Register your local phone number to enable texting
What is the new regulation?
Follow the steps below to register your local phone number(s) for texting compliance. Toll-free phone numbers are also subject to registration through a different process. Learn more here.
What is TCR?
The TCR ensures compliance with regulations passed by Congress and the FCC to protect customers from robocalls and spam texts and make consumer opt-ins and opt-outs for texting an industry standard. Learn more.
Who does this impact?
Who has to do this?
Registration is required for U.S. and Canadian phone numbers to send text messages. This impacts all U.S. and Canadian customers; however, if the businesses are outside the U.S. and Canada and send a message to U.S. or Canadian customers, they will also be impacted.
I don't send bulk messages. Do I still need to register?
Yes, registration is required for all SMS traffic regardless of volume. During registration you will be asked to specify the amount of messages you plan to send.
What happens if I don't register?
As of September 30th, 2023, customers who have not completed registration will incur SMS/MMS usage charges at a rate of $0.01 per sent or received SMS message and $0.017 per sent or received MMS message. These usage charges may change based on rates set by the carriers and are subject to taxes.
Though Grasshopper does not block your messages, there is a risk that the wireless carriers who deliver messages to recipients could block your unregistered SMS/MMS traffic.
How do I register?
Step 1: Register your company as a brand
- If you are a new customer, we recommend completing your registration prior to porting or ordering new phone numbers to ensure minimal texting disruption afterward. Any new local number orders or ported numbers must be associated with their campaign before they are enabled for texting.
- You will need your business tax I.D., EIN, or BN. If you do not have a tax ID or EIN, Grasshopper is actively working with its carrier to support this, but it is not yet available.
- If your EIN is new, the TCR has indicated that processing may take up to 4 weeks before the EIN is available in the IRS database for SMS registration.
Each submission is charged registration fees, whether successful or unsuccessful. If your registration is rejected for any reason, you will be charged another $15 USD to resubmit. Your carrier charges us those fees, and we will reflect those charges on your next invoice.
Results: The registration process is not complete until your register your SMS, and your submission to the carriers has been reviewed.
Step 2: Register your SMS campaign(s)
Results: The SMS campaign vetting process can take 10-30 business days. You can check the status of your brand registration at https://nuui.us.grasshopper.com/carrierregistration . The possible statuses are: In Progress, Carrier Approved, and Failed. If your SMS campaign registration has failed, view Common rejection reasons from Troubleshooting below, correct any mistakes, and resubmit. You will be charged an additional registration fee.
Troubleshooting
Common rejection reasons
Below is a list of common rejection reasons with guidance to avoid rejection.
Incomplete Call to Action (CTA) |
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Opt-out message |
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SHAFT-C content |
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Lack of privacy policy and terms and conditions |
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Lack of a website or online presence |
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Content attributes |
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Why am I getting an error saying my Tax ID doesn’t match the business name or type?
- Special characters. The IRS doesn’t allow special characters in business names and accepts only: alpha (A-Z), numeric (0-9), hyphen (-), and ampersand (&).
- INC or LLC: The registered name has or is missing a trailing “INC” or “LLC”. US customers can call the IRS helpline to verify their registered business name: +1 (800) 829-4933. When calling, first choose your language, then “1” for EIN questions, then “3” for “I have an EIN”.
FAQs
What fees are associated with registering my brand and SMS campaigns?
The registration process involves a $19 USD in one-time fees ($4 to register your company with TCR and $15 for carriers to vet your campaign) plus a fixed monthly fee to TCR based on the campaign registered (see table below). If your campaign is rejected by the vetting carrier due to missing or inaccurate information, the $15 fee will apply for each attempt. Grasshopper passes on these one-time and monthly fees without markup.
Low volume campaign (Less than 6000 texts/day) | $1.50 per month |
Standard volume campaign (More than 6000 texts/day) | $10.00 per month |
Sole proprietor campaign (only applies if you do not have a tax ID/EIN) | Campaign type currently not supported... coming soon. |
Does this impact my phone calls too?
This does not have any impact on your voice call features, ONLY texting.
Do I need to register each of my business phone numbers?
Yes, and multiple numbers can be registered at the same time. During registration, select all the local phone numbers you'd like to register. Follow the steps in this article to register your local phone number(s) for texting compliance. Toll-free phone numbers are also subject to registration through a different process. Learn more here.
Is Grasshopper going to switch off my text messaging capabilities if I haven’t registered an SMS campaign by a specific date?
Customers who do not complete registration by September 30th, 2023 will incur SMS/MMS usage charges at a rate of $0.01 per sent or received SMS message and $0.017 per sent or received MMS message. These usage charges may change based on rates set by the carriers and are subject to taxes. Also, unregistered SMS traffic continues to be exposed to the risk that carriers will block delivery.
I just obtained a new EIN with the IRS, how long should I wait to register?
The TCR has indicated that processing may take up to 4 weeks before the EIN is available in the IRS database for SMS registration.
What is opt-in and opt-out?
Opt-in: Customers who agree to receive text messages from a business "opt-in".
Opt-in example: Customers manually opt-in by selecting a button or checking a box to agree to receive text messages from a contact form on the business website.
Opt-out: Customers who unsubscribe to text messages from a business "opt-out".
- Customers who previously opted in to texting can opt-out by texting "STOP" to XXX-XXX-XXXX.
- Customers must also have the option to manually opt-out by selecting a button or checking a box to not receive text messages from a contact form on the business website.
- the language used in opt-in is clear and specific
- opt-in information is present in each section of the website where you collect user information
- opt-in is included on the 'contact us' section of your webpage
- if you don't have a contact us page, you should create one