What counts as valid texting consent?

Valid texting consent has to be a real choice the supporter makes. A pre-checked box isn't a choice — it's an assumption. A required box isn't a choice either — it's a toll. Either one produces consent that carriers and courts don't recognize. That's why the texting-consent checkbox on every Electbase signup form is unchecked by default and never required, with the disclosure text and the terms and privacy-policy links adjacent — and why Electbase stores a timestamp and the URL of the page where each supporter opted in, so you can prove consent if asked.

Collecting phone numbers the right way (texting consent & 10DLC)

Q: What is 10DLC?

10DLC (ten-digit long code) is the carrier registration system for organizations that send texts from regular phone numbers. Before your texting vendor can send at volume, your campaign registers: who you are, what you'll send, and — critically — where your contacts came from. That last item is the Contact Source URL: a public webpage carriers can visit and see, with their own eyes, how people opt in. Your Electbase signup page can be exactly that URL.

Q: Can I import purchased lists or voter-file phone numbers into my texting tools?

No — never import purchased lists, rented lists, or voter-file phone numbers into your texting or email tools as if those people opted in. They did not agree to hear from you, and uploading them next to your real opt-ins makes your whole account look like spam. This is the violation that gets political accounts suspended by texting platforms and email providers, and it can also create legal exposure under the TCPA. Voter-file outreach has its place — through tools and channels built for it — but keep it separate from your opt-in list.

Why the checkbox is unchecked — and optional — on purpose

On every Electbase signup form, the texting-consent checkbox is unchecked by default and never required. That's not an oversight. It's the design.

Valid texting consent has to be a real choice the supporter makes. A pre-checked box isn't a choice — it's an assumption. A required box isn't a choice either — it's a toll. Either one produces consent that carriers and courts don't recognize, which means every text sent on the back of it is a problem. So the checkbox sits empty, the supporter can submit the form without touching it, and when they do check it, you have consent that actually holds up.

Yes, fewer people opt in this way. Those are the only opt-ins worth having.

What the disclosure text means

The checkbox's own label is the disclosure. It reads:

"By checking this box, you agree to receive recurring text messages from [your committee], including campaign updates, event and volunteer invitations, and donation requests. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to opt out. See our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy."

Every phrase is on the checklist carriers use when they review a campaign's texting registration, and a missing one is a common reason for rejection:

Who is texting: your committee, by name, not a mystery sender.
What you'll send: the kinds of messages to expect.
How often: "Message frequency varies". The label also says that carrier rates may apply.
How to get help and how to stop: reply HELP, reply STOP.
Where the rules are: links to your Terms of Service and your Privacy Policy.

The two pages behind those links do their part too. While your forms offer texting consent, your Terms of Service include a Text messaging terms section, and your Privacy Policy says that mobile numbers and opt-in consent are never shared or sold for marketing. Carriers read both pages, and Electbase writes both sections for you.

Your texting vendor handles the rest of the conversation. It sends a confirmation text right after someone opts in, and it answers HELP and STOP.

If your checkbox label still begins "By providing your phone number", your site was published before this wording existed. That earlier version names no message types, gives no HELP or STOP instructions and doesn't link your terms. Publish your site again to update it, and do that before you register with a texting vendor.

Behind the scenes, Electbase also stores a timestamp, the URL of the page where each supporter opted in, and which version of the wording they saw. If your texting vendor or a carrier ever asks you to prove consent, that record is your answer.

What "10DLC" and "Contact Source URL" mean

10DLC (ten-digit long code) is the carrier registration system for organizations that send texts from regular phone numbers. Before your texting vendor can send at volume, your campaign registers: who you are, what you'll send, and — critically — where your contacts came from.

That last item is the Contact Source URL: a public webpage carriers can visit and see, with their own eyes, how people opt in. Your Electbase signup page can be exactly that URL — the compliant checkbox, the disclosure text, and the terms and privacy-policy links are already on it. When your texting vendor asks for your Contact Source URL during 10DLC registration, you point them at your page. Registration also asks for your privacy policy and terms URLs: those are your site's /privacy/ and /terms/ pages.

Campaign Verify is one more piece for political committees: a verification token that confirms to carriers you're a real registered committee. It costs $95 and is paid by the campaign. Your texting vendor will tell you when you need it.

The one rule that actually gets campaigns in trouble

Here it is: never import purchased lists, rented lists, or voter-file phone numbers into your texting or email tools as if those people opted in.

Those people did not agree to hear from you. Uploading them next to your real opt-ins doesn't make them opt-ins — it makes your whole account look like spam. This is the violation that gets political accounts suspended by texting platforms and email providers alike (it's an explicit acceptable-use violation at Mailchimp, for example — political content is fine; imported lists that never consented are not). It can also create legal exposure under the TCPA.

Voter-file outreach has its place — through tools and channels built for it. Your opt-in list is a different thing: smaller, cleaner, and yours because people asked to be on it. Keep them separate.

Quick checklist

Leave the texting checkbox exactly as Electbase ships it: unchecked, optional, disclosure adjacent.
When you sign up with a texting vendor, give them your Electbase signup page as the Contact Source URL, and your /terms/ and /privacy/ pages as the terms and privacy policy.
Budget $95 for the Campaign Verify token if you're a political committee.
Only text people who checked the box. No exceptions, no imports.

Not legal advice. Electbase publishes the Help Center as general information for campaigns. Texting rules (TCPA, carrier 10DLC requirements) are detailed and they change — for specifics on your campaign's obligations, talk to your texting vendor or campaign counsel.