This guide walks through the steps and example language that help your text messaging (SMS) registration meet US carrier requirements. Working through each section before you submit makes approval far more likely on the first try.
Registration can take several days to a few weeks to be approved across the industry. Submit your registration as early as possible.
Business verification
Check for prohibited content
Carriers prohibit certain types of message content. If your business sends content that carriers prohibit, your registration is declined with no path to approval. Review the content rules and messaging policy before you register, and make sure your sample messages follow them.
Verify your required registration information
Carriers compare your submission against your IRS records. All of the following must match exactly.
Legal business name that matches your IRS records. Use your official registered entity name, not a DBA or trading name.
Tax ID / EIN: your nine-digit federal Tax ID, exactly as the IRS issued it.
Physical address that matches your IRS records. This is the address on your IRS registration, which is not always where you operate day to day. Not a P.O. box and not an old address.
Doing Business As (DBA) name, only if you use one.
Your IRS CP-575 letter, sent when your business was first issued its EIN, shows all three exactly as the IRS holds them. If you cannot find your CP-575, call the IRS Business line at 800-829-4933 and ask for a 147C letter. The IRS can usually send it the same day, and the call takes about 15 minutes.
Note: If your business is based in Canada, provide a document from the CRA that shows your company name, address, and business number.
Website requirements
A working website address is required to submit your registration. A registration submitted without a working website is declined. Carriers review your website before they approve your campaign, and website problems are the most common reason a registration is rejected.
What carriers check
Carriers review three things. Your registration needs all three.
Consent where you collect the phone number. Every form that collects a phone number shows consent language on or directly next to the form. A privacy policy link in your footer does not satisfy this check.
Policy links on your site. Your privacy policy and terms of service are published and linked where visitors can find them, such as the footer of every page.
A described SMS program. Your privacy policy or terms of service describes your text messaging program, including how to stop messages, message frequency, and that message and data rates may apply.
💡 SmartTip: A missing "Reply STOP to opt out" instruction is the most common single gap. It is also the fastest to fix, so check for it first.
Your privacy policy
Publish a privacy policy and link it where customers can find it, such as the footer of every page. The policy needs to state what personal information you collect, how you use that information, and whether and how you share a customer's phone number and text message consent.
Your policy also needs a statement that you do not share mobile information for marketing purposes. Use language similar to this:
No mobile information will be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
If you want a fuller version, use language similar to this:
We do not sell or share mobile or personal data with third parties, affiliates, or partners for marketing or promotional purposes. We only share data with third parties when it is strictly necessary to deliver our service and only under binding agreements that ensure confidentiality. Under no circumstances will mobile data be shared or sold for advertising or promotional use.
⚠️ Warning: Do not describe promotional or marketing text messages in your privacy policy or terms. The campaign registered for your SmartMoving account is a transactional program covering quote responses, scheduling and appointment reminders, service updates, and billing notices. Policy wording that advertises promotional texts contradicts that campaign and causes a rejection. Watch for phrases such as "occasional promotional offers," "special offers and discounts," and "marketing messages via SMS." Wording about email marketing is fine. Policy pages generated from a template often include promotional SMS wording by default, so check yours.
Your SMS terms of service
Include your text messaging terms inside your privacy policy or on a separate page. Use the sample below and replace the bracketed text with your own company name, email address or phone number and link to your privacy policy.
Use terms of service language similar to this:
SMS/Text Messaging Communication (SMS Updates)
a. Program Description: [Your Company Name] uses SMS to send customers important operational updates, moving quotes, appointment reminders, and service notifications related to their move.
b. You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text "STOP" to the short code. After you send the SMS message "STOP" to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.
c. If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program, you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at [your email address or phone number].
d. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
e. Message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. You will receive messages at a frequency that varies based on your requested services. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.
f. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy.
Your website opt-in form
This applies to your quote form, your contact form, and any other form that collects a phone number.
Include a consent checkbox next to the phone number field.
Keep the checkbox optional and unchecked by default. A required or pre-checked box is not valid consent and causes a rejection.
Keep SMS consent on its own checkbox. Do not combine it with a general agreement to your terms and conditions or privacy policy.
Name your business in the consent text, the same way you named it on your terms page. Wording such as "we" or "our company" does not identify the sender.
State the types of messages the customer receives, rather than a generic reference to SMS messages.
Link your privacy policy and terms from the consent text. The links need to be working links, not plain text.
Use consent language similar to this:
[ ] I agree to receive appointment reminders and notifications from [Your Company Name] via SMS to the phone number provided. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out at any time by replying STOP. For more information, see our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
SmartMoving also recommends making the phone number field on your quote form optional, so a customer can request a quote without providing a phone number. This keeps consent clearly voluntary.
Note: The example language in this guide is provided as a suggestion. Confirm your final wording with your own legal counsel.
Adding opt-in through your SmartMoving quote form
How you add opt-in depends on the quote form you use. You can find your form type under Settings, then Quote Form.
SmartMoving embedded iFrame quote form
The opt-in is available through the embedded quote form however you cannot change its fields or wording yourself. To customize the opt-in language, contact SmartMoving Support through in-app chat or at [email protected] and ask to have the SMS consent checkbox enabled on your account. Support can allow you to customize the default label and no website rebuild is required.
The embedded form's default label reads "I agree to receive text messages related to this quote request. Standard messaging rates apply," which does not include the STOP instruction or your policy links, so the text on the page supplies the missing elements.
SmartMoving WordPress plugin
Contact SmartMoving Support through in-app chat or at [email protected] to get the current version of the WordPress plugin, then update the plugin on your site.
In your SmartMoving WordPress field mapping, add the User Opt In field. A consent checkbox appears on your quote form.
Edit the checkbox label to include your consent language, then publish the page.
Clear your caching plugin and CDN cache. Your published changes become visible to carrier reviewers.
JavaScript form
Copy the current version of the JavaScript form from your Quote Form settings. The current version includes the opt-in option.
Replace the older form code on your website with the copied code.
Add your consent language next to the phone number field, then publish the page.
Custom integration or a third-party form
Add an optional, unchecked SMS consent checkbox next to the phone number field.
Add consent language that names your business and includes the message types, the message and data rates disclosure, the STOP instruction, and your policy links.
Pass the customer's consent into SmartMoving, or record consent in your own system. If consent is not passed to SmartMoving, SmartMoving treats consent as collected another way.
Website builders such as GoDaddy, Wix, Squarespace, and Webflow
Add a checkbox field to your form using the builder's form editor, and set the field to optional.
If your builder does not support adding a checkbox, add your consent language as a text block directly beneath the form. Text adjacent to the form satisfies the consent check.
Add your privacy policy and terms links to the site footer using the builder's footer settings.
Publish the site, then load the page in a private browser window to confirm the changes appear.
💡 SmartTip: Save a screenshot of your completed opt-in flow, including every step of a multi-step form. Carriers ask for this when a registration is resubmitted.
Submitting your registration
Once your business details, website, and consent are ready, submit your registration in SmartMoving.
Go to Settings, then Company Settings, then the SMS Campaigns tab. You can also click Register Now on the reminder that appears when you log in.
Enter your business details exactly as they appear on your IRS records, then add your website, sample messages, and opt-in description.
Register every number your account uses to send SMS, one at a time.
Review every field for accuracy, then click Submit. Your registration is sent for carrier review and the status changes to pending.
Business verification takes 2 to 3 business days. Campaign review takes 7 to 14 days after each submission or resubmission. Once your campaign is approved, log out and back in to see SMS functionality in your account.
Getting help
Contact SmartMoving Support through in-app chat or at [email protected]. Include your company name and your SMS number so the team can find your registration. Use the situations below to see what to send.
You do not have a website, or your website is under construction. Contact Support before you submit. A registration without a working website is declined, so the team can advise on timing and connect you with a trusted website development partner.
You cannot edit your website, or you do not have a website developer. Contact Support and the team can connect you with a trusted website development partner.
You need the consent checkbox added to your SmartMoving embedded quote form. Contact Support and ask to have it enabled on your account.
You want your wording reviewed before you submit. Contact Support with links to your privacy policy, your terms page, and your quote form, and the team can point out what carriers typically flag.
Your registration failed and you are not sure why. Contact Support with the exact error text from your SMS Campaigns tab.
Your registration has been pending past the review window. Contact Support with your SMS number and the date you submitted.