If your business sends texts from an ordinary 10-digit US number, you need to register before carriers will deliver them reliably. The system is called A2P 10DLC. The name is awkward, but the idea is plain: carriers want to know who is texting their customers and why.
This guide explains what registration is, what you will be asked for, and the consent and opt-out rules that decide whether your messages keep getting through. It is general information, not legal advice. If you text for marketing at any scale, have a lawyer look at your setup.
What A2P 10DLC means
A2P stands for application to person: messages sent from a business system rather than typed by one person to another. 10DLC means a 10-digit long code, the same kind of local number people use on their own phones.
The Campaign Registry runs the shared database behind it. It describes 10DLC as a channel where businesses and their messaging providers are verified before they are allowed to send.[1] Registration covers two things. Your brand is your business: its legal name, tax number, address, and website. Your campaign is what you will use texting for, such as appointment reminders, customer care, or marketing.
You cannot register directly with the registry. A business registers through the provider that sends its texts, which the registry calls a campaign service provider.[1] In practice that means your texting tool or CRM handles the submission, and you supply the details.
Why carriers ask for it
Carriers filter texts to protect their customers from spam and fraud. Unregistered business traffic is treated as unknown, and unknown traffic gets filtered first. Registered traffic has a name and a stated purpose attached, so carriers can trust it more and act against senders who break the rules.
The industry rules carriers point to are the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices. The current version was published in May 2023.[2] Most of what follows comes from that document.
What you will be asked for
- Your legal business details. Legal name exactly as registered, US tax ID (EIN), business address, and website. Make sure they match each other exactly.
- A description of your messages. What you will send and why. "Appointment reminders and replies to customer questions" is clearer than "notifications".
- Sample messages. Two or more examples of real texts you will send, including your business name and opt-out wording.
- How people opt in. Where customers give their number and agree to texts: a booking form, a checkbox, a text keyword. Make sure it is visible on your website, because reviewers may check.
- Your privacy policy. It should say how you use phone numbers, and it should be linked from wherever people opt in.
There are one-time and monthly fees set by the registry and the carriers, and they vary by provider and campaign type. Approval is not instant, so start before you need to send. On our plans the registration is done through your account and its fees are paid from your wallet. On Grow and Scale our team completes it with you. See how texting works and the phone line it runs on.
Consent: the part that keeps you registered
Registration gets you in. Consent keeps you in. The CTIA document sorts messages into three kinds, each needing a different level of permission.[2]
| Type | Example | Consent |
|---|---|---|
| Conversational | A customer texts you first and you reply | The customer starting the conversation is enough |
| Informational | Appointment reminders, job updates, receipts | The customer gave you their number for this purpose |
| Promotional | Offers, sales, newsletters by text | Express written consent to receive marketing texts |
The principles also ask senders to keep a record of each consent: when it was given, how, the wording the customer saw, the campaign it was for, and the number it covers.[2] A consent applies to the business and campaign it was given for. It cannot be passed to another company, and bought or shared lists should not be used.[2]
For recurring messages, the first text after someone opts in should confirm the program, say how often messages come, give a way to get help, explain how to opt out, and state any fees or charges clearly.[2]
Opt-outs: honor every way people say stop
Federal rules now spell out how people can withdraw consent. Under the FCC's rule, a customer may revoke consent by any reasonable means. A reply of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel, or unsubscribe always counts, and other wording counts if a reasonable person would read it as a request to stop.[3]
The request must be honored within a reasonable time, and no later than 10 business days after it is received.[3] You may send one text confirming the opt-out, and it is presumed fine if it goes within 5 minutes.[3] After that, nothing more.
The CTIA principles say the same in industry terms: use standard STOP wording in your messages, act on ordinary phrases like "please opt me out", and send one final confirmation.[2] The easiest way to get this right is to let the system do it. Our consent and opt-out handling takes anyone who replies stop off your lists straight away and logs the change.
What gets texts filtered
- Content that does not match the campaign. Registering for reminders and then sending promotions is a common way to get filtered.
- Link shorteners shared by many senders. The CTIA principles ask for links that clearly identify you, and a shortener used only by you if you use one at all.[2]
- Missing business name or opt-out wording, especially in the first message to a new number.
- Texting people who never opted in, or old lists that have not been cleaned. Numbers change hands, and the CTIA principles ask senders to remove deactivated numbers regularly.[2]
- Sudden spikes. Sending to your whole list at once from a number that usually sends a few dozen texts a day.
A checklist for this week
- Check that your legal name, EIN, and address match your registration documents exactly.
- Add clear texting consent wording next to the phone field on your booking and contact forms, with a link to your privacy policy.
- Write two sample messages that include your business name and "Reply STOP to opt out".
- Make sure your system removes anyone who replies stop, in any wording, without a person having to do it.
- Keep marketing texts separate from reminders, and only send them to people who agreed to marketing.
If you send appointment reminders, registration is the step not to skip. See how a dental practice and a salon use texting day to day, or read our guide to reducing no-shows with reminders.
Not sure your texts are registered? Book a walkthrough and we will go through the steps with you. Text messages are $0.0249 a segment from your wallet, listed with every other rate on our pricing page.
Sources
- The Campaign Registry: about 10DLC, brands, and campaignsThe Campaign Registry
- Messaging Principles and Best PracticesCTIA, May 2023
- 47 CFR 64.1200, delivery restrictions, paragraphs (a)(10) and (a)(12)US Code of Federal Regulations, Federal Communications Commission rules