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Get your business ready for texting in the US

US carriers ask every business that texts people in the United States to register under its own name. Publish your privacy policy and terms, add your business details and send your registration.

Business owners and administrators ยท 6 min read

Steps

  1. Open Settings, then Privacy and terms. For your privacy policy and your terms, choose Use Rella's template or Use my own page. The template is a starting point, not legal advice, so read it before you publish.
  2. With the template, read it with your details, add your own paragraphs if you need them, and choose Publish. Your pages go live at app.rella.ca/your-link-name/privacy and /terms, in English and French. Use Copy to share the links.
  3. With your own pages, paste their addresses, starting with https://, and choose Publish. Make sure your pages say that mobile numbers and text consent are never shared for marketing, and include message frequency, Msg & data rates may apply, STOP, HELP and your contact details.
  4. Fill in Business details for US texting: your legal name exactly as registered, business type, business number (in Canada, your 9-digit CRA business number), registered address, website, support email and phone, a contact person, what your texts are about and two real sample texts. Sole proprietors without a business number also add their own mobile number.
  5. Rella adds an optional, unticked box to every public form that asks for a phone number: landing pages, embedded forms, your booking page and programme sign-ups. It names your business, says what you text about, and links to your privacy policy and terms. Ticking it records the person's consent with the time, the form and the words they saw.
  6. When every item on Ready for US texting registration has a tick, check the registration fees. The carriers charge them for each business and Rella charges them at cost from your phone credit: one-time fees when you send, then a small fee each month. Add phone credit on the Business phone page if you need to, tick that you agree, and choose Send for registration.
  7. Sole proprietors get a text from the carriers asking them to confirm. Reply YES within 24 hours. If it does not arrive, choose Send the confirmation text again.
  8. Approval usually takes a few days to a few weeks. Until then, texts to US numbers are not sent. Texts to Canadian numbers keep working.
  9. If the registry asks for changes, the reason shows on the checklist. Fix your details and choose Send again.

Check it worked

Your privacy policy and terms open from their links, the checklist shows four ticks, and the status shows Approved before you text people in the US.

Common questions

A text to a US number says it waits for registration

That is expected until your business is approved. Open Settings, then Privacy and terms, and check the status on the checklist.

Publish says details are missing

Rella's template needs a contact email or phone and an address. Add them in Business details for US texting or in Business details for search.

I am a sole proprietor without a business number

Leave the business number empty and add your own mobile number. You register under the sole proprietor rules, which allow one texting number and lower daily limits, and you confirm by replying YES to the carriers' text.

Send for registration says I need more phone credit

The fees come out of your phone credit. Add at least the amount shown on the Business phone page, then send again.

Open Privacy and terms (sign-in required)

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