Allow text messages to be sent/received from MS teams phone account

Question

I am a small business owner who has to serve as his own IT person. We have a teams account with a phone account. We can make and receive teams phone calls. Please instruct me on how to enable the sending and receipt of text messages, important for business purposes these days. Please be detailed - which part of the admin center to log into, etc. I rarely get in there, and to ask a question it sent me to this page. Sorry to be naive, not a pro.

Enno

Answer 1

It is completely understandable to feel a bit overwhelmed by the Teams Admin Center—it’s built for enterprise IT, but many small business owners like yourself have to navigate it.

To enable SMS, Microsoft requires a "10DLC" (10-Digit Long Code) registration. This is a recent industry-wide regulation to prevent spam. It involves registering your Brand (who you are) and a Campaign (what you are texting about).

Here is the step-by-step path to get this running:

Step 1: Log in to the Admin Center

Go to the Microsoft 365 Admin Center.

On the left-hand sidebar, click Show all, then scroll down and select Teams. This opens the Teams Admin Center.

Step 2: Register your "Brand"

Before you can flip a switch to enable texting, you must verify your business identity.

In the Teams Admin Center, look at the left menu and click Voice.

Click on Service configuration.

You should see a tab or section for SMS.

Under Step 1: Create brand, select Create your brand.

Fill in the fields: You will need your legal business name, your Tax ID (EIN), and your business address exactly as they appear on official documents.

Note: It can take a few days for Microsoft/carriers to verify this.

Step 3: Register your "Campaign"

Once your Brand is approved, you tell them why you are texting.

In that same SMS section, go to Step 2: Create campaign.

Select Create campaign.

Use Case: For most small businesses, you can select "Mixed" or "Customer Service."

Sample Messages: You must provide examples of what you’ll send (e.g., "Hi, this is [Company Name], just confirming our appointment for tomorrow.")

Opt-in/Opt-out: You must explain how customers give you permission to text (e.g., "Customers provide their number on our website contact form").

Step 4: Enable SMS on your Phone Numbers

Once your Brand and Campaign are "Approved" (this can take 1–2 weeks), you can finally turn it on for your users:

Go to Voice > Phone numbers.

Select the phone number you want to enable.

Click the Edit or Enable SMS button at the top of the list.

Important "Small Business" Tips:

Region Check: This native feature is currently only available for numbers in the U.S. and Canada.

Plain Text Only: Microsoft’s native SMS usually only supports plain text. If you need to send photos or PDFs (MMS), you might eventually need a third-party app from the Teams App Store (like Clerk Chat or Falkon SMS), but start with the native version first to see if it meets your needs.

Cost: While receiving is often included, there can be small per-message fees depending on your specific Calling Plan.

Hope it is useful 😁