Register your local phone number to enable texting
What is the new regulation?
DEADLINE: Carriers will block 100% of unregistered outbound SMS in 2025 due to a government-mandated regulation to prevent spam. Submit your registration no later than January 14, 2025 if you wish to send text messages. Register now using the instructions below to avoid service disruption.
SMS registration is an industry-mandated process created by carriers and service providers in response to FCC requirements to protect consumers (your customers) from spam and fraud. The intent of registration is to ensure message senders are legitimate businesses sending messages to contacts who have consented to receive them. Businesses must now register their phone number(s) with carriers and a third-party organization known as The Campaign Registry (TCR) to send text messages. Grasshopper allows you to submit your registration directly via the Grasshopper customer admin portal - see below for step-by-step guidance.
Toll-free phone numbers are also subject to registration through a different process. Learn more here.
Who does this impact?
Who has to do this?
Registration is required for US and Canadian phone numbers to send text messages of any kind to U.S. customers, including conversational and 1-1 communications.
I don't send bulk messages. Do I still need to register?
Yes, registration is required for all SMS traffic regardless of volume or type of messages. You must register even if you only use messaging to communicate 1-1 with your contacts and do not send bulk messaging campaigns. During registration, you will be asked to share details about the types of messages you send (your use case) and the expected volume of messages.
What happens if I don't register?
Carriers will block all outbound messages from unregistered phone numbers by December 1, 2024. If you don’t have an approved SMS registration on file, you will be unable to send any outbound messages, including Instant Response messages. Inbound (received) messages will continue to incur per-message fees of $0.012 per SMS message and $0.021 per MMS message.
How do I register?
To complete registration, you must have the following prerequisites in place:
- A business tax ID or EIN issued at least 4 weeks before registration submission. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to register for one with the IRS (if you’re in the U.S.) or a B.N. with the CRA (if you’re in Canada).
- A working business website.
- A process for getting your contacts’ consent to receive text messages from you (an “Opt-In” process). Opt-in language requesting customer consent for texting must be present on any page of your website that collects phone numbers. View “What is opt-in and opt-out?” in the FAQ section below for more information.
- A privacy policy that explains how you collect and use your contacts’ data and your practices related to data sharing. The policy must be publicly available on your website and linked to any pages where customer data is collected.
Step 1: Register brand
Results: Once your brand registration has been approved, you can proceed to Step 2 (SMS campaign registration). Please note that your registration is incomplete until your brand and SMS campaign registrations are approved.
Step 2: Register your SMS campaign(s)
Results: After submission, your SMS campaign is sent to downstream aggregators and carriers for review. Most registrations are reviewed within 7-12 business days. You can check the status of your SMS registration at https://nuui.us.grasshopper.com/carrierregistration.
If your registration status is listed as ‘Failed’ or ‘Declined,’ you will need to correct your registration and resubmit based on the reason code displayed. See the Troubleshooting section of this article for more information on common rejection reason codes and how to address them. A $15 vetting fee will apply to each submission, whether successful or unsuccessful, and is passed directly to carriers.
Troubleshooting
Common rejection reasons
Below is a list of common rejection reasons with guidance to avoid rejection. If your registration is rejected, you’ll receive an email notification and will see a status of “Failed” or “Declined” in your customer admin portal, along with a reason code. Contact our support team for assistance in resubmitting your registration.
Missing or noncompliant opt-in / call to action
Reason codes include:
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Tip: Learn more about opt-in and opt-out from our blog post.
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Opt-out message missing or inadequate
Reason codes include:
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Your website or example messages include prohibited content (not eligible for resubmission)
Reason codes include:
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Failure to age-gate restricted content (eligible to resubmit)
Reason codes include:
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Missing or noncompliant privacy policy
Reason codes include:
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Note: Learn more about privacy policy guidelines in our blog post.
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Lack of a website or online presence
Reason codes include:
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Inconsistent or inaccurate registration information
Failure codes include:
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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
My registration has been declined – what do I do now?
If your registration is declined, you’ll receive an email notification and will see the status updated in the customer admin portal to “Declined” or “Failed,” with an associated reason code. For most rejection reasons, you can correct and resubmit your registration. View the Troubleshooting section above for guidance on common rejection reasons and how to fix them. Then, contact support for assistance in creating a new registration.
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 |
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.
I thought texting was included with purchase, why do I have to go through this extra registration?
Registration is an industry-wide requirement enforced by the wireless carriers who deliver messaging traffic to consumers. Like you, Grasshopper, and other service providers must comply with the industry's restrictions on unverified traffic.
I don’t send marketing campaigns or any proactive messages to my customers – I only reply to their messages. Do I still need an opt-in process? How do I answer the ‘how did you get permission to message your contacts’ question?
Yes, you still need a verifiable opt-in process, even if you only reply to customer messages. We recommend putting the opt-in language on your website as part of a “contact us” form.
Then, in your registration form, you can answer the “how did you get permission” question by referencing the opt-in process on your website.
Do I have to manually text opt-in language to my customers when they text me the first time?
No, you don’t need to include opt-in language in your text responses to a customer. You just need to have the opt-in available on your website as part of a contact form so reviewers can verify it.
Do I have to manually add opt-out language to every text message I send?
This depends on the type of message. You should include opt-out language in any proactive texts you send (marketing messages, proactive appointment reminders, etc.). You do not need to include opt-out language in messages sent as part of a conversational exchange that was initiated by your contact.
Do you have a sample privacy policy I can reference?
If I don’t register, will I still be able to use the Instant Response feature?
Grasshopper’s Instant Response feature relies on outbound texting functionality. If outbound texting is blocked from your phone number(s) due to a lack of SMS registration, the Instant Response feature will not work. If you previously configured Instant Response but do not have an active SMS registration on file before the deadline, your instant response capability will be disabled. Once your registration is approved, Instant Response will be re-enabled automatically with the same message(s) and settings you previously configured.
I just obtained a new EIN with the IRS, how long should I wait to register?
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?
A key motivation for the SMS registration process is to ensure message senders have obtained permission to message their contacts before sending texts. As part of your registration, you must demonstrate that you give your contacts the opportunity to “opt-in” or “opt-out” of communications with you. Grasshopper recommends including opt-in/opt-out language on your website wherever you collect contact information from your customers/prospects. You can learn more about various opt-in methods from our blog post.
Opt-in example: When customers complete a contact form on the website, they are asked if they agree to receive text messages to the phone number they provided. They can check a box to indicate they agree. The opt-in language should specify the type and frequency of messages to be sent.
“I agree to receive text messages from [Business Name] at the phone number provided above. Message frequency varies and will include [Types of messages: appointment reminders, order updates, promotional deals, etc.]. Reply “Stop” or “Unsubscribe” to opt-out at any time.”
Opt-out example: In addition to the checkbox agreeing to receive messages, there should be a checkbox customers can select if they don’t want to receive messages.
“I do not wish to receive text messages from [Business Name]”.
- You must offer your contacts both opt-out options demonstrated above: opt-out at the time they provide their contact information, and the ability to change an initial ‘opt-in’ to an ‘opt-out’ later.
- When creating your opt-in process please ensure:
- The opt-in/opt-out language is easy to understand and included wherever you gather customer contact information
- The contact can choose whether to opt-in or opt-out
- You clearly indicate the message sender and what kinds of messages will be sent
- A link to your privacy policy, describing the customer information you collect and how you use it, is included on the same page as opt-in/opt-out language
I have been texting with an approved SMS campaign, but I received notice that my campaign is now declined. What happened?
Although rare, it is possible that a previously approved campaign could be suspended due to updated requirements from carriers, changes to your messaging content, opt-in process, or privacy policy, or a follow-up carrier review that reveals the original approval was granted in error. If this happens, you’ll see the status change in the Grasshopper customer admin portal and will receive a notification by email with the reason your campaign has been declined. You’ll need to update your SMS campaign registration to address the reason for suspension and resubmit.
Can I register as a Sole Proprietor?
No, unfortunately, sole proprietors will not be eligible for SMS registration. All registrations are required to be businesses with a registered business tax ID / EIN.
How do I check the status of my registration?
You can check the status of your SMS registration at https://nuui.us.grasshopper.com/carrierregistration. Please keep in mind it can take 7-12 business days for registrations to be reviewed.