Texting camp families: consent, STOP, and the rules that apply
Texting parents is the most effective thing a camp can do with a waitlist and the easiest thing to get wrong. The rules split across two very different systems — one you can be sued under, one that will quietly stop delivering your messages — and camps usually learn about the second one first.
This is a plain-English summary of US federal rules as of July 2026, with sources and dates, and it is not legal advice. States have their own telemarketing statutes, some stricter than the federal ones, and this area has moved three times in eighteen months.
- Two rulebooks — The TCPA is a federal statute with a private right of action and per-message statutory damages, governing consent and revocation. CTIA guidelines and A2P 10DLC registration are not law — they are the conditions under which carriers deliver your messages, enforced by filtering rather than lawsuits.
- Marketing or informational — Informational and transactional messages have historically required prior express consent; marketing has required prior express written consent. A waitlist offer sits close to informational — and collapses the moment it carries a discount or a mention of another session.
- Consent that holds up — Ask for the number and the permission on the same form. Unchecked by default, separate from the terms checkbox, identifying who is texting and about what, stating that consent is not required to register, and keeping the record of what the form said at the time.
- What STOP must do — Since April 11, 2025: revocation by any reasonable method, no exclusive keyword; stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, and unsubscribe all recognized; honored within ten business days; exactly one confirmation message, with no marketing in it.
- What changed — The Eleventh Circuit vacated the one-to-one consent rule on January 24, 2025. The revocation rules took effect April 11, 2025. On January 6, 2026 the FCC delayed the “revoke-all” scope to January 31, 2027. In February 2026 the Fifth Circuit rejected the FCC’s written-consent requirement within that circuit.
Frequently asked questions
Can a summer camp text parents?
Yes, with consent and an opt-out that works. Two separate rulebooks apply: the TCPA, a federal statute with per-message statutory damages that governs consent and revocation, and the carrier rules (CTIA guidelines and A2P 10DLC registration), which are not law but decide whether your messages get delivered at all. Camps usually meet the second one first, as “our texts just stopped arriving.”
Is a waitlist offer a marketing text or an informational one?
It sits close to informational — the family asked to be told when a spot opened, and the message tells them a spot opened. That is defensible, and it collapses the moment the message picks up promotional freight like a discount or a mention of another session. The practical answer is to take written consent at registration and keep offers strictly about the seat, so the question never has to be argued.
What consent do I need to text camp families?
Ask for the mobile number and the permission on the same registration form, in a checkbox that is unchecked by default and separate from the terms checkbox. Say who is texting, about what, and that consent is not required to register, and include “Reply STOP to opt out.” Keep the record of when they agreed and what the form said at the time. This information is a summary, not legal advice.
What must happen when someone replies STOP?
Under the FCC revocation rules effective April 11, 2025, consumers may revoke consent by any reasonable method — you cannot require one exclusive keyword — and texting programs are expected to recognize stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, and unsubscribe. Revocation must be honored within ten business days, and exactly one confirmation message is permitted, with no marketing in it.
Have the TCPA texting rules changed recently?
Three times since 2024. The Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule on January 24, 2025, and the FCC later repealed it. The revocation rules took effect April 11, 2025. On January 6, 2026 the FCC delayed the “revoke-all” scope — treating one opt-out as covering unrelated future messages — to January 31, 2027, and in February 2026 the Fifth Circuit rejected the FCC’s written-consent requirement within that circuit. None of it changes the practical advice: real permission, clear identification, and stop when they say stop.