Using SMS

Hi ​@EMurphy35,

Thank you for joining Zoom community, we’re glad to have you here! For Zoom Phone SMS (10DLC in the US), you can’t use SMS without setting up a campaign.

SMS stays inactive until you:

1. create a 10DLC campaign,
2. get it approved, and
3. assign your phone number to that campaign.

Without an active campaign, Zoom Phone SMS won’t work for two-way client communications.

You can also check out this link to learn more.

Hey, ​@EMurphy35.

There’s a “real reason” why it sounds marketing related, one that doesn’t get much exposure any more.

Organizations that use internet‑based phone systems like Zoom Phone must set up “campaigns” because mobile carriers (AT&T, Verizon, etc.) now require every business texting program (including Zoom Workplace’s Zoom Phone feature) to be registered and described, or they will treat those messages as possible spam and may block them. In simple terms, your “campaign” is just a short profile that says who your organization is, what kinds of messages you send (for example, alerts, reminders, or confirmations), and which phone numbers you use.

Traditional big carriers already know and control their own numbers directly, so they do this behind the scenes for their mobile customers, but when texts come from cloud services like Zoom or RingCentral, the mobile carriers want this extra registration step to be sure the traffic is legitimate and can be delivered reliably.

Ray Harwood | GoodClix | Event Producer
Community Super Champion | Zoom MVP

Hi Ed,

Yes, you can absolutely use SMS for two-way client communication without sending marketing campaigns or bulk announcements.

The campaign requirements you're seeing are largely related to industry regulations for business messaging, especially in the U.S. Even if you're only using SMS for customer service, appointment reminders, or direct client conversations, many providers still require registration of your messaging use case. However, that doesn't mean you need to run marketing campaigns.

Many businesses use SMS exactly as you've described—for one-to-one communication, support, scheduling, and client outreach. The specific setup requirements depend on your SMS provider and the type of phone number you're using.

I'd recommend checking with your provider about a "customer care" or "conversational messaging" use case rather than a marketing campaign.

Hope that helps!