TCPA-compliant car wash marketing in 5 steps

Every car wash operator who runs SMS marketing — and increasingly, AI-call campaigns — is subject to the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and the related A2P 10DLC registration requirements. The penalty for violations is meaningful ($500–$1,500 per message), so getting compliance right from day one is non-negotiable.

The good news is that the rules are simple if you set up the workflows correctly from the start.

1. Express written consent on every signup

Your kiosk signup form (and every other lead capture form) needs a checkbox that says, in plain language:

“I agree to receive automated marketing SMS messages from [Your Wash] at the number provided. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.”

The checkbox must be unchecked by default and must be separate from your terms-of-service acceptance. The customer must affirmatively check it.

2. A2P 10DLC registration

A2P 10DLC is the carrier-level registration required for all U.S. business-originated SMS as of June 2023. Without it, your messages either get filtered as spam or fail entirely. The snapshot includes free A2P 10DLC filing as part of install (others charge $150 separately).

3. STOP and HELP keywords

Every marketing SMS must support:

• STOP → opts the customer out of all marketing messages within 24 hours, returns a confirmation
• HELP → returns your business contact info
• UNSUBSCRIBE → same as STOP

The snapshot ships these workflows pre-configured.

4. Time-of-day restrictions

TCPA limits marketing calls + SMS to between 8am and 9pm in the recipient’s local time zone. The snapshot’s quiet-hours throttle handles this automatically based on the member’s stored ZIP code.

5. Audit logs

Every consent capture, every opt-out, every message sent — logged with timestamps and visible to your compliance officer if a complaint ever escalates. The snapshot logs all of this into the member record by default.

State-specific overlays

Some states (California, New York, Washington) have additional consumer-protection rules on top of TCPA. The snapshot’s default cadence is conservative enough to comply with all of them, but for hyper-aggressive promo campaigns, run your scripts past local counsel.

What this looks like in the snapshot

Every workflow that sends SMS or fires an AI call inside the GHL Car Wash Snapshot is configured with:

• Consent gate (member must have express written consent flag = true)
• Quiet-hours throttle (8am-9pm local time)
• STOP / HELP keyword routing
• A2P 10DLC compliant sender ID
• Audit logging

You don’t have to be a TCPA expert — the snapshot’s defaults are. Book a demo to see the consent flow live, or get the snapshot for $997.