A text telling a customer the car is ready is informational. A text saying they’re due for an oil change usually isn’t, because it encourages the purchase of a service. That line decides which TCPA rules apply to auto repair shops, tire stores, quick-lube chains, and collision centers. Status updates need little more than the number the customer gave at drop-off. Service reminders, declined-repair follow-ups, and coupons are marketing, and a shop that texts them at scale should have the consent records to match.
Which shop texts count as marketing?
Any text that encourages the customer to buy a service, including a reminder that a service is due.
The FCC’s rule defines “telemarketing” as “the initiation of a telephone call or message for the purpose of encouraging the purchase or rental of, or investment in, property, goods, or services.” Under 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(f)(13), the test is the purpose of the message, not its tone. A friendly Your Camry is due for its 30,000-mile service. Book here is a message encouraging a purchase.
Pure status messages are different. Messages that the vehicle is ready for pickup, that a part arrived, or that an estimate needs approval are about a transaction already under way. Adding a coupon or a while you’re here, add a tire rotation line to one of them turns it into a dual-purpose message, and courts usually treat those as marketing.
Does a shop need written consent to text customers?
For marketing texts sent with an autodialer or prerecorded voice, yes. For most other texts, the number the customer gave is enough, and many shop platforms aren’t autodialers at all.
Section 64.1200(a)(2) requires “prior express written consent” for autodialed or prerecorded calls to cell phones that include “an advertisement or constitutes telemarketing.” Prior express written consent means “an agreement, in writing, bearing the signature of the person called that clearly authorizes the seller” to send those messages, with a disclosure that signing isn’t a condition of purchase. An e-signature on a tablet at the service counter can qualify.
The autodialer question often ends the robocall claim. The rule defines an autodialer as equipment that can store or produce numbers “using a random or sequential number generator,” under § 64.1200(f)(2), following Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021). Shop-management platforms that text customers from a stored list usually don’t qualify. That doesn’t help with the Do Not Call rules, which apply to marketing texts regardless of the equipment.
Do the Do Not Call rules cover reminder texts?
Yes, if the text is a telephone solicitation and the number is on the National Registry, but the established business relationship usually covers recent customers.
A telephone solicitation excludes a message to “any person with whom the caller has an established business relationship.” That relationship rests on a purchase or transaction “within the eighteen (18) months immediately preceding the date of the telephone call,” or an inquiry within three months. A customer who had brakes done last spring is covered. A customer whose last visit was two years ago isn’t.
That 18-month window is the practical trap for shops. Service reminder campaigns are built to reach lapsed customers, and those are exactly the numbers that have fallen out of the relationship. A customer who replied STOP is also out, because a do-not-call request ends the relationship “even if the subscriber continues to do business with the seller.”
What happens when a customer replies STOP?
The shop has up to ten business days to stop, and one confirmation text is allowed.
Under § 64.1200(a)(10), a customer may revoke consent “using any reasonable method to clearly express a desire not to receive further calls or text messages.” Replies like “stop,” “cancel,” and “unsubscribe” count automatically, and the request must be honored “within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days.” A single confirmation text without marketing is allowed, and one sent within five minutes is presumed fine.
Multi-location shops often lose here. A customer opts out of texts from one store and keeps getting reminders from the chain’s central platform. The opt-out list has to follow the customer across locations and vendors.
What does a violation cost?
$500 per violation, up to $1,500 if willful or knowing.
Robocall claims under 47 U.S.C. § 227(b)(3) and Do Not Call claims under § 227(c)(5) both carry that range, and Do Not Call claims require more than one call in 12 months. A reminder campaign that reaches a few thousand lapsed customers twice a year creates class-sized exposure.
| Shop text | Rule | Exposure | Defense to develop |
|---|---|---|---|
| Car-ready status text | 227(b)(1)(A) | $500 per violation; up to $1,500 if willful or knowing | Number given at drop-off; not an autodialer |
| Service-due reminder | 64.1200(a)(2) | Same | Signed consent; not an autodialer |
| Reminder to a Registry number | 64.1200(c)(2) | Same, if more than one in 12 months | Visit within 18 months |
| Texts after STOP | 64.1200(a)(10), (d) | Same | Opt-out processed within ten business days |
| Coupon added to a status text | 64.1200(a)(2) | Same | Message content records |
Steps to take when a shop gets a TCPA demand
- Put a litigation hold on texting platform logs, repair orders, and consent or signature records for the numbers in the claim.
- Export opt-out replies and the internal do-not-call list, with dates and the location that received each one.
- Export Registry scrub records, if any, and the last-visit date for each number.
- Gather the texting vendor contract, message templates, and campaign settings.
- Have a lawyer review the demand before replying, contacting the customer, or offering a free service.
The last-visit date in step 3 often decides a Do Not Call claim against a shop. More on defending text message claims is available, and a recent post covers federal caller identification requirements.
Questions auto shops ask about texting customers
Is a recall notice marketing?
A safety recall notice from a dealer or shop, with no sales pitch, is informational. Adding and save 20% on your next service makes it a dual-purpose message. Shops that want recall notices treated as informational should keep them free of offers and send them separately from promotions.
Does a customer’s phone number on the repair order count as consent?
For informational texts about that repair, it usually counts as prior express consent under § 227(b). For marketing sent with an autodialer, it doesn’t satisfy the written-consent rule. A separate checkbox or e-signature line for marketing texts solves the problem.
Can a shop text about a repair the customer declined?
That’s a sales message. Your technician recommended new brake pads last month. Ready to schedule? encourages a purchase, so the marketing consent and Do Not Call rules apply. The established business relationship usually covers the Do Not Call side for a recent customer.
Are texts to fleet or business customers covered?
The Do Not Call rules protect residential subscribers, so a fleet manager’s company line is generally outside them. The robocall rule covers any cell phone, and many fleet contacts use personal mobiles. Shops should treat fleet texts like any other cell phone texts.
Defending claims over shop text messages
If your shop or chain has received a demand over service reminders or promotional texts, the repair-order history and the opt-out logs usually decide how much of the claim survives. Rosenberger + Kawabata represents businesses defending TCPA lawsuits and class actions through its business litigation practice, including claims involving service reminder texts. Contact Rosenberger + Kawabata online for a confidential consultation, or call (310) 894-6921.
Sources
47 U.S.C. § 227; 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200.
This post is general information about the Telephone Consumer Protection Act and related laws as of May 19, 2026. It is not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Courts and the FCC change the rules in this area often, and the outcome of any claim depends on its facts. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes.