What is 10DLC? How business texting registration works
13 min readProvider docs read 2026-10-22
For the owner or ops lead whose texting platform just asked for a brand and a campaign: what 10DLC is, who The Campaign Registry is, what each step checks, how fast registration lets you send, and why none of it is the same as consent under the TCPA. Every rule and limit comes from the registry's or a provider's own pages, read on 2026-10-22.
The short answer
10DLC (ten-digit long code) is the system US carriers use for business texts sent from ordinary local phone numbers. Before a business can text customers from software over such a number, it registers who it is (a brand) and what it sends (a campaign) with The Campaign Registry, through its texting provider. Six lines cover it.
Why carriers built 10DLC
Local numbers were made for people texting people. Twilio's documentation puts the history plainly: ten-digit long codes “were originally designed for person to person (P2P) communication. These routes were unregulated, and in recent years have started seeing abuse from spam applications and unsolicited messaging.” The carriers' answer was to make every business sender on those numbers known before it sends.
“A2P (Application-to-Person) 10DLC (10-digit long code) is the standard that United States telecom carriers have put in place to ensure that SMS traffic to US end users through long code phone numbers is verified and consensual.”
“Application-to-person” is wider than it sounds. Twilio says carriers treat any message sent from a messaging provider's number as A2P, so even replies a staff member types into a texting platform's inbox can count. Bandwidth traces the push to CTIA's recognition in 2019 that local and toll-free numbers are valid routes for A2P traffic, after which carriers built their own 10DLC programs.
The trade for the sender is better treatment. Twilio says registration “results in lower message filtering and higher messaging throughput”; Telnyx lists higher throughput, better deliverability and reduced carrier filtering. The trade for the carriers is that, in The Campaign Registry's words, “both the ‘Who’ and the ‘What’ of a campaign are traceable.”
The Campaign Registry and your provider
The Campaign Registry (TCR) is, in Bandwidth's description, “a third-party company that's been selected by some mobile carriers, such as AT&T and T-Mobile, to administer the registration of 10DLC messaging campaigns on their behalf.” A business never meets it directly.
“Currently, direct registration with TCR is not available for Brands. Instead, you must work with one of the registered messaging service providers (CSP) who will handle your registration process on your behalf.”
Five parties touch every registration. Knowing which one holds a problem saves weeks of support tickets:
| Party | Who it is | What it does in 10DLC |
|---|---|---|
| Brand | Your business: the sender the person on the phone sees | Gives its legal name, tax ID, address, website and a contact; one brand per sender, never shared |
| Campaign Service Provider (CSP) | Your texting platform or messaging API | Files your brand and campaigns with the registry, links your numbers, passes on fees |
| The Campaign Registry (TCR) | The registry selected by carriers such as AT&T and T-Mobile | Verifies brands against public records and holds every brand and campaign record |
| Vetting partner | Third-party scorers (Bandwidth names Aegis Mobile and WMC Global) | Optional review that scores the brand; the score sets its throughput tier |
| Carriers | AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon and the smaller networks | Review campaigns, set throughput, filter, fine or suspend senders that break their rules |
Brand, vetting, campaign, numbers: the flow
Every provider runs the same five steps in the same order, because each one needs the one before it: no campaign on an unverified brand, no texts from a number that is not on an approved campaign. Timings are the providers' own published figures.
| Step | What you give | What is checked | How long, per the provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 Brand | Legal name and tax ID exactly as on the IRS letter, address, website, a support contact | Matched against federal records: Pending, then Verified or Unverified. A name and EIN mismatch is the usual failure (Bandwidth) | Twilio: most within minutes, a few over seven days. Bandwidth: within an hour |
| 02 Authentication+ | A brand representative's business email (no personal or group addresses) | The registry emails a two-factor link; the representative confirms name and title | Public for-profit brands today; Bandwidth says all brands after 2027-01-21 |
| 03 Vetting | A request to a third-party vetting partner, through your provider | Business age and size, online presence, EIN, industry: a trust score from 0 to 100 (Telnyx) | Optional. Standard: 1 to 7 business days (Telnyx). Enhanced: 2 to 3 months (Bandwidth) |
| 04 Campaign | Use case, description, sample messages, how people opt in, opt-out and HELP replies, privacy and terms links | Reviewed by the provider and its vetting partner; special use cases also by the carriers | Bandwidth: standard use cases immediately, special ones up to a few weeks. Twilio: up to several weeks |
| 05 Numbers | The local numbers that will send for this campaign | Linked to the campaign ID; T-Mobile caps a campaign at 49 numbers unless a number pool is approved | After approval; Twilio warns number registration can fail or take longer than expected. A sole proprietor campaign sends from one number |
Most failures start at step one. Bandwidth says the most common reason a brand is Unverified is a legal name and EIN that “do not match what is filed with the Federal Government”; Twilio asks for the name exactly as it appears on the IRS confirmation letter, not a W-2 or W-9. At step four the registration is mostly about consent: the campaign has to show how a person opts in, what the first text says, and how STOP and HELP are answered. The 10DLC registration checklist walks through every field, and the SMS privacy policy generator writes the privacy and terms pages reviewers open.
Which brand type and campaign fit you
The brand type sets your ceiling before anything else does. Twilio publishes three, and its limits are counted in message segments to T-Mobile customers, the carrier with a daily cap (Twilio estimates the sole proprietor limit at roughly 3,000 segments a day across all US carriers). A long text can be several segments, which the SMS segment counter shows.
| Brand type (Twilio) | Who files it | Campaigns | Daily volume |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sole Proprietor | No business tax ID | One campaign, one number | 1,000 segments a day to T-Mobile |
| Low-Volume Standard | Tax ID (EIN) | Up to five, more with a clear business reason | Up to 2,000 segments a day to T-Mobile (200,000 for Russell 3000 companies) |
| Standard | Tax ID (EIN) | Up to five, more with a clear business reason | From 2,000 a day to T-Mobile upward, set by the trust score |
Not every provider offers all three: Bandwidth stopped registering sole proprietor brands in 2022, and Twilio says a sole proprietor who has an EIN must register a Standard or Low-Volume Standard brand instead. Answer four questions to see where you land.
Which 10DLC route fits this sender?
- Brand
Low-Volume Standard
Twilio's Low-Volume Standard brand allows up to 2,000 segments a day to T-Mobile, enough for your volume, with up to five campaigns.
- Campaign
Low Volume Mixed
Up to 5 use cases on one campaign with a lower monthly fee. Bandwidth recommends it under 15,000 messages a month and caps it at 75 SMS segments a minute on AT&T.
- Vetting
Optional
The Low tier's 2,000 a day to T-Mobile covers your volume. Bandwidth notes a Low Volume campaign cannot raise its throughput through vetting anyway.
- Consent
Prior express written consent
Marketing texts need a signed (e-signature counts) written consent under the TCPA rule, and Bandwidth rejects marketing campaigns that cannot show it (code 2101).
Read 2026-10-22 from Twilio brand types and Bandwidth T-Mobile tiers and use cases
Use cases: the campaign says what you send
A campaign is one use case, or a declared bundle of them. The registry's use case names are shared by every provider; this grouping follows Bandwidth's published list. Pick the one that matches the texts people will actually receive, because carriers compare the two.
| Group | Use cases | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | 2FA, Account Notification, Customer Care, Delivery Notifications, Fraud Alert, Higher Education, Marketing, Polling and Voting, Public Service Announcement, Security Alert, Machine-to-Machine | The normal campaign review, no extra carrier sign-off |
| Mixed and Low Volume Mixed | Two to five standard use cases on one campaign; the low-volume version for small senders such as a single doctor's office | One campaign fee; one problem can suspend every use case on it |
| Special | Agents and Franchises, Charity (501(c)(3) only), Emergency, K-12 Education, Political, Proxy, Social, Sweepstakes | Extra approval; several need the carriers' sign-off after registration |
| Sole Proprietor | Businesses without a tax ID | One number, 1,000 messages a day to T-Mobile |
Dedicated or mixed is a real choice. Bandwidth sets it out: on a dedicated campaign “non-compliant messaging only affects that one campaign”, while on a mixed one “non-compliant messaging on one use case could suspend service for the entire campaign.” A clinic whose reminders matter more than its newsletter keeps them apart. Marketing needs its own care either way: the consent behind it is a different tier, set out in prior express written consent.
Throughput and trust
Registration also sets your speed, and each carrier meters it differently. T-Mobile caps how many messages a brand sends it per day; AT&T caps messages per minute by campaign class. Both follow the brand's vetting score, which is why a business that texts at volume pays for vetting. The figures below are Bandwidth's published tables, read 2026-10-22.
| T-Mobile tier | Vetting score | Messages a day to T-Mobile, per brand |
|---|---|---|
| Top | 75–100 | 200,000 |
| High Mid | 50–74 | 40,000 |
| Low Mid | 25–49 | 10,000 |
| Low (the default) | 1–24, or no vetting | 2,000 |
The T-Mobile cap is shared by every campaign under a brand and every provider it uses, SMS and MMS together, and resets at midnight Pacific time; past it, messages are rejected. A Low Volume Mixed campaign stays at 2,000 whatever the score.
| AT&T class | Who gets it | SMS per minute, per campaign |
|---|---|---|
| A and B | Russell 3000 companies | 4,500 |
| C and D | Large business (needs vetting to move up from E and F) | 2,400 |
| E and F | Medium business | 240 |
| T | Small business | 75 |
| W | Very small business or sole proprietor | 15 |
Bandwidth's Verizon page lists no classes or tiers, only one 10DLC limit: 6,000 SMS a minute, measured per number. A Russell 3000 company skips the ladder: Bandwidth says a verified brand on that list gets the top AT&T class and T-Mobile tier automatically, and everyone else starts at the entry level and climbs by vetting.
What happens to unregistered traffic
Sending without registering is no longer a slower option; it is mostly not an option. Bandwidth's FAQ answers the question directly.
“You will not be able to send traffic in the US if you do not register. As of February 1, 2025, unregistered outbound traffic is being blocked in the industry.”
Where traffic still gets through, it costs more and travels worse. Twilio says senders that do not register “will receive additional carrier fees for sending unregistered traffic”; Bandwidth's surcharge table lists separate, higher per-message rates for unregistered texts to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon; and AT&T treats untagged traffic at person-to-person throughput “and SPAM filters”. A block also reaches a carrier's subsidiaries: Bandwidth's example is AT&T traffic blocked on Cricket Wireless too. The 10DLC registration cost calculator sets registered and unregistered fees side by side.
10DLC, toll-free or short code
10DLC is one of three ways to text US customers from software. Twilio notes that toll-free numbers and short codes “aren't part of the A2P 10DLC system”: each has its own approval path, and none of them is a way around registration.
| Route | The number | How it gets approved | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10DLC | An ordinary local 10-digit number | Brand and campaign registration with The Campaign Registry, through your provider | Speed set by brand type, vetting score and each carrier's class or tier |
| Toll-free | A toll-free number | Toll-free verification through your provider; Twilio says its toll-free numbers cannot text the US or Canada until it is approved | Outside the 10DLC system (Twilio) |
| Short code | A five- or six-digit code, leased | Leased through CTIA's Short Code Registry; the campaign is submitted with a partner and launched once approved | Its own registry, run by CTIA, which says short codes have “one of the highest throughput rates” |
Most small and mid-sized businesses choose between a local number and a toll-free one; a short code suits a program that needs the most throughput. The side-by-side, with approval times and cost parts, is in 10DLC vs toll-free vs short code, and the providers that file each route are compared in best SMS API providers.
How 10DLC relates to the TCPA
10DLC is an industry system; the Telephone Consumer Protection Act is federal law. They meet at one point, consent, and are easy to confuse because the campaign form asks how people opt in. An approved campaign proves the carriers accepted your description of your program. It proves nothing about any one person on your list.
| Question | 10DLC registration | TCPA |
|---|---|---|
| Who sets it | The wireless carriers, through The Campaign Registry and CTIA's principles | Congress and the FCC: 47 U.S.C. § 227 and 47 CFR § 64.1200 |
| What it asks | Who is sending, and what kind of texts | Whether this person agreed to this text, and whether they took it back |
| Your proof | An approved brand and campaign | A consent record per number: wording, time, method, opt-outs |
| If you break it | Filtering, blocking, carrier fees, a suspended campaign | Lawsuits: $500 per call or text, up to three times that ($1,500) if the court finds the violation willful or knowing |
The registration does lean on the law. Reviewers reject marketing campaigns that cannot show the written consent tier:
“Marketing/promotional content requires prior express written consent.”
Carrier rules add one point the TCPA does not spell out: CTIA's principles say an opt-in “should apply only to the campaign(s) and specific Message Sender for which it was intended or obtained”, so a list gathered for one brand or campaign does not move to another. Write the opt-in with the SMS opt-in language builder, and read what TCPA compliance means for the rest of the law and the CTIA messaging guidelines for the carriers' side.
Questions owners ask
Do I need to register for 10DLC if I only send a few texts?
Yes, if the texts go from software over a local number to US phones. Twilio says anyone sending SMS or MMS over a 10DLC number from an application must register, and that this includes individuals and hobbyists. Low volume changes which registration you file (a Sole Proprietor brand, or a Low Volume Mixed campaign), not whether you file.
Can I register directly with The Campaign Registry?
Not as a business. The Campaign Registry says direct registration is not available for brands: you register through a Campaign Service Provider, usually the texting platform or messaging API you already use, which files the brand and the campaign on your behalf.
How long does 10DLC registration take?
Each provider publishes its own timing. Twilio says most brands finish within a few minutes and a few take more than seven days; Bandwidth says a brand comes back verified or unverified within an hour. Telnyx puts standard vetting at 1 to 7 business days. For campaigns, Bandwidth says standard use cases should be approved immediately, while Twilio warns its Standard campaign vetting can take up to several weeks. Plan for weeks, not hours.
Does an approved 10DLC campaign make my texts TCPA compliant?
No. Registration tells the carriers who you are and what you send. The TCPA asks whether each person you text agreed to it, and a court decides that from your consent records, not from your campaign status. Marketing texts still need prior express written consent.
Does 10DLC cover MMS and texts to Canada?
Bandwidth's 10DLC FAQ says registration covers both SMS and MMS, and applies only to US messaging: texts sent only within Canada need no 10DLC registration, but texts from a Canadian number to a US number do.
What does 10DLC registration cost?
Your provider sets the charges and passes on the carriers' fees: a one-time brand registration, optional third-party vetting, a monthly fee per campaign and a carrier surcharge on each message, which is higher for unregistered traffic. The 10DLC registration cost calculator on this site puts each provider's published figures side by side.
Sources
- The Campaign Registry: the 10DLC ecosystemfetched 2026-10-22
- The Campaign Registry: is our service for you? (Brands and CSPs)fetched 2026-10-22
- The Campaign Registry: Authentication+ (Oct. 17, 2024)fetched 2026-10-22
- Twilio: Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC (brand types, use case types)fetched 2026-10-22
- Twilio: A2P 10DLC, gather the required business informationfetched 2026-10-22
- Twilio: Troubleshooting and rectifying Campaignsfetched 2026-10-22
- Twilio: Troubleshooting Standard and Low-Volume Standard Brandsfetched 2026-10-22
- Twilio: Toll-free verification console onboarding guidefetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: 10DLC FAQfetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: 10DLC campaign use casesfetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: T-Mobile 10DLC (daily cap tiers; page dated 2026-08-13)fetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: AT&T 10DLC (campaign classes and messages per minute)fetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: Verizon 10DLC (throughput and content guidelines)fetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: Carrier surcharges, registered and unregisteredfetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: 10DLC fees (Authentication+ scope; page dated 2026-09-16)fetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: Brand vettingfetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: Vetting rejection reasons (page dated 2026-09-18)fetched 2026-10-22
- Bandwidth: How to register a brand for 10DLCfetched 2026-10-22
- Telnyx: 10DLC quickstart (registration overview and troubleshooting)fetched 2026-10-22
- CTIA: Short Code Registryfetched 2026-10-22
- CTIA, Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023)fetched 2026-10-22
- 47 U.S.C. § 227, Restrictions on use of telephone equipment (govinfo, 2023 edition)fetched 2026-10-22
- 47 CFR § 64.1200, Delivery restrictions (eCFR, current as of 2026-10-20)fetched 2026-10-22