For information specific to Political Campaigns, check out our guide to registering your political SMS campaign.

Guidelines for Upstream Campaign Vetting

If you’re getting ready to send out a messaging campaign through A2P 10DLC phone numbers, you must first submit the campaign for review to The Campaign Registry. This is an industry-wide initiative to prevent spam and improve your deliverability. If you choose to use SignalWire as a Campaign Service Provider (CSP), you’ll find that we make this process incredibly simple through our TCR wizard.

First, make sure 10DLC is the right number type for your campaign with our guide to choosing a phone number.

Once you're ready to get started, log in or create an account in your SignalWire dashboard and head over to Messaging Campaigns. Registering there will be fairly straightforward, and we also have a beginner’s guide to registering your Brand and campaign.

Registering will only take a few minutes when you have all the relevant information prepared, such as a Tax ID, messaging templates, and accurate descriptions of your campaign. In this post, we’ll go over the details of how to prepare all of this information in a way that ensures you’ll get approved and that your registration process is as quick and easy as possible.

10DLC compliance is based on CTIA guidelines.

What is required for a successful campaign vet?

1. A valid website that is associated with the registered Brand

2. An informative and accurate campaign description that matches the message flow

3. A detailed description of your opt-in process and workflow (Call-To-Action)

4. Accurate sample messages that are informative and fit your description

5. Opt-out language included in all sample messages (including START, STOP, and HELP messages)

6. Help message that includes at least one alternative contact method

7. A valid privacy policy that clearly states personal information will not be shared or sold to third parties for the purpose of marketing

Campaign Description

Providing a clear and accurate description is one of the most important parts of registering your campaign. A clear description provides the mobile carriers with a general understanding of what type of content you’ll be sending to their subscribers.

A campaign description should include the following information: type of business, what kind of messaging you plan on sending, the context of your messages, and who your subscribers are. All campaign descriptions must contain at least 40 characters. Since this is the field that defines your campaign as a whole, 40 characters should be a breeze!

Opt-In Process and Workflow (Call-To-Action)

Opt-in consent is another extremely important part of any legitimate messaging campaign, as it ensures your consumers have agreed to receive your messages and helps eliminate the chance of having your content reported as spam.

As of October 20th, 2022, the “Call-To-Action” will be a required field when registering a campaign with TCR, which requires a minimum of 40 characters. This is where you will describe your full opt-in process.

It is vital to provide full transparency about your subscriber opt-in process, so we can recommend adjustments that need to be made. We may ask about your opt-in consent process if we are unable to find it on the website associated with your Brand.

Each campaign should have its own method to gather subscribers’ direct consent. This method depends on your use case and on who initiates the conversation. The description should be as clear as possible, providing specific details as to what the subscriber is agreeing to receive. If you are using multiple methods to collect opt-in consent, you will need to explain them all.

You should also keep a detailed list of all users who have opted in to your messaging program, as proof of opt-in may be requested at any time.

If you have a form on your website that requests an end-user's phone number, there will need to be a disclaimer under this form. The disclaimer would need to inform the end-user that they are agreeing to occasional SMS messages from your company by providing their number and filling out this form. This is required by the carriers even if you are not using this as your opt-in method.

Below are a few examples of this process:

2FA/OTP: When the consumer attempts to log in to their account, they are prompted to input their number and are informed that they will receive a 6-digit code that they need to enter on the next page.

Opt-in through web/personal form: Customers opt-in by visiting [www.examplewebsite.com] and adding their phone number. They then check a box agreeing to receive text messages from [Example Brand]

Texting in a keyword to Opt-In: Consumers may find an advertisement in various places that consists of a number and keyword for them to text us for updates. If consumers text in a keyword, the Brand should also send a confirmation message similar to the following: "[Example Brand] You are now opted-in. For help, reply HELP. To opt-out, reply STOP"

Consumer initiated: The consumer texts in our number they found online and asks questions about our products. We simply answer their questions and send no further messages.

If your opt-in process is not included on your website, you will need to provide us with a step-by-step guide on how the end-user is subscribing to receive SMS messages from your company. We will need a clear and informative description of this process to ensure the carriers accept your connection, such as the following:

"End-user can find our number (###-###-####) and the keyword “Join” advertised on our signs in-store or at our events. The sign will contain information on our messaging program and once an end-user messages in the keyword “Join”, they will be met with our opt-in message informing them they have successfully subscribed."

If opt-in is private and is not able to be viewed or verified via your website, or any other online methods, an image will be requested to showcase how your opt-In process works from the end-user's point of view. For example, if your opt-in process occurs within your customer's personal account portal, an image will be required that shows where exactly the end-user is providing their number and agreeing to receive SMS messages.

Another example would be if your opt-in process occurs via a keyword or QR code that is only advertised at in-person events on a pamphlet or message board. In this case, an image of the pamphlet with the QR code or keyword will be requested. This is to ensure end users have fully acknowledged and agreed to the fact that they will be receiving SMS messages.

Example SMS disclaimer: By checking this box and providing your mobile number, you are agreeing to receive SMS messages from (Company). Message frequency may vary and Msg&Data rates may apply. Reply STOP to unsubscribe at any time. (Terms&Conditions/Privacy Policy).

Please note that the checkbox for your SMS disclaimer must be optional, meaning that the end-user should be able to submit the form with the box checked (consenting) or unchecked (not consenting).

CTA checklist:

• Clear Program Description that matches supplied Message Flow

• Message frequency (#msgs/mo, msg frequency varies, recurring messages, etc.)

• Link to Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy

• “Message and data rates may apply” disclosure

• Method of consumer’s affirmative opt-in (web, keyword or verbal opt-in)

• Opt-out information "Reply STOP to unsubscribe"

Opt-in confirmation MT checklist:

• Program (brand) name

• Opt-out information (reply STOP to stop)

• Customer care contact information (Reply HELP for help)

• Message frequency (#msgs/mo, msg frequency varies, recurring messages, etc)

• “Message and data rates may apply” disclosure

Sample Messages

It’s important to display all sample messages that will be relevant to your use case, especially if you’re using one campaign for multiple use cases. You should have a sample message that represents each use case. All sample messages must be at least 20 characters long with opt-out language included.

These samples should mimic the content that will be sent on your campaign to subscribers as closely as possible, and correlate directly to your campaign description. The samples you provide are just that - samples. You do not have to send your samples word for word to your customers. Include any links or phone numbers you plan on sending, and do not use any public URL shorteners.

Make sure everything matches up with your use case. If you register your campaign for a 2FA use case and have marketing messages for samples, your campaign will immediately be rejected due to a mismatch between samples, the campaign description, and the use case.

We also highly recommend branding your samples, which would involve including your company name or company initials in each message you send (or at least the first message you send). This helps the end-user identify who exactly is messaging them and can ultimately help cut down on wrongful spam complaints.

Opt-Out Language

Opt-out language must be included at the end of each sample message you provide in your registration, including the START, STOP, and HELP responses. While it’s not required in practice to send opt-out language at the end of every message, it is strongly recommended, as it gives the subscriber a clear reminder they can unsubscribe from receiving messages at any time.

You must send opt-out language in the very first message to a subscriber and at least once monthly for recurring messages.

Opt-out language should look something similar to the following and should always provide clear instructions:

• “Reply STOP to unsubscribe”

• “Reply STOP to opt out”

• “STOP=stop”

Additionally, you must have an opt-out message. This message is a confirmation for when a consumer sends you the keyword “STOP.” Once they send you the keyword, you should be responding with your opt-out message to inform the customer their request has been granted.

This message is required as of November 17th, 2022.

An example of an opt-out message looks something like this:

“[Brand] We received your request to stop and halted all future messages to this number. You may reply “UNSTOP” at any time if you wish to receive messages from us again!”

STOP MT checklist:

• Program (brand) name

• Confirmation that user has unsubscribed AND no further messages will be delivered

Help Message

As of October 20th, 2022, a help message is required. You need to showcase exactly what your help message will say. The minimum for this specific message is 20 characters.

The HELP Message should include the Brand name and additional support contact information, whether it be a phone number or email. Identify your Brand when sending subscribers messages, as this provides reassurance on which company they’re receiving messages from.

A “HELP” message provides your customers an alternative method to reach out if they are experiencing a pressing matter and need immediate assistance. A good example of a HELP message is something like:

“[Example Brand] For help, email support@example.com. To opt-out, reply STOP”

HELP MT Checklist:

• Program (brand) name

• Additional customer care contact information (can be phone number, email address and/or URL that leads directly to a support contact page)

• Opt-out language