SMS Registration Guide

Registering your business messaging (SMS/MMS) is the best way for Dialpad users to adhere to industry standards and regulations, and ensure their messages are delivered. 

Dialpad has built a self-serve registration form that works directly with The Campaign Registry (TCR). 

This step-by-step guide will walk you through the registration process using our form. 

Campaign registration dashboard

The Campaign Registration Dashboard provides a clear overview of registration submissions.

To access the Campaign Registration Dashboard, head to your Admin Settings from Dialpad.com

1. Select Company Settings
2. Navigate to SMS Management
3. Select SMS Registration

Here, you'll see a list of your successful registrations and the status of any pending approvals.

Register your SMS Campaign

To register your campaign, head to your SMS Campaign Dashboard and select Register my brand and campaign. 

Before we get started, make sure you have access to your company's information and that you understand why and how your organization messages US mobile numbers.  

Remember, Brand and Campaign approval is required for registration.

For a successful registration, each field of Dialpad's Company & Brand Information Form must be completed. 

Let's go over each section. 

Company type

The Company Type section is where you will provide general information about what type of company your business is. 

Select one of the five company or entity types that best describes your business.

1. Private Profit
   1. Your company has a valid Tax ID (see below)
   2. Is not listed on a public stock exchange
   3. Is not a non-profit organization
2. Public Profit: Your company is listed on a public stock exchange
3. Sole Proprietor: Your company does NOT have a valid Tax ID (see below)
   1. Selecting the Sole Proprietor restricts your entire brand to sending text messages from only 1 number — this number can be selected during the registration process.
   2. Passing a two-step validation process is mandatory. To complete the One-Time Password (OTP) verification process, users need to provide a cell phone number (not a Dialpad number) to receive the code. 
      1. If you experience any difficulty when sending the OTP code, please contact our Support Team
4. Non-Profit: Only to be used by designated "NON PROFIT" status businesses
   1. Organizations with a "NOT FOR PROFIT" status need to register as a "Private Profit Company"
5. Government: Only to be used by Government-run organizations.

Company details

In the Company Details section, you'll be asked to provide broad information about your business. 

• Legal Company Name: The legal name of your business, as noted with the IRS. Don't worry, this name is not shown to any consumer or message recipient.
  • The only accepted characters are:
    • Alpha (A-Z)
    • Numeric (0-9)
    • Hyphen (-)
    • Ampersand (&)

• Brand Name: If your company does business under a different name than the one you registered with the IRS, enter that in the ‘Doing Business As’ (DBA) field.
• Contact Information: Provide the email address and phone number for a contact at your company with knowledge of the registration details. 
  • Ie: who can we contact about this campaign registration if there are any issues?
• Industry: Select the industry category that best aligns with your organization.
• Website: Your company's primary website.
  • Provide the full URL, such as: http://www.example.com  or https://www.example.com
• Company address: The legal address associated with your business registration and Tax ID.
  
• Company Tax ID number: The Tax ID number associated with the company’s name, address, and other information 
  • This ensures we perform the background investigation on the correct company. 

Campaign description 

The campaign description provides third-party reviewers context so they understand who your brand sends messages to, why, and with what content. 

Your campaign description must match the other provided information (such as the details noted in the Call to Action and Sample Messages sections).  It's essential to provide as much detail as possible, as the approvers have no context to your organization or why you might be sending SMS/MMS to mobile phones.

For example, Approvers may assume a Hair Salon would message clients about appointments, but the messages are actually about the stylists' schedules. In this case, the campaign description would mention the content of the messages and note that only employees or contractors are messaged about work schedules. Again, the more details, the better!

Example descriptions:

• We are a car dealership service center, and messages are sent to our customers. We send appointment reminders, repair updates, satisfaction follow-ups, online bill payment information, and two-way conversations to answer any questions.
• We will be sending 2FA codes for login and password resets for users of our platform. Users will also receive codes after they have signed up with their phone number to validate the phone number and activate their account.
• Our real estate agents send messages to their clients about available properties the client is interested in, the status of offers, loan closing information, or to answer any questions the client may have. Messages are sent directly between the agent and their client as a two-way non-automated communication.

Recipient consent call-to-action

The Recipient Consent Call-to-Action section demonstrates how your organization receives your recipient's contact details and their permission for you to contact them via SMS/MMS. 

No matter the opt-in method, you must have a clear and compliant call-to-action whenever you procure or ask for a phone number on your website (via a contact form, for example), and you must make that phone number mandatory. 

A few important notes:

• The disclosure must be located on the webform collecting the phone number, not just on the web page. 
• A Disclosure can be an asterisk (*) next to the phone number field, with a footnote detailing the disclosure.
• We recommend including a checkbox immediately below or beside the phone number field with the disclosure. If the consumer checks the box, they are agreeing to the messages.

Call-to-action consent types

There are six different ways that a recipient can give their consent via a call to action.

• Verbally with consent: The consumer provides verbal consent to opt-in and receive your messages.  
  •  If your website has a form that requires a phone number to submit (such as a “Contact Us” page) the website must contain the SMS consent disclosure.
  • Example: While speaking with a customer, either over the phone or in person, the agent asks if the customer would like to receive more information via SMS. Here is our script "Hello {customer}, thank you for calling John's Auto Service. We can send you updates about your car via SMS, I must let you know about this information first. You may reply STOP to opt-out of future messages, or reply HELP for more information. Message frequency varies and message and data rates may apply. We do not share or sell your information to third parties, you can review our privacy policy on our website www.johnsauto.com/privacy. Do you agree to these terms?"
• Entering a telephone number through a website: The consumer enters their phone number into a form on your website.
• Initiating the text message exchange after obtaining the number from a public source: The consumer's number was given to your company via a public source.
  • Example description: Once a recipient finds our number on an advertisement and texts that number. Our organization will send an automated message to reply YES, if they want to opt in to receive SMS from us. We state that message and data rates may apply and that frequency varies. If they reply YES, we send an opt-in message telling them they can reply STOP or HELP. In our HELP message we provide a link to the privacy policy. Here is a screenshot of a sample advertisement.
• Signing up at a point-of-sale (POS) or other Message Sender on-site location: The consumer signs up to receive messages while using an on-site point-of-sale or Message Sender.
  • Example description: Our restaurant has Point of Sale checkout. In the process, our customers can receive their receipts and order updates through SMS. Before they accept, they see the following prompt: I agree to receive text messages and phone calls regarding my order. I also agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy linked below. I understand that my consent to be contacted is not a requirement to purchase any product or service and that I can opt-out at any time. Message & data rates may apply. Message frequency varies.
• Opting-in over the phone using interactive voice response (IVR) technology: The consumer opts-in to messages during an IVR interaction. 
  • Example description: After a customer opts-in via the IVR we will send them a confirmation message so that they are aware of the number they will be receiving updates from.
• Sending a message with an advertising keyword from their mobile device: The consumer opts-in by sending a message to your company containing an advertising keyword. 
  • Example description: We are a local bakery. If a recipient sends BREAD to number: 4378890922, we send the following welcome message: This is Sam’s Bakery. Do you agree to receiving promotional sms messages from us? Message and Data Rates May apply. Frequency may vary. Our privacy policy is available on our support page. Reply YES to agree. Reply STOP to opt out. Once the recipient replies YES, we send our opt-in message: Thank you for subscribing to Sam’s Bakery. Reply STOP anytime to opt-out or HELP for support.

    
    

Messaging types

In the Messaging Types section, specify the main use of your SMS/MMS messages in your business, either conversational messaging, or automated communication. 

• Conversational messages are an active dialogue with customers, with a back-and-forth format of queries and responses.
• Automated communications use pre-formatted messages, such as marketing campaigns, password retrieval, meeting or appointment reminders, delivery tracking, etc. They are not conversations or messages that are composed by individuals at the time of sending.

If your business actively uses both cases, select both options.

Messaging examples 

Once you've selected the messaging type, you'll be asked to provide at least two examples of your messages. 

Remember, you must clearly identify the following details in each message: 

1. A real-world example of messaging a consumer
2. Clear identification of the message sender
3. Clear call to action
4. Displays common URLs or Phone numbers 
5. Opt-out keywords and instructions
   

Examples:

• [Brand Name]: Your authentication code is 1234. Reply STOP to opt-out of future messages
• Hi {First Name} this is {Agent Name} with {Brand name}. I am following up on your question about our services. You can call me back at xxx-xxx-xxxx. Reply STOP to cancel
• Hi {customer name} this is a reminder about your appointment at {Brand name} tomorrow at 2:00 PM. Please reply YES to confirm or NO if you need to reschedule. Reply STOP to cancel
• Hi {customer name} this is {agent name} with Dr. Doctor’s office. We received your lab work and you can see the results by logging into your patient portal www.drdoctor.com/patient_portal_login Reply STOP to opt-out of future messaging 

If you use conversational messaging, provide a script format between the sender and recipient, with the brand name and opt-out clauses on the first line from the sender.

Conversational messages allow for much more customization and a personal tone. However, they still need to demonstrate the 5 key points mentioned above. 

Understanding Dialpad’s Messaging Principles and Best Practices will help you answer the questions in this form.

Consent messages

Mobile carriers require businesses to obtain consent (permission) before sending SMS messages to their recipients. Sending text messages to customers, partners, or employees requires permission first.

There are 3 types of consent messages:

1. Opt-in: Describes how the consumer agrees to start receiving your messages. 
2. Opt-out: Informs the consumer how they can stop receiving your messages 
3. HELP: Informs the consumer of additional information, such as how to unsubscribe or contact customer support. 

Be sure to review our Opt-in and Out of SMS Messages article for more information on consent messages. 

Enter an example message for each type of consent message, or use our 'Fill with recommended' feature to have Dialpad generate an example message for you. 

If you choose to write your own messages, remember that your examples must:

• Include your brand name.
• Include STOP and HELP keywords.
• Include information about messaging fees.

Privacy policy

Privacy Policies are required for all messaging campaigns (except for Sole Proprietor use cases).

In some cases, you can provide a full privacy statement that indicates in detail that Personally Identifiable Information (or PII) is not shared, sold, or conveyed to third parties for marketing purposes.

The Privacy Policy must be clear that end user’s personal info will not be shared or sold to third parties for the purpose of marketing. 

Example statement (or SMS carve out in a Privacy Policy):

"No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties".

More information

Have a read through the following articles for more information:

• Text Message Campaign Registry FAQs
• Messaging Principles and Best Practices
• Text Message Campaign for Dialpad Customers
• Opt In and Out of SMS Messages