10DLC: External Vetting

Campaign Service Providers (CSPs), such as TextOut, will apply for Vetting on behalf of a Brand through one of The Campaign Registry's (TCR) external vetting partners to gain access to Special Use cases or improve the quality of service (where applicable). External vetting can be imported or carried out on the “10DLC Brand actions” page. All Political entities must submit for vetting with Campaign Verify or Aegis Mobile (new option). TextOut requires all other Brands to submit for vetting through Aegis because unvetted Brands do not receive adequate throughput thresholds. Current TCR vetting partners are:

Aegis Mobile

Aegis Mobile, an existing TCR vetting partner for private and non-profit organizations, is now also an external vetting partner for Political Vetting (required for all 527 organizations to use the Political Use Case). Aegis Mobile is an identity verification company that returns a vetting score to TCR based on the "reputation" of a Brand. The Vetting Score of your Brand will impact the level of throughput the MNOs allow the Brand’s campaign to have. 

Aegis Mobile will

• Validate that entities are who they say they are, and
• Create vetting scores that signal to The Campaign Registry, carriers, and service providers that they have been verified

CSPs can apply for Vetting on behalf of the Brand through one of The Campaign Registry’s external vetting partners to gain access to Special Use cases (such as the political Use Case) or improve the quality of service (where applicable). External vetting can be imported or applied for through the Brand actions under your 10DLC page in your TextOut account. 

Who needs to be verified through Aegis Mobile?

Non-political entities will be vetted via Aegis Standard vetting. All Political (527 entities) now have the option to be vetted by Aegis Mobile or Campaign Verify. Non-profit entities with a 501(c)(4/5/6) status are automatically identified and provided access to the “Political” Use case, there is no need for vetting.

Political verification qualifications 

CSPs can obtain a Political Vet for their Brands directly through TCR (both via API and CSP Portal UI) by selecting Aegis Mobile as an external vetting partner. (The option to import an existing vet using a Campaign Verify token is still valid.) A vet obtained through Aegis Mobile will have the same requirements and effects as a vet obtained through Campaign Verify. 

What information do I need to provide to Aegis Mobile?

For Standard vetting, Aegis Mobile will use the information provided in your Brand application to vet your Brand. 

For Political vetting, submitted information must match the information registered with the electoral authority. EINs must match the name or submitted name (unless it’s a “sole proprietor”). Contact First Name must match an authorized name in the political registration (can’t be the aggregator’s / CSP’s contact name, for example). The address also needs to be a valid address that is deliverable by USPS. 

How do I apply for standard verification with Aegis Mobile?

You will apply for vetting during the Brand registration process to improve carrier throughput and/or unlock special use cases. Follow these steps once you’ve registered your brand.

1. Once a Brand is registered and needs StandardVetting, click "Apply for Vetting."
2. Select Vetting Type as “Standard"
3. Select Vetting Partner as "Aegis Mobile."
4. Click “ Apply.”

How do I apply for political verification with Aegis Mobile?

In order to unlock the political use case, you will apply for vetting during the Brand registration process. Follow these steps once you’ve registered your brand.

1. Once a Brand is registered and needs Political Vetting, click "Apply for Vetting."
2. Select Vetting Type as “Political"
3. Select Vetting Partner as "Aegis Mobile."
4. Enter details. Make sure this matches exactly as filed with the election authority.
5. Select PIN Preference. Depending on the delivery method, the pricing for vetting may vary. “Regular” will deliver the PIN to the physical address in the vetting application via USPS. “Express” will deliver the PIN to the physical address in the vetting application via Express Delivery. “Email” will deliver the PIN to the identified email on filing. Make sure you can access this email. If you do not supply an email in your application, Aegis cannot send your PIN via email. 
6. Click “ Apply.”

What are the costs associated with Aegis Mobile Brand vetting?

• Political Vetting Fees -Required for all 527 entities, candidates, committees, PACs, and state, local and tribal candidates.
  • Aegis Political Brand Vetting Fee - $64.00 - $91.95. Price depends on the selected PIN delivery method (see above). Currently, Aegis verifications do not have an expiration period. 
• Standard Vetting Fees - Required for all other organizations
  • Aegis Standard Brand Vetting Fee - $40. TextOut will apply for this vetting by default to eliminate extra registration steps and maximize throughput and daily limits for organizations. Without this step, throughput is low, and messaging access is prohibited by some carriers. 

Campaign Verify

Campaign Verify (CV) is a political vetting partner for The Campaign Registry (TCR). Campaign Verify is a non-partisan, nonprofit verification solution for U.S. political actors seeking to verify their identity and engage with voters via text messaging. Campaign Verify aims to prevent spoofing and disinformation in political messaging by acting as the verification layer for campaigns, committees, and PACs. Political campaigns, committees, and PACs must go through Campaign Verify's vetting process as a part of the 10DLC Brand and Campaign registration process.

Campaign Verify will

• Validate that political entities are who they say they are, and
• Create authentication tokens that signal to The Campaign Registry, carriers, and service providers that they have been verified

Vetting from Campaign Verify lets political entities access increased text messaging throughput from wireless carriers via a Political use case. 

Who needs to be vetted through Campaign Verify?

Any campaign, committee, or PAC that is a 527 tax-exempt organization or a sole proprietor registered with the FEC or a State, Local or Tribal election authority can obtain verification through Campaign Verify. 

Source: Campaign Verify (03/31/22)

What information do I need to provide to Campaign Verify?

Federal campaigns and organizations registered with the FEC must submit their FEC ID, their campaign address, and contact information. 

State, Local, and Tribal campaigns submit a URL from their election authority that contains their filing record, which must contain a postal address and (optional) email address. 

Source: Campaign Verify (09/15/21)

How do I apply for verification with Campaign Verify? 

Go to www.campaignverify.org and follow their submission steps to submit your information in the form provided. It's very important to have the correct Committee Filing Email address! The entry in the field here must match the email used in the filing record.

Source: Campaign Verify (09/15/21)

How does verification work?

After submission, a Campaign Verify staffer examines the verification request. Approval (or feedback on a Rejection) will take no more than two business days.

Once approved, a PIN will be sent via email or postal mail to the applicant's filing record's email address or mailing address.

Once the applicant receives a PIN code, log into Campaign Verify using the same email account they used to send the submission and enter the PIN code. There is no API to submit verification requests.

After entering the correct PIN code, the submission has been verified. The applicant can now generate a secret Authentication Token to send to their texting provider (TextOut). TextOut will verify the token before submitting it to The Campaign Registry. TextOut will submit the token with the entity’s Brand information to The Campaign Registry to “unlock” special use case Political 10DLC campaigns and throughputs. 

There is a $95 fee per two-year election cycle. All tokens issued in 2021/2022 are valid through January 31, 2023. 

For more information, contact: support@campaignverify.org.

Source: Campaign Verify (03/31/22)

Campaign Verify FAQs

Can we use the same verification token on multiple messaging platforms?

For security reasons, Accounts cannot use the same token on multiple messaging platforms. CV TCR tokens are to be scoped to a single TCR Brand and not reused across multiple Brands.  If multiple ISVs or consultants are working with the committee, they should request a new CV verification for each TCR Brand registered.

Source: Campaign Verify, 8/30/21

Can a 501(c)(4) submit a request for verification through Campaign Verify?

501(c)3, (c)4, (c)5, (c)6 organizations, businesses, and other non-campaign entity types are not currently eligible for verification through Campaign Verify. If an entity of this type submits a verification request, it will be rejected.

Source: Campaign Verify, 8/30/21

Will Campaign Verify accept a verification request if the Committee name entry is slightly different than the committee name listed on the filing page?

The entity name should match in full. However, on occasion, the election authority may add the office (e.g., “Governor”) to the end of the name in the filing record; this is OK and is still a legitimate match.

Source: Campaign Verify, 8/30/21

Possible Statuses of a Vet Initiated through TCR

• Pending / Unscored Brand - Not enough information has been submitted for the vet to 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, and the result is displayed. 
• Failed - The vet has failed with the submitted information. A new vet can be initiated after Brand details have been updated. 

Related articles

• 10DLC: How to Register Brands and Campaigns with the Campaign Registry
• 10DLC: Overview
• 10DLC: Campaign Use Cases
• Workspace Billing
• Checklist: 10DLC Registration