What is 10DLC?

10DLC (10-digit long code)

• it allows businesses to send application-to-person text messages (A2P) using 10 local long codes to avoid fees and penalties from mobile network operators.
• Major US carriers have announced their requirements for 10DLC. This new standard provides many benefits to our users including supporting higher messaging speeds, safety, and better deliverability.

Why 10DLC is being introduced?

• Carriers introduced 10DLC to provide an accredited platform for businesses to send SMS and MMS messages using long codes. This is to protect consumers from unwanted spam, while still allowing businesses to better connect with their customers. This change will also improve deliverability because 10DLC allows for higher messaging throughput than P2P long code traffic

What are the benefits of 10DLC?

When carriers first offered texting in the 1990s, long-code mobile numbers were used only for low-volume person-to-person (P2P) communications. When businesses used them for high-volume A2P messaging, carriers subjected them to blocking and throttling.

Carriers introduced shortcodes in 2003 to handle high-volume messaging, but shortcodes are expensive to rent and take weeks to acquire. Carriers developed 10DLC specifically for commercial A2P messaging. 10DLC offers several benefits:

• Higher SMS message volumes
• Lower cost option
• Local number recognition
• Easier campaign tracking

• Improved Deliverability and Compliance

• Prevention of scams and phishing 
• Unlike short codes, long code numbers can be used to make and receive calls

Do I need to register for 10DLC?

If you’re sending A2P text messages to US recipients and not using toll-free or short-code source numbers, you should register your brand and campaigns for 10DLC. Not registering your A2P traffic will result in higher surcharges, lower throughput, increased filtering, and lower deliverability.

How to register for 10DLC?

• 10DLC requires businesses to register their brand and campaigns to associate their texting with specific usage, cases, and security. 

• Creating a brand is a process that involves registration to a third-party company entrusted by US carriers to manage all the 10DLC brands and campaigns. This organization is named The Campaign Registry (TCR). 

• To register a 10DLC number, complete the registration form at the following link:
  
  10DLC Customer Registration form

As part of the registration process, companies must indicate their messaging use cases, as these determine campaign approval and throughput. Details needed at the time of registration include:

• Your company’s legal name
• Your company’s country of registration
• The type of your organization (private, publicly traded, nonprofit)
• Your company’s tax identification number/EIN
• Your business’s website
• Campaign name
• Campaign description
• Campaign use case
• Campaign sample messages
• Sample Message
• Opt-in process, how users will opt-in or provide express consent to receive text messages from your business. Include any screenshots or opt-in or call to action (CTA) screens, such as a web signup form, a keyword, or a paper registration form.
• Customer service email and phone number

Campaigns for standard use cases, such as 2FA and account notification, are generally approved almost immediately, but some cases might take up to a week.

When a carrier approves a business’s registration, it allocates the maximum throughput available for a 10DLC number based on the brand's Trust Score and the types of campaigns it plans to run. When your brand is approved, we will send you an email confirmation that provides your allocated throughput.

Businesses can request additional standard vetting or Enhanced vetting to request higher throughputs. You can add multiple phone numbers to your 10DLC campaign.

10DLC Registration & Recurring Fees: 

Carrier surcharge fee for unregistered traffic: (as of March 1, 2022, and subject to change)

• You can click here for further details on 10DLC Fees and Charges 

What are brands and campaigns?

The 10DLC ecosystem relies on two important declarations from the customer. A brand is an entity that a number represents. A campaign represents the type of messages the brand intends to send. The terms “campaign” and “use case” are often used interchangeably.