10DLC registration
A2P 10DLC / The Campaign Registry / 10DLC campaign registration
10DLC registration is the verification US carriers require before a business sends text messages through software from an ordinary 10-digit local number. The business is registered as a brand, and its messaging as a campaign, through its texting provider. Unregistered traffic faces more filtering and extra carrier fees.
The name describes the channel. A2P means application to person: messages a person receives from software instead of from another individual. 10DLC means 10-digit long code, an ordinary local number. Twilio describes A2P 10DLC as the standard US carriers put in place so this traffic is verified and consensual.
The registry behind it is The Campaign Registry. It describes 10DLC as a channel where brands and campaign service providers are verified before they may send messages. A company texting its customers counts as a brand, and the registry says brands cannot register directly. A registered messaging provider handles the registration on the business's behalf.
Registration changes how messages are treated. Twilio says it results in lower message filtering and higher messaging throughput, and that customers who text from a Twilio 10DLC number without registering pay additional carrier fees. Toll-free numbers and short codes sit outside the 10DLC system.
In practice
A dental office turns on appointment reminder texts from its local number through its phone system. Before the reminders go out, the phone system provider registers the practice as a brand and the reminders as a campaign. If that step is skipped, the reminders face more filtering and cost more to send.
Why it matters to you
Texts sent by software, such as reminders, missed-call replies and follow-ups, travel this channel. The provider files the registration, but it describes your business and your messages. If those details are wrong or out of date, the messages the business depends on are the ones that get filtered.
What to ask or check
- 01Has the texting provider registered the business as a brand and each kind of message as a campaign?
- 02What use case was registered, and does it match the messages actually being sent?
- 03Does the bill show extra carrier fees for unregistered traffic?
What people get wrong
That a business signs up with The Campaign Registry itself. The registry says direct registration is not available for brands, which register through a messaging service provider.