Text Messaging: A2P 10DLC Step 2 - Registration

This article provides information on Step 2 of the A2P 10DLC compliance and registration process. If you have not yet reviewed Step 1 - Website & Privacy Policy Compliance and ensured your organization's compliance with those requirements, please do so before proceeding with Step 2.

Table of Contents:

1. Before You Register
2. Registration Requirements
   1. Brand Requirements
   2. Campaign Requirements
   3. Special Cases
   4. Campaign Requirements Updated 11/6/24
3. Applicable Fees
4. How to Register a Brand and Campaign
5. Brand & Campaign Vetting
6. Brand Rejection & Revetting
7. Campaign Rejection & Revetting

Before You Register

Your company's privacy policy and website must meet A2P compliance requirements before you submit your Brand or Campaign. Please see our A2P 10DLC Step 1 - Website & Privacy Policy Compliance Help Article for specific requirements your website and privacy policy must meet for successful A2P registration.

Once you are certain your organization's website and privacy policy are compliant, you are ready to move on to Step 2 - Registration, as described below.

Registration Requirements

In order to meet A2P 10DLC requirements, every SMS-enabled phone number must be assigned to an approved Brand and Campaign. The Brand identifies your organization as a valid business entity for the messaging carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc). The Campaign identifies your use-case for using SMS messaging. Usage of your registered numbers outside of the purposes described in your Campaign may result in blocked messaging traffic or decreased deliverability.

All A2P registrations in TE Recruit are submitted to our texting provider, Bandwidth, and submissions are reviewed and Accepted or Rejected by Bandwidth and/or other 3rd party vetting providers. Top Echelon is not responsible for review or acceptance/rejection of any A2P registration.

Brand Registration Requirements

Brand Registration allows reviewers to confirm the identity and validity of a business entity.

To register your organization's Brand, you will need to provide the following information about the business:

1. DBA or Brand Name
2. Legal Company Name
3. Tax ID/EIN
4. Legal Form of the Business - choose from:
   1. Privately Held Company
   2. Publicly Traded Company
      1. also requires Stock Exchange and Symbol
   3. Nonprofit Organization
   4. Government
5. Phone Number
6. Email Address
7. Street Address
8. Country
9. City
10. State
11. Zip / Postal Code
12. Web Address

Some important notes on the items above:

DBA or Brand Name: This is usually the public-facing name of the business, and may or may not match the Legal Name.

Legal Company Name: This must exactly match the company name registered with the IRS and associated with the Tax ID / EIN. Differences in punctuation, capitalization, spelling, and inclusion/exclusion of "Inc", "LLC", etc may result in rejected registrations.

• Your state's Secretary of State or Controller/Comptroller website is a great place to look up your organization's Legal Name. Here is a list of all US States' SoS websites

Tax ID/EIN: An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is also known as a Federal Tax Identification Number, and is used to identify a business entity in the US.

• US customers may find their organization's EIN in IRS records or on prior years' tax returns. Employees may find an employer's EIN on their W-2
• Canadian customers should enter their Canadian Corporation Number in this field. More notes in Special Cases, below

Legal Form: Only the options listed above are able to register directly within TE.

• If you are a Sole Proprietor, please email a2p@topechelon.com for A2P registration assistance

Phone + Email: Must be contact information for an authorized representative of the organization

Physical Address: This must match the registered physical address of the organization

Web Address: Your organization must have a valid, secure web presence in order to use A2P SMS services. If you do not have a business website, a social media profile (Facebook Page or LinkedIn company profile) may be used instead. The social media profile should indicate an operational business (active followers and engagement).

Some examples of failed approvals:

• Website is not functional or is not secure (no HTTPS).
• Website contains malware.
• Website does not represent the registered business.
• Social media profile does not represent the registered business

Campaign Registration Requirements

Your Campaign describes for reviewers and mobile carriers how your organization uses A2P texting. Items below that are marked with *, will be pre-populated when you begin registration, but you may also add to or edit these entries during registration.

1. Campaign Description*
2. Privacy Policy URL
3. Sample Consent Call-to-Action (CTA)
4. Message Flow*
5. Example Messages*

Campaign Description: This describes how your organization uses A2P texting, and must describe the frequency of messages sent under the Campaign. We have provided a simple example, which you are welcome to use as-is, or edit to your liking.

• Our most recent example states:
  • [Agency name] uses this campaign for direct, conversational communication with job seekers and recruiting clients/prospects to facilitate employment opportunities. Message frequency varies due to conversational nature of messages.
    • Please replace the [agency name] placeholder text with your actual agency name.
• If your Campaign Description field does not include this language, you may wish to update it accordingly.

Privacy Policy URL: Organizations are required to have a compliant Privacy Policy, prominently linked on all pages of their website. Please copy the URL for your Privacy Policy and paste it in this field.

• If your organization does not yet have a Privacy Policy, you will need to create one and make sure it is linked on all pages of your website. There are many online resources available to help you create a compliant Privacy Policy, and you can check out the policies of other organizations similar to yours for reference.
• Top Echelon cannot provide legal advice about your Privacy Policy or any other matters, but for A2P purposes, per Bandwidth, the provider of texting services in TE Recruit, your Policy must include:
  • Information on how texting recipients can:
    • Opt out of receiving SMS messages from your organization - text recipients in TE Recruit may text any of the following keywords to opt-out: STOP, STOP ALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, QUIT, END
    • Get Help from your organization - including contact information other than your texting phone numbers (usually an email address or toll free phone number)
  • Specifications that you will not share mobile information with a 3rd party for promotional purposes, and that you will not share mobile consent/opt-in data with any 3rd party for any purpose.
• If your organization does not already have a Privacy Policy URL saved under Manage Careers Page or Manage Data Privacy Compliance, this URL will also be used to create a Privacy Policy hyperlink within the Consent/CTA text on TE Recruit-integrated Job Boards and Careers Pages - see the next section for more information.

Sample Consent Call-to-Action (CTA): Organizations that collect contact information on any forms on their website are required to collect consent to receive SMS messages when visitors submit those forms. Any of your Top Echelon Job Board or Careers Page job apply pages will include this CTA by default. Please copy the URL for any such page and paste it in this field.

• All forms on your website that collect a phone number must include a compliant CTA, as A2P Campaign reviewers will closely audit your site for compliance
  • Phone number fields must be optional on forms where you collect consent to SMS messaging
• A compliant CTA must have all of the following features:
  • The Brand name must be present
  • It must describe what type/content of messages a recipient can expect
  • It must contain fee and message frequency disclaimers
  • It must describe how recipients can opt-out of further messaging
  • It must describe how texting recipients can request help
  • It must include a link to your organization's Privacy Policy

• Example: a checkbox with text stating

  "I consent to receiving text messages related to employment opportunities from Acme Agency.

  Msg&data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Text STOP to opt-out or HELP for assistance. [Privacy Policy hyperlink]"

Message Flow: This describes the typical "flow" of how your SMS conversations usually begin, and must completely and accurately describe how you collect consent to send SMS messages. We have provided a simple example that describes texting both job seekers and recruiting clients, which you are welcome to use as-is, or edit to your liking.

• Our most recent example states:
  • [Agency name] collects consent on job application forms and contact forms on our website, and via texted keywords. Where consent has been withdrawn via CTA or keyword, messaging is automatically disabled for recipient’s specified TNs[telephone numbers]. Clients or prospects who have provided consent may receive conversational SMS messages regarding their job openings, potential candidates, or other recruiting services. Jobseekers who provide consent when applying to a job on our site may receive conversational SMS messages regarding employment opportunities.
    • Please replace the [agency name] placeholder text with your actual agency name.
• If your Message Flow field does not include this language, you may wish to update it accordingly

Example Messages: This should be an example of a "typical" text message that you might send to a real recipient. Only one Example Message is required, but you may provide up to 3 examples if you choose. We have provided one simple example, representing an interview reminder for job seeker John Doe, which you are welcome to use as-is, or edit to your liking.

• The organization/Brand name and "STOP" portions of this message must be included for successful registration, and this Example Message will only be used for registration purposes

Other Campaign Specifications: Regulations require specifying Campaign types and Use Cases. All Campaigns will be submitted under the "Low Volume Mixed" Type, which is defined as multiple messaging use cases with low throughput (less than 15,000 messages per month). Use Cases will also be set as "Customer Care" and "Marketing" for all Campaigns. Top Echelon will make these selections automatically on your behalf. If you believe this Type and/or Use Cases will not be accurate to your organization's text messaging usage, please email us at a2p@topechelon.com.

Special Cases:

• Canadian customers:
  • In the EIN/Tax ID field: enter your Canadian Corporation Number, which may be federal or provincial. Please do NOT enter your business number or (Canadian) federal tax ID number.
  • Corporations Canada offers a great search tool to find your Legal Name and Canadian Corporation Number
  • The physical address you enter should also match the address registered with Corporations Canada
• Sole Proprietors
  • A2P registration for Sole Proprietors is not currently supported by Bandwidth, but Sole Proprietors will still need to register
  • Email us at a2p@topechelon.com for assistance with Sole Proprietor registration

Campaign Requirements Updated 11/6/24:

As of 11/6/24, there are new requirements for the Campaign Description and Message Flow fields, and we have updated our provided examples accordingly, but registrations submitted prior to those updates may not have the most recent examples. If your Campaign's Campaign Description and Message Flow fields do not include all of the content below, please update them accordingly before resubmitting:

• Current example Campaign Description text (as of 11/15/24):
  • [Agency name] uses this campaign for direct, conversational communication with job seekers and recruiting clients/prospects to facilitate employment opportunities. Message frequency varies due to conversational nature of messages.
• Current example Message Flow text (as of 11/15/24):
  • [Agency name] collects consent on job application forms and contact forms on our website, and via texted keywords. Where consent has been withdrawn via CTA or keyword, messaging is automatically disabled for recipient’s specified TNs[telephone numbers]. Clients or prospects who have provided consent may receive conversational SMS messages regarding their job openings, potential candidates, or other recruiting services. Jobseekers who provide consent when applying to a job on our site may receive conversational SMS messages regarding employment opportunities.

Applicable Fees

There are no fees for your initial Brand and Campaign submissions. Top Echelon has elected to absorb that cost on our customers' behalf. If your Brand and Campaign are Accepted on the first attempt, there will be no additional cost to your organization for A2P Registration.

Revetting Fees

• If your Brand is Rejected for any reason, you will have to correct any issues and resubmit, and your organization will be responsible for an $8 revetting fee.
• If your Campaign is Rejected for any reason, you will have to correct any issues and resubmit, and your organization will be responsible for a $15 revetting fee.
• Multiple Rejections/resubmittals will result in multiple revetting fees.
• When a revetting fee will apply to your resubmittal, you will reach a payment screen to confirm your payment method and agree to charges.
• TE charges revetting fees at cost, adding only tax where applicable.

How to Register a Brand and Campaign

To Register:

• Go to Settings > Addons & Integrations > Manage Text Messaging Subscription

• The A2P Registration section will show your current registration Status. Click on Register Now to begin.

  

• The Registration form has 2 sections: Business Profile (Brand) and Campaign (Use Cases). Please complete all required fields as described above.

  

• You may click Save Draft at the lower left to save your work and come back later
• Please double check your entries before submitting!
• Once you are satisfied with your entries, check the box to acknowledge potential "revetting" fees.

  • Top Echelon pays for each organization's first A2P registration submission, but if your Brand or Campaign are rejected for any reason, your organization will be responsible for the applicable "revetting" fees, as described above.

    

• Click Submit

Brand & Campaign Vetting

Brand Vetting

If your Brand is Rejected, you will receive a notification inside TE Recruit and by email. You may return to Manage Text Messaging Subscription to correct and submit for revetting. More on Brand Rejection & Revetting, below.

When your Brand is Accepted, you will receive a notification inside TE Recruit and by email, and Top Echelon will automatically submit your Campaign information for review.

Campaign Vetting

If your Campaign is Rejected, you will receive a notification in TE Recruit and an email, linking you back to Manage Text Messaging Subscription to see the Rejection reason/error code. More on Campaign Rejection & Revetting, below.

When your Campaign is Accepted, you will receive a notification in TE Recruit and by email.

Congratulations, your A2P Brand & Campaign registration is done!

Brand Rejection & Revetting

If your Brand is Rejected, return to Settings > Addons & Integrations > Manage Text Messaging Subscription and click on Edit Business Profile to review your entries and make corrections. You will agree to a revetting fee before resubmitting.

If you have reviewed your IRS records, and are absolutely certain that your Brand information is correct, and you'd like to appeal a Rejection, please have a copy of your EIN assignment letter or email from the IRS and email a2p@topechelon.com so we can assist with an appeal.

Campaign Rejection & Revetting

If your Campaign is Rejected, return to Settings > Addons & Integrations > Manage Text Messaging Subscription to review the Rejection reason/error code. Errors may be Campaign content-based, or not based on Campaign contents. Here is a complete list of Campaign vetting rejection errors from Bandwidth.

Content Based Rejections

If your Campaign is rejected based on its contents, the registration form will re-open the Campaign fields so you can address those issues before resubmitting. Typically a content-based error will describe a problem with your Example Message(s), Campaign Description, or Message Flow fields. Once the error is addressed, you may agree to revetting fees and resubmit.

Non-Content Based Rejections

If your Campaign is rejected for reasons other than the Campaign contents you submitted, this usually means the reviewers have found an issue external to your Campaign information, usually on your website. The most common non-content-based rejections are based on your website missing a Privacy Policy or Consent CTA, or those items are present, but not compliant with A2P rules.

For non-content-based errors, you must make any required corrections externally (usually on your website) before submitting for revetting. The registration form in TE Recruit will not reopen the Campaign fields, but you will agree that you have corrected external issues before submitting for revetting.

For more information on resolving Non-Content Based rejections, please see our Help Article for A2P 10DLC Step 1 - Website & Privacy Policy Compliance.

If either type of error is not fully addressed, your Campaign may be Rejected again upon revetting, and your organization will be responsible for additional revetting fees.

Additional Notes on A2P:

To better understand A2P regulations, it can be helpful to also be familiar with other types of messaging:

• P2P (or person-to-person) messaging is sent from one individual to another using a mobile carrier network.
• Shortcode messaging uses five or six-digit numbers to facilitate communication between an individual and a fully automated application, and vice versa. These messages are processed separately from traditional 10-digit numbers by carriers, enabling a very high volume of messages to be sent rapidly. Shortcodes are commonly utilized by major brands and/or for time-sensitive applications like multifactor authentication and tracking orders.
• OTT (or Over-The-Top) services allow their users to send and receive direct messages using the internet, e.g. WhatsApp and Signal.