This article will help you successfully submit your Sender Profile registration so you can send SMS/MMS messages to numbers in the US and Canada.

Table of contents

SMS Sender Profile registration
• Register your Sender Profile
Twilio Brand verification
• Usage limits by registration type
• Sole Proprietor Brand registration
• Low/High Volume Brand registration
Twilio Campaign Use Case vetting
• Message Flow
• Campaign Description
• Sample SMS Messages
• Sender Compliance Message

SMS Sender Profile registration

In March 2023, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enhanced the rules of Application-to-person (A2P 10DLC) messaging to combat spam and scams from text messages. A2P 10DLC messaging is a system that allows apps such as Twilio and Ontraport to send SMS and MMS messages quickly and reliably.

Any businesses sending SMS or MMS messages from an app (including Ontraport and our SMS provider, Twilio) to US or Canadian phone numbers must now be registered. This registry is designed to promote transparency about who is sending SMS messages and their purpose. To see the full report by the FCC released in March 2023, click here.

Registering your Sender Profile involves brand verification and campaign use case vetting.

• Brand verification establishes your company with a governing body.
• Campaign vetting confirms that the purpose and types of SMS messages you’re sending in a campaign align with your brand.

In this article, you’ll find information about the different registration types as well as guidance on how to successfully submit your Sender Profile registration.

Register your Sender Profile

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Sender Profile registration is required for accounts sending SMS or MMS messages to numbers in the U.S. or Canada.  However, we recommend that all users register their Sender Profile to avoid spam traps and increase sending speed.

In 2023, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) forced carriers to address the rise of spam and scams sent to mobile phones by requiring Sender Profile registration. This registry is designed to promote transparency about who is sending SMS messages and their purpose. To see the full FCC report, click here.

As of May 2023, all businesses that send messages to U.S. or Canadian numbers must register. Iff you previously registered, re-register using the form below.

Depending upon their carrier, unregistered companies may be subject to non-compliance fees and blocked traffic.

How to register

1. Read the guidelines in this article before you fill out the form.
2. Click here to go to the registration page and fill out the form. Ontraport will submit this on your behalf. 

Note, Ontraport users previously submitted their registration through the Sender Profile section in their account. Due to these changes, we created the registration page above, which contains all the required information to protect our customers from fees and blocked traffic. As of May 12, 2023, you can not register your Twilio Sender Profile directly from your Ontraport account.

Check the status of your registration

You will receive all updates on the status of your registration by email.

United Kingdom SMS registration

Starting May 27, 2024, the UK has a new policy for businesses sending SMS messages to contacts in the UK. All businesses must register in order to buy UK long-code phone numbers.

This registration is separate from the Sender profile registration and only applies to customers who have purchased a UK SMS number.

All businesses with existing UK SMS numbers must register by September 30, 2024. This registration is part of the UK's Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations. Follow the steps below to register your SMS number and ensure smooth communication with your contacts.

If you create a new UK SMS number after May 27, 2024, you will be prompted to register when you purchase your new number.

1. Go to  → Administration → SMS → United Kingdom SMS registration (UK only).
2. Click Register, then complete Twillio’s registration wizard.
3. Click Done when you’ve completed your registration.

After you register, you’ll receive an email letting you know if your registration was accepted or rejected.

If it is rejected, Twillio will share why it was rejected so you can make adjustments and resubmit.

Twilio Brand verification

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Brand verification contains information about your company. Every Ontraport customer sending SMS messages to contacts in the US or Canada (even if you do not reside in the US or Canada) must provide information about their company. This information is sent to The Campaign Registry, the reputation authority for customers sending SMS messages through an app.

• There is a one time $10 brand registration fee associated with this process
  • Note: If your brand verification is not submitted successfully after three attempts, you will be charged an additional $10 fee to restart the process.
• To avoid delays on your brand registration, ensure the information you submit is accurate. The application requirements differ based on whether you’re registering as a sole proprietor and whether you are a low or high volume customer.
  • See the diagram below to determine which registration type applies to your business.
• Learn more about each registration type below, or visit the Sender Profile Registration page here to get started on your application.

Usage limits by registration type

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Each registration type is subject to usage limits:

Sole Proprietor Brand registration

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Prerequisites

• You do not have an EIN/CCN/ACN or equivalent business registration.
• You have a valid address in the US or Canada.
• You have a valid US or Canadian mobile phone number.
  • Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Google voice number are not acceptable.
  • You must be able to reply to a confirmation message sent to this number within 24 hours of receipt.

Profile requirements

Once you submit brand verification, you will receive a text message that says “The Campaign Registry (TCR): Please confirm your registration for US A2P Messaging by replying YES. Msg & data rates may apply.” You must reply YES within 24 hours.

Preventing brand registration failure

Some brand registrations fail and need to be amended and resubmitted. Here are the most common reasons brand registrations are rejected:

• The business contact cell phone number is not a valid US or Canadian cell phone number.
• The applicant did not reply to the SMS compliance message from The Campaign Registry within 24 hours.
• The email address is not a valid domain or uses a freemail or disposable email address (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.)
• The physical address is not a valid US or Canadian address.
• The brand name is not the applicant’s real business name.

See Twilio here for more reasons brand registration can fail.

Low/High Volume Brand registration

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Prerequisites

• You have an EIN/CCN/ACN or equivalent business registration.
• You have a physical street address ( PO boxes are not accepted).
• You have a valid phone number.
• You have a valid email address.

Business information profile requirements

Business contact information profile requirements

Twilio Campaign Use Case vetting

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The second part of the registration process is campaign use case vetting. Mobile carriers need to confirm that the purpose and types of SMS messages you’re sending align with your brand. This process gives mobile network operators (AT&T, T-Mobile/Sprint, Verizon, etc.) a way to control message traffic on their networks.

• There is a one-time $40 campaign vetting fee associated with this process.
  • After approval, there is an ongoing campaign use fee of $5/month. The fee is $20/month for High Volume.
• Read more about Twilio’s campaign approval best practices here.
  • Note, Twilio does not allow certain categories of message types on its platform, including messages about high-risk financial services, third-party lead generation services, debt forgiveness, illegal substances, prescription drugs, gambling, sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, and tobacco.

There are four parts of your Campaign Use Case that will be evaluated:

1. Message Flow
2. Campaign Description
3. Sample SMS Messages
4. Sender Compliance Message

Message Flow

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In this section, describe how and where a contact can opt in to receive SMS messages from you. It proves that contacts are legitimately consenting to receive messages from you.

1. The call to action must be explicitly clear and inform the receiver of the types/nature of SMS messages they’ll receive from you.
2. If there is more than one way a contact can opt in to receive SMS messages, such as a form on a website, paper form, form behind a membership login, or by sending a message to your SMS number, list them all here.

Campaign Description

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In this section, explain the campaign’s objective or purpose in detail. Your description should include the type of messages you’ll send. What you describe must be appropriate and realistic for your brand. For example, a software company should not describe a campaign for a food delivery messaging campaign use case. And if you specify that the campaign’s purpose is to send appointment reminders, you can not also send messages about other topics, such as new products and services.

Here are a few example campaign descriptions:

• “This campaign allows customers to confirm when they’ve made changes to their own profile or preferences.”
• “This campaign provides shipping alerts to customers about products they ordered on [website name].”
• “This campaign sends SMS webinar reminders to clients who have opted in.”

Sample SMS Messages

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In this section, provide sample messages that are typical of this particular campaign. These messages should also be consistent with your campaign description.

• Ensure that at least one sample message includes your business name.
• Ensure at least one sample message includes opt-out language.
• Use brackets to indicate any merge fields you are using.

Here are some examples of effective and ineffective sample SMS messages.

Sender Compliance Message

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Provide a sample SMS message that explains what your contacts have subscribed to, and how they can opt out of receiving your messages. You must include one of these keywords: STOP, STOPALL, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END or QUIT.

To learn more about Twilio’s campaign vetting process, read their FAQs here and their campaign approval best practices here.