10DLC Registration for Business Texting, Explained

What 10DLC means

10DLC stands for 10-digit long code: an ordinary local phone number, area code and all, used by a business to send and receive texts. It is the number type most small businesses text from, because customers can call and text the same local number they already have saved.

The Campaign Registry, which supports this channel, describes 10DLC as an application-to-person messaging channel in which brands and their messaging providers are verified before they are allowed to send. In plain terms: before your business number can reliably text customers, someone has to tell the carrier ecosystem who you are and what you plan to send.

Short codes, the five- or six-digit numbers used for large alert programs, have their own registry and handbook, and the industry guidelines treat text-enabled toll-free numbers separately. This guide covers local numbers.

Why registration exists

CTIA, the wireless industry association, notes in its messaging principles that wireless providers deploy filters and other tools to limit traffic that looks like unwanted messages. Registration is how a legitimate business separates itself from that traffic: the registry says the who and the what of every campaign are known upfront and traceable.

A registered number sending messages that match its registration is what carriers expect to see. An unregistered number, or one sending something different from what it registered, is the one most likely to be filtered, with no error on your side. That silent drop often looks like customers who stopped answering. The usual causes are messages that drift from the campaign, brand details that disagree, a missing business name, ignored opt-outs and old lists.

Brands, campaigns and providers

Every 10DLC registration involves these parts.

The registry states that direct registration is not available to brands. The messaging provider, which the registry calls a campaign service provider, registers the brand and its campaigns. Messages start flowing soon after the provider hands the campaign ID to its connectivity partner.

What the brand record asks for

The brand record is the identity check, and most registration delays start here. The registry says it is crucial that the tax ID matches the legal company name, with an address that matches the one on file for that tax ID.

• Legal company name. The name on your tax registration, spelled the same way. A trade name or shortened version is a common reason a brand fails to verify.
• Tax ID. The federal employer identification number for a United States business. Canadian and other international businesses can use their own tax or registry numbers.
• Address. The address that goes with that tax ID.
• Contact information. A real person the registry and carriers can reach if something needs fixing.

A business run by an individual with no employer identification number registers as a sole proprietor, which the registry defines as an individual without one. If your business has a tax ID, register with it.

Some uses also require the brand to be vetted, an extra check of the business. A brand already vetted through another provider can share its vetting token so the new provider can import the result.

What the campaign record asks for

The campaign describes what you will send and how people agree to get it. The registry sorts campaigns into standard use cases, which do not need extra approval from the carriers, and special use cases, which it describes as sensitive or critical in nature and which need the brand to be vetted or approved by the carriers first.

A service business usually needs a campaign covering what it actually sends: replies, booking confirmations, reminders, follow-up after a job and review requests. If it also plans to send offers, that belongs in the description from the start.

• A description of who receives the texts and why, written the way a stranger at the carrier would understand it.
• Sample messages that look like the real ones, including the business name and opt-out wording.
• How people opt in: texting the number first, a checkbox on a booking form, a signup at the counter, a request during a call.
• Opt-out and help handling: what happens when someone texts STOP or HELP.

Sending pace comes from the brand and the campaign. The registry says adding more numbers to the same campaign does not raise it.

Consent: who you may text

Registration says who you are. Consent decides who you may text. CTIA's messaging principles describe three kinds of business texts and the permission each one expects.

• Conversational. The customer texts first and the business replies with relevant information. No further permission is expected for that reply.
• Informational. Reminders, welcome texts and alerts. The customer gives their number and agrees to receive texts for that specific purpose.
• Promotional. Anything with a sales or marketing offer. The customer should agree in writing first, for example by checking a box on a form. CTIA notes that adding a coupon code to an informational text may move it into this category.

CTIA also recommends recording each opt-in: when and how it was given, the wording the customer saw, the campaign, the phone number and who gave it. An opt-in applies only to the business and campaign it was collected for, and bought, rented or shared lists should never be texted.

Opt-outs and the HELP reply

Federal rules set the floor for opt-outs. Under the FCC rule on revoking consent, a reply of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe is a valid request to stop. Other wording counts too when a reasonable person would read it as a request to stop, and the business may not insist on one exclusive way to opt out.

The same rule says a request must be honored within a reasonable time, no more than ten business days after it is received. A well-run setup does it at once: one confirmation goes out and nothing else is sent to that number.

CTIA adds the details that make texting trustworthy. Recurring programs should send an opt-in confirmation that names the program, gives a way to reach customer care or text HELP, explains how to opt out and says how often messages come. Opt-out records should be kept so a number that opted out is never texted again by accident. CTIA also recommends removing deactivated numbers from opt-in lists regularly.

What a compliant thread looks like

Here is a reminder thread from a home services company whose customer agreed to text updates on the booking form.

The opt-out did not use the word STOP, yet a reasonable person would read it as a request to stop, so the thread treated it as one. One confirmation went out and the booking stayed in place.

How Sales Secret handles registration

In our managed setup, registration is part of getting the number ready, before the text agent sends its first reply. We collect the business details, check that the legal name, tax ID and address agree, write the campaign description and sample messages from what the business really sends, and file it through the registered messaging provider behind the setup.

Then we build the rules that keep the number in good standing: opt-in wording on booking forms, STOP and HELP handling on every thread, consent records on the customer record, and a campaign update before the business sends anything new, such as promotions.

All of it runs inside the same inbox as calls and chat, described on our platform page. For how texting fits the rest of the setup, read business text messaging; for the first text most conversations start with, see missed call text back; and before sending review links, read the review request text message guide.

A checklist before your first text

• Find the legal company name and tax ID exactly as they appear on your tax registration, with the address on file.
• Write down every kind of text you plan to send: replies, confirmations, reminders, follow-ups, review requests, offers.
• Decide how customers opt in for each kind, and add clear wording to forms and the counter signup.
• Have your provider register the brand and a campaign that covers that list, and wait for the campaign ID before sending.
• Put the business name in every first message and set up STOP and HELP replies.
• Keep consent and opt-out records, and review the campaign whenever what you send changes.

Done in that order, registration is a one-time project with a little upkeep. If you would rather hand it off, our team can take it from the paperwork through the first live thread.

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