Texting Members and Leads: SMS Compliance Basics for Gyms

Texting is the highest-open-rate channel a gym has — confirmations, class reminders, follow-ups all perform dramatically better by SMS than email. But US carriers now police business texting hard, and gyms that skip the compliance step find their messages silently filtered into the void. Here's the short version of staying legit.

A2P 10DLC: register or be filtered

Any business texting from a regular US phone number must register through the A2P 10DLC system — you register your business (a 'brand') and describe what you send (a 'campaign'). Unregistered numbers get their messages throttled or dropped entirely, even to people who asked for them. Registration runs through whoever provides your texting (Twilio, your booking software, your AI receptionist vendor) and approval typically takes a few days.

Two things trip up most applications: a privacy policy link that doesn't work, and a consent description that doesn't match how you actually collect numbers. Make sure your privacy policy states that mobile numbers aren't shared with third parties, mentions that message frequency varies, and includes 'message and data rates may apply.'

Consent: how people opt in matters

Consent can be verbal — a caller asking 'can you text me the details?' is opting in — but your registration must describe that flow accurately, and you should only text what they asked for. For marketing blasts, the bar is higher: written or checkbox consent. Never buy lists, never text people who haven't interacted with you.

STOP, HELP, and the first message

Every recipient must be able to opt out by replying STOP — and that has to actually work, instantly and permanently until they resubscribe. Reply HELP should return your business name and contact info. Best practice: include 'Reply STOP to opt out' in the first message you send anyone. Modern SMS platforms handle the STOP/HELP mechanics automatically; your job is making sure the language is there and the promise is honored.

None of this is onerous once it's set up — and it's increasingly table stakes. If a vendor handles texting for you, ask them point-blank: 'Is our number registered under an approved A2P campaign?' If the answer is fuzzy, your texts probably aren't arriving.