External Vetting Overview
External vetting is a process where a brand is validated through TCR's (The Campaign Registry) third-party partners to gain access to special use cases, improve quality of service, or pass verification. External vetting can either be imported or processed from the Telco Portal. Once a brand has been externally vetted, the campaigns associated with that brand can be resubmitted to the Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to update the carrier terms, via the Telco portal.
External vetting cannot be used to increase the throughput of campaigns registered under the Low Volume Mixed (LVM) use case. This is because LVM campaigns are associated with a fixed minimum throughput that remains unchanged regardless of the vetting score obtained through the external vetting process.
If a campaign has already been registered with the Low Volume Mixed (LVM) use case and customers need to increase throughput, the only option to potentially achieve higher throughput is to register a new campaign with a different use case.
Two options for re-registering a campaign to potentially achieve higher throughput:
Dedicated Use Cases: If the campaign is eligible and aligns with a specific use case, such as “Customer Care,” it can be registered under this use case. Dedicated use cases often have higher throughput than the LVM use case.
Mixed Use Case: Alternatively, the campaign can be registered under a mixed use case, which allows for a combination of traffic types.
Re-registering the campaign under a different use case allows it to be externally vetted.
It's important to note that while external vetting can potentially lead to increased throughput, this is not guaranteed, and the carriers determine the exact throughput limits. Different carriers may have different vetting score systems and throughput limitations.
Some key factors that can influence the outcome of the vetting process and subsequent throughput increases:
Brand Reputation: The overall reputation of the brand or business. A positive reputation can lead to a higher trust score.
Vetting Score: The score assigned during the external vetting process. This score is based on the legitimacy of the business, the nature of the messages, and other factors. A higher vetting score can potentially result in a higher throughput.
Compliance with Regulations: If the brand and its campaigns adhere to the relevant regulations, this can positively influence the trust score and potentially lead to a higher throughput.
Carrier Discretion: Ultimately, the carriers have discretion over the throughput limits and can adjust them based on their assessment of the campaign's trustworthiness and compliance.
Available External Vetting Types and Entities
Standard Vet
Standard vets are optional and are used to potentially gain access to higher throughput levels. A Standard vet is an automated review of compliance history, employee count, etc. Once completed, a 0-100 score will be provided which will determine your throughput level for some carriers.
NOTE: Vetting scores will automatically be applied to any campaign registered after the vet was completed. To affect campaigns that were registered before the vet was completed, you will need to resubmit the campaigns by using the Resubmit Campaign action.
Standard vetting tokens/IDs can be used multiple times for the same brand. For example, if a brand is registered and vetted by one CSP, and then goes to register via another CSP, they can use their previous standard vetting token and import it into their new brand registration.
If a brand is registered multiple times by the same CSP, the CSP only needs to apply for a standard vet for one of the instances. After the standard vet is complete, the CSP should then import the vetting token into the remaining instances of the brand. This ensures that all instances of the brand will receive the same messaging throughput. If this is not done, the vetting score will not apply to all instances of the brand.
Enhanced Vet
Enhanced Vets are optional and are typically requested if a user is unsatisfied with their Standard Vet score. If you have already submitted a Standard vet appeal and believe a more thorough review would yield a higher score, you can order an Enhanced vet. An Enhanced Vet is a manual process that looks deeper into history, lawsuits, employee count, etc of the Brand. An Enhanced Vet will also provide a score from 0-100 in addition to a detailed report you may download with the findings.
NOTE: If a brand receives a score of 75 or above on a Standard Vet/Standard Vetting appeal, an Enhanced Vet will not grant higher throughput terms. A score of 75 or above grants a brand the highest throughput terms.
Enhanced vetting tokens can be used multiple times.
Political Vet
Only verified Non-Profit brands that have a 501 (c)(3/4/5/6) Tax Exempt status will have the Political use case immediately available. A Political Vet is required for non-profit brands without a 501(c)(3/4/5/6) Tax Exempt Status that want to utilize the Political special use case.
For Non-Profit organizations automatically identified with (501(c)(3/4/5/6)) Tax Exempt:
They are granted access to the "Political use case" immediately, without the need for additional vetting.
They can utilize this use case, and their messaging is given a class designation by AT&T (K class).
They will not be allowed to request or import a Political Vet from any vendor.
For Non-Profit organizations not identified as (501(c)(3/4/5/6)) Tax Exempt:
They will have the option to import a Campaign Verify token.
Campaign Verify charges a one-time fee of $95 for this verification service. The brand will need to pay this fee to Campaign Verify.
Campaign Verify is a third-party organization that creates Authorization Tokens. This token signals to The Campaign Registry, wireless carriers, and service providers that the brand has been verified for political use by Campaign Verify. Political brands must complete this process, as it ensures that their political brand is authorized and verified. This minimizes any potential issues with compliance and allows their campaign to be processed efficiently by carriers and service providers.
To learn how to obtain a Campaign Verify token, you may visit their website: https://www.campaignverify.org.
Political vetting tokens are single use only. If a second token is needed, the brand can ask Campaign Verify to issue a second token for the brand.
To Apply for Brand External Vetting:
To request a Brand External Vetting, you may open a ticket with our 10DLC team.
Importing External Vetting Record
If a brand has been externally vetted by a different CSP, and the same brand is also registered with Flowroute, the external vetting token from the other CSP can be utilized. Simply open a ticket with the Token ID and we'll manage the process of importing it into your brand in Flowroute.
Possible Statuses of a Vet Initiated Through TCR
PENDING/UNSCORE: Not enough information has been submitted for the vet to be automatically complete. A manual review will follow.
REVIEW: The vet is under manual review for possible matches to external sources.
ACTIVE: The vet has been successfully carried out; the result is displayed.
FAIL: The vet has failed with the submitted information. A new vet can be initiated after Brand details have been updated, or an appeal can be submitted.
Appeal Types
1 - Identity Status Appeal
If your brand is Unverified but you are certain that the information provided was 100% accurate, you can appeal the Identity Status.
Please note if you have updated the Legal Company Name, Entity Type, Tax Number/ID/EIN, or Tax Number/ID/EIN Issuing Country that you will not be able to complete an Identity Status Appeal - the correct path is to Resubmit the Brand for verification first then Appeal if needed.
Appeal Requirements
Appeals are only allowed on a Brand/Identity Status with the following Identity Statuses:
Identity Status: UNVERIFIED
Private Company, Publicly Traded Company, Non-Profit Organization, and Government Entity Types may appeal
Identity Status: VERIFIED
Non-Profit Organization and Government Entity Types may appeal
Identity Status: VETTED_VERIFIED cannot be appealed for any Entity Type (this would require a Standard Vet Appeal instead if able)
Identity Status/Brand appeals will not be allowed if any of the following Brand information has been updated:
Legal Company Name
Entity Type
Tax Number/ID/EIN
Tax Number/ID/EIN Issuing Country
Appeals are allowed within 45 calendar days of brand creation
Once the appeal is submitted, no further updates to the appeal request will be accepted
Once the appeal is submitted, no further updates to the Brand will be accepted until the appeal is complete
File Uploads:
Total of 10 files (evidence) may be attached to each appeal request
Individual file size limit of 10MB
Total file size limit of 30MB per appeal request
File types allowed to be attached with appeal requests: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, .raw, .tiff, .pdf, .docx, .htm, .odt, .rtf, .txt, .xml
Appeal Categories
Verify Tax ID: Use this reason if the record was UNVERIFIED because the tax ID could not be matched
Verify Non-Profit Status/Subsection: Select this category if the record submitted as a Non-Profit entity type is UNVERIFIED or VERIFIED and is missing a “Tax Exempt Status”
Verify Government Status: Select this category if the record submitted as a Government entity type is UNVERIFIED or VERIFIED and is missing a “Government Entity” status
Below is a list of Entity Types with their applicable appeal categories:
Publicly Traded Company: Verify Tax ID
Private Company: Verify Tax ID
Non-Profit Organization: Verify Tax ID, Verify Non-Profit Status/Subsection
Government: Verify Tax ID, Verify Government Status
2 - Standard Vetting Appeal
If a Standard vet failed, or if you believe there was an error in the vet score that was returned, you can use the Standard Vetting Appeal.
Appeal Requirements
Appeals are allowed for vets created within 45 calendar days
Appeals are only allowed for the latest vets for each vendor
Appeals are only allowed on a Standard Vet in a final state (COMPLETE/FAIL), not a temporary state (PENDING)
Once the appeal is submitted, no further updates to the appeal request will be accepted
Once the appeal is submitted, no further updates to the Brand will be accepted until the appeal is complete
Re-appeal is allowed on the vets only after the previous appeal completion
Total of 10 files (evidence) may be attached to each appeal request
Individual file size limit of 10MB
Total file size limit of 30MB per appeal request
File types allowed to be attached with appeal requests: .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, .raw, .tiff, .pdf, .docx, .htm, .odt, .rtf, .txt, .xml
Appeal Categories
Verify Tax ID: Use this reason if the record was FAILED because the tax ID could not be matched
Verify Non-Profit Status/Subsection: Use this reason if a record submitted as a Non-Profit entity type received a low score because the Non-Profit status or subsection code could not be verified
Verify Government Status: Use this reason if a record submitted as a Government entity type received a low score because the Government status could not be verified
Low Score: Use this reason if the CSP or Brand believes the vetting score is too low based on the Brand’s characteristics, including size, years in business, business reputation, financial history, civil and criminal legal history, regulatory history, official registration and standing, and business messaging integrity record.
Below is a list of Entity Types with their applicable appeal categories:
Publicly Traded Company: Verify tax ID, Low Score
Private Company: Verify tax ID, Low Score
Non-Profit Organization: Verify tax ID, Verify Non-Profit status/subsection, Low Score
Government: Verify tax ID, Verify Government Status, Low Score
Appeal Process
If the brand is Unverified, you may request the 10DLC Team to appeal the brand if you are sure the information submitted is correct. Be sure to provide supporting documents such as the EIN letter.
You can refer to the 10DLC Registration Fees and Non-Compliance Fines document for the cost of the External vetting and Appeals.