Short answer
To start RCS Business Messaging in India, you work with a provider that can create an RCS agent for your brand. You supply the agent's name, logo, banner, description, contact details, privacy policy, terms and your DLT Principal Entity ID. The agent is then tested on approved test phones, and an authorised person at your business confirms the brand details (brand verification). Google and/or the mobile networks then review it for launch. There is no guaranteed approval or fixed timeline, and you still need an SMS plan for customers RCS can't reach.
1. Decide what the agent will be used for
Every RCS agent has a declared use case, chosen when it is created. Google lists four:
| Use case | Typical messages |
|---|---|
| OTP | One-time passwords only. |
| Transactional | Essential, time-sensitive updates about a customer's existing product or service, such as order and account alerts. |
| Promotional | Sales, marketing and offers to new or existing customers. |
| Multi-use | A mix of transactional and promotional messages, such as an account update followed by an offer. |
Write down which messages you plan to send, who will receive them, how those people agreed to hear from you, and what happens for customers whose phones or networks don't support RCS. Our RCS campaign examples can help you shortlist ideas.
2. Prepare your brand and agent information
Google requires this information before an agent can be submitted for verification and launch. Some items can't be changed after verification, so get them right first.
| Item | What to prepare |
|---|---|
| Agent name | Up to 40 characters. Can't be changed after verification. |
| Description | Up to 100 characters, shown to customers. |
| Logo | 224 x 224 px, up to 50 KB. Shown as a rounded square. Locked after verification. |
| Banner image | 1440 x 448 px, up to 200 KB. Locked after verification. |
| Brand colour | A hex colour, such as #0369A1. |
| Contact details | At least one labelled phone number, email address or website. |
| Privacy policy and terms | Working public links to both. |
| India PE ID | Your DLT Principal Entity ID. Google marks it as required to launch in India. |
| Brand contact | An employee with authority to confirm the agent details and your provider's right to manage the agent. |
No DLT entity ID yet? SMSTAKE offers free DLT registration support to any business, including non-customers.
3. Plan consent, opt-out and SMS fallback
- Opt-out: Google's pre-launch tasks include a working STOP (opt-out) flow. Launch details also ask for the exact message your agent sends when someone opts out.
- Consent: decide how customers agree to receive your messages and keep a record, especially for promotional use.
- Fallback: customers without RCS won't receive the rich message. If you want them to get an SMS instead, the fallback has to be configured, and the SMS needs a DLT-approved header and template.
4. Build and test with approved test phones
Until an agent is launched, it can only message designated test devices. A test phone must be RCS-enabled and must accept a tester invite. Test the full journey on the phones and networks your customers use: rich cards, every button, replies, opt-out and fallback.
Reviewers also need to see the agent in action. Google asks for a screen recording at a public link that matches the declared use case and shows the STOP flow working.
5. Brand verification
An authorised representative of your brand confirms the agent information and your provider's right to manage the agent. This information is submitted once per agent, before the first launch request. For launches managed by Google, the brand contact receives an email from Google asking them to approve the brand's use, and a prompt reply helps. Carriers that manage their own launches may contact the brand separately.
6. Launch approval by Google and/or carriers
A launch request is reviewed by Google, the carrier, or both, depending on the network:
- Carrier-managed launches: the carrier handles verification and approval, and may require a direct agreement before approving.
- Google-managed launches: Google handles verification and approval. In each country, the agent must first be launched on at least one carrier-managed network.
An agent can be approved, rejected or later suspended. Only after verification and launch can your messages show the verified brand name and logo on that network. We can't guarantee approval or give a fixed timeline, because each review is decided by Google and the carriers.
7. After launch
- Send to RCS-capable customers and route others to your fallback.
- Watch delivery and read events where the platform and device provide them, and handle opt-outs promptly.
- Keep your agent's use case, content and opt-out handling in line with what was approved.
Your onboarding checklist
- Use case chosen: OTP, transactional, promotional or multi-use
- Message plan, consent method and SMS fallback decided
- DLT Principal Entity ID available
- Agent name, description, logo, banner and brand colour final
- Contact details, privacy policy and terms links working
- Authorised brand contact identified and informed
- Test phones invited and full journey tested, including STOP
- Preview video recorded
- Launch request submitted for the networks you need
RCS with SMSTAKE
SMSTAKE provides RCS Business Messaging alongside Bulk SMS and WhatsApp Business API. Supported networks, pricing, delivery reporting and SMS fallback setup depend on your account and use case, and we confirm them with you during onboarding. See how RCS Business Messaging works with SMSTAKE.
Planning to start with RCS?
Talk to our team about your use case. We will go through what your agent needs, which networks are available for your account and how SMS fallback would be set up. Verification and launch decisions are made by Google and the mobile networks.
Discuss RCS OnboardingSources
Checked on 30 September 2026. Rules and prices change, so confirm current requirements with the official source before acting.
- Google for Developers - Build your first agent (use cases, billing category)
- Google for Developers - Edit agent information (images, description, privacy and terms)
- Google for Developers - Agent resource reference (field limits, India PE ID)
- Google for Developers - Set up a test device
- Google for Developers - Brand verification
- Google for Developers - Verify and launch your agent (Google-managed and carrier-managed launches)
- Google for Developers - Launch approval (pre-launch tasks)