Before CoolFocus can turn on text messaging for your organization, carriers require an approval process called A2P / 10DLC (Application-to-Person messaging on 10-digit long code numbers that businesses use to send SMS/MMS in the United States).

US mobile carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, and others) use this process to tell legitimate business texts apart from spam and to filter or throttle unregistered traffic. When setup reopens, CoolFocus walks you through registration from Settings → Phone, using the Set up texting button on that page. There is no separate Compliance section to navigate to — the older Compliance pages were retired when registration moved into the guided setup.

Goal of this article: help you submit a packet that The Campaign Registry (TCR) can approve on the first pass — especially your Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions, and client texting consents.

CoolFocus doesn't give legal advice. If you use the CoolFocus pages, read them before you continue. If you write your own, have leadership or counsel approve them. Regulators look for clear concepts, not one magic sentence. The requirements below follow carrier rules and our texting provider's guidance.

When you apply for texting, our texting provider and the carriers use these three items to confirm your organization is legitimate and that people are not being spammed:

1. A public link to your Privacy Policy

2. A public link to your Terms and Conditions

3. Your Client Texting Consent Form (or equivalent public consent proof) showing clients gave permission to receive SMS (text messages)

The easiest path is the CoolFocus pages: choose Use the CoolFocus pages (recommended) in texting setup and all three are created for you. If you'd rather use your own, build them with leadership or legal counsel using the guidelines below, then enter the live links in CoolFocus.

1. Your organization — the name clients see, your IRS legal name, tax ID, contact person, and your Privacy Policy, Terms, and consent form (the CoolFocus pages or your own)

2. Review & send — read everything, including your pages, before anything is sent

3. Your number — choose the number you'll text from

4. Approval — follow your registration until the carriers approve it

• EIN / Tax ID that matches your IRS legal name

• Your organization's website

• Privacy Policy: the CoolFocus page, or your own public page that covers texting (see below)

• Terms and Conditions: the CoolFocus page, or your own public page with SMS and carrier delivery language (see below)

• Client texting consent form: the CoolFocus form, or your own public page or Google Doc/Drive/Sheet link (see below)

• Organization-domain email for the primary contact (personal Gmail/Yahoo/Outlook is often rejected)

• Sample messages that lead with the name that clients see (for identification) and include how to opt out (STOP)

• Opt-in keywords (CoolFocus recommends START) and automatic HELP/STOP replies

Clients may know you as Pregnancy Choices, while the IRS lists you as Save a Life Inc. Carriers reject registrations when the public website name is submitted as the Legal Business Name.

In CoolFocus you will enter both:

1. Name clients see — public or DBA name used in sample texts and proof pages

2. Legal Business Name — exact name on your EIN letter or Form 990

CoolFocus only auto-fills Legal Business Name from your account’s IRS legal name field. It never copies your public/portal name into Legal Business Name. If both fields match, precheck will show a warning so that you can double-check that you did not enter the public name twice. If your organization truly has only one legal name, you can leave that warning in place after confirming federal records.

• EIN letter, determination letter, or most recent Form 990

• Board treasurer or accountant

• IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search — use the Returned Organization Name for your EIN

Every registration needs both a Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. They must meet specific requirements that protect clients and keep you compliant. Both are required for approval.

Registration requires separate public URLs (web addresses) for:

• Privacy Policy

• Terms and Conditions (sometimes labeled Terms of Service)

• Texting Consent Form (website page or public Google Doc/Drive/Sheet — see below)

Enter those links on the Your organization step, or choose the CoolFocus pages there. CoolFocus and The Campaign Registry reviewers will open the live pages. Pages must:

• Load without a login

• Be real web pages for your organization (the CoolFocus pages count), not a parked domain or someone else’s brand

• Use normal page text (not only a PDF, image, or script-only widget that precheck cannot read)

Shared document hosts (Google Doc, Dropbox, Canva) are a common first-pass failure for Privacy and Terms.

Pro tip: Consider creating text messaging–specific Privacy Policy and Terms pages (or a clear SMS section) rather than only burying a line in long main documents. Dedicated messaging language is easier for reviewers to find and easier to update when carrier rules change.

The Campaign Registry and carriers treat the Privacy Policy as required campaign evidence. A generic “we care about privacy” page is not enough.

Your Privacy Policy is checked for language that communicates that messaging consent data is not being shared, sold, or bought.

1. Disclose what data you collect and how it is used

Include mobile phone numbers and SMS/text messaging where that is how you contact people.

2. State clearly that mobile information and opt-in consent are not shared for marketing purposes

Carriers and The Campaign Registry expect to see language that mobile information and opt-in consent will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes (CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices).

3. Cover how people control texts

Best practice is to also state on the Privacy Policy (or link from it to Terms) that:

4. Stay public and consistent

The URL (web address) you enter in CoolFocus must match the live page. If you update the policy, republish, then check the Review & send step again.

• Put SMS language in its own short section titled something like Text messaging or SMS so that reviewers can find it quickly

• Do not say that you sell, buy, or rent mobile numbers or messaging consent for third-party marketing

• Avoid conflicting sentences nearby (for example “we may share your number with partners for their offers”)

The Review & send step specifically looks on the Privacy Policy page for mobile/SMS consent non-sharing language tied to third parties.

Your Terms page should cover SMS rules for people who opt in to receive text messages from your organization. You can keep your existing Terms structure, just add or tighten the SMS / text messaging section if it is thin.

• Organization or brand name that clients will see on texts to identify yourself as the sender

• Short organization description (who you are)

• How people opt in (intake form, website checkbox, keyword START, written consent, etc.)

• What kinds of text messages they should expect to receive (appointment reminders, care follow-up, etc. — match your real use case)

• Message frequency (for example “message frequency varies” or “up to X messages per week”) or a recurring-message disclosure

• Message and data rates may apply

• Complete opt-out instructions — reply STOP to opt out and HELP for help (display STOP and HELP in bold so they are easy to spot)

• Customer support contact (email, phone, or web contact page)

• Link or reference to your Privacy Policy

• Carrier delivery disclaimer (CoolFocus scans Terms only for this):

• Delivery is not always guaranteed (delays and failures can happen)

• Wireless/mobile carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages

Carriers approve the campaign based on how end users consent to receiving text messages from your organization. “We text clients” is not enough. You must show a verifiable opt-in process — typically a Client Texting Consent Form or equivalent public proof — and keep consent records in CoolFocus.

Messaging consent should be its own clear choice — not buried only inside long Terms, Privacy Policy, or unrelated agreements. A public Privacy Policy with the non-sharing language above is also expected as part of how you describe consent.

Your consent form / proof should include:

• Explicit SMS messaging consent

• Message frequency

• Opt-in instructions (how they agree)

• Opt-out instructions (STOP / HELP)

If possible, add a checkbox or clear acknowledgment line specifically for SMS, even on a paper or PDF form. That makes it much easier for reviewers to approve.

If your Texting Consent Form is not already a public page on your website:

1. Upload the file (Word, PDF) to Google Drive, or create a Google Doc/Sheet with the form text.

2. Open the file → Share → under General access, choose Anyone with the link → Viewer.

3. Copy the link. Open it in a private/incognito window to confirm no Google sign-in is required.

4. Paste that public link into CoolFocus on the Your organization step of texting setup (Settings → Phone → Set up texting) as Texting Consent Form URL, next to Privacy Policy and Terms.

Important: Privacy Policy and Terms should be web pages, either the CoolFocus pages or your own website, not shared documents. Shared documents are fine for a consent form you made yourself.

WayCool staff also use this consent form link when filing your registration (exact wording and how clients consent).

Reviewers want to see all of the following:

1. Explicit opt-in

The person takes a clear, intentional action: checks a box, signs a form, texts START, or completes a published consent page.

You cannot use a first unsolicited text to ask them to opt in.

2. Separate from other agreements

SMS consent should not be only “by using this website you agree to everything.” A dedicated SMS checkbox or consent statement is preferred.

3. Unchecked by default

If you use a checkbox or toggle, it should default as blank/off. Pre-checked consent is a common rejection reason.

4. Full disclosure next to the choice

Near the checkbox or on the consent page, tell people:

5. Proof reviewers can open

Provide a public consent proof URL: live web form, the CoolFocus consent form, publicly viewable screenshot/video of the intake flow, or a clear scan of your Client Texting Consent Form if that is how you collect permission. Login walls and private Google Docs often fail. Use the Google share steps above so anyone with the link can view (no sign-in).

6. Matches what you type in CoolFocus

Campaign fields must describe the same flow shown on the proof page:

The clearest proof for most centers is:

• SMS keyword + published consent proof (contact texts START and/or completes a published consent/proof page with full disclosure), or

• Intake / web form checkbox with the disclosure text next to an unchecked box, plus a public proof link, or

• Client Texting Consent Form (paper or digital) with a dedicated SMS checkbox/acknowledgment line, plus a public copy reviewers can open

Verbal permission alone is usually not enough for campaign approval unless it is followed by a signed or link-based consent you can show reviewers.

People can always reply STOP to opt out and HELP for help. CoolFocus records those keywords automatically.

These are different on purpose:

Use the log for day-to-day records. Do not treat the log as a substitute for the campaign’s published consent proof.

You may adapt language like this next to your SMS checkbox, on your consent page, or on a signed form (examples only):

Written / signed form variant:

Provide at least two sample messages that match your campaign description and real use case.

Each sample should:

• Identify your organization (name clients see)

• Sound like a real message you will send

• Include opt-out language (for example “Reply STOP to opt out”)

• Use brackets for variable pieces, such as [appointment date]

• Use real website links only if the site is live

Weak one-word campaign descriptions (for example only “Marketing”) and sample texts that do not match the description are common rejection causes.

On the Review & send step, CoolFocus checks that:

• Privacy Policy and Terms URLs (live web addresses) are present, public, and not shared-document hosts

• Privacy Policy includes SMS/mobile consent non-sharing language about third parties

• Legal pages mention opt-in/consent, STOP/opt-out, HELP, message frequency, and message and data rates

• Terms reference the Privacy Policy

• Terms include carrier delivery not guaranteed / carriers not liable language

Fix warnings before you send whenever you can. Clearing these checks does not guarantee approval, but it removes the most common first-pass failures.

1. Finish Your organization and Review & send

2. WayCool checks your details against federal records and sends your registration to the carriers

3. Choose your number on the Your number step

4. Follow the Approval step. Once you're approved, texting turns on. Text only people who have agreed to receive texts.

Timing varies. Brand review is often fast; campaign review can take multiple business days (sometimes about 10–15 days when volume is high). The carriers may ask for more information if something is unclear.

Questions while you prepare? Chat with us anytime from the Help button.

• Legal Business Name does not match IRS / EIN records

• Privacy or Terms are on a Google Doc, PDF-only file, or login-only page

• Privacy Policy missing mobile information / SMS opt-in not shared with third parties language

• Terms document is missing brand name, support contact, STOP/HELP, rates, frequency, or carrier delivery disclaimer

• Consent is only described in campaign fields with no public form or proof page

• Pre-checked SMS checkbox or consent is buried only in the Terms document

• Sample messages without your organization name or STOP

• Personal email domain is used for the contact person’s email address

• Campaign description or samples that do not match how you actually text

• Purchasing Your Text Number

• Sending Text Messages

• Understanding Text Message Delivery Warnings