A homeowner who asks you for a lighting quote gives you implied consent to follow up by email or text for 6 months from the inquiry, and a customer who buys gives you 2 years from the purchase, under section 10(10) of Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation. Every follow-up must name your business, give a way to reach you that works for 60 days, and carry an unsubscribe line you honour within 10 business days.
I am an installer in Ottawa, not a lawyer. This page is how we read the Act and the government's guidance for our own follow-ups, with the wording quoted and linked so you can check it. It is not legal advice; have a Canadian lawyer read your final templates.
Which consent do you have for each customer?#
| Situation |
Consent type |
How long it lasts |
Where it says so |
| They ticked an unchecked box or said yes, and you recorded it |
Express |
Until they withdraw it |
Act s. 10(1); ISED consent guidance |
| They asked for a quote, filled in a form or called for pricing |
Implied (inquiry) |
6 months from the most recent inquiry |
Act s. 10(10)(e) |
| They bought an install, a takedown or a lease season |
Implied (existing business relationship) |
2 years from the most recent purchase |
Act s. 10(10)(a) |
| They signed a contract that has expired |
Implied |
2 years from expiry |
Act s. 10(10)(d) |
| A business published its address with no "no solicitation" note, and your message fits its role |
Implied (conspicuous publication) |
While the publication stands |
Act s. 10(9)(b) |
| A pre-checked box they never unticked |
None |
Not consent |
CRTC Bulletin 2012-549 |
| A name from a purchased list or a Facebook group |
None |
Not consent |
Act s. 6(1) |
The Act defines the two-year and six-month windows in section 10(10): an existing business relationship arises from "the purchase or lease of a product, goods, a service ... within the two-year period immediately before the day on which the message was sent," or from "an inquiry or application, within the six-month period immediately before the day on which the message was sent." ISED's consent page puts it in plain words: up to 2 years for customers, "just 6 months in the case of inquiries or applications."
Does CASL apply to a text about a quote?#
Yes. The Act defines an electronic message as "a message sent by any means of telecommunication, including a text, sound, voice or image message," and a commercial electronic message as one whose purpose, or one of whose purposes, is "to encourage participation in a commercial activity." ISED's texting page says it directly: "You must obtain consent to send commercial electronic messages, including text messages," and "CASL is technology neutral."
One exemption matters to installers. Section 6(6)(a) says the consent rule does not apply to a message that "solely provides a quote or estimate for the supply of a product, goods, a service ... if the quote or estimate was requested by the person to whom the message is sent." So the quote itself can go out without worrying about consent. It still has to meet the content rules in section 6(2), and the follow-ups after it are ordinary commercial messages that ride on the six-month implied consent from the inquiry.
Two traps in the definitions. Section 1(3) says a message asking for consent "is also considered to be a commercial electronic message," so you cannot cold-text a stranger to ask permission; you ask inside a message you already have consent to send. And section 13 says whoever "alleges that they have consent ... has the onus of proving it." Keep the date, the channel and the words.
What must every message contain?#
Section 6(2) of the Act requires three things in every commercial email or text: information "that identifies the person who sent the message," information "enabling the person to whom the message is sent to readily contact" you, and "an unsubscribe mechanism." Section 6(3) says the contact information must stay valid "for a minimum of 60 days after the message has been sent." ISED reads the identification line as "your business name and the name of anyone on whose behalf you're sending the message" plus "a current mailing address and either a phone number, email or website address."
Section 11 sets the unsubscribe rules: the customer must be able to opt out "at no cost to them," using "the same electronic means by which the message was sent" where practical, through "an electronic address, or link to a page on the World Wide Web," valid for 60 days, and you must give effect to it "without delay, and in any event no later than 10 business days." For texts, CRTC Bulletin 2012-548 gives the example we use: a reply of "STOP" or "Unsubscribe," or a link to a page where they can unsubscribe.
Email footer (paste under every commercial email):
Sent by [Company legal name], [Mailing address]. Reply to this email or call [Phone]. To stop receiving emails from us, reply with "unsubscribe" or click here: [Unsubscribe link]. We will stop within 10 business days.
Text footer (last line of every commercial text):
[Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
The text footer is short because the Act says "readily contact," and a business name plus the number the text came from meets that; put the mailing address on the website the text links to. Replace every bracketed part with your own legal name, mailing address and phone number before you send anything.
How do you ask for express consent?#
Section 10(1) says a request for express consent must "set out clearly and simply" the purpose of the consent and information identifying who is asking. ISED's guidance adds the mailing address, a phone number, email or website, and a clear statement that the person can withdraw consent. CRTC Bulletin 2012-549 says a pre-checked box "puts the onus on the person whose consent is being sought" and that "express consent cannot be obtained through opt-out consent mechanisms." An unchecked box they tick is fine. So is a spoken yes at the door if you write down who, when and what they agreed to.
Lead form checkbox (unchecked by default):
[ ] Yes, [Company legal name] ([Mailing address], [Phone], [Website]) may email and text me quotes, seasonal offers and reminders about my lighting. I can unsubscribe at any time.
Spoken, at the door or on the phone, then logged:
"Can I text and email you about this quote and about next season's lights? You can tell me to stop any time." Log: name, number, date, "verbal express consent for email and SMS, quote and seasonal offers, given at the door."
Express consent does not expire, which is why the first message in the sequence below asks for it.
The five follow-ups, email and text#
The clock starts the day of the inquiry. Every message carries the footer above. Prices are examples in CAD with HST at 13 percent for Ontario, built on GlowBid's default seasonal rate card ($8 a foot of roofline, $9 on peaks plus a 15 percent peak premium; installers set their own, and the method is in how to price Christmas light installation per foot); if you quote in USD, swap the figure and drop the tax line. Day numbers count from the day the quote goes out; the same five touches with the US texting rules are in the 21-day quote follow-up sequence.
1. Day 0: the quote, with the consent ask
Email
Subject: Your lighting quote, 190 ft of roofline
Hi Sarah, here is the quote you asked for on Tuesday: 190 ft of roofline and two peaks (36 ft) in warm white C9, installed in November and taken down in January, $1,892.60 plus HST ($2,138.64). The drawing and the footage by run are in the attached PDF. Footage is measured from the photo you sent and confirmed on site before install.
One question: may we email and text you about this quote and next season's lights? Reply "yes" and we will keep you on the list; you can say stop at any time.
Jack, [Company]
[footer]
Text
Hi Sarah, Jack from [Company]. Your quote for 190 ft of roofline is $1,892.60 plus HST, PDF here: [link]. OK if we text you about this quote and next season? Reply YES. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
2. Day 2: did it arrive?
Email
Subject: Quick check on your lighting quote
Hi Sarah, checking the quote for 190 ft landed and opened fine. Two things people usually ask: the peaks are priced at $9 a foot plus 15 percent because of the ladder work, and the November install dates are filling from the 3rd. Happy to walk through it on a call.
Jack, [Company]
[footer]
Text
Hi Sarah, Jack at [Company]. Did the quote open OK? Any question, just reply here. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
3. Day 5: the picture
Email
Subject: What 190 ft looks like lit on your house
Hi Sarah, here is the lighting drawn on your photo so you can see the roofline and peaks lit: [link]. Same footage as the quote, $1,892.60 plus HST. If you would rather see it in colour, say the word and I will send a second drawing.
Jack, [Company]
[footer]
Text
Hi Sarah, Jack at [Company]. Here is your roofline lit on the photo you sent: [link]. Same $1,892.60 plus HST as the quote. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
4. Day 10: the calendar
Email
Subject: Install dates left before the snow
Hi Sarah, we have four install days left in the first two weeks of November and the quote holds until the 15th. A 30 percent deposit ($567.78, before HST) books a date; the balance is due after install. Sign and pay from your phone here: [link].
Jack, [Company]
[footer]
Text
Hi Sarah, Jack at [Company]. Four November install days left. $567.78 deposit books yours; sign and pay here: [link]. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
5. Day 21: the last one, and a clean exit
Email
Subject: Last note on your lighting quote
Hi Sarah, this is my last follow-up on the 190 ft quote. If the timing is wrong this year, reply "next year" and I will reach out in August with early pricing; if it is a no, reply "no thanks" and you will not hear from me. Either way, thanks for asking us.
Jack, [Company]
[footer]
Text
Hi Sarah, Jack at [Company]. Last note from me on the quote. Reply NEXT YEAR for August pricing or NO THANKS and I will close the file. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Five messages over 21 days is inside the six-month window with room to spare. The "next year" reply in message five is a fresh inquiry on our reading of section 10(10)(e), and if they replied "yes" to message one you hold express consent and the window does not matter. A "no thanks" is treated as an unsubscribe: stop everything, log the date.
What about renewals and re-books?#
A customer who paid for an install last season is inside the two-year existing business relationship, so an August re-book text is covered without a new ask. The clock runs from the most recent purchase, so a customer from two winters ago who skipped last year is out of the window in the third August. Get express consent at sign-off instead, when they are happiest: the same checkbox on the completion sign-off, or the spoken ask logged in the record, and the renewal message never depends on a date again.
August re-book text (existing customer or express consent):
Hi Sarah, Jack from [Company]. Booking November installs now; last year's roofline was $1,892.60 plus HST and the same price holds if you book by Sept 15. Reply YES for the same dates. [Company], [City]. Reply STOP to opt out.
What records do you keep?#
Section 13 puts the onus on you, so the record is the compliance. For every contact keep: the date and channel of the inquiry (form, call, door), the date and wording of any express consent and who took it, the date of the last purchase, and the date of any STOP, unsubscribe or "no thanks" with the date you acted on it. ISED tells businesses to keep "complete records" of consent and have them available if asked.
GlowBid's texting (Twilio) stores the consent and the opt-out with the customer, handles a STOP reply automatically, and sends appointment, on-the-way and job reminders from that record; automated quote follow-up sequences like the one above are on Pro. The quote itself, with the drawing and footage by run, comes from the estimate template or straight from the canvas: draw the roofline on your own photo in the free roofline measuring tool, and the footage in message one is the footage on the quote. Canadian installers quote in CAD with the HST or GST line on the quote even though billing is USD at launch; the details are on the Christmas light software in Canada page and the founding pricing page.
Mistakes we have made or watched others make#
- Texting a lead in month seven. The inquiry was in April, the text went in November, and there was no express consent in between. Ask for consent in message one and the date stops mattering.
- A text with no business name. "Hey, still want the lights done?" from an unknown number fails the identification rule and gets ignored anyway. Name the company in every text.
- A pre-checked box on the lead form. The CRTC says it is not express consent. Leave it unticked.
- Treating the Facebook group as a lead list. Someone posting "who does lights in Barrhaven?" did not inquire with you. Reply in the thread; do not text them.
- STOP handled by memory. A customer texted STOP in December, the August re-book went out anyway. Log it the day it arrives and have the tool block the number.
- Using the seasonal quote consent for something else. They asked about lights; a text about your decking company is a different commercial activity under a different consent. Ask separately.
- US templates copied to Canadian customers. CAN-SPAM allows opt-out marketing; CASL does not. The floor in Canada is consent first, then the footer.
