Does a STOP reply turn on DND in GoHighLevel?

Yes for SMS. HighLevel's DND article says SMS DND turns on when a contact replies with an opt-out keyword such as STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE. Permanent SMS DND is lifted when the contact texts an opt-in keyword such as START, or when the agency gives support proof of opt-in.

Does DND block invoices and appointment emails?

Not always. HighLevel says three email categories can bypass Email DND: Payments (Invoices), Calendar notifications and Notifications. Marketing and promotional emails stay blocked. The exception covers only those listed categories and is not a general bypass.

Can I see which contacts have DND on?

Yes. Open the contact profile and look at the DND section on the left side. A channel with DND on appears grayed out. To find many contacts at once, build a Smart List with Advanced Filters and filter on fields such as SMS DND, Email DND or DND all, set to Enabled.

How do I turn DND on for many contacts at once?

We found no documented one-click bulk DND action in the sources we opened. The documented route is a workflow with the Enable/Disable DND action, then adding a filtered Smart List to it with the bulk Trigger automation action on the Contacts page. Test on a few contacts first.

Can I remove DND that a contact set by texting STOP?

Not on your own say-so. HighLevel says permanent SMS DND needs the contact to text an opt-in keyword like START, or the agency to send support proof of opt-in. Twilio's own article says an opt-out must be reversed by the recipient. Clearing it by hand to push a campaign undoes the opt-out.

Does GoHighLevel DND make me TCPA compliant?

No. DND helps you honor opt-outs, but TCPA compliance also depends on prior consent, accurate consent wording, calling and texting hours, records and how fast you honor revocation. Treat DND as one control in your setup and get legal advice for your situation.

By Alpit Patel and the aibrevo team · October 15, 2026 · 9 min read

What Is DND in GoHighLevel? Channels, What It Blocks and What It Doesn't

Q: What is DND in GoHighLevel?

DND stands for Do Not Disturb. It is a setting on each contact record that stops HighLevel from communicating with that contact on the channels where DND is on. You can switch it on for every channel at once or for one channel, such as SMS only. It sits in the DND section of the contact profile.

Q: What is the difference between DND on one channel and DND on all channels?

One-channel DND blocks only that channel, so a contact with SMS DND still gets email and calls. All-channels DND blocks every channel. HighLevel says per-channel control applies to outbound DND. Inbound DND is all-or-nothing and covers calls and SMS only.

Quick answer

DND (Do Not Disturb) is a contact-level switch in HighLevel that stops messages on the channels where it is on, either all channels or one at a time. A STOP reply turns SMS DND on, and some email types (invoices, calendar notices, notifications) still get through. DND is a tool for honoring opt-outs, not proof that you are legally compliant.

Updated October 15, 2026 · Reviewed by Alpit Patel, Founder

Part of the guide: GoHighLevel compliance

Key takeaways

DND is a per-contact status. Turn it on for all channels or only for Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, Google Business Profile or WhatsApp. HighLevel stops communications on the channels where it is enabled.
Per-channel DND works for outbound. Inbound DND can only be turned on or off for all channels, and it covers calls and SMS only.
A STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE reply turns SMS DND on automatically. So do provider error codes 30003, 30004, 30005 and 30006.
Email DND still lets three transactional types through: Payments (Invoices), Calendar notifications and Notifications. Marketing email is blocked.
DND does not make a business TCPA compliant. It records and enforces an opt-out. Consent, wording, quiet hours and records are separate jobs.

DND in GoHighLevel means Do Not Disturb: a status on each contact that stops HighLevel from messaging or calling that person on the channels where it is switched on. You can turn it on for all channels or for one, such as SMS only. This page covers what each setting blocks, what turns it on by itself, what still gets through, and how to use it in workflows and Smart Lists.

Checked on October 15, 2026 against HighLevel’s DND article, the DND Contact workflow action, the Contact DND trigger, the Smart List Advanced Filters article, the bounce-DND workflow article and Twilio error 21610. None of these articles shows a revision date, so confirm the screens in your own sub-account.

6channels with DND: Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, Google Business Profile, WhatsApp

2directions: Outbound (per channel) and Inbound (calls and SMS, all-or-nothing)

3email types that can bypass Email DND: invoices, calendar notices, notifications

4provider error codes that switch SMS DND on: 30003, 30004, 30005, 30006

What is DND in GoHighLevel?

HighLevel’s DND article describes it as a way to manage communication preferences “by enabling or disabling specific channels for individual contacts.” It can be applied globally or per channel: Email, SMS, Calls, Facebook Messenger, Google My Business and WhatsApp. The Messenger, Google and WhatsApp options appear once those channels are integrated.

To change it by hand: Contacts > open the contact > DND section (usually at the bottom of the left column), then enable or disable DND for all channels or pick specific channels. A channel with DND on appears grayed out in that section. HighLevel also logs who changed it. Conversations and activity logs show “DND Enabled by” or “DND Disabled by” a Workflow, a User or the Contact.

What does each DND setting block?

HighLevel’s rule of thumb: communications stop on the channels where DND is enabled. The table below turns that into a setting-by-setting view, using only what the help articles state.

DND setting	What it blocks	What it leaves alone
All channels, outbound	Messages to the contact on every channel	Nothing in the channel list, apart from the email exceptions below
Email only	Marketing and promotional email	Invoices, calendar notifications and notifications can still send. SMS and calls are unaffected
SMS only	Outbound SMS to the contact	Email, calls and other channels
Calls only	Per the article: incoming calls from the contact are not forwarded or displayed	Email, SMS
Inbound (calls and SMS)	Inbound calls from the contact’s number are blocked directly. Inbound SMS is blocked at system level, so charges still apply	Outbound messaging. Inbound DND cannot be set per channel
Facebook Messenger, Google Business Profile, WhatsApp	That platform for that contact, once the channel is integrated	The contact stays reachable elsewhere

Source: HighLevel Support, How to Setup and Use Do Not Disturb (DND), checked October 15, 2026. The article does not give separate wording for outbound calls under the Calls setting, so test with a real contact before you rely on it.

What is the difference between DND on one channel and DND on all channels?

One-channel DND blocks only that channel. A contact with SMS DND on still gets your emails and calls. All-channels DND blocks every channel at once. HighLevel’s FAQ adds a rule that trips people up: per-channel control works for outbound DND. Inbound DND can only be turned on or off for all channels, and the supported channels are calls and SMS only.

A contact who texts STOP is the standard example. They have opted out of texts, so SMS DND is the right setting, not all-channels DND. Their email stays active unless they also unsubscribe from email, and the DND Contact workflow action can handle that split. HighLevel’s own example is a customer who opted out of promotional SMS but wants updates by email: enable DND for SMS only and leave the rest on.

What switches DND on automatically?

Channel	Automatic trigger	How it is removed
SMS	Reply with an opt-out keyword such as STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE, or provider error codes 30003, 30004, 30005, 30006	Temporary DND: edit the contact record. Permanent DND: the contact sends an opt-in message such as START, or the agency gives support proof of opt-in
Email	The contact unsubscribes, marks the email as spam, or the address fails permanently, such as a hard bounce	Confirm the address is valid and not on a suppression list, then update DND on the contact profile
Email (your own rule)	A workflow you build: Email Events trigger filtered to Bounced, then the Enable/disable DND action, Outbound, Email	Not undone automatically by later validation. Use a separate workflow or a manual change
Calls and others	Manual change, workflow action, or the HighLevel mobile app	Edit the contact or use a workflow

Sources: HighLevel’s DND article and its bounce-DND workflow article, checked October 15, 2026.

On the SMS side, Twilio’s opt-out behavior sits underneath. HighLevel’s error 21610 article says a contact who replied STOP cannot be messaged again until they reply START, and that the opt-out must be reversed by the recipient, not by you. If a text to a known contact fails with that error, check the DND section first. For other failure codes, see GoHighLevel SMS not sending: error codes.

What does DND not block?

Three things, based on the sources:

Some transactional email. Payments (Invoices), Calendar notifications and Notifications can bypass Email DND “so critical operational information can still be delivered.” HighLevel says this is not a general bypass, and marketing email stays blocked.
Other channels. DND is per channel. SMS DND does not stop an email or a call.
Anything outside that contact record. The articles describe DND as a setting on the HighLevel contact. They say nothing about tools you run outside HighLevel, so keep your own suppression list in sync.

The DND article does not say whether a one-to-one message typed by a team member in Conversations is blocked when DND is on. Do not assume either way. Test with a staff phone before you build a process around it.

How do you use DND in workflows?

HighLevel’s DND Contact action article lists two workflow pieces:

Action: Enable/Disable DND (named DND Contact). Pick the direction, Inbound or Outbound, then Enable or Disable for all channels or selected channels. Build it at Automations > Workflows, add a trigger, click +, and search for Enable/Disable DND.
Trigger: Contact DND. It fires when DND is enabled or disabled, and you can filter by channel (Email, SMS, Calls) and direction. Use it to alert an owner, remove a contact from a campaign, or record the opt-out.

Two patterns come straight from the articles. Opt-out handling: an unsubscribe link or STOP sets DND, then the workflow tags the contact and stops scheduled sends. Inbound spam blocking: a Contact Created trigger plus conditions, then the DND action with direction set to Inbound, which blocks future calls and SMS from that number.

Once outbound Email DND is on, any email step in any workflow skips that contact, while non-email steps such as SMS, tasks and tags keep running. That is why a bounce-DND rule needs a tag as well, so you can find those contacts later.

How do Smart Lists use DND?

HighLevel’s Advanced Filters article lists DND fields you can filter on: DND all, SMS DND, Email DND, Calls & Voicemails DND, WhatsApp DND, Inbound DND, FB Messenger DND and GMB Messenger DND. Each takes Enabled or Disabled. Go to Contacts > Smart Lists > Add smart list, open Advanced Filters, search for the field and apply it.

To audit opt-outs: SMS DND is Enabled.
To build a send list that respects them: SMS DND is Disabled, plus your consent tag.

A Smart List is a saved filter, not a copy of the contacts, so it updates as contacts opt out. For how Smart Lists relate to contacts and pipelines, see contact vs opportunity in GoHighLevel.

For many contacts at once, we found no bulk DND action in HighLevel’s bulk-actions article. The documented route is a workflow containing the DND action. On the Contacts page, filter, select the contacts and use Trigger automation to enroll them, per HighLevel’s bulk workflow enrollment article. Do not use this to flip a group of opted-out contacts back on.

Does DND make you TCPA compliant?

No. DND is the switch that stops sends after someone opts out. It does not collect consent, write compliant wording, set quiet hours or keep your records. HighLevel’s own articles call it a way to help “remain compliant,” not to guarantee it. Our guide to TCPA consent and opt-out setup in GoHighLevel covers the consent form, proof to keep and quiet-hours settings. Our FAQ on bulk SMS in GoHighLevel covers sending to a list. For email rules, see GoHighLevel email compliance. This is general information, not legal advice.

How do you check that DND works?

Use a test contact with your own phone and email.
Text from your registered number and reply STOP.
Open the contact and confirm SMS DND shows in the DND section.
Try a second text and confirm it is blocked.
Confirm email still sends, to prove the DND is scoped to SMS.
Clear the test contact’s SMS DND by texting START from the test phone.

If a text goes out anyway, check whether it came from a path you did not expect, such as a different workflow, a different number or an integration, and contact HighLevel support with the contact ID.

Need your opt-out handling built and tested?

DND settings, consent forms and workflows only help if they are wired together. aibrevo works with its partner company autoesta, whose team delivers GoHighLevel builds. See our GoHighLevel implementation service to scope an opt-out and consent setup.

Sources

HighLevel Support, How to Setup and Use Do Not Disturb (DND) in HighLevel, undated, checked October 15, 2026: channels, automatic SMS and email DND, email exceptions, inbound DND, attribution, FAQ.
HighLevel Support, How to Use Enable/Disable DND Action in HighLevel Workflows, undated, checked October 15, 2026: action fields, steps, examples.
HighLevel Support, Workflow Trigger - Contact DND, undated, checked October 15, 2026: trigger filters for channel and direction.
HighLevel Support, Advanced Filters in Smart Lists, undated, checked October 15, 2026: DND filter fields.
HighLevel Support, Auto-Enable Email DND When a Contact’s Email Bounces, undated, checked October 15, 2026: skipped email steps, bounce workflow limits.
HighLevel Support, How to Use Mobile App DND in Contacts, undated, checked October 15, 2026: DND from call screen, call logs and conversation swipe.
HighLevel Support, Error 21610 Recipient Unsubscribed (STOP), undated, checked October 15, 2026: STOP and START behavior, opt-out versus DND.
HighLevel Support, How to Add Contacts in Bulk to a Workflow, undated, checked October 15, 2026: Trigger automation bulk action.

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