Is AI texting legal for car dealerships?

Yes — automated and AI-assisted texting is legal when you have the required consent, identify your business, honor opt-outs, and register for A2P 10DLC. The AI doesn’t change your obligations; you remain the sender.

Do I need consent to text a lead who filled out a form?

Usually you need clear, prior express written consent for marketing texts — a form submission alone may not be enough unless the consent language and disclosures are present. When in doubt, get explicit opt-in and keep the record.

What happens if someone replies STOP?

They must be opted out immediately and receive one confirmation, and you should suppress that number across all campaigns. Reach honors STOP/HELP automatically. See our [SMS Compliance](/compliance) page.

Guide · Compliance

A2P 10DLC, TCPA & CASL for car dealerships: a plain-English guide

Last updated July 2026

Texting leads is one of the highest-converting things a dealership can do — and one of the easiest to get wrong legally. Here’s a plain-English guide to the rules that govern dealership SMS in the U.S. and Canada: A2P 10DLC, the TCPA, and CASL.

What is A2P 10DLC, and do dealerships need it?

A2P 10DLC is the U.S. carrier system for “application-to-person” texting over standard 10-digit numbers. To send business texts reliably, your brand and campaigns must be registered with The Campaign Registry through your messaging provider (e.g., Twilio). Yes — dealerships need it; unregistered traffic gets filtered or blocked by carriers.

What is the TCPA and what consent do I need?

The TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) is the U.S. law governing calls and texts. For marketing texts, especially automated ones, you generally need prior express written consent from the recipient, and you must honor opt-outs. Keep records of when and how each person consented — the burden of proof is on the sender.

What is CASL, and how is it different (Canada)?

CASL (Canada’s Anti-Spam Legislation) governs commercial electronic messages to Canadian recipients. You need valid express or implied consent, must clearly identify your business in every message, and must include a working unsubscribe mechanism. Note that implied consent expires, so aged Canadian leads need their consent re-checked before you message them again.

What are the STOP and HELP requirements?

Recipients must be able to opt out at any time — replying STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, QUIT, CANCEL, or END stops messages immediately, and you confirm it once. Replying HELP or INFO must return your business identity and support contact. Opt-outs should apply across all your campaigns, not just one thread.

Who is the “sender” — you or your texting software?

You are. With a platform like Reach, your dealership brings its own Twilio account and is the registered sender and A2P brand of record; the software configures and operates it on your behalf. That means the consent obligation sits with you — the tool helps you stay compliant, but it doesn’t assume your legal responsibility.

Dealership SMS compliance checklist

Register your brand and campaigns for A2P 10DLC (via your Twilio account).
Collect and store prior express written consent (TCPA) / valid consent (CASL) before texting.
Identify your dealership in messages and link your privacy policy at opt-in.
Honor STOP/HELP instantly and suppress opt-outs across every campaign.
Respect quiet hours and state/provincial frequency limits.
Re-verify consent age on Canadian leads before re-engaging.
See how Reach handles this on our SMS Compliance page.