After a student passes: the text, the review and the photo

Have the instructor send congratulations by hand

Have the instructor type a short congratulations note on their own phone to that one family, with no offer in it. It comes from the person who sat beside their kid in the car. To make that easy every time, get the family's number to the instructor at intake.

Federal texting law sorts messages by what they are for. A message meant to encourage someone to buy something is telemarketing, the legal term for selling by phone or text. "Congratulations, you passed" is a personal note, and "Congratulations, here is 20% off if you refer a friend" is marketing.

Marketing texts sent with what the rule calls an automatic telephone dialing system need the family's prior express written consent, a specific kind of signed permission. Sending them without it is a violation, and under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act a person can sue for $500 per violation, and up to three times that if it was willful or knowing.

Whether a particular texting tool counts as an automatic dialing system, and whether an offer an instructor types by hand needs consent, are questions to ask a lawyer before texting offers. Until then, keep the congratulations note free of them.

Ask every family for a review the same afternoon

Have the instructor send a short review request that afternoon, to every family, typed by hand like the congratulations note. When that parent is asked who taught their kid, a review is the same answer written down where the next parent picking a school can read it.

A review request offers nothing for sale, and selling is what makes a text telemarketing. The texting rules do not mention review requests by name, though, so ask a lawyer before you send them through a texting tool.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has a rule on consumer reviews, in force since October 21, 2024, and its guidance adds two conditions:

• Ask every family, including the ones you think might be unhappy. The FTC says that asking only the customers you expect to be happy "would be misleading if it substantially skews the favorability of the reviews." That includes checking with families first and sending only the happy ones on to Google.
• Offer no reward tied to what the review says. The rule bars incentives conditioned on reviews "expressing a particular sentiment, whether positive or negative," so a discount for five stars is out.

A request the instructor can adapt:

Hi [Parent], [Student] passed today, and honestly they earned it. If you have two minutes, a review helps other parents pick someone for their kid: [link]. Whatever you write is fine, good or bad, I read them all.

Get written permission before you post a photo

Before you post a new driver's photo, name or words, get permission in writing, signed by the student and, for anyone under 18, a parent. Those are the person's likeness, usually a minor's, and state laws protect likeness.

New York's privacy law requires written consent to use a person's name or picture in advertising, and a parent's or guardian's for a minor. California's law on using a person's likeness requires prior consent, a parent's or guardian's for a minor, with damages of at least $750. Written permission meets both, and your own state may have its own version.

One page is enough. It should say who gives permission and who receives it, which photo, video or quote it covers, where it can be used and for how long, whether it can be withdrawn, and that no payment is owed. Have a lawyer read it once, then reuse it.

Even with a signed form, you can keep a teenager's face and full name offline:

• First name and last initial only.
• The car and the new license, with no face in frame and the license number covered.
• The parent posts their own photo, and you reshare it with written permission.
• A written quote and no image at all.

Whatever you post, leave out the license number, any part of the home address, the high school, and lesson times or pickup spots. Put together, a minor's name, a place and a routine tell a stranger where to find that teenager.

If you will ever text offers, collect consent at signup

If you plan to text families offers through a texting tool someday, collect their consent on the intake form, before the first offer goes out. If the instructor's note is the only text you send, you can skip this.

The federal rule calls this prior express written consent. It is a signed agreement that names the phone number and authorizes marketing messages sent with an automatic dialing system. It has to tell the person clearly that signing means agreeing to those messages, and that they do not have to sign to buy lessons. Electronic signatures count.

Put it on the intake form with the box unticked and the wording in plain sight. Keep every signed form so you can show who agreed and when.

You may have read about a stricter "one-to-one" version, under which one consent could cover only one business. A court struck it down, and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which writes these texting rules, removed it effective August 29, 2025. The definition above is the one that applies.

Families can take that permission back. Since April 11, 2025, a reply such as "stop," "quit," "cancel" or "unsubscribe," or any wording a reasonable person would read the same way, withdraws it. Stop texting them within ten business days, and do not insist they opt out one particular way. You also need your own do not call list, a record of everyone who asked not to be contacted, with a written policy behind it.

Some states add rules. California's text ad law restricts text ads to California mobile phones, and its exception for existing customers applies only if they are "offered an option not to receive text messages from that business." Florida's telephone solicitation law requires prior express written consent for automated sales texts, and lets a recipient sue for $500 or actual damages, up to three times that if willful or knowing. Wherever you are, check your state's rule and include a way to opt out in every marketing text.