect express written consent from your subscribers. In the US, this means that your SMS signup forms need to clearly communicate the TCPA and the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association (CTIA) required opt-in language like:

• Messages received by your subscribers will be marketing/promotional in nature

• Messages may be sent via an autodialer

• The agreement to subscribe is not a condition of any purchase

• Message frequency (e.g., “Message frequency varies”)

• “Message and data rates may apply”

• Link to your brand’s mobile terms and conditions and privacy policy

• Opt-out and help instructions

Regulations have the right of way:
What you’re required to include on your signup forms as you collect consent differs from country to country. Review what the list growth requirements for Canada,the United Kingdom, and Australia are before sending messages to customers in those regions.

It would be a hassle for you to remember to include each of these points as you try to design eye-catching signup forms, which is why Klaviyo’s SMS signup forms include this language by default.

Klaviyo only supports SMS list growth tactics that gather express consent from each of your subscribers, which means all of your SMS signup forms will automatically include required opt-in language. You can use it as-is or modify it to fit your needs with the help of your legal counsel.

List growth tip:
Any place you’re asking people to join your SMS list besides your website—like physical retail locations, in-person events, or product packaging—share the phone number people can text to sign up for your text messages, along with your dedicated signup keyword (i.e., WELCOME21) and required opt-in language so your potential customers can subscribe in a compliant way.

In the UK and Australia, when using branded sender IDs, it’s only possible to text one way. This means you can text your customers, but they can’t text you back (or at all).

List growth compliance doesn’t just apply to new subscribers who’ve signed up to your SMS list. If you’re importing your existing SMS contacts into Klaviyo, you’ll automatically get a prompt to upload the date that each subscriber consented to receive your SMS messages, along with their phone number.

That way, you can stay organized from the get-go and you won’t have to worry later on if you have all of your SMS subscribers’ express consent on file.

More ways to grow your SMS list:

• Embed a signup form in the footer of your website or on a shopper’s order confirmation page

• Use a pop-up to serve a signup form to new website visitors

• Use an Instagram swipe up feature

• Invite your shoppers to sign up for SMS on one of your product detail pages (PDP) and then follow up with specific questions about the products they viewed on your page via text

• Send an email to a segment of your email subscribers who haven’t yet signed up to receive your text messages and invite them to do so with a specific call-to-action (CTA)

Another thing you shouldn’t have to fret about? Your SMS platform charging you for compliance-related SMS messages that welcome your new subscribers.

For example, in the U.S. CTIA guidelines require that you immediately send your new subscribers a reply message that includes your business or program name, STOP instructions, HELP instructions, and the phrase “Msg&Data rates may apply.”

But if new subscribers are signing up to your list and you’ve already sent all the messages your plan allows for, you may worry that this required message won’t get sent.

Your SMS plan shouldn’t dictate your ability to keep your business legally compliant and abiding by standard SMS requirements. That’s why Klaviyo automatically pulls your brand name into this message and sends it to all your new SMS subscribers, without charging you for it—because compliance doesn’t have to come at cost.

Want to learn more about how to get started with SMS marketing?Check out these five tips