Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, and this article should not be taken as legal advice. It offers practical administrative approaches grounded in Texas statutory authority, federal constitutional law, and the author’s experience in Texas court administration. Courts and agencies should always consult their attorney or legal counsel before implementing or changing communication policies.
Texas courts are asking if they can send automated text reminders about court dates without violating federal messaging laws. The answer is yes. This guide explains Texas law, why the commercial consent framework does not apply to court communications, and what your court should do to send reminders with legal protection properly.
The good news for Texas counties is that this is not just a theoretical exercise. The Texas Office of Court Administration already runs a statewide court reminder program, provided at no cost to counties, authorized by the Texas Legislature under Texas Government Code §75.601. The infrastructure is set up. The behavioral science is applied. The compliance framework is established. Texas courts are already using it, with an 80 percent court appearance rate compared to a 73 percent national average. The only question is why your court has not signed up yet.
What Texas Law Says
The Texas Legislature did not just allow court text reminders. Texas Government Code §75.601 requires the Office of Court Administration to develop and make a free court reminder program available to every county. That is a mandate on OCA to build it and offer it. For free.
The 88th Texas Legislature reinforced this with a broad grant of electronic communication authority, effective January 1, 2025. Article 45A.051 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states that, regardless of any other law, a justice or municipal court may use electronic means to produce documents required by law to be written, record notices, and maintain dockets. That authority includes text reminders.
There is an important distinction your attorney should understand. Article 45.014 governs the formal statutory notice a court must provide before issuing an arrest warrant for failure to appear. That notice has specific content requirements and must be delivered by telephone or regular mail. That is a formal legal process.
A courtesy text reminder is not a formal statutory notice. The Texas Justice Court Training Center's criminal procedure deskbook states explicitly that courtesy reminder notices have no specific content or method requirements. They are two separate things under Texas law. Confusing them is where most compliance issues arise.
Why the Commercial Consent Framework Does Not Apply
The CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices, along with the carrier consent requirements they establish, aim to prevent businesses from sending promotional texts to consumers without permission. The CTIA document clearly states that its highest consent tier covers messages that encourage a consumer to make a purchase, visit a location, or take any other commercial action. The Federal Trade Commission's Truth-in-Advertising rules are referenced throughout. The entire framework centers on the commercial relationship between a business and a consumer in the marketplace.
A Texas court is not a business, and a defendant is not a consumer. The court is not selling anything. The relationship between the state and a party involved in a criminal case is not a commercial one. Using a commercial consent framework for court text reminders applies the wrong rules to the wrong context. Your attorney can verify this distinction. It is the core of the defensibility argument.
One more data point worth noting: over the first 14 months of the Texas OCA program, the opt-out rate is 1.3 percent. This is not a population being flooded with unwanted messages. It is a population eager to hear from the court.
The Practical Framework: What Your Court Should Actually Do
Carriers are not blocking courts that operate this way. The combination of registered numbers, documented intake disclosure, opt-out compliance, and audit logging provides carriers with the information they need to confirm this is a legitimate, well-managed program. Here is the framework.
• Send from registered 10DLC numbers. 10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code, a standard 10-digit phone number registered for Application-to-Person messaging. eCourtDate uses 10DLC, not short codes. Short codes have stricter, carrier-specific requirements. The 10DLC registration process involves documenting your use case, your consent mechanism, and your opt-out process. Court and government notification use cases are viewed favorably by carriers during their review. This is the correct technical channel for court reminder programs.
• Build consent into the intake workflow. A simple disclosure when collecting a mobile number at the court satisfies CTIA's express consent standard for informational messages. This can be spoken by a clerk or included as a single line on an intake form. No separate opt-in campaign is needed. A statement like "We may send you text reminders about your court date" is sufficient. Your attorney should review the exact wording.
• Include opt-out instructions in every message. Reply STOP must be included in every message, and the request must be honored immediately. This is both a best practice and an FCC requirement for recurring automated messages starting April 2025. It shows carriers that the program is operating in good faith. And as the Texas data indicates, almost nobody opts out.
• Maintain audit logs of messages and opt-outs. If a carrier or anyone else asks, the documentation must be available. Know what your system logs and how to retrieve them.
• Keep message content factual and court-specific. Avoid language that could come across as marketing or solicitation. Your messages should include the court, date, time, and location. The ideas42 behavioral science templates, which are part of the Texas OCA program, are designed to boost appearance rates while remaining within appropriate content boundaries.
For Texas Counties: This Is Already Built and Paid For
If your court is in a Texas county, you do not need to build this from scratch. The Texas Court Reminder Program is a three-partner solution. The Texas Office of Court Administration funds and coordinates it. eCourtDate provides the technology infrastructure, integrations, and technical support. ideas42's (Un)Warranted initiative offers behavioral science expertise and evidence-based message templates. Every component is already operational.
Eligible jurisdictions include District Courts, Statutory County Courts, Statutory Probate Courts, Constitutional County Courts, and Justice Courts. Municipal courts are invited to join at cost.
The program supports up to 100 languages, integrates with most existing case management systems, and can go live in as little as one month. The Clerk of the Court is the recommended contact for onboarding. The program is fully compliant with AWS GovCloud hosting, SOC 2 Type II, FedRAMP Ready, CJIS Certified, and PCI DSS standards.
The results speak for themselves. Courts participating in the program consistently outperform the national baseline for appearance rates, and the avoided cost per failure-to-appear is well-documented. Your county attorney can run the math.
To get started, visit the Texas Court Reminder Program page or the Texas Judicial Branch program page. Counties must officially enroll through the Texas Office of Court Administration. The program is free, and registration takes just minutes.
Why This Is Defensible
This framework is built on a solid foundation. Texas Government Code §75.601 requires OCA to make it available. Art. 45A.051 authorizes it. The TCPA’s autodialer restriction does not apply to systems that send messages to known participants from stored case records, as clarified by the Supreme Court in Facebook v. Duguid (2021). The procedural due process guarantee of the 14th Amendment, rooted in Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank and Trust Co. (1950) and Jones v. Flowers (2006), requires the government to give notice reasonably calculated to actually reach individuals before depriving them of liberty. In 2026, that means text messages. The NCSC eReminders Toolkit (2024) and the Ideas42 Improving Court Attendance Guide (2025) both recommend automatic enrollment with opt-out as the fairest and most effective method. Your attorney can find the full legal framework in the references below.
The Bottom Line
The CTIA framework was created to prevent commercial actors from overwhelming your phone with unsolicited coupons and sales pitches. It was not designed to stop the government from reminding you not to miss your court date. Texas courts have the legal authority, constitutional support, operational systems, and proven results to send reminders effectively. The Texas Legislature developed the program. OCA funds it. eCourtDate and ideas42 manage it. All that remains is for your court to sign up and help people get to court.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Always consult your attorney or legal counsel before implementing any messaging program.
References (for informational use only)
CTIA. (2023, May). Messaging Principles and Best Practices.
eCourtDate. Texas Court Reminder Program.
Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid, 141 S. Ct. 1163 (2021).
Ideas42. (2025). Improving Court Attendance: The Essential Guide to Court Reminder Programs.
Jones v. Flowers, 547 U.S. 220 (2006).
Mullane v. Central Hanover Bank and Trust Co., 339 U.S. 306 (1950).
National Center for State Courts. (2024). eReminders Toolkit.
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 45A.051 (eff. January 1, 2025).
Texas Code of Criminal Procedure, Art. 45.014.
Texas Government Code §75.601.
Texas Justice Court Training Center. Criminal Procedure Deskbook.
Texas Office of Court Administration. Court Reminder Program.
About Greg Shugart
Director of Government Relations
Greg Shugart brings over 30 years of public sector experience to the eCourtDate team, with a background in court administration, criminal justice reform, and government operations. He previously served as Criminal Courts Administrator for Tarrant County, Texas, where he led statewide-recognized initiatives in pretrial modernization, court communications, and system efficiency. Greg now contributes to eCourtDate’s strategy and partnerships, helping agencies implement technology that improves access, compliance, and trust in the justice system.