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SMS Regulations and Consent - Canada

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Regulations

SMS marketing in Canada is regulated under the Canadian Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL). CASL applies to the sending of many different types of commercial electronic messages (CEMs), including commercial emails, SMS/MMS messages, and social media communications.

To send to Canadian numbers you must get express consent from the subscriber that they want to receive SMS messages from you.
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SMS sent to Canadian recipients must include:

  • Information that identifies the sender of the message and, if applicable, the person on whose behalf the message is sent
  • Instructions on how to opt-out from receiving future messages

You should not include any prohibited content in your SMS. If you do, carriers will likely filter your message, and it won't be delivered to your intended recipient. They may also filter future messages from your business regardless of content.

In Canada, you must get express consent to send an SMS or MMS message to any US phone number. Express consent must be specific to SMS and cannot be inferred from consent or subscription to other marketing messages or channels.

Wherever you are collecting SMS consent, you must display some text clearly stating that individuals who sign up for SMS are consenting to receive text messages from your business. Not providing this type of disclaimer can result in fines. Note that the text must mention SMS in specific; saying that the subscriber is agreeing to receive marketing messages in general or email marketing is not good enough.
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You must also update any relevant legal documents including your terms of service and privacy policy to detail how you will handle SMS consent.