Register SMS templates on DLT, step by step

If you have ever wondered why business SMS in India arrive from names like "AB-SHOPXY" and always read the same way, the answer is DLT. It stands for distributed ledger technology. Under TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, every business that sends SMS has to register itself, its sender names and the exact wording of its messages on a DLT platform run by the telecom operators. Messages that do not match a registered template are blocked.

What you need before you start

• Your business's legal name and address, as on your documents.
• Business proof such as your PAN and GST certificate, or a registration certificate.
• An authorised person's details, and a letter of authorisation if the portal asks for one.
• A list of the messages you want to send: order updates, reminders, offers, one-time codes.

Step 1: register as a Principal Entity

On DLT, your business is the Principal Entity. That is the sender who is responsible for the messages. You register on one operator's DLT portal; the operators share the ledger, so one registration covers SMS on every network.

1. Pick an operator's DLT portalEach of the major telecom operators runs one. Choose any.
2. Sign up as an enterprise or Principal EntityNot as a telemarketer. You are the business, not the sending company.
3. Upload your documentsThen wait for approval.
4. Note your Entity IDYou will need it later, in Hey Tomo and with your SMS provider.

Step 2: register your headers

A header (also called a sender ID) is the short name that appears as the sender. It should clearly relate to your business, like "GRNLEF" for Green Leaf Grocers. Headers are registered by type. Service and transactional headers are usually six letters. Promotional headers are usually numbers. Register a header for each kind of message you plan to send.

Step 3: register content templates

A content template is the exact wording of a message, with blanks for the parts that change. On most portals a blank is written as a variable, like {#var#}. Everything outside the blanks must be sent exactly as approved, word for word.

When you register, you pick the message category (promotional, transactional or service), link it to a header, and paste the wording. Links and call-back numbers in a template generally need to be approved too, so send only the links that were approved. After review you get a template ID. Keep it next to the wording.

Tips for variables

• Use a variable only for the parts that really change, like a name, a date or an order number.
• Keep your business name in the fixed wording, not in a variable.
• Think about the longest value that could go in. A long customer name should still read well.
• Register one template per purpose. A reminder and an order update are two templates, even if they look alike.

Step 4: consent templates, if you need them

Some service messages need proof that the customer agreed to get them. For these, you register a consent template: the message that asks the customer to agree. Once they do, the operators record the consent against your entity. Promotional messages, by contrast, only reach people who have not blocked that kind of message in their preferences.

Step 5: add your approved templates to Hey Tomo

Once your templates are approved, open Settings, then Channels, then SMS, and connect your SMS provider with your own details. Then add each template:

1. Your template IDExactly as DLT gave it to you.
2. Your headerThe sender ID the template is linked to.
3. The approved textPaste it exactly, including spaces and punctuation.

When you build a journey or a campaign, the SMS step offers only your approved templates. You fill in the variables, like the name or the order number. You never type free text into an SMS, and Tomo's AI never writes or rewrites DLT text. The text that goes out is the text that was approved.

Ready-made wording, marked "Needs registration"

Writing templates from scratch is the hardest part, so Hey Tomo offers ready-made wording for common messages like reminders and order updates. Picking one adds it to your list marked Needs registration, with the wording copied exactly.

Nothing sends it yet. You register that wording on DLT for your own Principal Entity and header. When it is approved, you come back and enter your template ID, your header and the text exactly as approved. Only then does it become an approved template that the pickers offer. Your SMS provider can usually help you with the registration itself.

Common reasons templates get rejected

• The header has nothing to do with the business name.
• The category is wrong, for example an offer registered as a service message.
• Too much of the message is a variable, so the wording could say anything.
• Links or numbers that are not tied to your business.

Keep templates short and specific, with variables only for the parts that truly change. Then plan the rest of your messages with consent and quiet hours in mind.