Quick Reference Guide for 10DLC Approval

For Brand Details, please pay particular attention to the following:

Legal Company Name and Brand Name / DBA – especially DBA. Make sure the DBA matches the brand that is represented by the Website / Online Presence. Any significant mismatch can result in a rejection.

Website / Online Presence – this should be a working website. A website that lands on a domain parking site (e.g. GoDaddy, Wix, or others) will be rejected. Additionally, a website that is an empty placeholder (or a “coming soon” site) would also be rejected.

In addition to a website, you may use other means of showing an online presence such as:

• Facebook page

• Instagram page

For both Facebook, Instagram, or other social media page, make sure the brand is clearly identified. Best if the email address and phone number in the Brand details also match, if at all possible. A more established social media presence will be more apt to be approved than something that was more recently launched.

LinkedIn page - can be used, but the LinkedIn page should be a company listing – not an individual (unless for a Sole Proprietor); however, phone and email should be cross referenced as well. The ‘About’ potion of the company listing should also have enough information to fully vet the campaign for the brand, including Privacy Policy links as well as a fully compliant SMS Disclosure. In general, we discourage LinkedIn as an online presence; however, it may be considered for a non-Sole Proprietor.

Usage of personal LinkedIn pages in lieu of some other online business presence will almost certainly result in a rejection.

Other social media notes:

• Yelp is possible but also can be troublesome. Make sure your link to the business page for Yelp can be viewable in all regions and you should certainly include an appropriate SMS Disclosure and Privacy Policy, somehow for your business.

Profile sites

These are sites that are sometimes used for professionals that will provide general information about that professional – common with physicians, medical, trucking companies, and occasionally legal. If text messaging is to be used with these sites, there will need to be a way to also provide a compliant SMS Disclosure and Privacy Policy link (or statement) for the business.

Phone Number and Email – these are the phone number and email of the contact person who manages the messaging. These may or may not match what is on the website / online. But, if the brand uses social media for an online presence, it’s best that these match what is on the social media.

If your brand is a larger company or even a regional or national brand, then the email domain should belong to that brand – not Gmail, yahoo, outlook, etc. Email domains for larger companies should not be using gmail.com, as this can result in this campaign being rejected.

We realize that many small businesses have a website domain, but still use Gmail or some other public email solution. Typically, this is okay for smaller businesses. The requirement that you use the domain of brand mainly applies to larger enterprises and messaging campaign reviewers will make that call during the campaign vetting process.

It is permissible for a third party to provide an email and phone number if they are the party that provides messaging support for the brand. Please let us know in advance, if possible if this will be the case.

Subscriber Opt-in, Opt-out, and Help will typically be “YES” for most Use-Cases, with some exceptions such as 2FA.

This is important: The message examples to be provided are what the consumer receives AFTER they reply to a 10DLC text message with STOP, HELP or START (if supported by the messaging campaign).

Also note that:

Brand Name must be on each of these.

For Opt-in confirmation messages, all three standard disclosures apply:

• Reply STOP to Opt-out, HELP for more help

• Message frequency

• Message and Data Rates may apply.

Opt-in keywords

For Opt-in keywords and message are optional in TCR; however, are now mandatory for all campaigns.

Example Opt-In Messages:

[Brand Name] Thank you for opting in for our texting notifications. Message frequency may vary. Message and Data Rates may apply. To end messaging from us, you may always Reply with STOP or HELP for more information.

[Brand Name] Thank you for signing up for our weekly text updates (one text per week). Message and Data Rates may apply. To end messaging, you may always Reply with STOP or HELP for more information.

[Brand Name] Thank you for subscribing to receive text messages from [Brand Name]. We will send no more than 6 messages per month. Message and Data Rates may Apply. Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for additional info.

You can be as specific as you like. Here’s an example “welcome message” for an auto repair service:

Welcome to [Brand Name]. You will now receive repair progress updates via text. Message frequency may vary depending on your repair status. You may text back to reach your service advisor. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to stop text messages. Reminder that Message and Data Rates may Apply

Opt-out keywords and message are required.

For keywords, STOP must always be supported and is the default. You may include other keywords such as END, EXIT, UNSUBSCRIBE that the consumer can send, and should be honored if you wish.

You must show the message recipients will receive if they had requested to opt-out via STOP or some other keyword. The minimum is 20 characters.

Example opt-out messages:

Thank you! [Brand Name] will no longer send you notifications.

You are unsubscribed to texts from [Brand Name]. No more messages will be sent.

[Brand Name] You have successfully unsubscribed, and you will no longer receive surveys from us.

[Brand Name] You are no longer subscribed to our updates and will receive no more messages. You may reply START to restart them at any time.

You have been successfully unsubscribed from [Brand Name]. No more messages will be sent. If you accidentally unsubscribed, Reply START to opt-in to messaging.

[Brand Name] We are sorry to see you go. You will not receive any more text messages from us. You can; however, send START to this number if you want to re-subscribe.

HELP keyword and message are required.

For keywords, HELP must always be supported and is the default. You may include other keywords, if you want.

You must show the message recipients will receive if they reply with the HELP (or any other designed) keyword. The minimum is 20 characters.

Example HELP messages:

This SMS texting system is for the employees of [BRAND Name]. Text START to join, STOP to leave. You may also contact us at XXX.YYY.ZZZZ for additional assistance.

[BRAND Name]. Text START to join. Text STOP to leave. Or you may contact us at XXX-YYY-ZZZZ for further assistance.

[BRAND Name] You can get more assistance from our website at: https://brandname.com or XXXZZZ-YYYY. Text STOP to stop receiving messages from us. You can also text START to restart getting messages from us again.

Direct Lending or Loan Arrangement – Select “YES” if the brand originates loans or financing of any kind, including arranging third-party financing, loans, or mortgages. For example, even auto sellers who provide or arrange financing or loans should check this attribute “YES.” Virtually all banks, savings & loans, and credit unions off loan products, so the attribute should be set to “YES.”

This includes places such as car, truck, boat, or other vehicle dealerships and sellers. While not their primary business, they likely arrange some sort of financing. If that is the case, then this attribute should be checked “YES.”

If you website (regardless of business) indicates anywhere that it might provide or arrange financing, then check this attribute as “YES.” We’ve seen window companies, HVAC dealers, home builders, home remodelers, appliance companies that need to have this attribute checked since they can arrange financing for consumers.

IMPORTANT NOTE: If you leave this set to “NO,” and your business can arrange or provide any kind of loans, financing, mortgages, then due to TCR limitations, you may have to create a brand new messaging campaign, if your campaign is rejected.

So, once again, if you can provide any type of financing, loans (personal or business), or can arrange such, go ahead and check this attribute as YES.

Embedded Link / Embedded Phone Number – if any of the messages that you will send will include a link (such as your website) or your phone number (or both), select “YES” for these.

We recommend always checking YES for both to cover you if you decide at a later date to include an embedded URL or phone number in the text of the message - regardless of whether it is shown in your sample messages.

For embedded links, public URL shorteners are not typically approved (bit.ly, tiny.url). If a brand has its OWN URL shortener, we will review it and decide whether it is acceptable on a case-by-case basis.

Here are two items to fill in. First is the actual Campaign Description and the second is the Call-to-Action / Message Flow. Both are very important to enable your campaign to be approved and both have a minimum number of characters.

Campaign Description

The Campaign Description should be used to describe what SMS/MMS messaging 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.”

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.

Text messaging will be used for customer care and marketing promotions.

This campaign will be used to inform people about new job openings and/or training opportunities.

Campaign will contact customers to update them on policy support and their payments.

The business will send out SMS notifications regarding ordering, shipping, and delivery updates.

Sending out appointment reminders and updates regarding hours and availability.

We will be sending out 2FA codes for login and password reset. Additionally, users will also receive codes after they have signed up with their phone number to validate the phone and activate their account.

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 match the sample messages and that the sample messages are as accurate as possible.

You may optionally provide a one or two sentence outline of what the business does in addition to how messaging is used.

Call-to-Action / Message Flow

The Call-to-Action / Message Flow is sometimes a bit confusing. Its purpose is to describe how recipients of text messages via this campaign consent to receive these messages. In other words, how is opt-in consent obtained.

This should match the type of opt-ins that are on the website / online presence.

This is simply a description of how opt-in or consent is obtained. Just as there are virtually countless SMS/MMS use-cases, there are many different ways that consent for messaging can be obtained, including through a website, a user-initiated text (called a Mobile-Originated or MO message) to the brand, verbally, telephone calls and many others.

This field also has a 40 character MINIMUM, so please provide a useful description for how consent is obtained. The key point here is to be accurate and descriptive.

Here are some examples of Call-to-Action / Message Flow for a number of opt-in variations:

Opt-in Via Website

There are various ways to provide consent via a website. Here are some examples illustrating a number of options. In all cases, there should also be an accompanying SMS Disclosure on the website.

When the user signs up for an account, the user must first enter their phone number. A 2FA message is sent to validate that phone number. After that, they are asked if they wish to receive account notification messages sent to the provided (and validated) phone number. The user will see all text messaging disclosures here.

The user fills out a form on the website where they can consent to receive notification messages. There is also a box they can check to receive product updates and/or marketing messages. The messaging disclosure is displayed to users by this form.

Use fills in their phone number on a webform and consents to receive updates for any new opportunities.

Under the “Contact Us” website option, there is a form to fill out to get more information. The user’s phone number is requested. Additionally, there is a checkbox that the user may check to receive information via SMS message, with a full SMS disclosure provided.

When a consumer uses our online form to make an appointment, they are asked if they would like SMS appointment reminders sent to their phone. If they check the box, YES, then appointment reminders will be sent.

Opt-in Via Email

In our weekly marketing emails, we include a button that asks consumers if they would like to receive targeted information about upcoming sales via SMS. If they consent, then no more than twice weekly messages are sent. A full SMS disclosure is provided next to the email button.

In our account validation email, we offer the consumer a button to opt-in for SMS messages. If the consumer consents, messages will be sent for shipping and product updates.

Opt-in Via Verbal Consent (including Voice Calls) – for VERBAL, you need to outline a script that the brand will provide. See these examples where the brand provides a verbal disclosure:

While on the phone with the user, the agent asks the customer to confirm if they wish to receive additional information via SMS. If the user agrees, the information is sent. We do remind them that messaging and data charges may apply and that they can opt-out at any time by replying STOP and that HELP provides them more information.

When a consumer requests directions via a phone call, we ask if it is okay to send them an SMS message with directions to our shop. Additionally, when consumers call us for an appointment, we ask if they would like to receive appointment reminders via SMS. During these calls, consumers are reminded that message and data rates apply, that they can always opt-out later by replying STOP. We’ll also note that they will only receive appointment reminder messages when they make an appointment and that no other messages will be received.

While the client is at our location, we ask them if they would like to further discuss through text messaging, also reminding them that they can always opt-out of further messaging if they wish by simply replying STOP. We’ll also note remind them that these text messages are subject to message and data rates and that the number of messages will vary, based on our conversations. Finally, we note that we won’t sell or convey their private mobile data to any third parties and that they can always refer to the Privacy Policy on the website. If they reply that they would, we enter their phone number, and they will receive an opt-in confirmation message that will contain all of the appropriate disclosures.”

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If your Call-to-Action is Verbal, then anytime you procure or ask for a phone number on your website (via a form like is often used for Contact Us, Connect, Contact, etc.) AND you make that phone number mandatory, then you MUST provide:

• An SMS Disclosure/Disclaimer (See the section in this document: SMS Disclosures),

• OR a checkbox enabling the user to explicitly opt-in to receive text messages,

• OR, Ideally BOTH

This caveat also applies to the next Call-to-Action where consumers may initiate messaging to the brand, outlined below:

During a phone conversation, we ask the caller if we can continue with more details written in SMS messages. We’ll remind them that they can opt-out of future messages at any time by replying STOP and we’ll honor that request. We also remind them that these messages are subject to message and data rates and that the number of messages will vary, based on our conversations. Finally, we note that we won’t sell or convey their private mobile data to any third parties and that they can always refer to the Privacy Policy on the website. The initial Opt-In message will have the disclosures and from that point on the messages will be conversational.”

When a consumer is checking out of our practice, we ask if we can send follow-up appointment reminders via SMS. If they consent, we remind them that they can always optout and that messaging and data rates will apply. Once we get their phone number, the will receive a welcome message noting that subsequent appointment reminders will be sent.

Consumers provide their consent to the agent at the end of the call, agreeing to receive a customer satisfaction survey via SMS. We tell them that they may always opt-out via replying STOP and that only x number of messages will be sent. We also remind them that message and data rates always apply to text messaging.

Consumers will Opt-In to receive messaging when talking with our Project Managers who canvas local neighborhoods. When speaking with the Project Managers, they agree to receive messages verbally and on our contact form. After a user provides us with the initial consent, we then send them a double Opt-In message to ensure they wish to receive SMS messages from us.

Opt-in Via Consumer-Initiated message to the brand

This is where consumers opt-in by initiating an SMS (what we call a user-initiated or mobile originated message) to the campaign phone number. Here are some examples of calls-to-action:

The customer can reach out to us via SMS (the phone number to text is on the website). We’ll send back a welcome message which notes that they will now receive updates via SMS. The welcome (or opt-in message) will have all SMS disclosures.

Employees may opt-into messaging by texting the keyword START to a posted number on a bulletin board. The bulletin board post also contains additional information about the SMS notifications they will be receiving. There is also a welcome message after they send the START keyword, which contains the full set of SMS disclosures.

Other opt-in examples

We provide a button on our social media site that opens up a form that the consumer may access to fill in their phone number and approve the receipt of SMS messages. There is a full SMS disclaimer underneath the button.

From our messaging app, users opt in by texting our opt-in number and agreeing to receiving text messages by sending OPT-IN, optionally our users can text a phone number once the user sends an OPT-IN

With all Call-to-Action Cases described above, the more specific and explicit, the better. It’s best to provide too much information vs. too little.

The final section for the 10DLC registration outlines sample messages that will be sent by the campaign. These should be specific to the campaign and not some generic set of messages that have nothing to do with the campaign. Since the majority of these are A2P or B2C messages, please make sure there is an opt-out clause at the end of the message such as:

• Reply STOP to stop messaging

• STOP2End

• Reply with STOP any time to unsubscribe

• Reply STOP to cancel

It’s also a very good idea to include the brand name in sample messages. Remember, consumers will receive SMS messages from a phone number that they may not recognize. We highly recommend that you include the brand name; otherwise, you will probably experience a greater than necessary amount of reported spam messages or STOP messages if the user’s do not recognize your brand.

If you have multiple messages in your campaign, please provide an accurate sample of these messages. Here are a few random examples of good sample messages:

[Brand Name]: Featured Offers – please view our latest offers at httsp://…. Reply STOP to stop all further messaging.

[Brand Name]: Your validation code is 123456. It will expire in 15 minutes. Reply STOP to end all messaging from us.

Your [Brand Name] minimum payment is due in 5 days. Reply STOP to end. This is [Brand Name]. Your order number ABC12345 will ship tomorrow via FedEx. Your tracking number is xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. Reply STOP to opt-out of notifications.

This is [Brand Name]. We would like to let you know that your appointment for MM/YY/ZZZZ at HH:MM is confirmed. Reply STOP to opt-out.

[Brand Name] Your password has been successfully changed. Reply STOP to Cancel messaging.

Hi this is [First Name] from [Brand Name]. We need more information in regard to your insurance claim. Please contact our office at xxx-yyy-zzzz.. Reply with CLAIMS to opt into future notifications. Carrier Rates may apply. Reply with STOP any time to unsubscribe.

If you provide conversational messaging (e.g. via a UCaaS use-case), you might provide examples of the messaging between the brand representatives and consumers.

Note. It is also good practice that the first message response from the campaign to a consumer reaching out should be similar to the following (with an opt-out clause):

[Brand Name] Customer Service. Thank you for reaching out to us. One of our representatives will be with you shortly. You may opt-out of further messaging by replying STOP.

Hi this Bill. What can I help you with today?

Yes, we have that in stock. Can I forward you a link to that product page?

With the UCAAS-LOW and UCAAS-HIGH use-cases, we don’t need to see the opt-out clause as these are almost always conversational – meaning a person is typing the message. That said, we still MUST have consent from the other party that the conversation is with – typically clients, vendors, suppliers, etc. and that needs to be adequately described in the Call-to-Action/Message Flow.

SMS Disclosures should be complete enough to enable the person viewing them to realize that they are consenting to receive messaging from the business – even if the messaging use-case is UCAAS.

The SMS disclosure should always have the following elements:

• Message and data rates may apply disclosure.

• Reply STOP [as well as other keywords] to opt-out of future messaging. Reply HELP for more information

• Message frequency (number of messages / month/week/etc., or message frequency varies, or recurring messages)

• Ideally, we also want to see a link to the Privacy Policy (and Terms & Conditions if there are any).

Here are some examples of SMS (or Messaging or Text Messaging) disclosures that you can use on your website:

By clicking "Submit", you agree to [YOUR BRAND NAME’s] Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You consent to receive phone calls and SMS messages from [YOUR BRAND NAME] to provide updates on your order and/or for marketing purposes. Message frequency depends on your activity. You may opt-out by texting "STOP". Message and data rates may apply.

By providing a telephone number and submitting the form you are consenting to be contacted by SMS text message (our message frequency may vary). Message & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt-out of further messaging. Reply HELP for more information. See our Privacy Policy.

Disclaimer: By providing my contact information to [YOUR BRAND NAME], I acknowledge and give my explicit consent to be contacted via SMS and receive emails for various purposes, which may include marketing and promotional content. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency may vary. Reply STOP to opt-out. Refer to our Privacy Policy for more information.

It is also an option to provide a checkbox with a short consent so that users can explicitly opt-in to receive messages from your brand. Here are a couple of examples.

☑ By checking this box, I consent to receive SMS messages. I understand that Message and data rates may apply and that I may reply STOP to opt-out of future messaging; reply HELP for additional messaging help. Message frequency may vary depending on interaction between you and our agents.

☑ I consent to receiving text messages. Message and Data Rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt-out of future messaging or reply HELP for additional messaging help. Messaging frequency may be up to 5 messages per month.

Here’s a very complete SMS Disclosure:

By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to receive recurring informational SMS, MMS or Email messages from [YOUR BRAND NAME]. My click is my electronic signature, and I authorize you to send me text messages on my mobile phone or landline. I understand that consenting to receive SMS messages is not a condition of purchase or service. This is a standard rate subscription service available on most carriers, Msg & Data Rates May Apply. You can also request additional information by texting HELP or sending an email to xxxx@BRAND.COM. Service will continue until customer cancels. Messaging frequency will vary. Subscription may be canceled by texting STOP, END, QUIT, CANCEL or UNSUBSCRIBE. Further disclosure at Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

If you provide a Privacy Policy and/or Terms of Service/Usage/Conditions, etc. and you refer to them in your SMS Disclosure, then you should provide a link to them.

Privacy Policies are now required for all 10DLC messaging campaigns (except for Sole Proprietor usecases).

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.

We will review the Privacy Policy to make sure that PII is not inappropriately shared as outlined in the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices.

Notes for Facebook or Instagram sites: Some small businesses do not have a website but rely on their social media presence. In these cases, a social media post generator can help create a post including the full SMS disclosure and a Privacy Policy link or the text of a short Privacy Policy. You can make that social media post “sticky” so that it always appears at the top of the social media presence for this business. Another option is to link it in the “About” section (applies to Facebook)

Privacy Policies can be in a linked Google documents or written out in the social media post.

As we noted, all campaigns are subject to review / vetting from our teams. We do make sure campaigns will meet minimum requirements to be successfully registered, regardless of the size of the business or the messaging use-case. We do check:

• Brand Name / DBA – we make sure it is consistent with the online presence and campaign description.

• Brand Details – Support email address and phone number,

• Brand Online Presence (website or social media) – we review the business’s online details to make sure that it does not contain any disallowed content.

• Opt-out, Opt-In, Help messages – must be strictly complaint.

• Necessary Loan Attributes,

• Age Gated Requirements

• Campaign Description,

• Campaign Call-to-Action and Message Flow,

• Sample Messages.

• Number Pooling (if required for the campaign)

• Compliant Privacy Policy (except for Sole Proprietor use-case)

Additionally, check your compliance by referring to this checklist. We believe that if you can apply all the guidelines outlined in this document, you will have 10DLC campaigns that will be vetted successfully the first time.