Identity verification with Campaign Verify ensures that U.S. political entities are not improperly spoofed when they use digital and telecom services to communicate with voters.
U.S. political entities who file with a Federal, State, Local, or Tribal election authority can use Campaign Verify to verify their identity.
Campaign Verify is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to preserve trust in our elections. It was formed in collaboration with U.S. wireless carriers.
Locate your committee's filing record with the FEC or relevant election authority. Copy the URL, and make sure you have access to check the email inbox, postal mailbox or telephone number that’s listed on the filing.
Sign into Campaign Verify with your email address. Fill in the information on the filing record, including the URL, and pay the applicable fee for the verification.
Once you submit, a Campaign Verify staff member will verify your information. Once approved, you will receive a secret PIN code sent to the email address, mailing address or telephone number listed on your filing record.
Once you log back into Campaign Verify and enter your PIN code, you will be able to generate secure authorization tokens to provide to your text messaging service provider.
Your text messaging service providers, and companies involved in wireless messaging system, can use your verified information to help prevent spoofing and ensure trust in political text messaging.
What types of political campaigns or committees can request verification by Campaign Verify?
Any candidate, party, PAC, or other committee that is a 527 tax-exempt organization and registered with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) or a State, Local, or Tribal Election Authority is eligible to obtain verification through Campaign Verify.
501(c)(3) organizations, 501(c)(4) organizations, businesses, and other non-campaign entity types are not eligible for verification through Campaign Verify.
What are the benefits of obtaining campaign verification from Campaign Verify?
Campaign Verify authentication tokens are a credential that helps protect your campaign from spoofing and increases your ability to send messages to your supporters via 10DLC text messaging campaigns.
Is Campaign Verify verification required?
Some U.S. wireless carriers require political entities utilizing 10DLC messaging to register their brand and obtain a verification token via Campaign Verify. Verification from Campaign Verify lets political groups have access to increased text messaging throughput from wireless carriers via a special registration category in The Campaign Registry. Campaign Verify is an authorized vetting partner of The Campaign Registry, which is managing 10DLC registration on behalf of major U.S. wireless carriers.
What is the difference between Campaign Verify and The Campaign Registry?
The Campaign Registry is a company that manages 10DLC registration on behalf of major U.S. wireless carriers. The Campaign Registry has vetting partners that assist in verifying the identity of the businesses and entities that want to engage in text messaging. Campaign Verify is an independent, nonprofit organization that serves as one of the vetting partners for The Campaign Registry, specifically for political entities.
Where does my political committee register with The Campaign Registry?
Candidate organizations, Committee PAC's, and other organizations (often referred to as Brands) can register with The Campaign Registry via their CSP, or Campaign Service Provider, which is the text messaging provider your campaign uses.
After successful verification from Campaign Verify, you should provide your Campaign Verify token to your CSP for them to provide to The Campaign Registry.
Are there resources available that can help me make sure my campaign’s messages reach my supporters while protecting them from unwanted text message traffic?
Wireless carriers and many of the companies that provide text messaging services have prepared guidelines that outline the best practices for text messaging campaigns. Among these resources are:
Messaging Principles & Best Practices, July 2019, a general guide developed by the members of CTIA, the wireless industry trade association.
M3AAWG Mobile Messaging Best Practices for Political Programs in the United States, April 2020, guidance from the Messaging and Mobile Malware Anti-Abuse Working group, a technical working group comprising ISPs, telcos, email service providers, social media companies and others.
How long does the verification process take?
Once information is submitted, a Campaign Verify staff member will verify your information within minutes to two business days. Delays may occur if your Filing Record URL is not readily available. If an email address or cell phone number is available on the filing record, the PIN code is immediately emailed or texted after verification. If a landline is listed and you select to receive your PIN via a phone call, Campaign Verify will call with your PIN code within one business day. If postal mail is required or selected, the PIN code will take approximately 5-10 days to arrive via USPS. Please allow for unforeseen USPS delays.
What fees are required?
There is a one-time fee per entity verification request of $95. Only one successful verification request is required per two-year election cycle.
Why do I have to pay a fee?
Your fees help pay for the operations of Campaign Verify, authenticate your text messaging campaigns for the wireless messaging ecosystem, and protect your campaign from being spoofed by disinformation campaigns over the SMS channel. Your fees help keep U.S. elections secure.
Fees go towards:
1. Development and Security costs for the Campaign Verify platform
2. Costs for Campaign Verify staffers to manually verify campaigns and committees
3. Operational costs for running the Campaign Verify nonprofit
How often do I need to complete the verification process with Campaign Verify?
Tokens for verification requests submitted to Campaign Verify prior to November 15, 2022 will expire on January 31, 2023. Tokens for verification requests submitted on November 15, 2022 and later will be valid until January 31, 2025. In order to obtain a new token with the 2025 expiration date, campaigns will need to submit a new verification request and pay an additional $95 fee.
My company operates a texting platform used for political messaging, a CPaaS, or SMS messaging aggregation. How can my platform be included?
Please send an email to serviceproviders@campaignverify.org for information on how to participate.
How does verification work?
1. If your campaign is new to Campaign Verify, please complete the below form on our website. You will receive resource materials and a link to our submission portal to complete a full verification request.
2. Within the portal, follow the instructions on the form and provide all required information. Make sure the information is current and matches that on the FEC filing record (for Federal campaigns) and the filing record URL (for State, Local, and Tribal campaigns).
3. After payment, your request will be submitted for a Campaign Verify reviewer to process. Once approved, a secret PIN code will be sent either to the email address, cell phone number, landline, or mailing address on the filing record. This PIN code is what allows Campaign Verify to determine an authentic submission.
4. Once you receive the PIN code, log in to Campaign Verify and enter the PIN code. You have 3 attempts to type in the code before your request gets locked.
5. Once the PIN code is successfully entered, you may generate an Authentication Token. This is what you should provide to your CSP or texting platform provider.
Do I need to pay the $95 fee for a resubmission?
If you choose to resubmit following a rejection, Campaign Verify will issue one $95 refund upon receipt of the resubmission. If you do not resubmit, you will still be responsible for the initial fee.
What is the mailing address for Campaign Verify?
1215 31st Street NW
PO Box 3554
Washington, DC 20007-9998