What's New

SCR 9.4

The Short Code Registry is making three primary updates on October 15:

  1. Adding new data fields to enhance the vetting of common short code lessees (“CSC Registrants”), Content Providers, and Brand Clients
  2. Defining and adding conditions for the leasing and assignment of Parked Codes
  3. Defining and adding conditions for the leasing of Demo Codes.  

 

New Data Fields for Brand Client:

  • Organization Legal Name
  • Organization Legal Entity Type
  • Organization URL
  • Organization FEIN
  • Organization Country of Registration
  • Organization Physical Location Address
  • Point of Contact Name
  • Point of Contact Email
  • Point of Contact Phone Number

 

New Data Fields for Content Provider: 

  • Organization URL
  • Organization FEIN

 

Why is it changing?

The Short Code Registry has been a trusted messaging channel for over twenty years. The updates to the Short Code Registry are designed to further protect consumers, and promote greater transparency through enhanced vetting and monitoring, which will ultimately benefit all messaging stakeholders.

 

What are the key dates associated with the changes?

On October 15, 2024, the Short Code Registry will be updated to include the additional required fields for CSC Registrants and Brand Clients, as well as with the requirements for Parked Codes and Demo Codes. To help CSC Registrants comply with the Short Code Registry changes, only codes that are newly leased or manually renewed on or after October 15, 2024, will be immediately required to provide the additional fields as part of those processes. 

 

Existing codes that auto-renew will be subject to changes beginning on January 15, 2025. Thirty calendar days prior to the existing leased code’s auto-renewal date, the Short Code Registry will send an email to the CSC Registrant notifying them of the auto-renewal date, as well as the requirement to provide the required fields for the short code (e.g., new fields for Brand Client and Content Provider).  The Short Code Registry will begin sending the auto-renewal reminder emails out to CSC Registrants in mid-December 2024.  CSC Registrants and their Brand Clients will have a sixty (60) calendar day period after the auto-renewal date of the code to provide the requisite fields. Those codes that are not updated with the requisite information within this timeframe will be subject to compliance enforcement and may be suspended or terminated.

 

Between the dates of October 15, 2024, and January 15, 2025, the registry offers a Grace Period for lessees to update their Brand Client Libraries and allocate Brand Client information to individual short codes. Bulk upload options are available to help expedite data entry. Please contact the Service Desk (866-623-2272 or support@usshortcodes.com) for additional information.

 

Registrants, Carrier Registrants, and Carriers:

  • Public email domains such as Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo, YouMail, and Outlook are no longer considered valid email domains. If you have an account with these emails, customer service personnel will work with you to guide you through the process of changing them. 
  • CSC Registrants must provide the Content Provider's FEIN and URL for new short code leases and manual renewals.
  • CSC Registrants can list all the Brand Subsidiaries and Legal Affiliates that will use the short code for messaging.
  • Parked Codes: 
    Parked Codes are codes that are leased but the CSC Registrant has not identified an associated Brand Client. Parked Codes are not active.  Beginning on October 15, 2024, CSC Registrants will be required to indicate whether the code that they are leasing does not yet have an identified or successfully vetted Brand Client by indicating that the code is “Parked” during the registration process.  Parked Codes will be subject to enhanced monitoring to ensure compliance.
    • Parked Short Code Restrictions include:
      • Opting a Parked short code into auto-renew or monthly billing is not allowed for new short code leases, manual renewals, and payment of multiple invoices.
      • When ordering new short code(s), the lease term for the Parked code is limited to a 3-month or 6-month lease.
      • On manual renewal of a Parked code that is originally leased as Parked and being renewed as Parked, the lease term is limited to 3 months. 
      • Parked short codes cannot be bulk renewed.
      • If an existing, active short code is changed to Parked,  you will have up to a one time 6-month lease or two 3-month leases to keep that code as Parked.
        Note that you will need assistance from the Service Desk to make this change. 
  • Demo Codes: 
    Demo Codes are codes that may only be used for marketing, promotional, or testing purposes.  Demo Codes cannot be assigned a Brand Client and will be subject to enhanced monitoring to ensure compliance.  Beginning on October 15, 2024, CSC Registrants will be required to indicate whether the code that they are leasing is intended use as a Demo code. 
  • Vet Results: 
    Registrants and Carriers can now view the vetting results on the My Brands > Brand List page. This helps them to update and resubmit their data if the vetting is incomplete.
  • New Reports: 
    To help you manage your Brand Client Library effectively, two new reports are provided:
    1. Brand List Report
    2. Short Code Brand Report.

Additionally, some of the existing reports have had more columns added to reflect the new data.

 

SCR 9.3

  • Enhanced Political Campaign Process – Added Functionality:
    The process for approving a short code for use with political campaigns has been improved with more robust communication regarding the status of the political campaign approval, including explicit approval status.

  • General:

    Registry Data Fields – the following terminology changes will be included:
    •    Aggregator is changing to Direct Connection Aggregator.
    •    Applicant is changing to CSC Registrant.
    •    Application Provider is changing to Application Service Provider.
    •    Company is changing to Organization.

  • Short Code Registry UI:
    •    On the Create Account page we are adding a notation for clarification that the Account Holder company is the CSC Registrant.
    •    On the Account Creation page and Edit Account page some new optional fields have been added: GIIN and LEI.  
    •    You can regenerate a receipt or an invoice from the Edit Application Details page.

 

SCR 9.1

  • Non-Federal Political Campaigns: You can now specify the Campaign Type as Federal, State, Local, Tribal, or Other when ordering short codes for Political Campaigns.
  • User Management - Delete User: Administrators can now delete a user whose account creation has been pending for an extended period by clicking the Delete User link for that user from the User Management page.
  • Bulk Renew/Renew Selected Short Codes: You can now choose to Pay Later when you renew more than one short code from the My Short Codes > Needs Action tab. Note that If you choose Pay Later for the renewal, each short code for renewal will be billed as a separate order.
  • Email Categories: Short Codes have better-defined email categories which are:
    • Account updates
    • Invoices and outstanding payments
    • Lease updates, cancellations, and opt-outs
    • New order applications
    • Receipts and statements
    • Reminders and auto-renew notifications
    • Short code transfers

 

SCR 8.3

Linked Accounts - A New Feature:

  • The Short Code Registry now supports a relationship between accounts in which one account can grant another the authority to manage their Short Code Registry account.
  • Customer Support activates the Linked Accounts feature on the managing account, and with proper permission can link existing accounts to the managing account.
  • Note that if the Linked Accounts feature is not enabled for your account, you will not see the new Linked Accounts navigation.
  • Administrator users on the managing account can access and manage the Short Code Registry account of the linked account (including leasing and renewing short codes and paying invoices).
  • Administrator users on the managing account can also create new accounts that will be automatically linked to the managing account.

Transfer Report:

  • A new column, "Paid Through Date", has been added to the Transfer Report.

Payment Summary Report:

  • Registrants can now include unpaid invoices when downloading the Payment Summary Report.

Registrant API:
The SCR Registrant API now supports leasing a Random Short Code via Lease a Code after doing Find a Code.

 

SCR 8.2

Short Code Registry Website: www.usshortcodes.com

  • A fresh, new look, enhanced navigation, and newly improved UX
  • Easier to view and consume content, review your partner profile page, and engage with your content
  • Streamlines the process to select and lease short codes
  • Enhanced shopping cart and check out process: cart now displays pricing and the type of code you selected
  • Upgraded the Content Management System which offers better security, options, and functionality

 

 

SCR 8.1

  • Bulk Renewal Functionality Relocation: The My Short Codes -> Bulk Renew screen has been removed from the UI and its functionality has been incorporated into the My Short Codes -> Needs Action screen. Leaseholders can renew multiple short code leases (bulk renew) from the My Short Codes -> Needs Action screen by selecting the short codes for renewal and clicking the Renew Selected Short Codes button.
  • Edit Billing Details: Leaseholders can edit the billing contact information for any short code lease or order on the My Short Codes -> Short Code List screen by expanding the short code and clicking the Edit Billing Details link.
  • Multiple Invoice Payment: Leaseholders can pay multiple invoices from the Billing -> Needs Payment screen by selecting the orders for payment and clicking the Pay for Selected Orders button.
  • Pay with Credit for Multiple Invoices Payment: Leaseholders can utilize account credit as a payment option when paying multiple invoices.
  • Removed MB Lease Transfer End of Month Restriction: The restriction to complete a transfer of a short code that is billed monthly during the last 7 days of the month has been lifted.
  • Remove PO Number from Invoice: The Purchase Order Number can be removed from a pending payment invoice via the Invoice screen.
  • Self-Cancel Short Code: Leaseholders can cancel a short code lease from the My Short Codes -> Short Code List screen by expanding the short code and clicking the Cancel Short Code button.
  • View Monthly Billing Enrollment Statement for Opted-out Short Codes: Leaseholders can view the monthly billing enrollment statement for short codes that were opted-out of monthly billing on the Short Codes -> Short Code List screen by expanding the short code and clicking the View Monthly Billing Statement link.

 

SCR 8.0

  • Monthly Billing Opt-Out: Leaseholders can now remove a short code from monthly billing via the My Short Codes -> Short Code List screen
    • Additionally, the leaseholder now has the option to cancel the short code lease as part of the monthly billing opt out process
  • Multiple Invoice Payment: Leaseholders can now pay multiple invoices at a time having up to a maximum of 20 short codes using Credit Card or ACH payment methods via the Billing-> Needs Payment screen

 

SCR 7.4

  • Supplement credit on account payments with an ACH payment when the total amount due is greater than the available credit on account
    • Pay Now with Credit plus ACH: Leaseholders can use credit on account with an ACH payment method when using the Pay Now option for short code applications or renewals
    • Pay Later with Credit plus ACH:  Leaseholders can use credit on account with an ACH payment method when using the Pay Later option for short code leases previously created in addition to making a payment on a monthly invoice.
  • Renew Multiple Short Codes (Bulk Renew) using Credit on Account: Leaseholders can use credit on account, credit on account plus a credit card, and credit on account plus an ACH payment method when renewing multiple short code leases.

 

SCR 7.3

  • ACH: Introduced support for the Registry to debit Automated Clearing House (ACH) accounts as an online payment method for purchasing and renewing short codes
    • ACH accounts can be added, edited, or removed, and can be designated as the default payment method via the My Account -> Payment Method screen
    • ACH accounts can be used as the payment method on a Pay Now, Pay Later (i.e., invoice payments, including Monthly invoices), and Bulk Renew orders
    • A new ACH account can be specified as payment method as part of the checkout process via the Checkout->Payment screen and can be stored as a payment method as well as set as the default payment on the account for later use
    • If an ACH account is set as the default payment method, it will be used to pay for short codes that are auto-renewed as well as the monthly invoices that are auto-paid
  • Pay Now with Credit: Leaseholders can use credit on account (i.e., credit memos and unapplied payments) when using the Pay Now option for short code applications or renewals
  • Payment Summary Report: Added additional columns to the report to indicate the promotional discount code and discount amount applied to a short code lease

 

SCR 7.2

  • Pay with Credit: Leaseholders can use credit on account (i.e., credit memos and unapplied payments) to pay for invoices.
  • General Report Improvements: Added additional columns to various leaseholder reports and modified column formats to support improved sorting/filtering
  • Improved table usability (Locking table headers and scrollable rows)

 

SCR 7.1

  • Added "Find a Memorable Short Code" functionality to the Cart tab of the Checkout pages for new short code lease orders
  • Added Organization Name field to the contacts stored in the Address Book
  • Enhanced the Short Code List Report to include the applicant, billing, and content provider email addresses on existing leases, as well as any discounts applied to the lease

 

SCR 7.0

The Short Code Registry just got better with new features and functionality that deliver a modern, intuitive and seamless user experience.  From finding and leasing a new short code all the way through existing order management, the application refresh had one goal in mind: simplify the short code lease and management processes for all lessees.
Key features include:

  • Improved user interface for finding and leasing new short codes and renewing existing ones
  • Self-management of users and payment methods
  • Reduced campaign data collection requirements
  • Redesigned worklists that enhance:
    • Lease and order management
    • Search, filter and sort capabilities
    • Ability to access and review pertinent lease and order information, including those that require action
    • Transfer capabilities and status visibility