Vetting your website for text message campaign registration

All major messaging API providers (we use Bandwidth) for A2P (application to consumer) text messaging must register their 10-digit number with The Campaign Registry (TCR). This applies to numbers generated on the Levitate platform, as well as numbers that we have hosted or ported into the platform.

As of July 2024, Levitate will require that all accounts hoping to text message through our platform to be successfully registered. In order to text, you’ll need to comply with the following requirements laid out by TCR, Bandwidth, and cell carriers. 

Read more here.

Before you can register, we require that your website meet certain criteria...

Reach out to your Success Specialist– our team will review your website for SMS Disclosure and Privacy Policy compliance, and give feedback as needed. Without an SMS Disclosure, a Privacy Policy, and your legal company name, you will not be approved to text through Levitate. 

If you’re new to Levitate, your Implementation Specialist will review your website for SMS Disclosure and Privacy Policy– and provide any necessary feedback– before allowing registration to begin. 

To get started, you will need to have all of the following:

1. SMS Disclosure 
2. Privacy Policy 
3. Legal Company name + EIN match 

But having all three of these isn’t enough– they will need to be worded correctly, properly displayed, and entered correctly on the registration form. 

If you are a direct lender, you must disclose that through the form as well. If you fail to disclose that you are a direct lender, your campaign will be rejected. 

Important note: make sure your website properly displays the below information, and that it’s easy to find! If it’s difficult to find your privacy policy and/or your SMS disclosure statement and opt-in checkboxes, you might be rejected. 

Contact Form submissions and Opt-In language

A SMS Disclosure is a disclaimer that informs your end user what they can expect when they opt-in to receive text messages from you, your Brand, your Company. Including all the required language here, as well as making the SMS Disclosure easy to find will save you from immediate rejections. 

If you're collecting phone numbers via an online form, on your website, that form must have SMS opt-in language present on the form itself.

SMS Disclosure minimum requirements

• The message frequency expected– in other words, the number of messages that will be sent per day/week/month/etc. 
• “Reply STOP to opt-out of future messaging.” Levitate will need the message to be ‘STOP’ or contain the word ‘unsubscribe.’
• “Message & Data rates may apply” 
• A link to your Privacy Policy (and Terms & Conditions, if there are any). 
• “Reply HELP for more information.”-- Including this language is recommended but not required. 

Make sure the SMS Disclosure is on any digital or physical form your end user receives in which their phone number is a mandatory field. 

An opt-in checkbox for texting is not required, but if you are collecting phone numbers through your website, it is highly recommended to implement a checkbox for visitors, clients, and prospects to manually opt-in through checking the box. 

Privacy Policy

As of October 2023, every business is required to have a compliant Privacy Policy, regardless of company size or vertical. 

The only exception to this is for Sole Proprietors. If you are a Sole Proprietor and you want to text through Levitate, reach out to support@levitateapp.com to register.

The Privacy Policy must acknowledge whether or not you share customer data with third parties or not. If your privacy policy does not explicitly state that you ‘do not share data with third parties for marketing or promotion purposes’ your campaign will be rejected. Even if your Privacy Policy includes no language about data sharing, you must proactively include that you do not share data with third parties. 

Minimum requirements for an SMS Privacy Policy: 

• Accurately describe the SMS program, including when and what type of messages users will receive. 
• List the types of personal information you collect (name, email, phone, etc.) 
• List the methods you use to collect personal data (form, cookies, etc.) – in our case, it will most likely be a form, either on your website or physical 
• Explain how you’re using this personal data– are you using it to text about policy updates, prospect for new policies and clients, etc.?
• Explain how you store, maintain, and protect the personal information you’re collecting
• Explain if, how, and why you share personal data with third parties– to get your campaign approved, you must verify that you are not sharing this information with third parties for promotional purposes 
• Provide clear options for customers to correct, verify, change, or remove their personal information– provide clear and available opt-out language 

We've created a Help Article that has sample language that you're welcome to use for your website. Link below.

Sample language for Privacy Policy + Opt-in

Ready to register?

Your success manager or a member of our product team will provide you with the URL to our internal registration form. If you need guidance when completing your registration, you can check out our step-by-step guide.

Rejected?

Most common brand rejections– matching Legal Name and EIN

1. Legal Company Name– this should match the company name you have on file with the IRS that is associated with your EIN (Employment Identification Number). Most brand rejections happen because the business name submitted does not match the EIN listed on your tax forms, or vice versa. 

Most Common Campaign Rejections– Privacy Policy and Opt-In info

1. Make sure your website is working properly before submitting registration. It needs to be secured and is not broken or a domain parking site. It also can’t be incomplete (e.g. ‘Coming Soon!’). 
2. If you have a webform on your website that requires phone number submission, you must include an SMS Disclosure underneath the webform. Make sure it’s visible, complete, and clear. If you don’t have this, it’s an automatic rejection. 
3. Include a Privacy Policy! This is mandatory for all businesses in all verticals– excluding Sole Proprietors only.