10DLC is a new messaging standard introduced by US phone carriers to prevent spam 📲TCR (The Campaign Registry) is the entity that vets 10DLC registrations. All new TCR campaign submissions are subject to a manual vetting process which can take up to one business week.
10DLC registration is required to send text messages, and while the approval process is managed by the phone carriers and TCR, Hustle makes registration as simple as possible. ✨ Based on trends in registration outcomes, we want to make sure that you have all the relevant information for a smooth registration process.
10DLC registration can take some time due to TCR approvals, so it’s important to start this process as soon as possible. If your TCR campaign is rejected, this will increase your timeline to approval.
This article provides a checklist of the most important things to have in place for your 10DLC compliance. Going through this list will help ensure your registration is approved and you can start messaging as quickly as possible. Any questions can be directed to your CSM or to support@hustle.com - for full guidance on how to register, hop over to How do I register for 10DLC with Hustle?
For a video walkthrough of the information in this article please see: VIDEO 🎞️: 10DLC Prep Checklist
Skip to:
Important Info before you start!
Before Registering your Campaign
- Get a link to a working website for your entity
- Confirm the website has an accessible and compliant Privacy Policy
- Privacy Policy Generators
- Review your Opt in Methods
✋ Important Info before you start!
It is critical for a smooth registration to ensure you have all of the following in place, as TCR will check for these things when reviewing your registration. If they are unable to verify any of these for things, your campaign is likely to be rejected.
1️⃣ A working website: TCR will look for a website associated with your brand entity. We recommend providing this in your registration.
2️⃣ Opt in language on phone collection forms: In order to be approved, you'll need to ensure that all of all of your phone collection forms on your website include opt in language.
3️⃣ Compliant Privacy Policy easily accessible on your website: We recommend also double checking that your privacy policy is easily accessible from your main website, and is compliant - guidelines here.
4️⃣ Link to your privacy policy from your phone collection forms: In addition to requiring opt in language on all phone collection forms, each form must also link to your compliant privacy policy.
🛑 Before Registering your Brand
For the purposes of 10DLC, a brand is defined as a legal entity with an Employer Identification Number or EIN. A brand is registered to inform carriers who is sending traffic to their subscribers.
Prep the following before registering a brand in Hustle:
✅ Get your EIN (nine-digit tax identification number)
Per TCR, an EIN is required to register a brand in Hustle. If you don’t yet have an EIN, you can apply for one here.
When registering your brand, Hustle will autofill details for your entity after you have entered the EIN - make sure those details look correct. If details are not found, you can proceed with the registration process. Note that this means TCR will manually review your submission, which may take additional time.
If there is an issue with your TCR brand review and it is stuck in Pending status, send your IRS determination letter to support@hustle.com for the fastest resolution. If you have not yet received a determination letter, please note that you may receive a lower TCR score until your entity status has been confirmed by the IRS.
✅Apply for a Campaign Verify token:
This step is only for political campaigns, political parties, PACs, and 527’s. If you qualify, we strongly recommend you get a token from Campaign Verify for fastest and easiest registration, and best message sending speeds. This process happens outside of Hustle.
Once Campaign Verify has completed vetting, they will give you a CV Token for the current political cycle that you will apply during or after your Hustle brand registration.
- Your CV token will look something like this: cv|1.0|tcr|10dlc|f2253eaa-72fb-444c-987c-98d6b4399ad9|dfadlWJp4HkSf063HZJbnszPwO-XIdCOYBXKQLD8tw
A CV token can only be used for one brand registration. Even if you used the token for a different texting vendor, it cannot be used again in Hustle. If you have an active CV account and need a second token, you can get one by following CV’s instructions here. For any questions about Campaign Verify's process, you can reach out to their support team at support@campaignverify.org
When you have this info you’re ready to Register your Brand in Hustle! 🥳When registering your brand, you will select political committee = yes and then enter your CV token in the field provided.
Once your Brand is Active or displays a TCR Score, go through the following checklist to make sure you’re ready for Campaign Registration:
🛑 Before Registering your Campaign
For the purposes of 10DLC, campaigns are defined as the use-cases or the kinds of messages brands text to audiences. (e.g. Marketing, Public Service Announcements, Political, Higher Education, etc.) Register a campaign to inform carriers what type of traffic is being sent to their subscribers.
Note: One campaign can be applied to up to 49 groups in Hustle to use for messaging, so most clients will not need to register more than one campaign. Registering multiple identical campaigns at once can result in a slower approval process.
All TCR campaign submissions will be subject to a manual review by the downstream Direct Connect Aggregator (DCA). This review process can take up to one business week, and if rejected will take longer. To avoid rejection be sure to follow all recommendations below.
✅ Get a link to a working website for your entity:
This can be a social media page, as long as it is accessible and verifies the business identity. If you are collecting any information on the website, we recommend you also include a link to where the Privacy Policy is posted on your site.
If there’s any prohibited content* on the website, the campaign will be rejected.
- *The following types of content are prohibited on 10DLC: CBD, Cannabis, Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco.
✅ Confirm the website has an accessible and compliant Privacy Policy, and it is linked in all opt-in forms:
Per CTIA guidelines, message senders must maintain a readily accessible, compliant Privacy Policy. The Privacy Policy should be easy to access from your brand's main website, and should be linked on all forms collecting phone numbers.
A compliant policy must be explicitly stated that consumer information is not shared with third-parties for marketing purposes. If your brand does engage in information sharing with third parties, we recommend adding language to your privacy policy to specify that text messaging is excluded. For example: "Text messaging opt-in is excluded from information sharing with third parties."
Your privacy policy should include the following details:
- The nature of the information you collect.
- The methods by which you gather information from your users.
- The ways in which you utilize and distribute any collected information.
- Clearly states that you do not share or sell collected information without consent or unless legally obligated to do so.
- Steps by which users can unsubscribe/opt-out from your communications.
⚠️ Important, Please Note: The absence of a privacy policy or the presence of a non-compliant one will likely result in the rejection of your campaign. Non-compliance typically pertains to the sharing of consumer information with third-parties for marketing purposes. The Privacy Policy must unequivocally state that personal information will not be shared with third parties without consent or unless legally required.
✨ Privacy Policy Generators ✨:
Privacy Policy Generators can facilitate in creating a privacy policy. The following websites offer such generators:
- Get Terms Privacy Policy Generator
- Privacy Policy Online Privacy Policy Generator
- Termly Privacy Policy Generator
- WebsitePolicies Privacy Policy Generator
✅ Review your Opt in Methods:
Most rejected campaigns are due to insufficient opt in methods, so it’s very important to make sure your methods are compliant before registering your campaign. All entities sending text messages are required to follow CTIA guidelines for text messaging opt in process.
Step 3 of the Campaign Registration will ask about your opt-in methods, and you should include a clear and concise description of how an end user signs up to receive messages. This method needs to be able to be easily verified by TCR.
Opt-in must be 1 to 1, can't be shared with third parties, and can't be implied. It must be clear, conspicuous, and can't be obscured within the terms & conditions and/or other agreement(s).
The opt in method most likely to be approved is the collection of phone numbers and opt ins through your working website, as this is the easiest method for TCR to verify. If you collect opt-ins through the website, TCR will check the website you provide to confirm all forms collecting phone numbers contain clear opt-in language and a link to your compliant privacy policy.
✨ Here’s an example of opt-in language on a website form collecting phone numbers:
"By providing your cell phone number, you agree to receive calls and texts to your number from <Organization> about issues and ways to get involved. Msg frequency varies. STOP to quit. Msg and data rates may apply."
<Link to Privacy Policy>
Compliant opt-in method examples (based on approved campaign submissions):
-
Entering a phone number through a website and agreeing to receive messages
- Example: Customers opt-in by visiting www.examplewebsite.com and adding their phone number. They then check a box agreeing to receive text messages from the example brand.
- Clicking a button on a mobile webpage
- Sending a message from the consumer’s mobile device that contains an advertising keyword
-
- Example: Consumers opt-in by texting START to (111) 222-3333.
- Important: If consumers can opt in by texting a keyword, the response should include the brand name, confirmation of opt-in enrollment to a recurring message campaign, how to get help, and a clear description of how to opt out.
- Initiating the text message exchange in which the message sender replies to the consumer only with responsive information
- Signing up at a point of sale (POS) or another message sender on-site location
-
Opting in over the phone using interactive voice response (IVR) technology.
- Example: "Hustle: You’re now opted-in to our platform notifications. For help, reply HELP. To opt out, reply STOP."
Non-Compliant opt-in method examples (based on rejected campaign submissions):
- The Voter File, or accessing any public database with phone number information
- Purchased list of phone numbers
- Texting existing customers without prior explicit opt-in
- Pre-checking an opt in check box on a phone collection form.
Important: Even if the Opt in Methods section indicates that opt-ins are collected outside the website, all lead intake forms on the brand's website will be reviewed by TCR. If the phone number field is required, the disclaimer about the SMS opt-in must be included. Otherwise, the campaign will be rejected.
✅ Opt-out message: Acceptable opt-out language must include at least one of the following words: end, stop, unsubscribe, or arret (French). If you’re using an opt-out phrase, it must be separated by spaces (i.e., STOP2END is not acceptable; it should be STOP 2 END). Please ensure that at least one of your sample messages shows your opt-out.
When you have reviewed this list, you are ready to register your campaign! ⭐ Once your campaign is submitted in Hustle, the manual review process typically takes several days to one business week, so check back for updates. Reach out to support@hustle.com with any questions on the registration process.
✨Pro Tip! While you're waiting for your campaign to be approved, get started on setting up your groups, adding agents, uploading contacts and creating goal drafts!