The terms must describe the programme
The requirementstatement
The SMS terms must carry a description of the programme — what the messages are about.
- Severityseverity
- BlockingBLOCKINGBreaking this rule gets the submission rejected. There is no partial credit.
- When it bitesphase
- Gates approvalapprovalGet this wrong and the brand or campaign is refused at registration.
- What is checkedobject
- SMS terms body
- Where it liveslayer
- Policy pagesPOLICY_PAGE
- How Ekas settles itdetectability
- AI · crawlCRAWL
- Needs your live site or policy page fetched and read. Ekas crawls it the way a reviewer would.
- What the fix involvesfailureClass
- Fix the policyTERMINAL_POLICY
- The fix lives in your privacy policy or SMS terms. Ekas can generate the missing clauses.
- Who requires itauthorities
- CTIATelnyxSinchAWSTCRBandwidthAerialink
- When it appliesapplicabilityText
- Applies to every 10DLC registration.
Why this rule existsrationale
Every other element in the terms is a parameter of a programme the reader has to already understand, so without the description the frequency, the rates and the keywords are attached to nothing. It is the single element most consistently required across providers, and the easiest to leave out because the author knows what the programme is.
How to fix itremediation
Open the terms with a sentence or two naming the programme and saying what it sends and to whom. Done when a stranger reading only the first paragraph knows what they would receive.
A compliant exampleexample
Acme Coffee Rewards is a text messaging programme for Acme Coffee customers. We send promotional offers, seasonal sale notifications and rewards balance updates.
Provider rejection codescodes
The code you get back when this rule is what failed, and whether that provider lets you resubmit.
| Provider | Code | Resubmit |
|---|---|---|
| Twiliogen1 | 30886 | Yes |
Notesnotes
The research's own validator uses a floor of roughly fifteen words for the description, which is a useful sanity check rather than a published threshold.
Rules you will hit next
6 other rules read SMS terms body. Fixing one field to satisfy a single rule is how a resubmission trades one rejection for another, so read these before you change anything.
POL-175The terms must carry opt-out informationBlockingBLOCKINGPOL-110A cart-reminder programme must be reflected in the termsHighHIGHPOL-151The SMS terms must be about the messaging programmeHighHIGHPOL-189The terms must distinguish transactional from promotional messagesHighHIGHPOL-191The terms must say the opt-in applies to this programme onlyHighHIGHPOL-192A sweepstakes campaign needs its sweepstakes terms in the T&CHighHIGH
POL-171 is one of 157 policy pages rules in the 915-rule 10DLC registry. Free to cite under CC BY 4.0.