Get your website ready for texting approval

Before US carriers deliver your business texts, Dial Raven registers your business and how you’ll text (this is called A2P 10DLC registration). A carrier reviewer then visits your website. The most common reason registrations get rejected is that the site is missing a few specific pieces of wording. This guide covers all of them.

You don’t need to send customers a “Reply YES to opt in” text. Customers agree once, by checking a box on your website, and your first text to them is a short confirmation that needs no reply.

Tip: Use the Copy for AI button above. Paste it into ChatGPT, Claude, or your website builder’s AI assistant, answer its questions, and it makes these changes for you. Always review the result before you publish.

What carriers check

• A real, working website at an https:// address that shows your business name, what you do, and how to reach you. “Coming soon” pages and sites behind a login are rejected.
• The same business name everywhere: your website, your texts, and your registration.
• A privacy policy with a text messaging section that says you don’t share mobile numbers for marketing.
• SMS terms that explain your texting program.
• A form with an SMS checkbox that’s unchecked by default and optional, with the consent wording right next to it.

Replace everything in [brackets] with your own details.

1. Add a text messaging section to your privacy policy

Add this to your existing privacy policy. Keep the wording as is apart from the brackets, because reviewers look for it.

Text messaging (SMS)

If you choose to receive text messages from [Business Name], we collect your mobile phone number and your consent to receive texts, and we use them only to send you the messages you signed up for.

We do not share, sell, rent, or provide your mobile phone number or your SMS opt-in or consent information to third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.

Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to stop receiving messages or HELP for help. For more details, see our SMS Terms at [link to your terms].

If your policy says anywhere that you share information with partners, affiliates or third parties, add this sentence right after it:

This does not apply to mobile phone numbers or text messaging opt-in data, which are never shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.

Heads up: Have only one privacy policy on your site, and make sure it’s public. Two different policies, or a PDF instead of a web page, can get your registration rejected.

2. Add SMS terms to your terms of service

Add this as a section of your terms of service, or as its own page, for example /sms-terms.

SMS Terms

[Business Name] text messaging program

- By opting in, you agree to receive text messages from [Business Name] about [what you'll text about, e.g. appointment reminders, service updates, and replies to your questions].
- Message frequency varies.
- Message and data rates may apply.
- For help, reply HELP or contact us at [phone] or [email].
- You can cancel at any time by replying STOP. You'll receive one message confirming you've been unsubscribed, and no further messages.
- Consent to receive text messages is not a condition of purchase.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
- You must be 18 or older, or the account holder, to opt in.
- Our Privacy Policy is at [link to your privacy policy].

3. Add an SMS checkbox to your contact form

1. Make sure your form has a phone number field. Keep it optional.
2. Add a checkbox under the phone field. It must start unchecked and must not be required, so the form still submits if someone leaves it blank.
3. Put this wording right next to the checkbox, with working links to your terms and privacy policy:

☐ I agree to receive text messages from [Business Name] about [what you'll text about] at the phone number provided. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to opt out. Consent is not a condition of purchase. SMS Terms | Privacy Policy

If you’ll also text offers or promotions, add a second, separate checkbox for marketing:

☐ I agree to receive recurring automated marketing and promotional text messages (for example, offers and promotions) from [Business Name] at the phone number provided. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Message frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help or STOP to opt out. SMS Terms | Privacy Policy

Things that get forms rejected:

• A checkbox that’s already ticked, or one you must tick to submit.
• “By submitting this form you agree to receive texts” with no checkbox.
• One checkbox covering texts, email and calls together, or combined with “I agree to the terms.”
• Consent wording hidden in a pop-up or on another page.

Tip: Most website builders (Wix, Squarespace, WordPress form plugins) have a Checkbox field. Add one, turn off Required, and paste the wording as its label. If the label can’t hold links, put the wording and links in a text block directly under the checkbox.

4. Send us your links

Once your changes are live, open each page in a private browser window to make sure it’s public. Then send these to Dial Raven by replying to your order email or emailing support@dialraven.com:

• Your website address
• Your privacy policy link
• Your terms (or SMS terms) link
• The link to the page with your form. If the form is behind a login, include a full-page screenshot.

We write your campaign description, sample messages, and opt-in details from these, and submit your registration. Approval usually takes 7 to 10 business days.

Who you can text after approval

• People who checked your SMS box, or who agreed in another way you can show, such as a signed paper form or a phone script your staff read. Keep a record of when and how each person agreed.
• People who texted you first. You can reply about what they asked.
• Not: a list of past customers who never agreed to texts. Doing business with someone isn’t the same as permission to text them.

Your first text to each new subscriber must be a short confirmation, for example: “[Business Name]: You’re signed up for appointment reminders. Msg frequency varies. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to opt out.” They don’t need to reply.

When someone replies STOP (or QUIT, END, CANCEL, UNSUBSCRIBE, OPT OUT or REVOKE), stop texting them. Send sales texts only between 8 AM and 9 PM in the customer’s time zone.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. If you plan to send marketing texts, consider a review by a lawyer familiar with the TCPA and your state’s rules.

Related

• Business texting (SMS and MMS)