SMS Consent
SMS consent records prove that a phone number's owner agreed to receive texts from you. US carriers require this proof for application-to-person messaging (A2P 10DLC), so Autessa keeps a per-company consent registry: before your agents message a number, that number needs an approved consent record.
What it's for
Carriers filter and can block business SMS traffic that lacks documented opt-in. The consent registry keeps your phone-number messaging compliant:
- Inbound-first conversations are automatic. When someone texts your number first, a user-initiated consent record is created and auto-approved on the spot — nothing to do. A text from them within the last year is enough for your agents, or your team replying from the shared inbox, to text them.
- Outbound-first messaging needs an approved record. If you want agents to text people who haven't texted you, submit consent documentation for each number and wait for approval. Until then, texts to that number are refused with a plain-language reason.
- Opt-outs are enforced. A recipient texting STOP flips their record to opted-out, and opted-out numbers are never texted; START re-subscribes them. HELP gets the help reply from your registration. These keywords are handled automatically.
Consent decides who you can text. Your company also needs a Text Messaging registration so carriers deliver your texts at all — the two are separate, and a text needs both.
Navigating here
From the dashboard sidebar, open Agentic Workflows → SMS Consent. The page has two panels: Submit Consent to add a phone number, and a search to check any number's current status.
Key concepts
Consent methods
Every record declares how consent was collected:
| Method | Meaning | Approval |
|---|---|---|
| User Initiated | The person texted your number first | Auto-approved |
| Web Form | Consent given via a form on your website | Admin review |
| Verbal | Spoken consent — a recording is required | Admin review |
| Written | Written consent — documentation is required | Admin review |
| Other | Any other collection method | Admin review |
What a record holds
A consent record stores the phone number (E.164 format, e.g. +14155551234; stored encrypted and displayed masked), the consent method, a description of how consent was collected, an optional evidence file, and links to the terms of service and privacy policy the person agreed to. Stronger documentation means faster approval — for Verbal and Written methods, evidence is expected.
The review lifecycle
Submitted records start unapproved and go to platform review. An approved record lets your agents start texts to the number; a rejected one comes back with feedback explaining what was missing. Resubmitting for the same number updates the existing record and resets it to pending review. Opt-out status is independent of approval — an approved number that texted STOP stays off-limits until it texts START.
How to submit a consent record
- On the SMS Consent page, open Submit Consent.
- Enter the phone number in E.164 format and pick the consent method.
- Describe how consent was collected, and attach evidence if you have it — PNG, JPG, JPEG, or PDF up to 10 MB (a screenshot of the signup form, the signed document, etc.). The file uploads directly to secure storage.
- Add your terms-of-service and privacy-policy URLs, then submit. User-initiated records are approved immediately; everything else enters review.
How to check a number's status
- Enter the number in the search panel (E.164 format) and search.
- The result shows whether a record exists, its approval state, opt-out state, consent method, and — for rejected records — the reviewer's feedback, with a one-click resubmit that pre-fills the form.
Checking and creating consent records is also available programmatically, so your signup flow can register web-form consent the moment a customer opts in — see the SMS Consent Poweruser API.