Short Message Service qualification FAQ

How to specify the qualification administrator

You must specify an administrator when you apply for a Short Message Service (SMS) qualification.

The administrator, also known as the handler, is the person who logs on to an Alibaba Cloud account to submit and manage qualifications. This person is typically an operations team member who manages signatures and templates, and their mobile phone number must be able to receive verification codes. A qualification administrator is not necessarily the administrator of the Alibaba Cloud account.

How is qualification information secured?

Alibaba Cloud strictly complies with all relevant laws and regulations to protect your information.

We use encryption to store and transmit the information you submit. The identification documents you provide are used only for the qualification review and will not be used for any other purpose.

Why is SMS qualification review required?

Alibaba Cloud account verification and Short Message Service qualification review serve different purposes. Therefore, you must submit a separate qualification for review.

• Alibaba Cloud account verification: Information provided during Alibaba Cloud account signup and activation.

• Short Message Service qualification review: To comply with regulatory requirements, you must provide qualification documents that match your business use case to use Short Message Service.

Complimentary signatures after qualification approval

Enterprise users who have an approved qualification for self-use will receive a complimentary signature related to that qualification. Currently, complimentary signatures are not provided for a qualification for other-use.

Troubleshooting file upload failures

• When applying for a Short Message Service qualification, you can upload business documents, identification for the legal representative (or head of a public institution), and identification for the qualification administrator in JPG, PNG, GIF, or JPEG format. Each image file must not exceed 5 MB.

• If the upload fails even though the file format and size are correct, try clearing your browser's cache or using a different browser to upload the files in the Short Message Service console.

Are signatures and templates automatically approved?

No. After your qualification is approved, you still need to apply for signatures and templates. Our review personnel will verify the content, variables, links, and other information in your signatures and templates.

Cannot modify the unified social credit code

After a qualification is approved, the unified social credit code, Qualification Name, and Qualification Purpose fields are locked and cannot be modified. If you need to change this information, you must submit a new qualification with the correct information.

Can I submit qualifications using an API?

Short Message Service provides several APIs for managing SMS signatures, such as add an SMS signature, modify an SMS signature, and query the SMS signature list. You can view them on the API Overview page.

However, the add an SMS signature API is available only to users with enterprise verification. If your Alibaba Cloud account has an individual verification, apply for qualifications and signatures through the Short Message Service console or change your individual verification to an enterprise verification.

Whose mobile number for the verification code?

You can use the mobile phone number of either the administrator or the applicant to receive the verification code.

Which documents require an official seal?

• Business documents: If you upload a photocopy or a black-and-white photo of the business documents for the enterprise that owns the signature, it must be stamped with the enterprise's red official seal before being uploaded.

• Legal representative (or head of a public institution) documents: The system verifies the enterprise information that you enter. If the verification fails, you are prompted to provide a photo of the identification document of the legal representative (or head of a public institution). Follow the prompts. If you provide a photocopy or a black-and-white photo, it must be stamped with the enterprise's red official seal before being uploaded.

• Administrator documents: Upload a photo of the administrator's identification document. If you upload a photocopy or a black-and-white photo, it must be stamped with the enterprise's red official seal before being uploaded.

Can a company apply for multiple qualifications?

Yes, but it is not recommended. Once a qualification is approved, you can reuse it for future signature applications, so repeated applications are unnecessary.