Beyond consent and registration, political texts carry an identification obligation: the voter has to know who's texting them, and many messages need a "paid for by" disclaimer. This sits at the intersection of TCPA sender-identification rules and campaign-finance law, and getting it wrong is both a compliance and an election-law problem. Here's how disclaimers work in a text.
When does a political text need a disclaimer?
Two things are almost always required and one sometimes is:
- Sender identification, naming the campaign or committee, is expected on essentially every political text so the voter knows who's contacting them.
- A "paid for by" disclaimer is required for many paid political communications under campaign-finance rules, and texts that qualify as paid communications generally need it.
Whether the full disclaimer is required depends on the type of message and your jurisdiction's rules, but clear sender identification is a safe default for every send.
What does a disclaimer have to say?
At minimum, who paid for the message, usually the committee's name, in a form your jurisdiction accepts. The exact wording and when it's triggered vary by federal, state, and local rules, so the practical approach is to include your committee's "paid for by" line where any doubt exists. A short, clear attribution costs a few characters and removes the ambiguity.
How do you fit a disclaimer in a text?
Keep the message tight and put the attribution at the end. Texts are short, so lead with the ask and close with "Paid for by [Committee]." If space is genuinely tight, sender identification in the body plus a link to a page carrying the full disclaimer is a common approach. The goal is that a voter can always tell who's behind the message, which is exactly the trust signal a compliant program wants anyway. It also helps deliverability, since an unclear sender looks like a spoof to the carriers.
Frequently asked questions
Do political texts need a "paid for by" disclaimer?
Many do, under campaign-finance rules for paid communications, and clear sender identification is expected on essentially all of them. The exact trigger and wording vary by jurisdiction, so include it where there's any doubt.
Where do you put the disclaimer in a text?
At the end. Lead with the ask, close with "Paid for by [Committee]." If space is tight, identify the sender in the body and link to a page with the full disclaimer.
What happens if you skip the disclaimer?
You risk campaign-finance violations and you look like a spoof to the carriers, which hurts deliverability. Clear attribution protects you on both fronts.
Keep reading: political text content rules and the complete TCPA guide. For the rules, see the FCC.
This is general information, not legal advice, current as of the date above.