Why do I need to register before I can text US numbers, and what are these consent rules?

Texting a business number is governed by two different rule books, and they are about completely different things. A2P 10DLC is a US carrier requirement about who you are. CASL is Canadian law about whether the person agreed to hear from you. If you only ever text Canadian numbers, the US registration does not apply to you at all.

A2P 10DLC, if you text US numbers

US carriers, through an industry body called The Campaign Registry, require every business sending automated texts to US numbers to register a brand and a campaign first. Without it, US carriers block or slow down your messages. If your account is set to Canada-only texting, this does not apply to you, and the registration screen tells you so and stops rather than asking you to fill anything in.

1. Go to Settings, then Channels, then SMS, then A2P 10DLC registration.
2. Work through the five steps: your business identity and tax number (an EIN in the US or a Business Number in Canada), your business address, a named contact The Campaign Registry can reach, campaign details including five sample messages, then review and pay.
3. At least one of your sample messages has to include the words "Reply STOP to opt out", the registry rejects submissions that do not have it, and the wizard will not let you move past that step without it.

There is a one-time fee of $49 USD charged when you submit, taken by card. Once your campaign is approved, a monthly fee applies, most local businesses qualify for the cheapest tier at $5 USD a month, other use cases such as higher-volume marketing or two-factor codes cost more, up to $20 USD a month, and the exact tier and fee are shown to you before you pay. Monthly billing never starts until your campaign is actually approved, and if approval fails on our provider's side, your $49 is refunded automatically. If it comes back needing changes, fixing what was flagged and resubmitting costs nothing further.

We cannot tell you exactly how long a decision will take, that pace is set by the registry and the carriers, not by us, so start early if you have a date in mind. Your Canadian texting keeps working the whole time you wait.

CASL and consent, for every text

Consent is checked automatically before any automated text leaves the system, if there is no record of consent, the message simply does not send. A record means one of three things: the person messaged you first, a consent event was recorded for them, or you have flagged that you hold their verbal consent.

• STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT and ARRET all stop future messages, in any capitalisation. HELP asks for help. START turns messages back on. Someone who has opted out stays opted out, we keep that record even after they come back.
• Automated texts are held between 9pm and 8am in the recipient's own local time. A reply a person types themselves is not held, that is a live conversation, not a scheduled send.
• Every outreach text carries your business name and a way to reach you, so nobody receives an anonymous message. That is your website if you have one on file, otherwise your contact email, otherwise the number the text is coming from. Replies inside a conversation the customer started, and the automatic text sent back after a missed call, do not carry this line, those are conversations rather than outreach. Staff alerts and login codes do not carry it either, since they never go to your customers.

The one thing a text will never send without is your business name, if it is missing from your account we refuse to send rather than let something untraceable go out, add it under Settings.

What stays your job

Peakify moves the messages and checks consent before every send. You are still the sender, and the relationship with the person receiving them is yours: getting consent in the first place and being able to show how you got it, keeping your own record of who agreed to what and when, honouring an opt-out everywhere you reach that person, and making sure what you actually send matches what you told the registry you would send.

This article is a plain summary of what the product does, not legal advice. It does not say whether your own setup meets the rules. Read our terms and our acceptable use policy, and talk to your own adviser if you are unsure.