By Alpit Patel and the aibrevo team · October 13, 2026 · 9 min read
GoHighLevel TCPA Setup: Consent, STOP Handling and Quiet Hours
For GoHighLevel TCPA compliance, the platform gives you the tools but not the consent. You capture written consent on your forms and keep the proof, let HighLevel add opt-out wording and set Do Not Disturb when someone replies STOP, and set a workflow Time Window so marketing texts go out inside legal hours. The FCC adopted new revocation rules on September 30, 2026 that are not yet in effect.
Part of the guide: GoHighLevel compliance
Key takeaways
- The TCPA obligation is yours, not HighLevel's. Federal rules require prior express written consent for autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing to wireless numbers (47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2)), and the rule text says a text message counts as a call.
- HighLevel's Settings, Phone System, Messaging page can add opt-out wording and sender information to texts. A STOP reply turns SMS Do Not Disturb on for the contact. Permanent SMS DND is lifted by the contact texting START, or by proof of opt-in sent to support.
- The FCC adopted a Report and Order (FCC 26-67) on September 30, 2026 and released it October 1. Its revised revocation rules take effect 30 days after Federal Register publication. We could not confirm the publication date, so check the FCC's public notice.
- Until then, the current rule text applies: a reply with stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe is a valid revocation, other clear wording must be honored, and requests must be honored within ten business days. Honoring STOP at once is the safe practice.
- Quiet hours are a workflow setting. The Time Window under Communication Settings can use the contact's time zone and pauses a send until the next allowed slot.
GoHighLevel handles the mechanics of TCPA compliance: it can append opt-out wording, flip a contact to Do Not Disturb when they reply STOP, and hold a send until a time window opens. It does not collect consent for you or decide whether a message is marketing. That part is the sender’s responsibility, and this page shows how to set up each piece. It is the texting chapter of the GoHighLevel compliance guide.
Checked on 2026-10-13 against 47 CFR 64.1200 (Cornell LII and the eCFR), FCC 26-67, the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023), and HighLevel’s help center. This is not legal advice. Consent wording, the marketing-versus-informational line and state rules are for your counsel.
What does the TCPA require when I text from GoHighLevel?
Three federal rules matter most for a business texting from HighLevel: written consent for telemarketing messages, an honored opt-out, and calling-hour limits.
| Rule | What the text says | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Prior express written consent | Autodialed or prerecorded telemarketing to wireless numbers needs it. It means a signed agreement listing the number, with a clear and conspicuous statement that the signer authorizes such messages and is not required to sign, and not a condition of purchase | 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(2), (f)(9) |
| Texts count as calls | “The term call includes a text message, including a short message service (SMS) call” | 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(9) |
| Revocation | Any reasonable method; replying stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe is reasonable per se; honor within a reasonable time not to exceed ten business days | 47 CFR 64.1200(a)(10), as displayed by Cornell LII |
| Hours | No telephone solicitation before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. at the called party’s location | 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1) |
Whether a particular HighLevel send is autodialed, and whether a message is telemarketing, is a legal analysis. Most agencies treat marketing texts as needing documented written consent regardless and keep STOP working on everything.
What changed in the FCC consent rules in 2025 and 2026?
Four events matter, and one is not yet in force. The table separates what we confirmed from the FCC’s own text from what comes from law-firm summaries.
| Date | Event | Confirmed how |
|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2025 | Eleventh Circuit vacated the FCC’s one-to-one consent rule (Insurance Marketing Coalition v. FCC) | Law-firm summaries (Reed Smith, Mofo, Wiley), not read in the opinion |
| Apr 11, 2025 | Main parts of the 2024 revocation rule took effect | Secondary sources |
| Jan 6, 2026 | Bureau extended the waiver of the “revoke-all” part of 64.1200(a)(10) to Jan 31, 2027 | Secondary sources; FCC 26-67 refers to the extended date |
| Sep 30 and Oct 1, 2026 | FCC adopted (Sep 30) and released (Oct 1) FCC 26-67, Report and Order and Further Notice, CG Docket 02-278 | FCC document read directly |
What FCC 26-67 says, per the FCC’s own text: it lets callers read a revocation as covering only the category of informational message it answered, lets callers designate one exclusive revocation method, loosens the financial-institution fraud-alert exemption, and seeks comment on revocation timeframes, two-way texting, a “revoke all” method and affiliates. Paragraph 24 says the revised amendments “become effective 30 days after Federal Register publication,” the FCC will issue a Public Notice with the date, and the change to 64.1200(a)(10) supersedes the January 31, 2027 date.
Per a law-firm summary (not the order), telemarketing revocations still stop all future telemarketing from that caller, and the further notice proposes cutting the ten business days to seven. A proposal is not a rule.
What to do now: Nothing in the order tells you to stop honoring STOP. Until the effective date, the rule text above applies, including that a caller may not designate an exclusive revocation means. Do not build an “only STOP works” flow yet. We could not find the Federal Register publication date, so check the FCC’s public notice before changing anything.
How do I capture consent on a GoHighLevel form?
Put an unchecked SMS consent checkbox on every form that collects a phone number, with the disclosures beside it. CTIA says marketing messages need the consumer’s express written consent and that senders should be able to document it. HighLevel’s A2P guidance requires the same shape of opt-in for registration: a separate, optional checkbox with program identification, frequency, “message and data rates may apply”, HELP and STOP instructions.
A starting wording, to adapt with counsel:
[ ] I agree to receive automated marketing text messages from Acme Dental at the number above. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. See our Privacy Policy and Terms.
Three form rules follow from the sources:
- The consent box must be separate from other terms and not pre-checked.
- The same wording must appear in your A2P campaign and on your public pages, or the registration will not match (see the A2P registration steps).
- Do not make the box a condition of buying or booking, matching the 64.1200(f)(9) definition.
I did not verify a HighLevel form field type named for SMS consent, so use a checkbox or consent element in the form builder and confirm that its answer is saved on the contact record.
What proof of consent should I keep?
CTIA’s guidance says senders should retain opt-in and opt-out requests and, where applicable, a timestamp of consent, the consent medium, the language and action used, the specific campaign, the IP address, the consumer’s phone number and the identity of the person who consented.
| What to keep | Practical place in HighLevel | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Phone number and name | The contact record | Standard |
| Timestamp and form | The form submission record and contact activity | Check that it is retained for your retention period |
| Exact consent wording and version | A custom field filled by the form, or a dated copy of the page | Our recommendation; not a documented HighLevel feature |
| IP address | Not confirmed as captured | Ask your form tool or add a hidden field |
| STOP and START history | Conversation thread and DND activity log | Documented: logs show who changed DND |
HighLevel’s DND article says conversations and activity logs show whether Workflows, a User or the Contact enabled or disabled DND for a channel. Keep screenshots of the live form with dates each time you change the wording.
How does GoHighLevel handle STOP and HELP?
A STOP reply turns SMS DND on automatically. HighLevel’s DND article says SMS DND turns on when a contact replies with an opt-out keyword such as STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE, and also when the provider returns error codes 30003, 30004, 30005 or 30006.
| DND type | Trigger | How to remove |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Opt-out keyword or error 30004 | Contact texts START, or the agency sends proof of opt-in to support |
| Temporary | Some provider errors | Changed in the contact record |
Set up the wording in Settings > Phone System > Messaging, where HighLevel’s SMS compliance article lists three toggles:
- Make SMS compliant by adding an opt-out message, with Customize to edit the text.
- Make SMS compliant by adding sender information, with Customize.
- Enable periodic opt-out and sender info, which re-inserts both in ongoing conversations at an interval of 1 to 60 days.
Per the article, these are on by default for new sub-accounts and off for existing ones, the first outbound message in a conversation always carries sender info and opt-out language, and insertion is suppressed only when a complete instruction such as “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” is already present. Agencies in trial mode and sub-accounts under 15 days old cannot turn the toggles off. The article lists the carrier-compliant keywords STOP, STOPALL, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, END and QUIT.
To confirm it worked: text from your registered number to a test phone, reply STOP, open the contact and check the SMS DND status in the DND section, then try a second send and confirm it is blocked.
HELP: CTIA’s document calls for customer-care information such as HELP command instructions in the opt-in confirmation, and A2P registration asks for HELP instructions. I did not find a HighLevel article describing an automatic HELP reply, so text HELP to your own number and see what comes back; if nothing does, build the reply as a workflow on an inbound keyword.
Do not override DND to run a campaign. HighLevel’s article describes manual per-contact changes and workflow actions to switch DND, but removing a contact’s opt-out without new consent undoes the very thing the rule protects. Workflows can also stop themselves: use Stop on Response under Contact Settings, and the DND trigger or a Remove from Workflow action, to halt scheduled sends.
How do I set quiet hours in GoHighLevel?
Use the workflow Time Window. In the workflow builder’s Settings tab, under Communication Settings, tick Specific Time, then set Start Time, End Time and the days to include. Per HighLevel’s workflow settings article, communication actions (SMS, email, calls) scheduled outside the window are “paused and will resume at the next available time slot,” and internal actions such as tags and field updates are not affected.
Two details decide whether it works for TCPA.
- Time zone. The Timezone dropdown offers Account Timezone or Contact Timezone. Contact Timezone uses each contact’s time zone and falls back to the account time zone if the contact has none. The rule runs on the called party’s location, so choose Contact Timezone for marketing and make sure contacts have time zones.
- One window per workflow. You cannot set different windows for different days in the same workflow.
A conservative start for marketing is 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. in the contact’s time zone, tighter than the federal 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. because some states end earlier. Our state table shows which of 18 states differ, and the state pages (for example Texas) show how the window changes there. Test with a contact in another time zone. Do not assume a replied-to conversation text, such as missed-call text back, is subject to the same window; that is a question for counsel.
How do I run a TCPA setup check?
Run these seven checks before a campaign:
- Every form with a phone number has the unchecked consent box with disclosures.
- The consent wording matches your approved A2P campaign.
- Consent evidence is stored for each contact (wording version, timestamp, form).
- Opt-out wording is on (Settings > Phone System > Messaging) and STOP sets DND in a live test.
- Marketing workflows have a Time Window in Contact Timezone.
- Imported lists carry proof of consent, or are not texted.
- Call recording notices are set where you record; see recording laws in GoHighLevel.
For help building this, aibrevo’s GoHighLevel service covers consent forms and workflow settings, and scope sets the price; see pricing. Counsel signs off the wording.
Sources
- eCFR and Cornell LII, 47 CFR 64.1200: (a)(2), (a)(9), (a)(10), (c)(1), (f)(9). Checked 2026-10-13.
- FCC, FCC 26-67 Report and Order and Further Notice, adopted September 30, 2026, released October 1, 2026; read through a text mirror, paragraphs 1 to 3 and 24 only. The remaining pages were not read.
- Consumer Financial Services Law Monitor, FCC overhauls TCPA revocation rules, September 2026: summary of the order and the seven-business-day proposal (secondary).
- Inside Global Tech, FCC adopts final order and further notice, October 2, 2026: release date and effective-date mechanism (secondary).
- CTIA, Messaging Principles and Best Practices, May 2023: consent, retention, opt-out, HELP. Checked 2026-10-13.
- Reed Smith, Eleventh Circuit vacates FCC one-to-one consent rule: January 24, 2025 decision (secondary).
- HighLevel Support, How to configure SMS compliance settings, How to set up and use DND and Workflow settings overview. Checked 2026-10-13; no dates shown in the extracted text.
- Not verified: Federal Register publication date of FCC 26-67; a HighLevel automatic HELP reply; a HighLevel consent-capture form element; whether IP address is stored with form submissions.