If your business plans to send SMS messages using a dedicated toll-free number, you’ll need to show that the people you message have knowingly agreed to receive texts from you.
This is an important part of the toll-free verification process. Before outbound SMS can be sent from a toll-free number, the number must be verified, and your application needs to explain how recipients opt in.
Getting this right from the start can help avoid delays or rejection during verification.
What does SMS opt-in mean?
SMS opt-in means that someone has knowingly agreed to receive text messages from your business.
Simply having a customer’s phone number is not enough. For example, collecting a number during checkout, account registration or a support interaction does not automatically give you permission to send SMS messages for other purposes.
Your opt-in process should make it clear who will be sending the messages, what kind of messages the recipient is signing up for and how they can stop receiving them.
The messaging described in your opt-in must also match the use case you submit with your toll-free number application.
What information needs to be shown when someone opts in?
Your opt-in should clearly tell the recipient:
- Who is messaging them: Your business or brand name must be clearly identified and should match the brand being registered.
- What messages they will receive: For example, appointment reminders, order notifications, account alerts or promotional offers.
- Message frequency: For example, “Message frequency may vary.”
- Possible charges: State that standard message and data rates may apply.
- How to opt out: Explain that recipients can reply STOP to opt out.
- How to get help: Explain that recipients can reply HELP for help.
- Where to find your Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy: Include links where applicable.
Telnyx expects these disclosures to be provided before the first message is sent, with an exception for an inbound-message opt-in, where the disclosures may be included in the first response.
Your Privacy Policy should also make it clear that mobile information will not be shared or sold to third parties for promotional or marketing purposes.
SMS consent must be optional
A common reason for verification rejection is making SMS consent compulsory.
If your website form requires someone to provide a phone number for another reason, such as creating an account, placing an order or requesting information, that must not automatically opt them into SMS.
Where a checkbox is used to collect SMS consent, it must be optional and unchecked by default. A customer should not have to consent to SMS messaging simply to buy a product or use your service.
SMS consent must also be separate from other agreements. Don’t combine SMS consent with acceptance of your Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy or email marketing consent.
For example, avoid wording such as:
“I agree to the Terms and Conditions and consent to receive email and SMS messages.”
Instead, provide a separate SMS-specific opt-in.
Example of a digital SMS opt-in
For a business called Example Company sending appointment reminders, suitable wording could look like this:
[ ] I agree to receive SMS appointment reminders from Example Company. Message frequency may vary. Standard message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. View our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
The checkbox should be unchecked by default and optional.
If you also need the customer to accept your Terms and Conditions or Privacy Policy, that acceptance should be handled separately from the SMS consent checkbox. Telnyx specifically requires SMS consent to be separate from other agreements and communication channels.
Marketing messages need separate consent
If you plan to send both transactional or informational messages and marketing messages, don’t combine them into one SMS consent. Marketing and promotional SMS should have its own separate opt-in.
For example, a customer could have one optional checkbox for appointment reminders and another optional checkbox for promotional messages.
Telnyx specifically identifies combined marketing and informational consent as a potential reason for rejection. The type of messaging described in each opt-in must also correspond with the messaging use cases included in your application.
Opt-in methods supported by SMTP2GO
SMTP2GO supports the following opt-in methods for dedicated toll-free SMS numbers.
Digital opt-in
This is usually a form on your website or within your application. You should provide the URL where subscribers start the opt-in process and explain how they reach the form.
If the opt-in form itself is publicly accessible, you can provide the URL to the form.
If customers must log in before they can see the opt-in form, you can instead provide a publicly accessible screenshot of the complete form. The screenshot should clearly show your branding, the SMS consent wording and the relevant fields or checkboxes.
This is an important distinction: the opt-in screen itself can be behind a login, provided that the verification submission includes a public link to a clear screenshot showing what the customer sees.
Paper or written opt-in
You can collect SMS consent using a paper form, contract or other written document. The form should contain the same required SMS disclosures and clearly identify your business.
When applying for your toll-free number, provide a clear scanned copy or image of the relevant part of the form using a publicly accessible link, and explain how customers receive and complete the form.
Inbound SMS opt-in
You can also allow customers to initiate the conversation by sending the first SMS message to your number. Your application should explain where customers find the number, for example, on your website, signage, advertising or other customer-facing material, and provide the actual number they are instructed to text.
You should provide a public link or screenshot showing where the number is advertised.
For this type of opt-in, the customer sends the first message. The required SMS disclosures can then be provided in your first response.
What proof should you provide?
The verification team needs to be able to understand the real opt-in experience a customer sees.
For a digital or paper opt-in, screenshots should be complete, legible and clearly branded. Don’t submit an internal CRM record, database entry or code snippet as evidence that consent was obtained.
If you provide a screenshot through Dropbox, Google Drive or another hosting service, make sure the link is publicly accessible without requiring the reviewer to sign in. Telnyx can reject an application where the supplied opt-in URL cannot be accessed or where the proof is incomplete, unbranded or illegible.
Keep your opt-in and SMS use case consistent
Another common source of problems is a mismatch between the opt-in and the messaging use case. For example, if your opt-in says:
“Receive appointment reminders from Example Dental”
but your application says you will send appointment reminders, promotional offers and billing notifications, the application and opt-in don’t match.
Make sure every type of SMS messaging you intend to send is appropriately described in your application and covered by the corresponding opt-in.
Final checklist
Before submitting your dedicated toll-free SMS number application, check that your opt-in:
- Clearly identifies your business or brand.
- Explains exactly what types of SMS messages recipients will receive.
- Includes message-frequency and message/data-rate disclosures.
- Includes STOP and HELP instructions.
- Includes links to your Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy where required.
- Is optional and is not a condition of buying or using your service.
- Uses SMS checkboxes that are unchecked by default.
- Keeps SMS consent separate from Terms, Privacy, email consent and other agreements.
- Uses a separate opt-in for marketing and promotional SMS.
- Matches the SMS use cases described in your application.
- Provides clear, branded and publicly accessible evidence of the opt-in process.
- Has a Privacy Policy that states mobile information will not be shared or sold to third parties for promotional or marketing purposes.
Taking a few minutes to check these details before submitting your application can save considerably more time if your toll-free verification is rejected and needs to be resubmitted.
Need Help?
If you’re unsure whether your SMS opt-in process meets the requirements for a dedicated toll-free SMS number, review it carefully before submitting your application..
Our support team can also help clarify what information you need to provide as part of your SMTP2GO SMS number application.
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