The Complete A2P 10DLC Registration Guide & Compliance FAQs

The A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) registration process is a mandatory framework required by US telecom carriers (like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon). If your business sends automated texts, verification codes, alerts, or marketing messages from a standard 10-digit phone number, you must register.

Unregistered traffic faces severe penalties, including massive filtering, blocked messages, and heavy non-compliance fines (up to $10,000 per violation).

This guide walks you through getting approved quickly and keeping your messages flowing.

Part 1: The Step-by-Step Registration Workflow

The registration process is a sequential chain. You cannot complete a step until the previous one is fully verified.

1. Brand Registration (The ‘Who’): Takes 1–3 business days.
   Submit your legal business details to your SMS provider (e.g., Twilio, Vonage, Plivo). You must provide your Legal Business Name, Tax ID/EIN (for US entities), and official physical address. The Campaign Registry (TCR) cross-references this exact data with government databases.

2. Vetting & Brand Approval: Automated status check.
   Once submitted, your Brand receives a “Vetted” status and a trust score. If your EIN does not perfectly match your legal name (e.g., using a DBA name instead of the corporate filing name), your registration will fail immediately here.

3. Campaign Registration (The ‘What’): Takes 2–3 weeks (Manual Review).
   Define exactly what types of messages you are sending (e.g., Marketing, 2FA, Customer Care). You must provide explicit sample messages and describe your Opt-In workflow in detail. This step is manually reviewed by carrier-level auditors.

4. Phone Number Linking: Instant upon approval.
   Once the Campaign is approved, link your specific 10DLC phone numbers to that specific Campaign. Your traffic is now officially registered, and carrier filtering will drop significantly.

Part 2: Blueprint for an Approved Campaign Submission

Most campaign rejections happen because the opt-in description or sample messages are vague. Carriers require hyper-specific proof of consent. Use the template criteria below to guarantee approval.

1. Opt-In Description (The Workflow)

You must explain exactly how a customer gives you permission to text them.

What Carriers Want to See:
“Customers opt-in by checking a box on our website checkout form [URL to form]. The checkbox is unchecked by default and includes clear SMS disclosure language. Alternatively, customers can text START to our number to opt in.”

2. Form Disclosure Language

If you collect phone numbers on a web form, the form must feature explicit SMS legal language near the submit button. It should look like this:

“By providing your phone number, you agree to receive automated promotional and informational text messages from [Company Name]. Consent is not a condition of purchase. Msg & data rates may apply. Msg frequency varies. Reply STOP to opt-out, HELP for help. View our Privacy Policy [URL] and Terms [URL].”

3. Sample Messages

Your sample messages must exactly match the selected use case. They must also include your Company Name and a clear Opt-Out mechanism (STOP) in the text.

• Bad Sample:“Your order is ready.” (Too vague, no brand name, no opt-out).

• Approved Sample:“Hi John, this is [Company Name]. Your order #12345 is ready for pickup! Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”

Part 3: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the difference between a Brand and a Campaign?

• The Brand is the entity that sends the messages (your legal business entity).

• The Campaign is what you are sending (the specific use case, like appointment reminders or promotional discounts). A single Brand can host multiple Campaigns.

How much does A2P 10DLC registration cost?

While prices vary slightly depending on your upstream provider, the carrier fees generally break down as follows:

• Brand Registration Fee: One-time fee of ~$4.40 (Low-volume) to ~$44 (Standard).

• Campaign Vetting Fee: One-time fee of ~$15 per submission.

• Monthly Campaign Use Fees: Ranging from $1.50 to $10/month, depending on your use case (e.g., Mixed/Marketing use cases carry higher monthly carrier fees than standard 2FA).

What is a “Low-Volume” vs. “Standard” Campaign?

• Low-Volume: Designed for businesses sending fewer than 1,500 messages per day to the US. It features a cheaper, simplified registration process but caps your throughput (SMS per second).

• Standard: For businesses sending more than 1,500 messages daily. Requires deeper vetting, unlocks higher throughput, and allows for specialized use cases.

Why was my campaign rejected?

The top three reasons for campaign rejection are:

1. Missing Privacy Policy: Your website must have a public Privacy Policy that explicitly states that SMS data/phone numbers will not be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

2. No Opt-Out in Samples: Your sample messages failed to include “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” or an equivalent phrase.

3. Vague Use Case: Giving a one-sentence description of your messaging strategy without providing URLs or showing how users opt in.