Missed Call Text Back Laws by State (2026): Quiet Hours, Consent and Opt-Out Rules

Missed call text back sends an automatic text to anyone whose call you didn't answer, usually within seconds (see how missed call text back works). Because the text is a reply to an inbound call, it's different from a marketing blast. But "different" isn't the same as "exempt," and a growing number of states now cover text messages in their telemarketing laws. This guide pulls together the rules that matter for this one use case, with a link to the source for every claim.

The short version

• Federal quiet hours: no telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time.
• Opt-outs: people can revoke consent by any reasonable means. Replies like STOP, QUIT, END, REVOKE, OPT OUT, CANCEL and UNSUBSCRIBE always count, and you have up to 10 business days to honor them.
• Marketing texts need written consent. Texts that advertise or telemarket, sent with an autodialer, need the recipient's prior express written consent under the FCC's rules.
• The FCC's "one-to-one consent" rule is gone. A federal appeals court vacated it in January 2025, and the FCC formally removed it in 2025.
• States are stricter in places. Of the 9 states we verified, 8 have quiet hours that start earlier or end earlier than the federal rule in at least one law. Several also cap solicitations at 3 per 24 hours.
• Replies have some protection. Florida, Oregon, Washington's telephone-solicitation law, Texas's hours law and Maryland's consent rule have explicit carve-outs for responses to a request or inquiry. Pennsylvania's new definition dropped its old carve-out for calls made in response to an express request.
• Keep the text-back a reply, not a pitch. No promotions, an easy opt-out and a separate written opt-in before any marketing.

Federal rules that apply in every state

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the FCC's rules at 47 CFR 64.1200 apply nationwide. The FCC's rules on telephone solicitations apply to texts sent to wireless numbers (§64.1200(e)).

Two other things that aren't laws but still decide whether your texts get delivered: US carriers require A2P 10DLC registration (or toll-free verification) for business texting, and they expect opt-out language. Use our A2P 10DLC checker to draft a registration that matches your text-back use case, and see the HighLevel A2P 10DLC registration guide for the steps.

State-by-state table

Type a state name, filter the list, or click State, Quiet hours or Status to sort. Every verified row links to the statute or official agency page we read. To link straight to one state, add #in- and the state name to this page's address, for example #in-texas or #in-new-york.

How to read the table. "Verified" means we read the statute (or, for Connecticut, the state consumer protection agency's official guidance) on October 9, 2026, and summarized only what it says. "No specific state law found in our review / check" means we didn't verify a texting-specific rule for that state. It doesn't mean the state has no law. Many states have general telephone solicitation, do-not-call or consumer protection laws that may reach texts. The federal rules above apply everywhere.

How missed call text back differs from marketing texts

Most of the laws above regulate solicitations: calls or texts sent to sell something. A missed call text back is triggered by the customer's own call and usually says "Sorry we missed you, how can we help?" Several statutes treat that kind of response differently:

• Florida: a call isn't "unsolicited" if it's made in response to the express request of the person called (§501.059(1)(k)).
• Oregon: "a call or text message that responds directly to a message received from a party" isn't a telephone solicitation (ORS 646.561).
• Washington: the telephone-solicitation hours law excludes calls made in response to a request or inquiry by the called party (RCW 80.36.390). The separate commercial-text law (CEMA) has no such carve-out.
• Texas: the hours law doesn't apply to a call made in response to the consumer's express request (§301.051).
• Maryland: the consent rule doesn't apply to a single solicitation made in response to an inquiry or request, but the quiet hours still do (§14-4502).
• Virginia: an inquiry in the previous 3 months creates an "established business relationship" for the opt-out and do-not-call section only (§59.1-510).

The difference disappears when the text-back starts selling: a coupon, a "book this week and save" line, a review request, or the caller being added to a drip campaign. At that point you're likely sending marketing texts, and the written-consent, quiet-hours and frequency rules come back into play. Our missed call text generator writes replies with no promotions for that reason.

What's still uncertain

• Does a missed call count as a "request," "inquiry" or "message"? The carve-outs above use those words, and none of the statutes we read says whether an unanswered call with no voicemail qualifies. A caller who left a voicemail asking for a callback is a clearer case.
• Do quiet hours apply to an instant reply at 11 p.m.? Most quiet-hours rules apply to solicitations, so a pure reply may fall outside them. But Maryland's hours rule has no inquiry carve-out, and Pennsylvania's new definition dropped its old exception for calls made in response to an express request. If someone calls at night, sending an immediate reply and holding any follow-up until morning is the cautious approach.
• Do "call" laws cover texts? Florida's 3-calls-per-24-hours rule, Oklahoma's hours rule and Texas's Chapter 301 hours rule speak of phone calls. Florida and Texas both define texts as covered in other sections, so courts may read them together. We haven't found a decision on this.
• Is an automatic text-back sent with an "autodialer"? The Supreme Court narrowed the federal definition in Facebook v. Duguid (2021), but some state laws use their own, broader definitions of automated systems.
• How broad is "commercial"? A 2025 Washington appeals decision read the commercial-text law broadly, and review was sought in the state Supreme Court (Arnold & Porter).
• Texts and federal do-not-call claims. Federal appeals courts are split after the 7th Circuit's 2026 Steidinger decision.

A cautious setup for missed call text back

1. Make the first text a reply, not an offer. Name the business, say you missed the call and ask how you can help. No discounts, promotions or links to sales pages.
2. Include opt-out wording, at least in the first text, and stop texting anyone who replies STOP or anything similar. Treat Spanish replies such as BAJA, ALTO or CANCELAR as opt-outs too (see our Spanish missed call text templates).
3. Limit follow-ups. One reminder if there's no answer is plenty. Florida, Oklahoma and Maryland cap solicitations at 3 per 24 hours on the same subject, and Oregon caps them at 3 per 24 hours.
4. Schedule anything non-urgent inside the narrowest window. Across the states we verified, Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the recipient's time zone fits every hours rule. Pennsylvania bans Sunday and holiday solicitations from mid-October 2026.
5. Use the area code for time zones. Oregon's law lets you rely on a mobile number's area code. People move, so it's a rule of thumb elsewhere.
6. Get separate written consent before marketing. A web form or keyword opt-in with clear wording, kept on file.
7. Keep records. Your call log showing the inbound call just before the text is your best evidence that it was a reply.
8. Register your number for A2P 10DLC and describe the use case honestly (checker).

Still choosing a tool? Our comparison of missed call text back apps shows who each app texts and how often, which matters for the follow-up limits above. Terms like quiet hours, mini-TCPA laws and opt-out keywords are defined in our glossary.

FAQ

Is missed call text back legal in the US? In general, yes. It's widely used, and it's a reply to someone who just called you, which most texting laws treat differently from unsolicited marketing. It isn't automatically exempt everywhere, though: keep the message conversational, include an opt-out, register your number for A2P 10DLC and get written consent before sending any marketing. For your specific situation, ask a TCPA lawyer.

What hours can a business send text messages? The federal rule bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time. Some states are stricter: Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland and Oregon use 8 a.m.–8 p.m., Connecticut 9 a.m.–8 p.m., and Pennsylvania 9 a.m.–7 p.m. with no Sundays or legal holidays from mid-October 2026. These rules target solicitations, so whether they apply to an instant reply to a missed call isn't settled.

Do I need written consent to text someone who just called me? Prior express written consent is required for autodialed marketing texts. A reply that only responds to the call and doesn't sell anything is in a different position, and several states have carve-outs for responses to an inquiry or request. Washington's commercial-text law requires advance consent for any text that promotes goods or services, so keep the reply free of promotions.

Does every text need "Reply STOP to opt out"? The FCC rules say STOP and similar words always revoke consent, but they don't require that exact sentence in every text. Carriers and the CTIA expect clear opt-out instructions, especially in the first message, and Virginia's law names STOP and UNSUBSCRIBE replies. Including it in the first text-back is the safe default.

Is the FCC one-to-one consent rule in effect in 2026? No. The 11th Circuit vacated it on January 24, 2025, and the FCC removed it from its rules effective August 29, 2025.

Which states have the strictest texting laws? Of the states we verified, Pennsylvania has the narrowest hours from mid-October 2026, Washington requires advance consent for any commercial text, and Florida and Maryland allow private lawsuits with damages of $500 per violation, up to triple for willful violations. We didn't verify every state, so check your own.

Sources

All checked October 9, 2026.

• Federal: 47 CFR 64.1200 (Cornell LII); FCC, "FCC Removes One-to-One Consent Rule Nullified by Court Decision"; Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, 7th Cir. No. 25-2398 (July 14, 2026); Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 592 U.S. 395 (2021).
• State statutes and agency pages are linked in each table row.
• Related: What is missed call text back? · Missed call text generator · A2P 10DLC checker · Spanish missed call text templates