Text Messaging Setup
US carriers only deliver business texts from numbers tied to a registered business. Text Messaging is where your company registers once — your business, how customers opt in, and what you'll send — so your phone numbers can text. Phone numbers are free to get and use for calls. You pay only when you turn texting on: carrier registration fees for your business, and a monthly texting fee for each number that texts.
What it's for
Any text an agent, tool, or script sends from one of your phone numbers goes out under your company's registration. Without one, carriers block the message. Registering covers three things:
- Your business — who is sending, verified against public records.
- Your campaign — what kind of messages you send, with examples, and how people agree to receive them.
- Your numbers — each number you turn on texting for is added to the registration, so it can text once the registration is approved.
Each company has one registration. It covers every number the company turns on texting for.
Navigating here
From the dashboard sidebar, open Company → Text Messaging. The page shows where your registration stands, what the carriers are waiting on, any fees, and the texting status of each of your numbers. Anyone in the company can view it; only the company owner can submit or change the registration.
Before you start
Gather these before you open the form — having them ready is the difference between a registration that goes through the first time and one that comes back for changes:
- Your legal business name exactly as it appears on your IRS records (your EIN letter), including punctuation and suffixes like "LLC" or "Inc."
- Your EIN (US employer identification number). Sole proprietors without an EIN can register differently — see Business or sole proprietor.
- A working business website that shows your business name. Reviewers visit it.
- A representative with a company-domain email address — an address at your own domain, not a free email service.
- How your customers opt in, and a public link that proves it — the web form, checkout checkbox, paper form, or conversation where people agree to receive your texts. You'll describe it and give a link carriers can open without signing in: the live sign-up page, or a screenshot, photo, or transcript of it (a Google Drive or OneDrive file shared so anyone with the link can view works). This is required for every registration.
- A public privacy policy link and a texting terms link. Both are required. The privacy policy must say that mobile numbers and texting consent are never shared with third parties for marketing; the terms must cover message frequency, "Message and data rates may apply," and STOP and HELP. The form shows what each needs and gives you text you can copy into them.
- Two to five sample messages that look like what you'll really send. Each should include your business name and opt-out wording such as "Reply STOP to opt out."
- A card on file in Billing. Registration fees are charged when you submit, and each number's monthly texting fee is charged to the same card.
Business or sole proprietor
The first choice in the form is what kind of sender you are:
| Registered business | Sole proprietor | |
|---|---|---|
| Who it's for | Companies with an EIN | Individuals without an EIN |
| How you're verified | Your business details are checked against public records | A verification text is sent to the owner's mobile phone, and the owner replies to confirm |
| Phone numbers | Any number of numbers | One number |
| Volume | Standard carrier limits | Low daily volume |
If you have an EIN, register as a business — sole-proprietor registrations are for people who genuinely don't have one, and carriers reject businesses that use them.
How to register your business
Open Company → Text Messaging and click Register. The form has five steps, and your progress is saved as a draft as you go, so you can leave and come back.
- Business — legal name, EIN, business type, website, industry, and address. Sole proprietors enter their name and mobile number instead of an EIN.
- Representative — the person carriers can contact about the registration: name, title, company-domain email, and phone number.
- Use case & samples — what kind of messages you send (appointment reminders, customer care, account notifications, marketing, and so on), a description of your program, how people opt in with your opt-in proof link, and your sample messages. Picking a use case offers a template for any fields you've left empty, and What counts as opt-in proof? shows what to link and example wording for web forms, text-in keywords, in-person or phone consent, and paper forms.
- Opt-in & keywords — the confirmation people get when they opt in, the replies people get when they text STOP, START, or HELP, and your privacy policy and texting terms links.
- Review & fees — everything you entered, the fees that apply, and the card they'll be charged to. Submit when it all looks right.
The form checks the common rejection reasons before you submit — for example, sample messages that don't mention your business name or don't include opt-out wording, or a representative email on a free email service — and points you at the field to fix.
Proving how people opt in
Carriers approve a registration only when a reviewer can see for themselves how people agree to your texts. The form asks for an opt-in proof link — a public link anyone can open without signing in — and adds it to your opt-in description. If people opt in more than one way, describe every way and link to one page or shared folder that shows each.
| How people opt in | What to link | What it must show |
|---|---|---|
| A form on your website | The live page with the form. If it's behind a login, a screenshot of it. | A phone number field; a texting consent checkbox that is unchecked and optional; your business name, what you'll text about and how often; "Msg & data rates may apply"; "Reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help"; links to your privacy policy and terms. |
| Texting your number first, or a keyword | Where your number or keyword is advertised: a web page, or a photo or screenshot of the sign, flyer, receipt or post. | The number (and keyword), your business name, what you'll text about, message frequency, "Msg & data rates may apply", STOP and HELP instructions, and where to find your policies. |
| Verbal: in store, on a call, or a phone menu (IVR) | A transcript of the exact script your staff read or your phone menu plays, posted publicly — a page on your website, or a Google Drive or OneDrive file shared so anyone with the link can view. | Where and when the script is used; the word-for-word consent question and the customer's "yes" (or key press); your business name, what you'll text about and how often; "Msg & data rates may apply"; STOP and HELP; and how you record the consent. |
| A paper form | A photo or scan of the blank form, shared publicly. | A phone number field and a separate, optional texting consent checkbox, plus the same disclosures as a web form. |
The form's What counts as opt-in proof? panel shows this guidance with example wording for each, filled in with your business details.
Privacy policy and texting terms
Both links are required, for businesses and sole proprietors alike, and both must open without signing in.
- Privacy policy — says what you collect for texting and how you use it, and states that mobile numbers and texting consent are never shared with or sold to third parties for marketing.
- Texting terms — your program name and what the texts are about, how often you text, "Message and data rates may apply", how to opt out (STOP) and get help (HELP) with a support contact, and that carriers aren't liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Your terms of service page works if it covers texting.
The form gives you text you can copy into each page. No website? Publish them as shared documents (Google Docs or OneDrive) set so anyone with the link can view; a page on your own website is the strongest option.
Registration status
After you submit, the Text Messaging page shows a timeline of where the registration is. Carriers do the reviewing, so most of this is waiting; you don't need to do anything unless the status is Action needed.
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Draft | You've started the form but haven't submitted it. |
| Submitted | Received; being sent to the carriers. |
| Business profile review | Your business details are being checked. Usually quick. |
| Brand registration | Carriers are registering your business as a sender. |
| Verification text sent | Sole proprietors only: the owner's mobile has a verification text waiting for a reply. If it didn't arrive, you can resend it. |
| Campaign review | Carriers are reviewing your use case, samples, and opt-in. This is the longest wait — often one to three weeks. |
| Ready to text | Approved. Your numbers can text. |
| Action needed | Something was rejected. The carrier's reason is shown — see Fixing a rejection. |
| Suspended | Carriers stopped the registration, usually after complaints or messages that don't match what you registered. Contact support. |
We email you when your registration is submitted, when it's approved, whenever the carriers ask for changes, and if anything on our side holds it up, so you don't have to keep checking.
You can use a number for calls while the registration is in review. Only texting waits for approval.
Fixing a rejection
When the status is Action needed, the page shows the carrier's reason word for word, and Fix and resubmit takes you straight to the part of the form it concerns. Rejections usually come down to a few things:
- The business name or EIN doesn't match IRS records exactly.
- The website doesn't load, doesn't show the business name, or doesn't describe how people opt in.
- Sample messages don't include your business name or opt-out wording, or don't match the use case you picked.
- The opt-in description doesn't explain clearly where and how people agree to receive texts, or the opt-in proof link doesn't open or doesn't show the consent wording.
- The privacy policy or terms link is missing, private, or doesn't cover texting.
Make the change and resubmit. Your other answers are kept. If resubmitting carries another carrier fee, it's shown before you confirm.
Fees
Getting a phone number and using it for calls is free, and no card is needed to buy one. Your company is charged only when you turn texting on:
- One-time registration fees when you submit your business registration: a brand registration fee and a campaign vetting fee. Carriers charge these for reviewing your business, and they're passed through.
- A small monthly campaign fee while the registration is active.
- A monthly texting fee for each number that has texting turned on.
The registration fees are shown in the Review & fees step before you submit, and each number's texting fee is shown on the number's page before you confirm. Everything is charged to your company's card on file, so add a card in Billing before you start. Registration fees pay for the carriers' review itself, so they aren't refunded if the registration is rejected. When you turn texting off for a number, its texting fee stops from the next month. Charges appear on your invoices alongside your other Autessa charges.
Getting a number that can text
A number can come from one of three places, all started from Phone Numbers → Add number. Details for each are on the Phone Numbers page.
| Source | Calls | Texting |
|---|---|---|
| Buy through Autessa | Free, immediately | When you turn texting on and your registration is approved |
| Your own Twilio account | Optional, per number | Under your own Twilio registration |
| Host your existing number | Stay with your current carrier | When your registration is approved and the carrier hands texting over |
Turning on texting for a number
Texting is off for a new number until you turn it on. Open the number from Phone Numbers and click Turn on texting. The flow walks you through whatever is still missing:
- Business registration — if your company's registration isn't approved yet, you fill in or finish the registration form first. If it's already approved, this step is skipped.
- Confirm the texting fee — the number's monthly texting fee is shown before you confirm, and a card on file is required.
- Wait for approval — the number is added to your registration. It starts texting, and its monthly fee starts, once the registration is approved. If the registration is already approved, that happens right away.
To stop, open the number and turn texting off. The number keeps working for calls, and its texting fee stops from the next month.
Once a number can text, decide who answers its texts: an AI agent, or your team from a shared inbox with optional auto-replies and keyword replies. Until you choose, texts to a number whose calls go straight to an AI agent are answered by that agent, and texts to any other number are saved to the inbox. See Texts.
Texting status of a number
The Phone Numbers list and each number's detail page show whether that number can text:
| Status | What it means |
|---|---|
| Not registered | Your company hasn't finished Text Messaging registration yet. |
| Pending | Your registration is in review. |
| Ready | The number can text. |
| Action needed | Your registration needs a fix — see Fixing a rejection. |
| Ready (your account) | The number is from your own Twilio account, and its registration there is approved. |
| Unverified (your account) | The number is from your own Twilio account, and we couldn't confirm it's registered there. Texts still send, but carriers may filter them. |
Using your own Twilio account
If you already have a Twilio account with registered numbers, you can link those numbers instead of buying new ones. Your own registration in Twilio applies — you don't need to register again in Autessa, and we don't block texts based on it; we show its status so you can spot problems.
You'll need four things from the Twilio console:
- Account SID
- API Key SID and API Key Secret — used to manage your numbers.
- Auth Token — Twilio signs the messages and calls it forwards to Autessa with your account's auth token, and that signature is how we confirm an incoming text really came from Twilio. There's no way to verify them without it.
Credentials are verified when you connect and stored encrypted. After connecting, pick which numbers to link. For each one you can turn on Enable calls to route calls to your agents as well as texts. If a number was already pointing somewhere else in Twilio, you're warned before it's changed.
Unlinking a number only disconnects it from Autessa and puts back its previous settings. It never deletes the number from your Twilio account.
Hosting your existing number
If you have a business number with another carrier and want to keep it — for example, it's printed on your signs — you can move just its texting to Autessa while calls keep ringing on your current carrier. This is Twilio's hosted texting service.
- Finish the Business step of Text Messaging registration first — hosting uses your business address.
- On Phone Numbers → Add number, choose Host my existing number. Enter the number (US or Canada, not toll-free) and a contact name, email, and title.
- Sign the Letter of Authorization. Twilio emails the contact a letter authorizing the move. Sign it from that email.
- Verify you own the number. Back in Autessa, click Call me. Twilio calls the number, and you enter the code shown on your screen on the phone's keypad. If you miss the call you can try again, up to three times.
- Wait for the carrier. Your current carrier moves texting over, usually within 1–7 business days. You can cancel any time before this step starts.
- Done. The number appears in your list with texting turned on and is added to your registration, so it can text once the registration is approved. Like any number that texts, it carries the monthly texting fee.
The request page shows which step you're on. A request that isn't finished within 30 days expires, and you can start a new one.
Consent and opt-outs
Registration lets your numbers text; consent decides who they can text. Every text is checked before it's sent:
- Replies and conversations people start — if the person texted your number within the last year, you can text them.
- Texts you start — the person needs an approved consent record on the SMS Consent page.
- Opt-outs always win — anyone who replied STOP is never texted until they reply START, whatever their consent record says.
STOP, START, and HELP replies are handled automatically using the replies you set in the Opt-in & keywords step. They're always handled first, before any agent, auto-reply, or keyword reply of your own.
A text that fails any of these checks isn't sent, and the agent or script that tried gets a plain-language reason — see the Send SMS tool.