# SMS marketing in the UK: what PECR actually lets an event organiser text

> The UK rules for marketing texts to fans and guests, read from the law itself: consent, the soft opt-in, the way out in every message, and who you say you are.

Source: https://hiipe.io/blog/sms-marketing-uk
Published: 2026-11-09

In the UK, a marketing text is electronic mail under PECR, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations. You need the person's prior consent, unless the soft opt-in applies: a number collected during a sale, used for your own similar events, with a free way to refuse every time. Every text must also say who sent it and how to stop.

**Key takeaways**

- PECR treats a text exactly like an email: consent first, or the soft opt-in with all three of its conditions met.
- Every message carries a way out, and the person must be able to tell who it came from.
- A number that arrived with an order confirmation is not, on its own, a permission to market.

## The law that applies to a marketing text

The rules sit in the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, usually shortened to PECR. The first thing to settle is whether a text message is even in scope, and the definitions in [regulation 2](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/2) answer it plainly: "electronic mail" covers text, voice, sound or image messages sent over a public network, and explicitly includes messages sent using a short message service.

So there is no separate SMS rulebook to learn. Whatever you would have to get right before emailing a fan, you have to get right before texting them, with one practical difference: a text lands on the lock screen, so a mistake is read in seconds rather than filtered into a promotions tab.

The rule that matters most for event marketing is [regulation 22](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/22). It applies to unsolicited marketing sent by electronic mail to individual subscribers, and PECR defines an individual as a living person, including an unincorporated body of such people. Fans, guests and ticket buyers are exactly who it was written for.

## Consent: the default rule

Regulation 22(2) says you may not send, or get someone else to send, unsolicited direct marketing by electronic mail unless the recipient has previously told you they consent, for the time being, to such messages being sent by you or at your instigation.

Three words in that sentence do a lot of work for an organiser.

**Previously.** The consent comes before the first marketing text, not with it.

**By you.** The person agrees to hear from a sender. A number someone gave to a ticketing platform, a venue or a co-promoter is consent to them, not automatically to you.

**For the time being.** Consent is not permanent. It lasts until the person withdraws it.

PECR does not invent its own definition of consent. Regulation 2 says it corresponds to consent as defined in the UK GDPR, so the standard you are held to is the general data protection one, not a looser marketing one.

## The soft opt-in, and its three conditions

Regulation 22(3) is the exception organisers ask about most, because it lets you market to past customers without a separate consent. It only works when all three conditions hold together:

1. you obtained the person's contact details in the course of the sale, or negotiations for the sale, of a product or service to them;
2. the marketing is about your own similar products and services only;
3. the person was given a simple way to refuse, free of charge except for the cost of sending the refusal, when the details were first collected and again in every later message.

Read that against real event data. A ticket buyer who gave you their number at checkout, and who was offered a clear refusal box at that moment, can hear about your next show. The same buyer cannot be marketed a partner's festival on the strength of that sale, because the second condition limits you to your own similar products and services. And if the checkout never offered a way to refuse, the third condition was not met at collection.

A free RSVP or a guest list sign up is harder to fit, because the exception speaks of a sale or negotiations for one. If you cannot point to that, you are back to the general rule, and the cleanest answer is to ask for consent at the moment of sign up.

Since 5 February 2026, regulation 22 also contains a separate exception for charities in paragraph (3A), added by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. It only covers a registered charity marketing to further its charitable purposes, to people who expressed interest in or supported those purposes. A commercial promoter cannot lean on it.

## Opting out: a way to stop in every message

Two provisions meet here. Under the soft opt-in, the refusal has to be offered at collection and in each later communication. And [regulation 23](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/2426/regulation/23) applies to every direct marketing message sent by electronic mail, consented or not: it is unlawful to send one where a valid address to which the recipient can send a request to stop has not been provided.

The law does not prescribe a keyword. Replying STOP to a number, or a short link to an unsubscribe page, are common ways of meeting the requirement, and that is market practice rather than wording from the regulation. What the law does require is that the route works and costs the person nothing beyond sending the request, where the soft opt-in is your basis.

GOV.UK's guidance for businesses, [Marketing and advertising: the law](https://www.gov.uk/marketing-advertising-law/direct-marketing), adds a step that event teams often skip: you must tell customers if you add them to a list of people who do not want to be emailed.

## Sender identity: say who you are

Regulation 23 also forbids sending direct marketing by electronic mail where the identity of the person on whose behalf it is sent has been disguised or concealed. GOV.UK spells out what that means in practice for emails and text messages: they must clearly indicate who you are, that you are selling something, and what the promotions are, with any conditions.

For an event text that usually means the promoter or venue name in the message itself, the offer stated without riddles, and the terms of a presale or discount where the message can carry them. A message signed with a nickname the fan will not recognise is exactly what the rule is aimed at.

The sources consulted for this page say nothing about the hours at which marketing texts may be sent, so this article does not either.

## The rules at a glance

| Question | What the source says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Is a text covered? | Yes, electronic mail includes messages sent by short message service | PECR, regulation 2 |
| Default basis | Prior consent from the recipient, given to you as sender, for the time being | PECR, regulation 22(2) |
| Soft opt-in | Details from a sale or negotiations for a sale, your own similar products only, free refusal at collection and in every message | PECR, regulation 22(3) |
| Charity exception | Charities only, for their charitable purposes, from 5 February 2026 | PECR, regulation 22(3A) |
| Way out | A valid address where the person can ask you to stop, in every message | PECR, regulation 23(b) |
| Identity | No disguised or concealed sender; say who you are, that you are selling, and the offer and its conditions | PECR, regulation 23(a); GOV.UK |
| Bought lists | Ask the supplier whether you have the right to use the list for marketing | GOV.UK |

## What a campaign costs on HIIPE

The legal side decides who you may text. The cost side decides how often it is worth it. On HIIPE, each contact is saved with their consent and the source link they came from, so the question of who agreed to what has an answer on the record, and SMS draws on the same credit balance as email. The UK sits in Zone 1: a segment costs 40 credits on the Free plan and 25 credits on Lite and Spark, with refills at €2 per 1,000 credits on every plan, which puts a Lite or Spark segment at €0.05. The full grid is on [how pricing works](/pricing/how-it-works).

A segment is up to 160 GSM-7 characters. One character outside that alphabet, a curly apostrophe pasted from a document, an emoji or an accented letter such as ê or ç, switches the whole message to Unicode: 70 characters, then 67 per segment after that. A presale text that runs to two segments costs twice as much to every fan on the list, so check it in the free [SMS character counter](/tools/sms-character-counter) before you schedule it.

## A short checklist before you send

- Can you show, for each number, either a prior consent given to you, or a sale that meets all three soft opt-in conditions?
- Is the message about your own similar events, if you rely on the soft opt-in?
- Does the text name you in a way the fan will recognise?
- Does it say what is on offer, and the conditions that apply?
- Does it give a working way to stop, and do you act on it and tell the person?
- Has the copy been checked for characters that push it into Unicode?

This page is general information about UK rules as published on official sites, not legal advice. For a decision about your own list, speak to a qualified adviser.

**Read next** : [SMS marketing for events: the channel that bills you for a bad list](/blog/sms-marketing-for-events) · [SMS marketing laws in the USA: consent, STOP and the 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. rule for event texts](/blog/sms-marketing-laws-usa)
## Citable facts

- Under PECR, electronic mail includes messages sent using a short message service, so marketing texts follow the same rules as marketing emails.
  Source: Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003, regulation 2, legislation.gov.uk, consulted 9 November 2026
- Unsolicited direct marketing by electronic mail to individual subscribers is not allowed unless the recipient has previously told the sender they consent, except under the soft opt-in in paragraph (3) or the charity exception in paragraph (3A).
  Source: PECR regulation 22(2), legislation.gov.uk, consulted 9 November 2026
- The soft opt-in needs three things at once: contact details obtained in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale, marketing of the sender's own similar products and services only, and a simple, free way to refuse both at collection and in every later message.
  Source: PECR regulation 22(3), legislation.gov.uk, consulted 9 November 2026
- A direct marketing message by electronic mail must not disguise or conceal the identity of the sender and must provide a valid address where the recipient can ask for the messages to stop.
  Source: PECR regulation 23, legislation.gov.uk, consulted 9 November 2026
- Emails or text messages used for marketing must clearly indicate who you are, that you are selling something, and what the promotions are and any conditions.
  Source: GOV.UK, Marketing and advertising: the law, Direct marketing, consulted 9 November 2026

## FAQ

### Does PECR cover text messages or only email?
Both. PECR defines electronic mail as including messages sent using a short message service, so a marketing text to a fan follows the same rules as a marketing email.

### Can I text everyone who bought a ticket last year?
Only if they consented, or if every condition of the soft opt-in is met: you got the number in the course of a sale, you are promoting your own similar products or services, and they were offered a simple, free way to refuse at collection and in every message since.

### Does a free RSVP count for the soft opt-in?
The exception speaks of details obtained in the course of a sale or negotiations for a sale. If you cannot point to that, rely on consent instead: ask for it clearly when the person signs up.

### What must every marketing text include?
PECR says you must not hide who is sending it and must give a valid address where the person can ask you to stop. GOV.UK adds that texts must make clear who you are, that you are selling something, and the promotion and its conditions.

### Can I use a phone list I bought or was handed by a partner?
GOV.UK tells businesses to ask the supplier whether they have the right to use a bought or rented list for marketing. Under PECR, the consent has to cover messages sent by you or at your instigation.