Customer Guide: Registration Form Best Practices

It’s imperative to complete the registration form with up to date and accurate information about your business and SMS use case. Third party compliance houses will validate your submission before issuing an approval on your application status.

Rejections can be costly and time consuming, so FluentStream has compiled tips and best practices to guide you through each field on the registration form. Our goal is to get your application approved as quickly as possible so you can focus on more important things, like communicating with your customers.

1. Your Name

The person completing this form should be an authorized user on your FluentStream account.

Your name form field graphic

2. Your Email

This should be the corresponding email address for the authorized user on your FluentStream account.

Your email form field graphic

3.  Legal Company Name

The company name recorded exactly how it is filed with the IRS.

Legal Company Name form field graphic

4.  DBA or Brand Name

Name as it appears your FluentStream Invoice if different than the Legal Company Name. If you don’t have a DBA company name, you may leave this field blank.

DBA or Brand Name form field graphic

5.  Legal Form of Company

The legal form of the company is your brand entity type and should match how you file with the IRS.  Use the flowchart below if you’re unsure. It’s important to note that the upstream carriers will not approve a campaign without an EIN.  Any businesses operating as sole proprietors without an EIN can use toll free numbers to send SMS.  Reach out to FluentStream for more information.

Legal Form of Company form field graphicBrand Entity Type Flow Chart

6.  Country of Business Registration

For the majority of FluentStream customers, this Is USA.

Country of Business Registration form field graphic

7.  Employer Identification Number (EIN)

Your company’s 9 digit EIN (Tax ID Number) should be consistent with your IRS registration.

Employer Indentification Number (EIN) form field graphic

8.  Street Address, City, State, ZIP

Enter your company’s physical address as it’s recorded on IRS documents.

Street Address form field graphic

9.  Website URL/Address

Your primary business website will be referenced and validated as part of the approval process. The compliance parties will reference your business’s web presence to ensure legitimacy and confirm customer communication methods.  

If you do not have a website, you can use a social media page for this field, although LinkedIn profiles are discouraged. 

The link entered below needs to be active.  Domain landing pages or “coming soon” pages will be rejected by the compliance houses.

Website URL form field graphic

10.  Stock Symbol

If you chose “Public” for “Legal Form of Company”, your company's stock symbol and the stock exchange fields are required.

Stock Symbol and Exchange forms field graphic

11.  Business Vertical

Select the business vertical that best represents your industry. The business vertical is essentially the industry category your business falls into. Here are some common business verticals: Retail & eCommerce, Healthcare, Financial Services, Real Estate, Travel & Hospitality, Education, Transportation & Logistics, Non-Profit, Media & Entertainment, Technology, Government, Telecommunications, Professional Services, Automotive, etc.

Business Vertical form field graphic

12.  Campaign Contact information

Enter the contact information for the designated person at your company who FluentStream should contract regarding 10DLC registration updates.

Campaign Contact Information form field graphic

13.  Campaign Name

A “campaign” is the use case of your outgoing SMS messages.  Enter the general description of the SMS purpose as your campaign name.

For the majority of our customers, we recommend entering a “mixed use campaign” which allows for up to 5 use case types.

Campaign Name form field graphic

14.  Use Case

Refer to the types of use cases provided by the Campaign Registry.

For customers using SMS for multiple purposes ex: customer care, customer notifications, internal messaging, and one-off customer communications should select “Mixed (low volume)” or “Mixed” depending on how many SMS messages are sent per month.  Any account sending less than 2,000 mixed-use outbound messages per month is considered “Mixed (low volume)” and any account sending more than that should select “Mixed”.

User Case form field graphic

15.  Campaign Description

This field is used to give a clear and detailed description of the campaign’s intent. The description should include who you want to reach (e.g., customers, prospects, marketing leads, etc.), and why you are sending out messages (e.g., updates about projects, upcoming promotions, scheduling coordination, etc.). It is important that the campaign description matches the sample messages provided later in the form.

There is a minimum of 40 characters required for the Campaign Description (i.e.,short notes such as “customer service” will be rejected).

Campaign Description form field graphic

16.  Additional Campaign Details - Required Selections

When establishing a campaign with TCR, your company must show that your SMS outreach meets industry requirements and compliance standards. To reduce complexity for our customers, we’ve consolidated this section of the registration into a multi-choice checklist. To complete this section, please check each box if your company is in compliance with and / or consistently delivering these communications. 

While not all fields are required, the fields we recommend below will greatly influence your registration success. We’ve provided examples and guidelines to help you confirm your business’ online presence is compliant.

Each required item and any selected optional items will be validated by the external vetting authorities. You may need to make changes to your company’s website or personnel workflows in order to adhere to 10DLC regulations.

The following messaging features listed below are required in order to receive approval.

  • Subscriber Opt-in (required)
    The customers you message to must provide consent to receiving SMS from your business. You will record your opt-in process in the Call to Action section below. Be sure the “opt-in” checkbox is selected on the registration form, and see the Call to Action section for more information on types of opt-in processes and best practices.

  • Subscriber Opt-Out (required)
    Customers must have a clear way to opt out of text messages once subscribed. Ensure the “opt-out” checkbox is clicked on your application, and include opt-out language in the “Sample SMS” section below.

    Example: "You can opt out of our messages at any time by replying with 'STOP' or 'UNSUBSCRIBE’.”

  • Privacy Policy (required)
    Your company’s website must include a privacy policy clearly outlining how your business manages customer information. Privacy policy statements must be included on any page where a customer provides their contact information, including:

    • SMS communication Opt-in pages
    • “Contact us” or support pages

A sample privacy policy statement is included here for your reference: "We collect and use your phone number to send you SMS messages about your account, promotions, and other relevant information. Your data is stored securely and will not be shared with third parties. You have the right to opt-out at any time by following the instructions provided in each message."

Additional Campaign Details form field graphic

17.  Additional Campaign Details - Campaign and Content Attributes

The following messaging features listed below are not required but must be selected if your brand utilizes any of these options. 

Additional website and texting use case details. Check all that apply:

  • Embedded Link
    Check this box if your campaign will contain an embedded link. You can use a link shortener with custom domains.
  • Subscriber Help
    Check this box if a subscriber can receive assistance by messaging HELP.
  • Embedded Phone Number
    Check this box if the campaign directs customers to call a phone number that is not the company’s support number.
  • Number Porting
    Check this box if you are porting your SMS number to FluentStream from another provider.
  • Age-Gated Content
    Check this box if your message content includes age-gated material as defined by Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association (CTIA) guidelines.
  • Direct Lending or Loan Arrangement
    Check this box if your message content includes lending or loan information.
Additional Campaign Details form field graphic

18.  Sample SMS Messages

Provide 1-2 examples of sample messages that your company is sending its customers. The samples provided should be in alignment with the campaign description and details selected above, including opt-out language. Each message must be a minimum of 20 characters.

Sample SMS Messages form field graphic

19.  Call to Action/ Message Flow

This is the section that receives the highest amount of campaign failure rates, so be sure to read the following content thoroughly and make any necessary changes to your business’ website or opt-in process.

The main objective of the Call to Action (or Message Flow) is to describe howyour customers opt-in to receive text messages from your business.

For the 10DLC application, explain how your customers provide consent to receiving messages using our templates below as a guideline. Note that the third-party vetting authorities will confirm any opt-in process that occurs online.

The details of the Call to Action Entry must include reference to the following:

  • Verbal Opt-In Examples
    • “Customers state in person that they would like to receive SMS messages.”
    • “Customers opt-in to SMS messages over the phone”
    • “While on the phone with the user, the agent asks the customer to confirm if they wish to receive additional information via SMS. If the user agrees, the information is sent. We do remind them that messaging and data charges may apply and that they can opt-out at any time by replying STOP and that HELP provides them more information.”
  • Consent Form Opt-In Examples
    • “Customers sign up for SMS in our office via consent form. They put in their phone number and check a box indicating they want SMS appointment reminders. They can opt-out at any time.”
    • “Customers opt-in to text in the paperwork packet they are required to complete at check-in. The consent form also includes the opt-out process and privacy policy”
  • Website Opt-In Examples
    • “Users opt-in on our webform . They enter their phone number and check a box indicating they wish to receive SMS from our company and how to opt-out.” Note: a privacy policy must be located on the same page where the customers enter contact information so vetting third parties can locate it.
    • “Patients fill out an appointment request form and enter their phone number. They indicate via checkbox if they would like to receive appointment reminders via text and how to opt-out.” Note: a privacy policy must be located on the same page where the customers enter contact information so vetting third parties can locate it.
  • Inbound SMS Opt-In Examples
    • “We ask customers to text our business number to indicate they want to be registered for SMS. We inform them they can opt-out any time by texting ‘STOP.’”

20.  Telephone Numbers

List all phone numbers to be registered with your SMS campaign, including all seven digits of each phone number, omitting any parentheses and hyphens. Separate all phone numbers by a comma. You can find a list of numbers by logging into your FluentStream account.

Telephone Numbers form field graphic

21.  Signature

Complete form with an electronic signature then submit your document by following the prompts in the form.