Text Message Campaign Registry FAQs
- 06 Jun 2023
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Text Message Campaign Registry FAQs
- Updated on 06 Jun 2023
- 8 Minutes to read
- Print
- DarkLight
- PDF
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Mobile carriers are now requiring campaign registration to ensure messages are compliant with their guidelines, as well as to help identify real businesses and cut down on spam.
Be sure to thoroughly review our SMS Registration Guide so that you have everything you need to ensure a successful registration.
Let's go over common questions to help guide you through this process.
What if I registered somewhere else?
If you have previously registered your brand and received a vetting score while you were a customer of another provider, we can import your brand’s vetting data into Dialpad.
Contact our Dialpad Support team to provide us with the information and start your registration to begin the import process.
Can I opt out of the registration process?
No, customers cannot opt out of SMS Campaign registration. In order to make sure you and your company can continue to send SMS messages, you must complete the SMS Registration process before March 31, 2023. After this date, outgoing SMS/MMS messages will be at risk of being blocked and will be subject to higher usage fees.
Do Canadians need to register?
Canada is not participating in TCR so Canadian accounts should not be blocked. However, if you are texting any US numbers, you will still need to register your campaign.
What if I don't have a Company / EIN?
Single-person companies can register as a Sole Proprietor.
Note:
Sole Proprietor brands will be heavily scrutinized and severely limited (ex: only 1 phone number). It’s highly recommended that customers sign up for an EIN with the IRS.
Why do I get an error saying my Tax ID doesn’t match the business name or type?
It’s impossible for us to know exactly what’s wrong with a EIN / name mismatch.
Some common issues are:
- Special Characters: The IRS doesn’t allow special characters in business names and only accepts:
- Alpha (A-Z)
- Numeric (0-9)
- Hyphen (-)
- Ampersand (&)
- INC or LLC: The official name has/does not have a trailing “INC” or “LLC”
US customers can call the IRS helpline to check their official business name: +1 (800) 829-4933. At the IVR, select a language (ex: 1 for English), 1 for EIN questions, then 3 for “I have an EIN”.
The Registration link is not working for me. How else can I access this form?
Only Administrators can initiate the registration process. As an Admin, you can directly navigate to the registration form from https://dialpad.com/campaignregistration.
Or, head to your Company Settings and select Campaign Registration.
I only send conversational messages — Do I need to fill out Opt-in, Opt-out and Help messages?
Yes. This is an industry requirement for all businesses sending text messages, even if you don't send automated or marketing campaign-type messages.
Let’s look at examples of each message type:
The Opt-In message is the initial text message you send to a customer (yes, it’s still required even for conversational messages). The Opt-in message must mention the “Brand” and have Opt-Out language.
Consider the following case: A legal office signed on a new client. The client filled out their information manually on a form including their contact information. The lawyer’s first text message to the client should look like the following:
Hi, this is Jane Doe from Jane’s Legal Services. It was great meeting you and we’re excited to have you aboard. Let’s talk about the next steps! For help, reply HELP. To opt-out, reply STOP.
The Opt-out message is what the recipient receives when they message back “STOP”. Dialpad will be releasing features in the near future to support this. For the time being, please provide a sample message that your company will send. Use the placeholder text as a template.
E.g.: Jane’s Legal Services: You’ve Opted Out will no longer receive any messages.
The Help message sample is what recipients see when they type in HELP. Dialpad today will send a system message; however this can be customized for your organization. Click here to learn more.
When filling out the form with your organization’s HELP message, make sure to update it in office settings.
Dialpad has built-in features to support STOP, UNSTOP and HELP.
Use the “Messaging Description” in the self-serve form to describe in detail the type of messages that you send.
How long does the approval process take?
Approval times vary from a few hours to several weeks, depending on the type of SMS/MMS traffic from your company (e.g. marketing vs conversational), the number of users sending SMS/MMS, and the accuracy of your registration application.
There are multiple approval parties involved (e.g. US mobile carriers) and some parts of the process are manual.
The best course of approach is to start the registration process as soon as possible.
Who is the Campaign Registry?
The Campaign Registry is a reputation authority for business messaging on 10DLC, coordinating campaign registration for multiple carriers including AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon.
Can I expedite my TCR registration?
No. Dialpad handles hundreds of submissions every day and our team is working as quickly as possible. To help us, please ensure you correctly fill out the form. If your submission was rejected due to an incorrect submission, you'll have to start the process all over again.
How do I cancel my A2P registration?
There is currently no way to cancel a brand or campaign registration.
When the campaign shows as “Registered” has it been approved?
Yes, once your campaign displays as 'Registered' your registration is complete.
What counts as an Inappropriate Use Case or Banned Content?
Messages containing certain content create a high volume of consumer complaints, causing different use cases to be banned and leading to the removal of blocked traffic for US A2P (including 10DLC, short codes, and toll-free), regardless of opt-in status.
Having any of the below use cases in your outbound messages can lead to that number being blocked and/or your account suspended.
| High-Risk Financial Services | • Payday Loans • Short Term- High Interest Loans • Auto Loans • Mortgage Loans • Student Loans • Debt Collection • Gambling/Sweepstakes • Stock Alerts • Cryptocurrency |
| Get Rich Quick Schemes | • Deceptive Work from Home Programs • Risk Investment Opportunities • Multi-Level Marketing |
| Job Postings | Exceptions permitted if the message sender is the one doing the hiring |
| Debt Forgiveness | • Debt Consolidation • Debt Reduction • Credit Repair Programs |
| Controlled Substances | • Cannabis, CBD & Hemp Products - Any mention of Cannabis or Marijuana is strictly prohibited • All Schedule 1 & 2 drugs • Tobacco and Vape Other disallowed use cases • Phishing • Pornography • Profanity or Hate Speech • Fraud or Scam • Deceptive Marketing • Lead Generation (All Affiliate Marketing must be carrier approved) • Referral or Reseller Campaigns |
| SHAFT | Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, or Tobacco related content |
Why was my registration rejected?
Brand and Campaign registration applications can be rejected for a wide variety of reasons. Let's go over the most common rejection reasons.
'Opt-in' Rejection
US Mobile Carriers want to know how your organization is obtaining your customers' contact information to send text messages and whether or not you are including language to get their explicit consent before they Opt-in.
Make sure that the URL provided allows for the approving party (TCR & the Mobile carriers) to navigate to the website and view language that explicitly states your organization will be sending text messages that require your customer to give consent (i.e. clicking a checkbox, clicking “Agree”).
If your organization has a manual process of getting consent (i.e filling out a physical process, from an email signature), then upload a screenshot or picture on a reputable image-sharing platform (i.e. Dropbox, BOX) and provide the public link.
'Sample Messages' Rejection
The Sample Messages field must be completed — you cannot write “this doesn’t apply” or “n/a”.
Be sure to review the following sample messages.
[Brand Name] Thank you for opting in for our texting notifications. To end messaging from us, you may always Reply with STOP. Reply HELP for help.
Your message must include the Brand Name and the STOP keyword. Dialpad currently does not support functionality for custom Opt-in messages; this is in our backlog and we are working to get this out as soon as possible.
You have been successfully unsubscribed from [Brand Name].
Your message must include the Brand Name and the STOP keyword. Dialpad will block SMS messages from being sent to numbers that have replied back with STOP. Dialpad currently does not support functionality for custom Opt-out messages; this is in our backlog and we are working to get this out as soon as possible.
You can get more assistance from our website at: https://brandname.com or XXX-ZZZ-YYYY. Text STOP to stop receiving messages from us. You can also text START to restart getting messages from us again.
Your message must include the Brand Name and the STOP keyword. It must have a URL or a phone number for the recipient to reach out to. TCR and/or the Approval party will call or access the URL to validate its legitimacy, so please ensure it is valid. A standard HELP message is already supported by Dialpad, you can go customize this message by accessing the office settings.
'Insufficient Messaging Description' Rejection
The Campaign Description describes what your SMS/MMS messages will be used for. While it can include a short description of the brand, the majority of the text should describe the use-case and how you will be using SMS/MMS.
There is a MINIMUM of 40 characters for the Campaign Description, so no short notes such as “customer service” or “n/a”
Here are some examples:
- This campaign will be used to request feedback via SMS messaging for experience with the delivery process.
- Customer support and answering consumer concerns about products and services.
- Campaign will contact customers to update them on policy support and their payments.
Note that each one of these describes how the SMS (and/or MMS) campaign will be used. It is important that the campaign description actually matches the sample messages and that the sample messages are as accurate as possible.
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