A recruiter-friendly guide to placing TCPA-compliant opt-in language and a consent checkbox exactly where candidates give you their number, with copy-paste wording you can adapt.
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Plenty of recruiting content covers consent, opt-out, and quiet hours as ideas. What it rarely answers is the practical question every recruiter actually has: where does the opt-in checkbox go on the application form, and what should it say? Consent is worth the most when you capture it at the point of application, right where the candidate hands over the number you plan to text.
This guide walks through the anatomy of a compliant apply-form checkbox, gives you copy-paste opt-in language to adapt, and shows how to build it on a branded Apply Here page so the yes is stored on the applicant record. SMS recruiting is regulated under the TCPA in the US, so treat the wording here as an illustrative starting point and confirm your final language with your own counsel.
Placement, an affirmative action, plain language, and a stored record. Get these four right and the rest of your SMS program stands on solid ground.
Consent belongs where the number is collected. Place the SMS opt-in checkbox directly under the mobile phone field on your Apply Here page, so the candidate reads what they are agreeing to at the exact moment they hand over the number you will text.
Consent has to be an affirmative choice, not a default. The checkbox ships unchecked, the candidate ticks it, and the form records that action. A pre-ticked box or a buried footer line is not the clear prior consent that texting requires.
The consent line names your brand, states the texts are recruiting-related, and tells the candidate how to opt out. Keep it short and plain. If a candidate cannot tell what they agreed to, neither can a regulator reading it back later.
The checkbox is only useful if the yes is stored. Log the consent, the exact wording shown, and the timestamp on the applicant record, so the proof travels with the candidate instead of living in a form you can no longer see.
Starting points, not legal advice. Swap in your company name and confirm the final wording with your counsel before you ship it.
Yes, text me about this application. I agree to receive recruiting-related text messages from [Your Company] at the number above. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time.
Best when SMS is your primary follow-up channel. One clear checkbox, one clear purpose.
I agree to receive recruiting-related texts and emails from [Your Company] about this and future opportunities. Reply STOP to stop texts or use the unsubscribe link to stop emails.
Use when you follow up on both channels. Keep the opt-out for each channel visible in the line.
You can also text me about future roles that match my background. I understand these are marketing texts and that I can Reply STOP at any time.
A second, optional box. Separate transactional application texts from future-opportunity marketing so each has its own yes.
The difference between a checkbox that protects you and one that does not usually comes down to placement.
The single most common mistake is hiding consent in a terms link at the bottom of the form. Move it up, right under the mobile number, where the candidate is actively deciding whether to give you a way to text them.
Do not bundle application texts, marketing texts, and the privacy policy into one all-or-nothing tick. Keep transactional application updates separate from optional future-role marketing so each purpose carries its own explicit yes.
Never ship a pre-ticked box. Consent that the candidate never actively gave is not consent. The box starts empty and the candidate chooses to check it.
A candidate can still apply without agreeing to texts. Make the SMS checkbox optional so declining consent never stops someone from submitting the form. You lose the text channel, not the applicant.
The plain opt-out, such as Reply STOP, belongs in the same sentence the candidate agrees to. It builds trust, and it means the opt-out was disclosed at the moment consent was given.
Give every office its own Apply Here page, then add the consent checkbox where the number lives. Set the trigger. We handle the rest.
Every office gets its own Apply Here page with your logo, colors, contact details, and a simple resume submission flow. The consent checkbox lives on that page, so it carries your brand and the candidate always knows exactly who is asking to text them.
Collect the mobile number, then place the unchecked SMS opt-in checkbox directly beneath it. Adjacency is the whole point. The candidate reads the consent line at the same moment they type the number you plan to text.
Name your company, state the texts are recruiting-related, and include the opt-out. Use one of the sample lines above as a starting point and adapt it with your counsel. Lockable template sections keep legal and EEO wording consistent across every location.
When the candidate submits, the consent, the wording they saw, and the timestamp attach to their record. That is what makes your first text lawful and what lets you prove it later without hunting through old form versions.
Only candidates who opted in flow into SMS automations. Business-hours-only sending keeps you out of quiet hours, and automatic opt-out handling drops anyone who replies STOP. Set the trigger, and the platform honors the boundaries.
Run this before your apply form goes live, and again whenever you edit the consent language.
This article is educational and not legal advice. SMS recruiting is regulated under the TCPA and related state rules. Confirm your consent language, opt-out handling, and quiet-hours practices with qualified counsel before you go live.
Directly under the mobile phone field. Consent should be collected at the point where you capture the number you intend to text, so the candidate reads the consent line at the exact moment they decide to give you their number. Burying it in a terms link at the bottom of the form makes it easy to miss and weakens the record of clear, prior consent.
Keep it short and plain. Name your company, state that the messages are recruiting-related, and include a clear opt-out such as Reply STOP. A workable starting point is: I agree to receive recruiting-related text messages from [Your Company] at the number above. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out at any time. Adapt the wording with your own counsel, since SMS texting rules like the TCPA are regulated.
No. Consent has to be an affirmative action the candidate takes. A pre-ticked box is not the clear prior consent that outbound texting requires. Ship the box unchecked and let the candidate choose to tick it. A genuine opt-in also protects you far better than a checkbox no one actually agreed to.
No. Keep it optional so a candidate who declines texts can still submit the application. Making consent a condition of applying pressures the choice and can undermine the validity of the consent. If they decline, you simply lose the text channel for that candidate, not the applicant.
Yes. Store the consent, the exact wording the candidate saw, and the timestamp on the applicant record. If you are ever asked to show that a candidate opted in before you texted them, the proof needs to travel with the candidate rather than living in an old version of a form you can no longer view. ATS Mako captures and keeps that record on the applicant profile.
Your branded Apply Here page hosts the form, so you can place the consent checkbox right under the phone field with your own wording. The yes is stored on the applicant record, only opted-in candidates flow into SMS automations, and business-hours-only sending plus automatic opt-out handling keep outreach inside the rules. You set the trigger and the platform honors the consent it captured.
Branded Apply Here pages, consent stored on the applicant record, and automations that only text the candidates who opted in. Designed for speed. Built for scale.
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