Text messaging in the USA and Canada is governed by the CTIA, and in 2022 there are new policies and tools that protect the consumer from unwanted messaging spam and deceptive fraudulent scams.

If you are a business owner, it's important to be aware of these new changes and the reasons that your messages may be excessively filtered by the carriers leading to poor or no delivery of your messages.

Article Summary 

You should verify your business for reliable text messaging. The rules are different if your using a Local or Toll-Free number, but this is the safest path to reliable messaging.

1. If you have a Toll-Free number, submit a Business Verification Form ASAP to ensure reliable messaging.
2. A Local number is now a great option for text automation.  If you send more than 100 messages at a time, the same form should be completed.

The Type of Number Matters (Toll-Free vs. Local Number)

In 2018, most small business owners could only use a Toll-Free number to economically send text messages from their business. 

By 2022, there are now 2 reliable and cost-effective ways to send automated text messages to your customers and each has its peculiarities that this article will help explain.

Text Message Filtering

To reduce text spam and protect the consumer from fraud, your messages are being filtered by carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile) and intermediaries. In some cases, your messages may be dropped or blocked by the carrier which will require your business to be verified to remove.

With Toll-Free, even though you are allowed 2,000 messages a day, the carriers (Vaggressive filters are impacting the ability of your business to send opt-in and important messages to your contacts.

• Toll-Free numbers: Business verification is strongly suggested
• Local phone numbers: Business verification depends on your use case and volume of messages.

Toll-Free Messaging

As of October 2022, you are only required to verify your business if you are sending more than 2,000 messages a day or need to send messages to Canadian numbers.

However, we are seeing an increasing rate of filtering and blocking our customer's messaging and it is now recommended that all customers verify their business.

• USA: Registration is not required, but it is strongly recommended.
• Canada: All messages from a Toll-Free number sent to Canada require verification.

Verify Your Business for Toll-Free

Verification of your information is part of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process that carriers use to increase trust and reduce spam messaging. 

Complete the Cloudphone.com Business Verification form and we will submit your information to the carriers.  The wait time is roughly 1-2 weeks to complete.

Switch To a Local Number

Alternatively, if you are not 100% tied to your Toll-Free number, we switch your primary Text Automation number to a local number the same day.  If you are sending fewer than 100 messages at a time, this is a great option for you. 

Your Toll-Free number will still work for voice, and should still be registered if you plan on using it for Texting.

I only have a Local Number, do I still need to register?

Local numbers that are used for peer-to-peer, or normal conversational messaging do not require registration, but it can't hurt either.

Even if you are sending more than 100 messages a day, a local number registration (also known as 10DLC) may be right for your business.

If you are currently or expect to be sending more than 100 automated messages at a time using a local number, we suggest that you complete the Cloudphone.com Business Verification form so we can register your local number and provide the reliable text messaging that your business needs.