This is the most common question we get, and it usually arrives after someone has already bought the list. The honest answer is that SMS and email are governed by two different regimes that happen to look similar from the outside, and the answer is different for each. For texting it is essentially no. For email it is a qualified yes that most people then get wrong for other reasons.
SMS: no, and the reason is structural
US text marketing runs on consent. Marketing messages sent to a mobile number using an autodialer or a prerecorded voice require prior express written consent, and that consent belongs to the specific business the consumer agreed to hear from.
That last clause is the whole answer. Consent is not a property of the phone number. It is a relationship between a person and a named business. It does not transfer when a file changes hands, it does not survive being resold, and it cannot be manufactured after the fact by a vendor’s compliance certificate.
So when a list broker says their data is "TCPA compliant", the useful follow-up is: compliant how, and for whom? Usually they mean the numbers were checked against the national do-not-call registry. That is a genuine step, and it is not consent. It tells you those people did not put themselves on a registry. It does not tell you they agreed to hear from you.
One nuance worth having, because it is widely misreported: the FCC rule that would have required consent to name a single seller at a time was vacated by an appeals court in January 2025 and formally removed from the regulations in August 2025. Multi-seller consent can be valid federally. But it has to be consent that names your business, given by the consumer, with a record. A purchased list is not that.
Email: yes, subject to a lot
Email in the US runs on a different model. CAN-SPAM is an opt-out regime, not an opt-in one. There is no federal requirement that a recipient agreed in advance to receive commercial email. This surprises people who assume the two channels work alike.
What the law does require is straightforward and non-negotiable: accurate header and routing information, a subject line that is not deceptive, identification of the message as an advertisement, a valid physical postal address, a clear explanation of how to opt out, an opt-out mechanism that stays live for at least 30 days and costs nothing to use, and opt-outs honoured within ten business days. You remain responsible if a vendor sends on your behalf and breaks any of it. Penalties run to tens of thousands of dollars per email.
So legally you can email a purchased list. Whether you should is a different question, and the answer is usually no, for reasons that have nothing to do with the statute.
Why legal email to a bought list still fails
Deliverability does not care that you are compliant. Mailbox providers judge you on how recipients react, and a list of people who never asked for your mail reacts badly: low opens, high deletions, spam complaints. Those signals attach to your sending domain and your IP, and they persist. One campaign to a bad list can degrade delivery for the mail you actually care about for months afterwards.
The cruel part is that the damage lands on your good mail. Your invoices, your onboarding, your reply to a customer. People rarely connect the two, because the cause and the symptom are weeks apart.
What to do instead
If you have already bought the list, the least-bad path is usually to treat it as a research asset rather than a send list. Use it to identify who you want to reach, then reach them through a channel that does not depend on consent you do not have: paid media, direct mail, a phone call made in compliance with calling rules, or an actual introduction.
If you have not bought it yet, spend the money on collecting your own. A form on a page people already visit, a reason to hand over an address, and a clear statement of what they will get. It is slower, and it is the only version of this that compounds.
The one-line version
You cannot text a purchased list. You can legally email one and will usually regret it. Neither restriction is new, and neither is going away.
One price per campaign
SMS from $399, email from $499, charged once. No monthly fee, no number rental.
See pricing →Frequently Asked Questions
Can I text a purchased or rented phone list?
No. Marketing texts to mobile numbers require prior express written consent, and that consent belongs to the specific business the consumer agreed to hear from. It does not transfer with a data file. No vendor certification changes that.
My list vendor says the data is TCPA compliant. Is that enough?
Ask what they mean. Almost always it means the numbers were scrubbed against the national do-not-call registry, which is a necessary step and a different question from consent. Scrubbing tells you people did not opt out of a registry; it does not tell you they opted in to you.
Is it legal to email a purchased list?
Under CAN-SPAM, generally yes. It is an opt-out regime with no federal opt-in requirement. You must still use accurate headers and subject lines, identify the message as an advertisement, include a valid physical postal address, offer a working opt-out that stays live at least 30 days, and honour opt-outs within ten business days.
If emailing a bought list is legal, why do you advise against it?
Deliverability. Mailbox providers score you on recipient behaviour, and people who never asked for your email delete it or mark it as spam. Those signals attach to your sending domain and outlast the campaign, damaging the mail you actually depend on.
What can I do with a list I have already purchased?
Treat it as research rather than a send list. Use it to work out who you want to reach, then reach them through a channel that does not depend on consent you do not hold: paid media, direct mail, compliant calling, or a warm introduction.