Grow your SMS program without breaking the rules

SMS is one of the highest-performing channels in your marketing mix. It’s also one of the easiest to get wrong.

State laws around texting aren’t just different––they’re constantly changing. Quiet hours vary. Daily message limits exist in some states and not others. And most marketers aren’t legal experts (nor should they have to be).

The risk isn’t just theoretical. Send too early, too late, or too often in the wrong state, and suddenly your best-performing channel becomes a liability.

That’s why Klaviyo now includes built-in, state-aware SMS safeguards, so your messages stay compliant automatically, without sacrificing performance.

The hidden complexity of SMS compliance

On paper, SMS compliance sounds simple: don’t text too early, don’t spam people. In practice, it’s anything but.

Different states enforce different rules around:

• When marketing texts can be sent
• How many messages a person can receive in a day

Most tools either:

• Leave compliance entirely up to the marketer, or
• Apply conservative rules that can hurt engagement everywhere

Neither option works at scale.

What’s new: state-aware SMS safeguards

Klaviyo’s new safeguards automatically adapt SMS timing and frequency based on where each recipient is located using their area code as the source of truth.

No spreadsheets. No guesswork. No constant legal check-ins.

State-level quiet hours

For SMS flows, Klaviyo now automatically sends messages within the legally allowed hours for each recipient’s state. That means:

• Messages are queued and delivered at the right time, even if a flow triggers off-hours
• Non-urgent automations wait until it’s appropriate to send
• Customers get messages when they expect them, not when they’re asleep

State-level quiet hours are the default for new customers, and existing users can enable them with clear in-product explanations of how timing, time zones, and tradeoffs work.

State law frequency limits

Some states—including Florida, Oklahoma, Oregon, and Maryland—enforce strict daily limits on promotional SMS.

Klaviyo now handles this automatically. When a message would exceed three promotional texts to a person in a rolling 24-hour window in those states, Klaviyo simply skips the extra send to keep your brand protected.

Skipped messages appear in your existing logs and analytics, so you can see exactly what happened and adjust strategy if needed.

Compliance by default: no extra setup required

Both safeguards are compliance-first defaults.

There’s nothing new to configure. Nothing extra to maintain. And no need to constantly monitor state-by-state regulations.

For teams that want more control, Klaviyo provides:

• Clear explanations of how each safeguard works
• Visibility into legal and performance tradeoffs

This makes it easier to align marketing, legal, and leadership without slowing anyone down.

Why this matters for performance, not just protection

These safeguards aren’t about playing it safe at the expense of growth. They’re about creating the conditions for sustainable SMS scale.

By enforcing state rules automatically, brands can:

• Reduce opt-outs caused by off-hour or excessive messaging
• Protect deliverability and sender reputation
• Confidently expand SMS programs without increasing legal risk

For marketers, that means focusing on testing, optimization, and creative, not compliance minutiae..

A smarter standard for SMS platforms

Many SMS platforms treat compliance as an afterthought or lock customers into rigid, always-on rules that can’t be adjusted. Klaviyo takes a different approach.

By combining state-level awareness, flexible defaults, and transparent controls, we help brands stay ahead of evolving regulations while still maximizing engagement where rules allow.

If SMS is a growth channel for your business, compliance shouldn’t be a blocker or a blind spot.

With Klaviyo’s state-aware safeguards, you don’t have to choose between performance and protection. You get both.