Improving Your Chances of A2P 10DLC Registration Approval

Improving Your Chances of  A2P 10DLC Registration Approval

What is A2P 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) registration?

This post is relevant to you if you plan to send SMS/MMS to your customers through a local 10-digit number. By sending traffic through Twilio (as opposed to manually sending texts which are classified as Person to Person or P2P), you are participating in Application to Person (A2P) 10DLC which has special requirements. 

US A2P 10DLC requirements have been put in place by carriers and regulators to ensure that all A2P 10DLC traffic to US phone numbers is verified and consensual. To meet this goal, there are two main components of A2P 10DLC registration: a) create a Brand (i.e. provide information on ‘who’ is sending these messages); b) create a Campaign (i.e. provide information on ‘what’ the messaging is for); and c) Add a Number to a verified Campaign. 

To start your 10DLC registration click here. To start 10DLC registration, you must upgrade your Twilio account. Here is a video to help you through the upgrade process. 

Best Practices for an A2P 10DLC application 

1. Select appropriate profile needs to avoid brand rejection  

A common reason for rejection is the appropriate selection of profile needs. 

Sole Proprietor brands are intended for individuals or small businesses that do not have a Tax ID (such as a US EIN). These brands are typically for hobbyists, student developers, or small businesses without an EIN.

To understand which brand type is best suited for your needs, check out this article comparing the three types of brands. 

2. Meet all the requirements for ‘Message Flow / Call to Action’ 

Campaigns require a proper opt-in method which ensures that end-users provide consent to receive text messages. Incomplete or missing opt-in requirements are a common cause for campaign rejection. 

The first requirement to demonstrate end-user consent is ‘Message Flow/Call to Action’. In the registration form you will provide this requirement when asked ‘How do end-users consent to receive messages? (40-2048 characters)’. The primary purpose of the Message Flow (or Call to Action) and required disclosures is to ensure the end user consents to receive text messages and understands the nature of the program. 

Requirements for message flow include: 

• Program/brand name
• Message frequency disclosure, e.g., #msgs/mo, msg frequency varies, recurring messages, etc. (only required for recurring message programs)
• Link to terms and conditions or complete terms and conditions
• Link to privacy policy or complete privacy policy information: Brands must maintain a clear, accessible, easy to locate, and up-to-date privacy policy that outlines how they collect, use, and share consumer information. Even if the current policy does not contain any language around data sharing, the privacy policy should confirm that the mobile information of the end user opting in to the message program will never be shared or sold to third parties or lead generators (absence of such language is a major source of 10DLC rejection). The privacy policy should be easily accessible through a clearly labeled link in the initial call-to-action, or a declaration in the initial call-to-action that mobile opt-in data will not be shared.Example of this declaration: “No mobile data will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes at any time”
• “Message and data rates may apply” disclosure
• Opt-out instructions, e.g.,  Reply STOP to cancel

Opt-in requirements are a major cause for A2P 10DLC campaign rejections. We'll deep dive into different opt-in types and their requirements in the next section of the blog.

3. Campaign description

The description should be thorough and provide an explanation of the campaign’s objective or purpose. The provided description needs to answer who the sender is, who the recipient is, and why messages are being sent to the intended recipient.

4. Ensure that your company’s online presence can be validated

Another common rejection reason is because we are unable to validate the business URL provided in the application. This happens when:

• The website has no content or is under development.
• The site is private, password-protected, or otherwise inaccessible.
• The URL is misspelled or does not match the business name.

If your company’s website is publicly unavailable or under construction, you can share publicly available social media pages (e.g., LinkedIn) for your business.

Different opt-in types and their requirements

Opt-in consent is required for 10DLC to ensure recipients have explicitly agreed to receive messages from your business. Opt-in consent is required as part of the Message Flow / Call to Action requirement within the registration flow as described above. Opt-in language is required wherever you collect mobile numbers from customers. In general, an opt-in message must specify that the customers agree to receive text messages from your business and must contain an unmarked checkbox, and opt-out method (i.e. text STOP to opt-out).

You can meet the Opt-in requirements for your 10DLC through verbal, web/online, paper, mobile QR code, and text-based consent. To see more details, please click on the method that your company will use to obtain customer consent for your use case. 

1. Web/Online Opt-in must be a standalone consent form present on your website / app (e.g., please check this box to opt-in for promotional messages from [Company Name]). 
2. Verbal Opt-in requires a detailed script showing how consent was collected. 
3. Paper Opt-in should be a signed document clearly indicating consent for messaging (e.g. Please sign here to opt-in to receive promotional messages from [Company Name])
4. Mobile QR opt-in should lead to a web form to opt-in with a phone number OR to a templated message in the user’s messaging app seeking opt-in consent
5. Text-based opt-in
   consent should provide keyword campaign information (e.g. Text ‘Subscribe’ to 12345 to receive updates)

1. Web/Online opt-in

Some things to consider when using a web/online opt-in:

• Provide URLs or images of the opt-in request from your website/ application. You can take a screenshot of the webpage showing how you ask for user consent.
• Online opt-in can be a form on your company’s website that prompts end-users to enter their mobile handset phone number and opt into the texting campaign (as shown in the example below). 
• Checkbox should not be preselected and should be selectable by the end-user if they decide to opt in.
• For web opt-in “Message and data rates may apply” disclaimer is a mandatory requirement in the text that users consent to (as seen in the image below). 
• A compliant privacy policy is mandatory for web opt-in

Example of web/online opt-in (Build your own web Opt-In template here)
 

2. Verbal opt-in

Some things to keep in mind when using a verbal opt-in:

• If you choose VERBAL, you must provide the sample verbal consent collection. Please copy paste the script in the OptInImageURLs document.
• Verbal consents are not sufficient for Marketing use cases. For Marketing use-cases, “written” consent is required. Requiring a customer to select a checkbox on a website or providing signatures or opting in via text is adequate. 
• Verbal opt-in is the most difficult method to verify however, it is acceptable as long enough details are provided that a 3rd party reviewer can verify. 

3. Paper opt-in

Some things to consider when using paper opt-in:

• If you choose PAPER_FORM, you must provide the form in the OptInImageURLs document

4. Mobile QR opt-in

Some things to consider when using paper opt-in: 

• If you choose MOBILE_QR_CODE, you must provide the QR Code in the OptInImageURLs document.
• Please include a brief explanation of how the end users will get to know where the QR is located. This could be, for example, mentioning that the end users will find the QR in a banner placed in the cashier when paying for a product, in a social media advertisement, etc. This information has to be included in the "Opt in Workflow Description" field in the TFN request

Example of Mobile QR opt-in

5. Text-based opt-in

Some things to consider when using text-based opt-in:

• If you choose VIA_TEXT, you must provide the keyword campaign information (e.g. text ‘Subscribe’ as stated in the above example) in the OptInImageURLs document
• Please include a brief explanation of how the end users will get to know where the keyword is located. This could be, for example, mentioning that the end users will find the keyword in a banner placed in the cashier when paying for a product, in a social media advertisement, etc. This information must be included in the "Opt in Workflow Description" field in the TFN request.

Example of text-based opt-in