Text message compliance checks to run before Black Friday

How to keep your Klaviyo text messages compliant for Black Friday 2026, including the new TCPA opt-out rules, state quiet hours, and Compliance Hub

New federal opt-out rules for text messages take effect November 25, two days before Black Friday. Here are the compliance checks to run on your Klaviyo text message program this week, plus a new place to see where you stand.

Peak week is when compliance gaps get expensive. Volume goes up, sequences get tighter, and one text sent at the wrong hour to the wrong state can end with a demand letter. Here's what to check before Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM).

Start with the new Compliance Hub

Before you work through the list below, open Compliance Hub in your Klaviyo account. It brings your text message compliance health into one view:

• Health score: a quick read on where your program stands
• Action items: a list ranked by risk level, so you know what to fix first
• Analytics: trends for reassigned number scrubs, quiet hours impacts, unsubscribe detection, and frequency capping

Use it as your starting point. The hub shows you what needs attention in Klaviyo, but the legal call on your program still belongs to you and your counsel.

What changes on November 25?

New Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) change how people can opt out of texts. Here's what matters for marketers:

• You can choose one official opt-out method. The options are reply-text keywords, an automated voice opt-out, or a designated website or phone number. If you pick one, you have to disclose it clearly in each text.
• Choosing one is optional. If you don't, any reasonable request to stop still counts, including a reply like "please stop texting me."
• Marketing opt-outs still cover all marketing texts. The new category-by-category opt-outs only apply to informational messages, like shipping updates.

If you plan to name an official opt-out method, update the opt-out language in your holiday templates before November 25, not just in your welcome message.

Can you prove how each subscriber opted in?

The FCC's one-to-one consent rule is gone, but the bar didn't drop. You still need prior express written consent for marketing texts, and lawsuits increasingly hinge on whether you can show it.

Review the disclosure language on each sign-up form, pop-up, and keyword opt-in. Give extra scrutiny to any list you imported from another tool, where the opt-in source and timestamps can go missing. Klaviyo recommends double opt-in for text message sign-ups.

Which hours and limits apply to your subscribers?

Quiet hours are where a lot of text message lawsuits start. Federal rules allow texts from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the recipient's local time, and several states set tighter limits:

• Florida, Oklahoma, Maryland, and Washington: sending stops at 8 p.m.
• Texas: 9 a.m.–9 p.m. Monday through Saturday, and 12 p.m.–9 p.m. on Sunday
• Florida, Maryland, New Jersey, and Oklahoma: a cap of 3 texts per person in a 24-hour period

That 3-text cap is the one most likely to catch you during BFCM. Count everything a subscriber could get in one day across flows and campaigns. Early access, launch, reminder, and last call on the same day adds up to 4.

Klaviyo settings to check this week

Go to Settings > SMS > Sender preferences and confirm these are set on purpose:

• Enforce state-level quiet hours: applies stricter state windows for US recipients, like an 8 p.m. cutoff for subscribers identified as being in Florida
• State law frequency limits: helps you stay within daily caps in states that have them
• Unsubscribe known text message litigators: suppresses numbers tied to known TCPA litigators
• Quiet hours in campaigns: delays messages by default, so switch "last call" and "ends at midnight" texts to skip so they don't land after your sale ends

One caveat: a phone number's area code won't always match where someone lives, so quiet hours settings lower your risk without removing it.

Is your sending number ready for peak volume?

Carriers filter unregistered traffic hard during peak. Confirm your toll-free number is verified or your registration is approved, and that your registered use case matches what you actually send.

Carriers also manage heavy traffic through the holidays, so queued messages plus quiet-hour delays can push texts later than you planned. Schedule time-sensitive sends early in your window. For big sends, consider a text-only version, since SMS moves faster than MMS.

A quick note: this is general guidance, not legal advice. The November 25 rules are brand new, so have your legal counsel review your texting policy.