All Headway providers are required to have an “after hours” phone line available. Our agreement with our insurance partners includes meeting carrier-specific requirements and state regulations.
Providers will need to share a monitored and confidential phone line with all of your clients at the start of sessions.
The phone line voicemail recording requirements include the following language:
- "A confidential and monitored voicemail"
- "I will check the voicemail daily on business days and attempt to respond by the end of the next business day"
Confidential voicemail services
Spruce Health simplifies the startup journey for new mental health providers.
Spruce is a modern, HIPAA-grade communication solution for Headway providers trusted by 40,000+ healthcare professionals and recommended by Headway. You can call, text, and email with a cloud-based system built for healthcare.
With Spruce:
- Use your personal phone for business — without sharing your personal number
- Send and receive unlimited HIPAA-complaint eFaxes
- Save time with auto-replies, message templates, and easy-to-use automation tools
- Protect clinician privacy with custom inbox and number controls
As a Headway provider, you can take advantage of their 14-day free trial, AND Headway providers will get 50% of their first 3 months with Spruce. Sign up using the exclusive discount: Spruce + Headway.
Registering your Spruce phone number for texting
Once you've signed up for a paid Spruce account, you have full access to Spruce — including calls, faxing, team messaging, and workflow setup — with one exception: sending SMS to clients.
To send SMS, your organization needs to complete carrier registration (10DLC) with The Campaign Registry. This is a federal requirement for business texting in the U.S., not a Headway or Spruce-specific policy.
Before you have an EIN, you can still fully configure your Spruce workspace, invite your team, and set up integrations. You just won't be able to send SMS yet, and you won't be able to port an existing number to Spruce until registration is approved.
Registering without an EIN
It's possible to register as a sole proprietor without an EIN, but this limits you to one phone number, blocks CNAM setup, and increases the chance your number gets flagged as spam.
We recommend waiting for your EIN before registering.
Once you have an EIN, go to Settings > Phone System > Phone System Settings > Phone Registration in Spruce, or click the banner at the top of the page, to start registration.
Registration itself is instant, but approval can take up to 4 weeks — The Campaign Registry only checks the IRS database once every 30 days. We recommend starting registration as soon as you have your EIN, even with the delay. You'll be able to send SMS once approval is complete, and Spruce will confirm this automatically.
For the full registration walkthrough and current fees, see Spruce's guide to registering your business phone.