To begin sending RCS messages, you need to register a sender profile and gain approval from Google and mobile carriers for each destination country you plan to send to. RCS requires your brand identity and messaging program to be reviewed and approved before you can send to any customer at scale. This approval process is a project that takes several weeks to complete.
This article helps your organization prepare and submit your senders for approval. Requirements can vary by country; this article documents the approval path for sending to the United States, which is the most detailed application.
# In this article
# RCS sender registration process
To register a new RCS sender, complete these steps in order:
- RCS Registration: Creating an RCS Sender — Define your brand profile in Iterable: name, description, branding assets, contact details, and legal URLs.
- Test your sender profile — Register test devices and send test messages to review your sender before submitting for approval.
- Create a launch video — Record a screen capture showing your entire RCS-compliant message flow on a real device for each destination country you intend to send to.
- Submit a destination for approval — Complete the destination approval form for each country you intend to send to. This submission goes to Google and mobile carriers for review.
- Manage approvals — Track both the overall sender status and each destination status in Iterable, complete brand verification, and respond to revision requests from reviewers.
# How registration works
RCS registration can be confusing because creating a sender and getting it approved are two separate tasks. Understanding the process involved helps you plan the work.
First, you create a sender profile and register your brand details in Iterable. This step sets up the sender for preliminary testing. It does not affect your billing, or approve the sender for production campaigns.
After you create a sender profile, you can:
- Add test numbers.
- Validate your branding assets.
- Validate your message flow.
- Record your launch video.
Next, when your application is ready, you can submit a destination for approval. This submission initiates an external review by Google and mobile carriers.
Submit a separate destination application for each sender profile and country combination.
Approval for sending RCS has two checkpoints:
- Sender approval: covers your overall sender profile.
- Destination approval: covers each country you submit for that sender.
Each approval checkpoint shows its own registration status.
# Registration timeline
Sender approval is a multi-week process, not a same-day event. Plan accordingly.
The typical end-to-end timeline is 4 to 5 weeks from a clean first submission, with the following phases:
- Initial review - After submission, initial review takes approximately 5 to 7 business days.
- Brand verification - After passing initial review, your brand contact should receive brand verification emails within approximately 5 to 7 business days. You must respond promptly—delays in your response extend the overall timeline.
- Carrier approval - Carrier approval continues after brand verification and can take another 5 to 7 business days or longer.
Carriers may request additional information during review. Respond promptly to avoid extending the approval timeline.
The timeline above describes business days. Weekends and public holidays extend calendar time.
Neither Iterable nor carriers commit to a specific SLA for registration and approval processes.
# Next steps
Start with Creating a sender to plan your sender structure, gather materials, and create your first sender.
As you add legal URLs, record your launch video, and prepare destination approval answers, apply the requirements from Best Practices for RCS Compliance.