Learn when, why, and how to include opt-out messaging in your text campaigns so you can stay 10DLC-compliant and keep your campaigns running.
NOTE:
We will be appending opt-out language to all necessary text messages in your campaigns, for you, ASAP, so that your 10DLC registrations will not get rejected. However, you can go in and change the language to your liking at any time, as long as it complies with the requirements, which are covered in this article.
What is the text opt-out requirement?
As a 10DLC registration requirement, as per the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), the first text message in any business text campaign needs to include an opt-out option.
Source: The TCPA
What does a 10DLC-compliant opt-out option look like?
There are many ways to include an opt-out option in the first text of your campaign, as long as it meets the following requirements:
- It provides a clear and easy instruction to opt out of text messages.
- The instruction is that of texting one following designated opt-out keywords: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, QUIT, STOPALL, ARRETT, ARRET, ARRETE
**This IS an exhaustive list of official terms, you cannot use synonyms.
Note also that this is the list of keywords provided by our DCA, or direct connect aggregator. If you are not a Hatch customer, you will need to ask your Campaign Service Provider for the list of opt-out keywords from their DCA. - The opt-out keyword is in all caps in the instructions.
For example:
- Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
- Reply STOP to end messages.
- Opt out any time by replying END.
- Reply UNSUBSCRIBE to stop messages.
These are just simple examples, mainly applicable for ecommerce. Since Hatch customers primarily use text for real-time conversing with customers, we will be providing more examples later in this article that may be more applicable to this use case.
Does the customer have to use that exact word?
Yes, the customer has to respond with the exact keyword you provide to them. And it must be one of the keywords above (STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, QUIT, STOPALL, ARRETT, ARRET, ARRETE).
However, as an industry standard, regardless of which word you tell them to use, responding with "STOP" will always work. This is an FYI for you in case you find you're getting unsubscribes even when instructing with a different opt-out keyword.
Is there a deadline?
This is a requirement for getting your 10DLC registration application accepted, and we are being informed in real time that many businesses are being rejected for not having this—so the deadline is NOW.
What happens if my campaign is rejected for not having opt-out language?
If your application is rejected for this reason, we will have to resubmit your 10DLC registration application once we/you fix your campaigns, which will put you back through the process.
So the deadline is now! That is why we are taking care of it for you (see below).
Are there consequences for rejection?
Yes. If a text campaign is rejected, then your 10DLC application will be rejected. Meaning, not just that one campaign, but all of your campaigns will stop running until you get approved. And you'll have to go back through the application process which is currently taking a little over a week.
Keep in mind also that TCPA is a federal law enforced by the FCC.
Furthermore, you won’t get any sort of notification or rejection message. Your campaigns simply won’t fire and the only way you’ll know is once you start seeing a decline in your metrics.
That’s because TCR doesn’t interface directly with businesses. TCR interfaces with text Campaign Service Providers (CSP) (that's us, Hatch). That’s great because you don’t have to deal with them, but not so great in understanding what’s going on and why. It's our responsibility to make sure you understand what's going on, that your campaigns get approved and continue running smoothly, and to make this whole fiasco as hassle-free as it can be for you.
How do I add opt-out messaging to my campaigns?
Instead of asking you to manually edit every campaign, we’re going to do it for you. However, you can go in and adjust the messaging to your liking, per the examples we provide below, if you’d like.
What opt-out message are you adding to my text campaigns?
If the first text in any of your campaigns does not include an opt-out option, we will append this sentence to the end of the message:
"If you’d rather not talk over text, reply END."
We chose this statement because the typical "Reply STOP to unsubscribe" has a very ecommerce feel to it, and we don't want your customers thinking that they're opting into those types of impersonal, always-automated texts. Hatch users send a few automated texts and then converse in real time—so we wanted to use something that was more reflective of that.
Why is this happening now?
This is a requirement for 10DLC registration, which is industry-wide and not just for Hatch customers!
As of July 6, 2023 all mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc.) will restrict or altogether block texts from businesses to customers if the business’s 10-digit long code (10DLC) number is not registered with The Campaign Registry (TCR). (Hence all of our emails bugging you to get registered!)
Businesses can only get registered if they are compliant with the TCPA (Telephone Consumer Protection Act) and CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices (Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association), which are in place to ensure a pleasant, safe, and transparent consumer experience.
One such rule is that the first text message for any campaign needs to include an opt-out option.
This is also part of the FCC’s recent initiative to limit texts from illegitimate numbers which have been exploding over the past few years.
What happens if a contact is enrolled in multiple campaigns? Will they get that same opt-out messaging for the first message of each campaign they’re enrolled in?
Yes, the requirements must be on the first SMS of every campaign.
What happens if I have multiple workspaces with multiple numbers?
If a person unsubscribes from a text, it only unsubscribes them from the number/workspace associated with that text conversation. It will not remove them from campaigns associated with other numbers or workspaces. They must use the Hatch opt-out to unsubscribe from all.
Can I make the changes to the campaigns myself?
Yes! And we encourage you to do so, so that the messaging is exactly to your liking. However, we know this is a pretty big lift, and that it’s a tight deadline, so we’ll be using the appendage approach mentioned above. You can always go in to check and adjust the wording after. Once again, it must meet 10DLC compliance requirements, which are:
- It must be in the first text of every campaign.
- it must provide clear and easy instruction to opt out of text messages.
- The instruction is that of texting one following designated opt-out keywords: STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, QUIT, STOPALL, ARRETT, ARRET, ARRETE
**This IS an exhaustive list of official terms, you cannot use synonyms. - The opt-out keyword is in all caps in the instructions.
Example opt-out messages
A compliant opt-out message needs to:
- Be in the first message of every campaign
- Tell the consumer a word to reply back with if they wish to opt out.
- Use one of the following words, in all caps:
STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, CANCEL, QUIT, STOPALL, ARRETT, ARRET, ARRETE
And here are some example messages you can use:
- Reply STOP to unsubscribe.
- Reply STOP to end messages.
- Opt out any time by replying END.
- Reply UNSUBSCRIBE to stop messages.
- If you’d rather not talk over text, reply END.
- To not communicate over text, reply END. I
- If you do not wish to text with us, reply END.
Note that you can use any of the opt-out keywords listed above instead.
Additional resources
- From the FCC (Federal Communications Commission)
- The TCPA privacy section that documents the company identifier requirement (which can be found via the FDIC's Consumer Compliance Examination Manual).
- 2015 Omnibus Declaratory Ruling and Order that text messages are subject to the same TCPA restrictions as phone calls.
- FCC Fact Sheet
- FCC TCPA Summary
- From the CTIA (Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association)
- From Twilio (Direct Connect Aggregator that interfaces with the mobile networks):
- 10DLC help from Hatch (us!)
- Explanation and FAQ for 10DLC
- 10DLC Opt-Out Requirements
- 10DLC Company Identifier Requirements
- 10DLC Opt-In Requirements
- From The Campaign Registry (the third party that registers 10DLC numbers)
What is Twilio?
In order for your texts to get from your business to your customers, you need a campaign service provider (CSP) and that CSP needs a direct connect aggregator (DCA), which interfaces directly with the mobile network operators (MNOs).
Your CSP is Hatch, our DCA is Twilio, and he MNOs are AT&T, Verizon, etc. See the image below.
