Request Brand Registration

Before you can activate an SMS campaign, you must register your Brand with TCR, and that is done by providing DialedIn the necessary information so the registration can be requested on your behalf.

To successfully complete the registration, you must provide to DialedIn the required information below, in full, along with an explanation of how the SMS service will be used.

At the time of publishing this article, DialedIn expects your registration request to be submitted via a support ticket (preferred), or an e-mail to support@getdialedin.com. You must include the information below in a well-structured format, at a minimum.

Notice that there are three possible brand options: PRIVATE COMPANY, PUBLIC COMPANY, CHARITY / NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION. Your request should match one of those three.

• It is crucial that the EIN matches the legal company name of the Brand you are registering for it to be correctly verified. Ensure that your legal company name is consistent with your IRS registration and is properly spelled.
• The address should also be the same as that used in registering with the IRS.

• Use your Canadian Corporation Number, which may be federal or provincial. For these cases, do NOT use your business number or federal tax ID number.
• Ensure that your legal company name is consistent with your corporation registration and is properly spelled.
• The address you enter should be the same as that used in registering with Corporations Canada.

• Use the numeric portion of your VAT ID number.
• If automated VAT identification matching is not implemented for your country (consult TCR, if in doubt), use the primary corporation registration number or tax ID number for your country.

SMS Brand Registration FAQ

Important Notes

• The support phone number and support email submitted WILL be used when responding to customer HELP messages.
• Brands are reviewed by TCR's automated system, so you can expect status updates within minutes.
• Unverified Status — If your Brand is marked as ‘unverified’, ensure your company information is an EXACT match with your EIN before resubmitting. If necessary, make edits to your Brand information and resubmit; the system will automatically re-review your submission.
• Additional Vetting is being rolled out in stages, and only publicly traded companies are required to provide an email address. Other segments will be added over time.
• If you're at a publicly traded company and your brand is already registered, your existing campaigns will continue to be sent. However, if you wish to create a new campaign, you will need to submit an email address and go through the authentication process.

SMS Campaign Registration FAQ

Prohibited SMS Campaign Content

The following are forbidden use cases. Any message content that falls into one of the following categories is prohibited and can lead to suspension by the Mobile Network Operators (MNO's) and possibly legal action by the FCC.

SHAFT Content:

Additionally, these categories are also prohibited by the mobile carriers:

• All personal loans (especially “Pay Day” loans)
• 3rd-party mortgage lending
• 3rd-party insurance
• Loan/Debt Consolidation
• Debt Forgiveness
• Debt Collection
• Credit Repair
• Tax Refund Loans
• Gambling/Casino
• Multi-level Marketing/Pyramid Schemes
• Malware, viruses, or other malicious content
• Camp Lejuene toxic water class action.

Call-To-Action (CTA)

• A detailed and Complete Call-To-Action is required: you should explain when, where, and how opt-ins are being collected.
• Your opt-in process should be clearly demonstrated with examples.

If consent is gathered from a website:

• Website Validation — Ensure you have a live, valid, and secure (valid SSL certificate) company website that matches the name of the Brand. You'll need to include your URL and the DCA will check it.
• Your privacy policy and terms & conditions must be on your website, clearly labeled, and easy to find from the home page (regardless of whether you collect opt-ins directly on the site). They must be accurate, up to date, and contain full details about your messaging program. You must include the direct URLs in your campaign submission to TCR in the URL boxes provided.
• Privacy Policy — Cannot include any language about sharing, renting, or selling personal information, including phone number, with any third party or affiliate, without this disclosure: “All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.” The privacy policy must include a mobile sharing section that explicitly states you do not share data with third-party services.
• Terms & Conditions / Terms of Service — The following SMS program disclosures must be included:
  • Program (brand) name
  • Message frequency disclosure (not required for single message programs)
  • Product description
  • Customer care contact information
  • Opt-out information (not required for single message programs)
  • “Message and data rates may apply” disclosure
  • The types of messages consumers can expect to receive, texting cadence, message and data rate notices, any associated costs, privacy policy, opt-out instructions and other terms of use.
• Messaging consent forms must stand alone. They should either link directly to complete privacy policy and terms & conditions pages, or include the information directly. The form can be a pop-up page, as long as you document this in your campaign submission. Pop-up pages for terms & conditions are not acceptable.
• Consent to receive messaging campaigns should be titled as such, and not tied to consent for any other type of communications such as email, phone calls, etc.
  • Required phone numbers are generally not acceptable as they're considered “forced opt-ins.” If a form requires a phone number, it cannot be used for opt-ins unless there is a checkbox for optional SMS opt-in.
  • If the phone number is optional and the opt-in language is exclusively for texting, a separate SMS opt-in checkbox is not currently required but is strongly encouraged.
• Consent must be obtained for each use case.
• The page(s) must also include:
  • Message & data rate disclosures: “Messaging and data rates may apply.”
  • Message frequency disclosures.
  • HELP and STOP; full opt-out information may be in the terms & conditions. Example: “By submitting this form and signing up for texts, you consent to receive marketing text messages (e.g. promos, cart reminders) from [company name] at the number provided, including messages sent by auto dialer. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Unsubscribe at any time by replying STOP or clicking the unsubscribe link (where available). Privacy Policy [link] & Terms [link].”
• Multiple Opt-In Pages:
  • If multiple pages collect phone numbers, each one must have all the necessary opt-in language.
  • You need to include the URL of all opt-in pages with your campaign submission.

If consent is not gathered on a website:

• You must include evidence (screenshots, files, or forms) of the opt-in process in the multimedia section where possible.
• You must thoroughly explain the opt-in process in the “Call-To-Action” section of the campaign submission, include links to the Privacy and Terms & Conditions pages (if not already provided), and explain how these are shared with each person who opts in. These include:
  • Brand Name
  • HELP keyword
  • STOP keyword
  • Message frequency
  • Message & data rate disclosures: “Messaging and data rates may apply.”
  • Terms & conditions
  • Privacy Policy.

Example CTA of consent gathered outside of a website:

NOTE: Our portal has been set to hardcode the required verbiage on the Opt-in, Opt-Out and HELP messages. The verbiage on those is as follows:

DIDs for SMS Campaign Assignment

• A maximum of 49 DIDs are allowed to be assigned to a campaign. Additional costs are associated with more than 49, and you would need to discuss it with your DialedIn Sales representative, as well as coordinate with Support.

Fixing Registration Errors

First, let's list a few important generic considerations; typical things missing or wrong that result in rejection during vetting.

• Inaccurate sample messages that do not match the associated brand/website
• No opt-out language in the sample message, i.e., STOP or END to unsubscribe
• No explicit opt-in on the website
• Website issues
• There's no website
• The website doesn’t match the brand or campaign name
• The website privacy policy and/or Terms & Conditions has affiliate language or indicates sharing all data with 3rd parties
• The website looks suspicious
• There are broken links
• The footer logo doesn’t match the primary logo
• The logo or copyright does not match the brand
• Phone number inconsistencies
• The number is not active
• Calls to the number are answered by a different company
• The e-mail and phone number phone do not correspond to each other
• Problems with links
• A URL shortener is used
• The link redirects
• The link URL/website does not match the brand or campaign
• Sample message issues
• Includes a URL shortener
• The URL redirects
• There is no brand mentioned in the sample message
• There is no perceived sender in the initial message
• The perceived sender of message doesn't match the brand
• The phone number doesn't match the brand
• The same EIN for multiple brands
• The company name does not match the email
• You're a lender but didn't mark the lending checkbox
• Registered the wrong brand (e.g., parent company vs. actual sender)
• Mentions gambling

Now, the following are some return codes of interest, their explanation, and a typical way to resolve.