Brad Herrmann
Spam SMS is a common issue that can hinder effective customer engagement and negatively impact your brand reputation.
To protect consumers’ rights, a new government regulation was recently created to curb spam texts (if not eradicate them altogether).
Starting on December 1, 2024, all businesses that deliver text messages must register their brand and SMS campaign(s). This gives mobile carriers greater control over the unwelcome messages their customers receive and may reduce the potential harm spam is notorious for causing.
New to the world of text registration? This guide has got you covered.
Below, we’ll explain why carriers are cracking down on spam, how the registration process came to be, what you can expect during registration, and what the consequences are if you don’t register. We’ll also review the primary benefits of adhering to registration guidelines—and why Text-Em-All is the perfect partner for your SMS campaign needs.
Jump to:
- The Growing Problem of Text Spam
- What is SMS Registration?
- Who Needs to Register SMS Campaigns?
- SMS Registration Process Explained
The Growing Problem of Text Spam
These spam messages often come from unknown or illegitimate senders and may arrive in the form of:
- Marketing messages and promotions
- Identity threats
- Shipping notifications
- Casual greetings
Not only are these messages a nuisance, but they can also be dangerous and lead to financial or identity theft.
Abuse of Texting Tools and Services
SMS compliance is complicated and difficult to understand, and while organizations like the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) and laws like the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) have been put in place to help develop consistent processes and rules — the abuse of texting tools and services remains a problem.
At Text-Em-All, we are experts in text registration and stay up-to-date with every registration update, ensuring our customers’ needs are consistently met.
How Are the Carriers Solving This Problem?
In the past, carriers have relied on the following to mitigate spam:
- Content fillers
- Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Opt-out mechanisms
- Complaint tracking
The problem here is that each carrier (or aggregator) is operating independently. Further, their rules are not transparent; sometimes, they’re slow to react.
The biggest issue, though, is that the carriers don’t have visibility into who the end user sending spam messages is.
SMS campaign registration thus stands as the preferred solution. Here are some of the primary benefits for carriers:
- Identifies the sender (both the service provider and end user)
- Identifies the use case and expected messages
- Restricts delivery speed and message volume
What is SMS Registration?
SMS registration is exactly as it sounds: It refers to the process of registering your organization and SMS campaign, either with The Campaign Registry (TCR), mobile carrier(s), and/or texting platform (such as Text-Em-All).
The chief goal of SMS registration is to help regulatory bodies and carriers identify the purpose behind a business’s messaging campaign and, again, decrease spam overall. Additionally, it may:
- Prevent your text messages from being blocked
- Ensure compliance with new regulations
- Enhance consumer trust
- Contribute to a positive texting environment
Perks aside, why is SMS campaign registration required, and even desired, by consumers, carriers, and texting platforms alike?
The statistics speak for themselves:
- In 2022 alone, U.S. residents lost an estimated $330 million to text message scams.
- In the same year, Americans received 288,314 spam texts per minute.
- Complaints about SMS scams to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) skyrocketed 500% between the years 2015 and 2022.
- Incidents of phones becoming infected with malware due to spam texts are on the rise.
Who Needs to Register for SMS?
Whether you’re a solopreneur or a large corporation, all entities in the United States and Canada that use A2P (application to person) text messaging must register.
You may be asking, what type of text messages are impacted by this new regulation?
In short, all types, including:
- One-to-one communication
- Bulk messaging
- Information texts
- Marketing and promotional texts
- Conversational (two-way) texts
SMS Registration Step-by-Step Process
Planning on launching a huge promotional campaign? Or is your business setting up automated appointment reminders?
Regardless of your organization’s size or the intent of your messages, SMS campaign registration is vital: Those who do not will have their messages blocked. They may also face fees, penalties, and/or service interruption.
Fortunately, with the following four-step process, your organization can reach customers effectively.
Step 1: Choose Your Phone Number Type
Your first step is choosing the type of number you’ll use in your SMS communications. This typically comes down to:
- 10DLC numbers – As mentioned above, “10DLC” refers to 10-digit long code numbers. Considered one of the most economical options available, it’s become the golden standard for A2P messaging. For 10DLC numbers, you’ll be required to register with TCR (the third-party centralized database just mentioned).
- Toll-free numbers – Toll-free numbers are numbers that employ an “800” area code rather than a three-digit number associated with a geographical region. Toll-free SMS campaigns must register with their dedicated text platform.
- SMS short codes – SMS short codes are five to six-digit numbers that are used in SMS. They have a higher price point than 10DLCs and toll-free numbers, but they’re also preapproved by carriers. This means they’re always registered (and, therefore, compliant).
Unsure where to start? The experts at Text-Em-All can point you to the most fitting phone number type for your campaign.
Learn more: Text Number Registration
Step 2: Registering Your Brand
Next up? Registering your brand. Among other, this involves providing your:
- Business name
- Address
- Contact information
- Tax ID or EIN/TIN
Text-Em-All helps accelerate this part of the brand registration process by supplying customers with pre-filled options and prompts, taking most of our customers only 5-10 minutes to complete.
Step 3: Defining Your SMS Campaign
Mobile carriers further ask organizations to specify the purpose of a business’s campaign—again, in an effort to reduce spam and ensure that users don’t receive high volumes of unsolicited messages.
For example, one brand might explain their campaign as a product launch. Another may be to announce a new brick-and-mortar location. And another still may want to set up event reminders.
You might also be asked to provide additional details, such as:
- The proposed frequency of your text messages
- Your opt-in/opt-out methods
- Your content attributes, like links or images
- How customers can receive help for unwanted messages
- Examples of the texts you will send out
Step 4: Submitting Registration & Waiting for Approval
Registration timelines vary, so experts recommend jumpstarting the registration process as soon as you’ve outlined your campaign. Text-Em-All can help both advanced planners and last-minute thinkers: Our registration process generally takes one to two business days.
That said, registration doesn’t necessarily assure approval. Vague opt-in methods, mismatching business names and EINs, and/or prohibited content on your website may all jeopardize your chances of receiving approval.
If you are approved, however, you’ll be given clear-cut steps on how to start sending messages.
Text-Em-All Makes SMS Registration Easy
Consider Text-Em-All your one-stop shop for registering and sending SMS swiftly—and with ease. We make the SMS registration process as straightforward and transparent as possible, which allows you to focus on what matters most: engaging with your customers.
What’s more, Text-Em-All stands out from the crowd with:
- No extra fees
- Transparent, step-by-step guidance to save you stress and time
- Ongoing compliance updates to ensure you’re always informed
Ready to make the right type of impact with SMS? Get started with Text-Em-All today.