Toll-free numbers are ten-digit phone numbers with an area code like 833, 844, or 855. Access to these numbers is limited through a registration process that can take between 3-5 business days to complete. Read more about what toll-free is here, or read on to learn how to register.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

How do I register for toll-free?

To register for toll-free, you’ll submit a form embedded in Spoke. Account Owners can access this form on the Compliance page. 


 

Image above: Account Owners can access the form to register for toll-free on the Compliance page.

If you have multiple Spoke subaccounts, please submit a registration from the Compliance page of the subaccount you are registering.



After you submit the registration, you should receive an email confirmation from Jotform. Keep in mind that the Compliance page itself will not update. 


Once your registration has been approved, the Compliance page will reflect that you are all set to text on toll-free.


Image above: Screenshot of the message shown on the Compliance page when toll-free registration has been completed successfully.

What are the registration requirements?

Registration involves sharing information about your organization so that its identity can be vetted. Here’s what you’ll need to submit.


Requirements overview

Legal Organization Name

The name of your organization as it appears on your tax forms. If you are texting under a different name, include the "doing business as" name alongside the legal organization name, i.e. "Scale to Win LLC (DBA: Scale to Win)"

Organization Address

The address of your organization as it appears on your tax forms. 

Contact Information

It's important to submit the contact information for a person working directly at the organization. The vetting process will include looking at the domain of the email address to see if it roughly matches the domain of the website. This person will not be contacted.


If you are submitting on behalf of another organization, and prefer to be the primary point of contact, you can enter your contact information into the primary contact fields in addition to the organization contact information. When the registration is complete, you will be informed instead of the organization contact.

Website with privacy policy

You must submit a working website to register for toll-free. This website can be as simple as a Google Form or ActBlue page, but it must be connected to your organization.


Additionally, the carriers expect to see a privacy policy specific to your organization on the website. So if you use ActBlue as your primary website, you'll still want to link to your own organization's privacy policy on the page.

Opt-in page

You must submit a webform meeting carrier requirements for collecting phone numbers and opt-in consent. This form can be on your website or it can be a separate form. If you don't have a privacy policy on your website, it should be on this form.


Opt-in forms must have the following elements (scroll down for more details): 

1) an optional mobile phone field, 

2) an unchecked checkbox where users can affirmatively sign up for messaging, 

3) SMS terms and conditions that include the name of the sender, the numerical frequency in which users can expect to receive messages stated as a discreet integer, stop and help instructions, and a message data rates disclosure, 

4) a privacy statement in which it is clearly stated that text messaging opt-in data and consent will not be shared, rented, or sold.

Use Case

Brief description of your messaging. Examples include political organizing, fundraising, advocacy, membership updates, and event planning.

Sample Scripts

Provide a short example of a message that reasonably encapsulates your use case. The message must include sender identification that matches your organization name, as well as opt-out instructions. For example,


"Hi {firstName}! Just texting to remind you of the important election today. Based on the best publicly available info from election officials, if you're still in the {zip} zip code, you can vote at Jon Jay High School from 7 am-7 pm. I'm with Scale to Win [sender ID], reply with questions or stop to opt-out [opt-out instructions]. Have you voted already?"


Let's walk through the specific requirements for web presence and opt-in. 


Website, complete with a privacy policy

You must submit a website that is active and publicly accessible. The website can be Facebook page, a Google Form, or an ActBlue page, but it must be for the organization you are registering. You can read more about best practices for setting up a web presence here.


Websites are expected to have a privacy policy stating how information collected on the site is used. 


What is a privacy policy?

A privacy policy is a document that outlines how your website processes the information of its visitors. Here is an example: https://scaletowin.com/privacy-policy/. Note what's made clear at the start: "We do not sell, rent or share your information."


The privacy policy must be specific to your organization - it cannot be a third-party privacy policy, such as the privacy policy for Mobilize or ActBlue. It must make clear that phone numbers collected with consent to be texted will not be shared, rented, or sold with third parties, except where necessary to fulfill a service or for legal reasons.


Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, provided that the foregoing does not apply to sharing (1) with vendors, consultants and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work on our behalf (and who will not use such information for their own purposes); (2) if we believe disclosure is required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation or to comply with law enforcement or legal process.



Your privacy policy cannot state that mobile opt-in data is shared with other organizations, like-minded campaigns, or affiliates. If there is language stating that phone number data is shared with other groups for their own purposes in your privacy policy, your registration will be blocked. 


This includes language like, “We may share information about you with organizations, candidates, campaigns, groups, or causes that we believe have similar political viewpoints, principles, or objectives or share similar goals and with organizations that facilitate communications and information sharing among such groups”.


Mobile opt-in page

You will also need to provide a link to an organization-specific page for collecting phone numbers and the consent to text those phone numbers. Carrier requirements for this page are quite strict. 


Your form must include:

  • An optional field for users to enter their cell phone number. This field cannot be required or asterisked.

  • An optional, unchecked checkbox for users to affirmatively consent to receiving texts.

  • A "call to action" statement explaining to the user what they are doing by entering their number and checking the box, and what messaging they can expect to receive from your organization. It must include: 

    • an explanation of what the user is doing, i.e. "By entering your phone number and checking this box you are agreeing to receive ..."

    • a quick description of the messaging you'll be sending, i.e. "... voting reminders and donation requests ...", "text messages"

    • your sender name, i.e. "... from Scale to Win."

    • the max amount of texts the user can expect to receive in a discrete period (as a countable number of messages per day, week, or month), i.e. "You can expect to receive no more than 1 message per day."

    • a messaging and data rates disclosure, i.e. "Message and data rates may apply."

    • a line about how to get support, i.e. "Text HELP for help."

    • opt-out instructions, i.e. "Text STOP to opt-out."


By entering your phone number and selecting this checkbox you are agreeing to receive up to 1 text message per day from [ORGANIZATION]. Message and data rates may apply. Text HELP for more information. Text STOP to stop receiving messages.



The opt-in page can exist on your website or be a separate form (NGP, ActionNetwork, Jotform, Google Form). Here's an example.


Please note that Mobilize pages will not work as opt-in pages because the privacy policy applying to phone number collection on those pages is from Mobilize, not your organization. ActBlue pages can only work if you include the above elements and link to your organization privacy policy in the call to action; having seen a number of rejections, we advise against using ActBlue pages as opt-in pages.



Example of a mobile opt-in page that has an optional phone number field, an unchecked checkbox, a call to action including a description of what the user is doing, a sentence describing the frequency in which users can expect to receive text messages, a message and data rates disclosure, and help/opt-out instructions.

How long will it take to get approved?

Registrations currently take around 3-5 business days to be approved, but can take up to 5-7 business days to be approved in higher-volume periods. If there are issues with the registration, we will reach out to the primary contact by email.

When should I register?

To start texting on registered toll-free, you’ll want to submit a registration in advance of when you’ll need to use the toll-free numbers.

 

If you prefer to only text with 10DLC, then you do not need to register for toll-free.


Note: Registration has been a requirement since May 15, 2022. Without prior registration, toll-free numbers are subject to heavy carrier filtering. The perks of registration include the ability to appeal filtering and great deliverability, particularly for messages containing links.