Interview reminder text message templates, and the consent rules behind them

An interview reminder text should identify you and your company in the first words, give the day, time and time zone, include the link or address, and tell the candidate how to reply if something has changed. Keep it to about two short sentences, send it only to candidates who agreed to receive texts about their application, and stop the moment someone replies STOP. The templates below cover video, phone and onsite reminders, the morning-of text, reply-to-confirm versions, change notices and the opt-out reply, followed by the consent rules that apply.

For email versions, see the interview reminder email templates. Texts work best alongside email, not instead of it: the email carries the detail, the text makes sure it is seen.

What makes a reminder text work

• Name first. "Hi Sam, it's Priya from Northwind" before anything else. An unknown number with a link looks like a scam.
• Time zone always. Texts are read on the move, often in a different zone from yours.
• One link at most. The meeting link or a map link, not both, and no link shorteners that hide the destination.
• A way to reply. Make it clear a person is reading replies, or say to call you instead.
• Short enough for one message. Long texts split across several messages and arrive out of order on some phones.
• No sensitive detail. Salary, background checks, feedback and anything personal belong in email or on a call. Texts are visible on lock screens.

Reminder templates by format

1. Video interview, day before

Hi [First name], it's [Your name] from [Company]. Reminder: your
[Role] video interview with [interviewer] is tomorrow at [time, time
zone]. Link: [link] (also in your email). Reply here if anything's
changed.

2. Phone screen, day before

Hi [First name], [Your name] at [Company] here. I'll call you
tomorrow at [time, time zone] from [number] for our [Role] chat
(about [30] min). Reply if you need a different time.

Tell the candidate which number will call them. Missed phone screens are often a declined unknown number.

3. Onsite interview, day before

Hi [First name], it's [Your name] from [Company]. See you tomorrow at
[time] at [short address]. Ask for [name] at reception; bring photo
ID. Running late on the day? Text or call me here.

4. Morning of, or an hour before

Hi [First name], [Your name] from [Company]. Today at [time, time
zone]: [Role] interview with [interviewer]. [Link / address]. Good
luck!

Use this for early interviews, hiring events and hourly roles where same-day no-shows are common. For most professional interviews, the day-before text is enough.

Reply-to-confirm and change notices

5. Reply-to-confirm version

Hi [First name], it's [Your name] from [Company]. Your [Role]
interview is on [day, date] at [time, time zone]. Reply YES to
confirm, or NEW if you need a different time.

Only ask for a reply if someone will act on it. If a candidate answers NEW and nobody writes back that day, the text has made things worse. Avoid reply keywords that clash with opt-out words, such as using STOP or CANCEL to mean "cancel the interview"; a candidate who replies CANCEL may be withdrawing consent to texts as well.

6. A detail has changed

Hi [First name], [Your name] from [Company]. Change to your [Role]
interview: it's now [new time / with (new interviewer) / at (new
link)]. Same day, [date]. Updated invite is in your email. Sorry for
the change.

Say "change" at the start so the candidate does not skim it as a repeat. Send the updated calendar invite first, so the text can point to it.

7. You're on the line and they haven't joined

Hi [First name], it's [Your name] from [Company]. I'm on the [link /
call] for our [time] interview. Can you join? If today doesn't work,
reply and we'll find another time.

Send this about five minutes after the start. The rest of the sequence is in the interview no-show emails.

8. Agency: client interview

Hi [First name], [Your name] from [Agency]. Good luck tomorrow with
[Client] at [time, time zone]: [link / address]. Call me straight
after so we can talk before they call me.

9. Replying to an opt-out

You won't receive more texts from [Company] about your application.
We'll contact you by email at [email] instead. [Your name]

One confirmation, sent straight away, and nothing else by text. Do not ask the candidate to reconsider or add anything promotional.

Consent and opt-out: the rules that apply

The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) restricts calls and texts made with an "automatic telephone dialing system", and the FCC's rules treat text messages sent that way as calls ("robotexts"). The FCC's order DA 25-312 summarizes the baseline: the TCPA generally requires anyone sending robotexts to obtain the recipient's prior express consent, absent an emergency purpose or an applicable exemption.

Whether your texting tool is an autodialer is not always clear. In Facebook, Inc. v. Duguid (2021), the Supreme Court held that equipment counts only if it can store or produce numbers using a random or sequential number generator, which narrowed the definition. Many ATS and scheduling tools may fall outside it, but some state laws define automated texting more broadly, and the answer depends on the specific tool. The practical approach is to get consent for every candidate you text, whatever the platform.

Getting consent

• Add a short, separate consent line to the application or scheduling form, for example: "I agree to receive text messages from [Company] about my application and interviews. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out." Ask your texting provider and counsel what else your wording needs.
• Keep it unticked by default and optional. Candidates who do not agree still get email.
• Record when and how consent was given, and keep that record with the candidate's profile.
• Use texts only for the purpose the candidate agreed to. Consent to interview texts is not consent to a marketing newsletter or messages about unrelated jobs.

Honoring opt-outs

The FCC's 2024 order on revoking consent, FCC 24-24, lets people revoke consent by any reasonable means. It says a reply of "stop," "quit," "end," "revoke," "opt out," "cancel" or "unsubscribe" is a per se reasonable way to do it, and requires callers to honor the request within a reasonable time, not more than 10 business days after receipt. A single confirmation text is allowed if it only confirms the opt-out and contains no marketing. These rules took effect on April 11, 2025. One further part, requiring an opt-out from one type of message to apply to all unrelated messages from the same sender, has been delayed; the FCC's order DA 26-12 extended its effective date to January 31, 2027.

In practice:

1. Configure your texting tool to stop automatically on those words, and on obvious variations like "please stop texting me".
2. Make the opt-out visible to every recruiter, so nobody texts the candidate manually from another tool.
3. Move the candidate to email or phone; opting out of texts is not withdrawing from the process.
4. Treat a written "don't text me" in an email as an opt-out too.

Timing

The FCC's calling-hours rule in 47 CFR 64.1200(c)(1) bars telephone solicitations before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m. in the called party's local time. Interview reminders are not solicitations to buy anything, but the same window is a good rule for any candidate text. Schedule automated reminders in the candidate's time zone, not yours.

Reminder texts that backfire

• No sender name. "Reminder: interview tomorrow 10am [link]" from an unknown number gets ignored or reported as spam.
• Several reminders a day. One the day before and, at most, one on the morning is plenty.
• Texting people who never agreed. A number on a resume is not the same as consent to texts.
• Using texts for bad news. Rejections, withdrawn offers and background check issues belong in a call or email.
• Automated texts after a reschedule. Check that moving an interview cancels the old reminder, or the candidate will turn up at the old time.

Texting is one part of keeping attendance high in volume hiring; the guide to reducing interview no-shows and the high-volume hiring process cover the rest.