Virginia law protects consumers from certain unwanted promotional text messages. Recent changes provide a clearer process for refusing future solicitations and require businesses to honor qualifying opt-out requests for at least 10 years.
Consumers who continue receiving prohibited marketing texts may have grounds to pursue legal remedies.
Why unwanted marketing texts are a consumer concern
Promotional text messages can arrive throughout the day, often from businesses consumers do not recognize.
Some messages advertise products or services. Others promote financial offers, attempt to collect personal information, or use misleading sender details.
Not every unexpected text violates the law. However, Virginia's Telephone Privacy Protection Act covers qualifying text solicitations, including messages sent for commercial advertising and certain fraudulent purposes.
The law can apply to wireless telephone numbers with Virginia area codes and numbers registered to Virginia residents.
What qualifies as a telephone solicitation?
Under Virginia Code § 59.1-510, a telephone solicitation includes certain calls and text messages intended to advertise or offer goods, services, property, or credit.
The statutory definition also covers specified fraudulent activities.
A legitimate delivery notification without advertising generally differs from a message encouraging the recipient to purchase a product.
That distinction matters when determining whether a communication falls within Virginia's solicitation rules.
Virginia's 2026 text message opt-out requirements
Virginia strengthened its protections against unwanted text solicitations through legislation effective January 1, 2026.
Consumers can make a qualifying opt-out request by replying STOP or UNSUBSCRIBE to a covered solicitation text.
Businesses must honor the request for at least 10 years.
This requirement gives consumers a direct way to communicate that they no longer want marketing messages from the sender.
What happens after someone replies STOP?
Suppose a Virginia consumer receives promotional messages from a home improvement business.
The consumer replies STOP and saves a screenshot.
If the business continues sending covered marketing texts, those later messages may provide evidence of a violation.
A court would still need to consider whether the sender was responsible, whether the communications were covered solicitations, and whether an applicable defense exists.
Fast facts about Virginia text message protections
Virginia's law reaches qualifying promotional messages sent to protected wireless numbers, even when the recipient does not live in the same city as the sender.
A business cannot avoid the state statute simply because its marketing operations are located elsewhere.
For example, a business operating outside Virginia may still face Virginia requirements when sending covered solicitations to a protected Virginia number.
The recipient's telephone number, residency, and the purpose of the message can all affect the analysis.
Legal remedies for unlawful marketing texts
Virginia's statutory damages framework applies to qualifying violations of the telephone privacy law.
The schedule provides $500 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second, and $5,000 for each later violation.
Willful conduct may support increased damages for the first two violations.
Federal law may offer additional remedies for certain unlawful automated texts.
The amount recoverable depends on the applicable statute, evidence, legal defenses, and court findings.
How to preserve evidence of unwanted texts
Consumers should avoid deleting messages that may establish a pattern of prohibited solicitations.
Screenshots can show the sender, message content, date, and time.
Saving the original conversation is useful because it may contain information missing from an individual screenshot.
Consumers should also preserve their opt-out request and any subsequent messages.
If a message appears fraudulent, avoid opening suspicious links or providing financial information.
Reporting the activity to appropriate consumer protection authorities can help document broader misconduct.
Common questions around Virginia spam text laws
Does replying STOP create legal protection?
For covered Virginia telephone solicitations sent by text, STOP is an expressly recognized method of requesting that future contact stop.
How long does an opt-out request remain effective?
Virginia requires qualifying requests to be honored for at least 10 years.
Are all promotional text messages illegal?
No. Some messages are lawful because they satisfy applicable consent requirements or do not violate solicitation restrictions.
Can someone file a claim over repeated texts?
Potentially. The claimant must establish that the messages violated an applicable law.
What if a sender uses different phone numbers?
Changing sending numbers does not necessarily eliminate responsibility. Identifying the business behind the messages remains important.
