Texas Telemarketing Law: SB 140, Text Messages, and Up to $5,000 Per Violation

Texas Telemarketing Law: SB 140, Text Messages, and Up to $5,000 Per Violation

Federal TCPA rules are only the starting point for a national outreach campaign. The same campaign setup may comply with federal requirements yet violate a stricter state rule when a lead is in Orlando, Tulsa, Houston, or another state with its own telemarketing law.

Texas is a clear example. Texas Senate Bill 140 took effect September 1, 2025. It broadened “telephone solicitation” to include text messages, graphic messages, and images. Goodwin’s 2026 TCPA review says the law also introduced a private right of action with statutory damages of up to $5,000 per violation and added language protecting recovery for separate violations even after earlier claims.

That does not mean every unwanted text automatically produces a $5,000 award. The facts, legal theory, exemptions, and court findings still matter. The business lesson is simpler: multi-state outreach needs more than one national TCPA setting.

Why Mini-TCPA State Laws Matter for National Campaigns

A growing number of states have adopted their own mini-TCPA laws that impose requirements beyond the federal baseline. Goodwin reported continued growth in state telemarketing legislation during 2025 and said the increase in state laws may lead to more mini-TCPA litigation in 2026.

For insurance agencies, real estate teams, lead generators, and multi-state call centers, that creates an operational issue. The same dialer may contact a Texas lead, a Florida lead, and an Oklahoma lead. The federal policy may stay the same, but the state rules can change.

Under Florida’s telemarketing law, certain covered solicitation calls are limited to three attempts to the same person during a 24-hour period on the same subject and are also subject to local-time restrictions. Similar attempt and calling-hour limits appear in Oklahoma’s law and Maryland’s telemarketing statute.

A national retry rule that allows four or five attempts in one day may therefore create a state-law problem even when the federal TCPA settings appear correct.

What Texas SB 140 Changed for Calls and Texts

The law made several changes that directly affect how businesses handle calls, texts, and potential telemarketing claims in Texas.

1. Texts and Images Are Expressly Covered

Texas SB 140 broadened “telephone solicitation” to include transmissions of text messages, graphic messages, and images used for covered solicitation purposes. It also expanded available private remedies and states that previous recoveries under a private action may not limit recovery in a later proceeding.

That change matters for everyday workflows. An insurance agency may text a quote lead. A real estate team may send property promotions. A lead-generation company may place a prospect into an automated SMS follow-up sequence.

Teams should not assume that a text falls outside Texas SB 140 telemarketing rules simply because no voice call was placed.

2. Statutory Exposure Can Reach $5,000 Per Violation

Goodwin reports that SB 140 introduced a private right of action with statutory damages of up to $5,000 per violation.

The words “up to” matter. Exposure depends on the claim and its facts. Businesses should not interpret the law as a fixed $5,000 payment attached to every text.

Automated campaigns can still increase exposure quickly. A rule that sends a message when it should not may affect many records before the issue is found.

3. Prior Recoveries Do Not Automatically Block Later Recovery

SB 140 also states that the fact a claimant has recovered through a private action more than once may not limit recovery in a later legal proceeding.

That does not guarantee another successful claim. It means previous litigation history cannot automatically be treated as a bar to future recovery under the amended provision.

For outbound teams, a past complaint should be a reason to check suppression, opt-out, and consent records before another campaign reaches that contact.

Why the July 2026 Seventh Circuit Ruling Matters

Steidinger v. Blackstone Medical Services, decided July 14, 2026, involved marketing texts and claims under the federal TCPA and Florida Telephone Solicitation Act.

The Seventh Circuit held that the private right of action under 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5) does not cover text messages because that specific provision refers to “telephone calls.”

The decision did not remove texts from every part of the TCPA. It addressed one federal private right of action.

That distinction also affects how businesses should view state law. The decision narrows one federal route for unwanted-text claims. It does not prove that plaintiffs have universally moved to state statutes, but it can make applicable state causes of action more relevant when similar claims do not fit § 227(c)(5).

5 Checks to Add Before Multi-State Outreach

1. Identify the State Before Routing the Contact

Start with the best location information available in the lead or customer record. That may include an address, customer profile, or phone data.

Do not treat an area code as proof of current residence. People can move and keep their phone numbers. Area code data may support routing, but another record may be needed when deciding which state requirements apply.

2. Check Federal and State Do Not Call Lists

A National Do Not Call Registry check may not address every state Do Not Call list requirement.

Searchbug’s Federal vs. State DNC Lists guide explains why teams should account for federal and applicable state lists when building a suppression process.

A DNC result is only one part of that review. It does not establish consent, prove that an exemption applies, or replace an internal opt-out list.

3. Apply Calling Hours by State and Local Time

Calling hours by state can differ from the rules used in a national campaign.

A call center should not assume its own local clock controls every lead. Campaign settings need to account for the called person's local time and any state-specific restriction that applies.

4. Count Attempts Across Systems

Daily limits become harder to manage when several teams or platforms touch the same lead.

A prospect could receive an automated call, an agent follow-up, and another attempt from a separate campaign. Florida, Oklahoma, and Maryland restrict certain covered calls to three per consumer during a 24-hour period on the same subject.

Shared attempt history can help stop separate workflows from treating every contact as a first attempt.

5. Keep Consent, Opt-Out, and Suppression Data Together

A number that does not appear on a DNC list is not automatically safe to contact.

Teams should review consent records, revocation requests, internal suppression data, campaign purpose, attempt history, and applicable state rules before outreach continues.

How DNC Screening and Phone Validation Can Support State-Level Routing

Searchbug can support the data side of this process without replacing legal review.

Searchbug’s DNC Check API and Phone Validator can support two different pre-call decisions.

The DNC Check API can screen phone numbers against the federal registry and supported state DNC lists. A match may help route a record to suppression or additional review. A non-match does not establish that outreach is permitted because consent, exemptions, internal opt-outs, and other rules may still apply.

Phone Validator can return data such as line type, carrier, phone status, state, timezone, and other available phone-related information. Those fields can support routing. Line type can help distinguish mobile, landline, and VoIP records. State, timezone, and other available location-related data may help flag which state rules need review, but they should not be treated as proof of where the consumer currently lives.

Neither tool proves current residence or guarantees TCPA compliance. Results should be considered with customer records, consent data, suppression history, and current legal guidance.

TL;DR

Texas SB 140 took effect September 1, 2025 and expanded covered telephone solicitation to include texts and images. Goodwin reports that the law introduced a private right of action with statutory damages of up to $5,000 per violation and protects a claimant's ability to seek recovery for separate violations despite previous recoveries.

Multi-state teams also need to consider mini-TCPA state laws, state DNC lists, calling hours, and daily attempt limits. Searchbug’s DNC Check API and Phone Validator can support screening and routing, but those results do not establish consent, residence, or compliance on their own.

Teams that want to test these checks can create a free Searchbug API Test Account with $10 in credits. Teams reviewing larger files or working without an API can also use Bulk Processing.

This article is for general business information and is not legal advice.