Learn About A2P Registration and How MessageDesk Makes 10 DLC Compliance Easy

A2P 10DLC registration and compliance may seem daunting.

But the A2P registration process is actually simple, easy, and painless (especially when you do it through MessageDesk).

In this plain English guide, I walk you through:

1. The basic terminology, like what is A2P, what is 10DLC, etc.
2. Why A2P 10DLC registration is required
3. How to complete A2P 10DLC registration for your business/brand
4. Answers to frequently asked A2P 10DLC registration questions
5. Advanced A2P 10DLC knowledge (for those doing a deep dive) 

If you’re a business owner trying to send texts, the first half of this guide is for you. It’s easy, actionable, and straightforward.

If you’re looking for specific answers to technical A2P 10DLC compliance questions, the second half of this guide is for you. 

Read on for more.

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What is A2P (Application to Person?)

A2P stands for application-to-person messaging. A2P is a fancy way of saying, “text messages sent from an application, app, software or computer to a person.” A2P messages often include marketing messages, appointment reminders, and other transactional messages.

What is 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code)?

10DLC stands for 10-digit long code phone numbers. 10DLC phone numbers are the North American standard for most personal and professional phone lines. To use your 10DLC phone number for A2P messaging, you must register your business as a brand through a CSP. You must also get your campaign(s) approved through The Campaign Registry (TCR).

What is A2P 10DLC?

AA2P 10DLC is the regulatory framework and messaging standard that enables businesses to send application-to-person (A2P) SMS and MMS messages using 10-digit long code (10DLC) phone numbers. A2P 10DLC registration requires registering your phone number, brand, and campaign through a CSP.

What is a CSP (Campaign Service Provider)?

A CSP, or "Campaign Service Provider," is a third-party business texting software provider, like MessageDesk. CSPs like MessageDesk help you register for A2P messaging campaigns using your 10DLC phone number. CSPs go between your businesses/brand and the mobile carriers. We make sure your campaigns get approved, your messages get delivered, and that you comply with A2P 10DLC regulations.

What is a Brand?

Your brand is your business or organization's identity. Carriers need to vet you and know who you are to send A2P 10DLC text messages as a business or organization. CSPs like MessageDesk help your business/brand register through the TCR.

What is the TCR (The Campaign Registry)?

TCR stands for The Campaign Registry. TCR works with CSPs like MessageDesk to manage your business’s brand and campaigns. Your business or organization must go through a CSP and the TCR if you want to send A2P 10DLC text messages. At MessageDesk, we do all the paperwork and communication with the TCR for you behind the scenes.

What is a Campaign?

Your campaign is a messaging initiative or use case associated with your brand. A CSP like MessageDesk can help your business/brand register multiple campaigns for different text messaging purposes. After you register your brand and campaigns through your CSP, you can send registered A2P 10DLC text messages. Your brand’s campaigns might include:

• Sending marketing and promotional messages
• Sending appointment reminders and follow-ups
• Texting with customers for support and service
• Communicating with employees and staff
• Sending payment reminders
• Asking for feedback or reviews from customers

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Why is A2P 10DLC Registration Required?

Carriers require A2P registration for 4 main reasons:

1. A2P 10DLC reduces spam and phishing scams

Dramatic rises in spam SMS messages cause problems for you, me, the carriers, and everyone.

As more people and businesses text, spam increases and bad actors emerge. 

We’ve seen this with text message phishing scams. The scammer sends you a text. They claim to be Amazon, UPS, USPS, or Netflix. Typically their message prompts you to click a link, in an attempt to capture sensitive personal information.

A2P 10 DLC compliance fixes this problem. It locks down the SMS network. It keeps SMS traffic free and clear for everyone to connect with your business or organization.

2. A2P 10DLC improves customer and brand experiences

As spam and scams rise, consumers complain about their experiences with their mobile providers. Carriers and the telecom industry thus respond with A2P 10DLC regulations in North America to protect their customers’ experience. 

But the net results are positive for consumers and businesses

A2P 10DLC verifies your business. It builds trust with your contacts. It also allows you to send and receive personalized and conversational texts using your existing 10DLC number.

In the early days of business text messaging, the only way you could text consumers was with a 5 or 6-digit shortcode. Shortcodes are expensive, cumbersome, and only allow for one-way text messaging.

Now, any business or organization can use their local phone number, toll-free number, existing landline, or VoIP for two-way texting with their contacts.  

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3. A2P 10DLC improves messaging volume and deliverability rates for everyone

Ever wonder why your text messages don’t get delivered? Most likely it’s because the carriers are blocking your messages.

A2P 10DLC compliance fixes that too. 

Once you get approval for A2P 10DLC you can send text messages in much higher volumes and achieve better delivery rates. 

We call this “throughput”. Throughput refers to how fast you can send text messages from an app like MessageDesk to a mobile phone.

Your approved campaign type determines how fast and how many texts you can send. I list all the details of this further down in this article.

Regardless, once your CSP approves you for A2P 10DLC, you’ll get the best text message delivery rates possible. This is how you optimize engagement, response, and open rates to get the most out of your text message campaigns.

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4. A2P 10DLC builds trust and credibility for your brand

Trust and credibility are important for any brand. Especially as carriers further scrutinize businesses and organizations sending promotional messages.

So A2P 10DLC lets AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile know you’re real and vetted, and that your text messages aren’t spam.

Once you register your campaigns and brand for A2P compliance you’ll get a Trust Score. These scores let carriers know what kind of messages you’re sending and how fast you can send them. I provide more details on trust scores further below.

How to Register for High-Volume A2P 10DLC Text Messaging

I’ve covered why A2P 10DLC is important. Now it's time to address how A2P 10DLC registration actually works.

1. Choose an A2P 10DLC compliant business texting service 

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The first step to getting approved for A2P 10DLC is choosing a business SMS provider.

There are many great business texting services (CSPs) approved for A2P 10DLC, including MessageDesk. These platforms all support high-volume, two-way texting on local 10DLC phone numbers, VoIP digital numbers, and toll-free numbers.

Services like MessageDesk can even text-enable your existing landline.

Looking to text-enable your whole team? Then you’ll want an A2P service with a shared team SMS inbox.

Doing large-scale SMS marketing campaigns? You’ll want an SMS marketing service or mass text app that supports text message broadcasts.

MessageDesk offers features that suit both these texting needs.

2. Configure your phone number for A2P 10DLC text messaging

The first step in getting registered for A2P 10DLC is configuring your phone number. 

You have three options for this. 

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Option 1: Get a new number for A2P texting

Is your business or organization just getting started? Don’t already have a business phone number? Most business text messaging providers can provide you with a text-enabled SMS phone number. 

Some providers also offer voice services as well. So this is something to consider when selecting an A2P texting provider or communications platform.

Additionally, providers like MessageDesk can get you a local 10-digit phone number with any area code of your choosing. We can even provide you with a toll-free 800 number for texting.

Option 2: Text-enable an existing business landline or VoIP number

Already have a business phone line? No problem. Most providers (including MessageDesk) can text-enable your existing landline or work with your VoIP service phone number. This is all without disrupting your existing voice calling functionality or service.

To text-enable an existing 10DLC number, you’ll need to submit a number hosting request. A number hosting request gives a new platform access to the texting capability of your number. 

This process also requires you to submit a formal letter to your current phone number carrier. 

At MessageDesk, we make this process easy. Just submit a form and we’ll automatically generate the letter for you and then submit it to the mobile networks. 

The whole process can take 10 minutes or 3-5 business days depending on your provider and configuration. We then let you know once everything is good to go and you can start sending SMS messages.

Option 3: Port your cell phone number to a VoIP provider and then host it with a texting provider

Carriers restrict business texting providers from hosting your mobile phone number for texting. This is a technical limitation with the number type and mobile networks.

However, you can port your cell phone number to a VoIP provider.

Once you port your cell phone number, your new VoIP provider becomes your voice provider as well. I personally recommend using RingCentral for this.

Once you’ve ported your phone number you can then set up hosting for business SMS with any A2P 10DLC texting service like MessageDesk.

3. Submit and validate your brand info with carriers through MessageDesk

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Every business texting service has its way of managing brand and campaign registration. But here’s how we do it at MessageDesk.

We start the brand registration process by validating that your organization is legitimate. We do this with a simple form that collects the following information from you:

1. Business identification: You need to provide proof of your business's existence and legality. This includes your Employer Identification Number (EIN) or other tax identification numbers.
2. Business address: The official address registered with your organization.
3. Business industry: what industry or sector your business or organization work in.
4. Contact Information: A primary contact within the business, including name, phone number, email address, and website.
5. Messaging purpose and examples: Explain why and how your business uses SMS messaging. This means providing examples of the types of messages you send.
6. Opt-in and opt-out processes: Describe how your contacts opt in and out of receiving messages. This includes how you collect consent and how you manage and honor opt-out requests.
7. Message content and volume: Carriers need to know about the volume and content of the messages you’ll send. This helps carriers understand your messaging patterns. It also ensures that your messages align with anti-spam policies.

4. Publish an A2P-compliant privacy policy on your website

You submitted and validated your organization's information. Next, the compliance team at MessageDesk will work with you or your web developer. 

Carriers require that you have a website and that you publish an A2P 10DLC-compliant privacy policy on it.

Your privacy policy must explain the following:

1. The type of contact and personal information your organization collects
2. How your organization collects information from contacts
3. How your organization uses any information collected
4. How your organization protects contact data
5. That your organization does not share information
6. How contacts can opt out of receiving text messages

🚨 Note: having a website with a privacy policy is an absolute must for A2P 10DLC text messaging. Without it, carriers won’t approve your organization for texting. 

Carriers will also scrutinize any language interpreted as sharing information with third parties, especially for marketing purposes.

Specifically:

1. Your privacy policy should explicitly mention that you won’t share personal information with third parties unless legally required.
2. You may not include any verbiage that indicates you collect consent for any third party.

For these reasons, I recommend using the language below.

Include the following in your privacy policy:

"At [Organization Name] we maintain a strict privacy policy. We ensure that our customers’ and members’ personal information is not sold, rented, released, or traded to third parties without legal obligation."

Your privacy policy must also include instructions on how to opt out of further text communications. I recommend adding the following language to an appropriate section within your privacy policy:

Include the following in your policy:

SMS Opt-Out: If you are receiving text messages from [Organization Name] and wish to stop receiving them, respond with "STOP" to the number from which you received the message. Once we receive your message, you will no longer receive further text messages from us. Message and data rates may apply."

5. Collect opt-in from contacts and abide by TCPA regulations

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Adhering to opt-in and TCPA regulations is your final A2P 10DLC compliance requirement. 

But the good news is that CSPs like MessageDesk come with features that help manage opt-in for you.

Here are four ways you can collect opt-in and display opt-out to your contacts.

1. Collect opt-in with language and a required checkbox anywhere you collect a phone number

You’ll need opt-in language wherever you collect phone numbers. 

This includes your website (contact forms, popup forms, quote forms, estimate forms, etc.) For all forms, you’ll also need to include a required check box for explicit consent.

Include the following with every form that collects a phone number:

✅ By submitting this form you agree to receive promotional text messages from [Organization Name]. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP.

This policy also includes physical, handwritten, sign-in, or registration forms for appointments, local meetups, or trade shows. 

These types of forms are acceptable forms of opt-in, so long as they include opt-in language. You’ll also need to upload a picture of the form as proof to successfully register your 10DLC campaign.

2. Collect opt-in with MesageDesk’s SMS Chatbot on your website

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MessageDesk’s SMS Chatbot is a great way to start more conversations from your website. It also comes with standard opt-in language out of the box. 

Anyone who successfully messages you through the chatbot explicitly provides an opt-in. 

Having a highly visible chatbot on your website can also lead to faster A2P 10DLC campaign approval.

3. Collect opt-in with keyword autoresponders

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Using keyword autoresponders like “QUOTE” or “ESTIMATE” for inbound inquiries is another great way to collect opt-in. This is because contacts are intentionally texting you and implicitly opting in.

Just be sure to configure your autoresponder properly in MessageDesk. You’ll want to make sure the first text a contact receives includes your opt-out policy.

Include the following with every autoresponder keyword response:

Thanks for opting in. By opting in you agree to receive promotional text messages from [Organization Name]. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP.

4.  Collect opt-in from inbound “text us” inquires

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Consider advertising “text us” on your website or any marketing collateral. But like autoresponders, you’ll need to include language regarding your opt-out policy.

In MessageDesk this is a configurable setting.

Include the following with every anonymous inbound text response:

Thanks for opting in. By opting in you agree to receive promotional text messages from [Organization Name]. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP.

Bonus: How to keep your texts from getting marked as spam

The whole goal of A2P 10DLC compliance is to protect everyone from spam and to make sure your texts are legit and trustworthy. Even with proper A2P registration and vetting, carriers can still flag your messages as spam for several reasons.

To keep your texts out of spam filters, watch out for the following:

• Using Third-Party Shortened URLs: Shortened links like Bitly can obscure the destination URL, which raises concerns for carriers. It’s better to use full URLs or your own branded short links.
• Ending a Message with a Link: Placing a link at the end of a message might look suspicious to filters. Try embedding the link naturally within your message text.
• Sending Links Without "https://": Your URLs should always start with "https://" to ensure they are secure and recognized as legitimate.
• Using ALL CAPS: Using capital letters is shouty and aggressive marketing, these are common characteristics of spam.
• Multiple Dollar Signs or Emojis: Overusing symbols like dollar signs ($$) or packing messages with emojis can make them seem unprofessional or overly promotional, triggering spam filters.
• Identical Mass Messaging: Sending the exact same text to large groups of people can appear impersonal and spammy. Personalize texts to add value and relevance.‍
• Long Messages to Large Audiences: Lengthy texts, especially when sent to a broad audience, may overwhelm recipients and raise flags as potential spam.

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A2P 10DLC Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Below is a list of answers to frequently asked A2P 10DLC registration questions.

What is Person-to-Person (P2P) SMS Text Messaging?

P2P stands for person-to-person or peer-to-peer texting. This is when two or more people text 1-on-1 or in a group text message. 

P2P texting occurs on personal phones using iMessage, Google Messages, or any other app. Carriers limit how many person-to-person P2P SMS messages you can send. This is why they’re for personal communication, not bulk text messaging.

What is the difference between P2P SMS vs. A2P SMS?

Everyone is familiar with 1-on-1 and group text messages sent from smartphones. But these kinds of texts are different from mass texts.

The big difference between A2P and P2P messaging comes down to who’s sending texts and how they’re sending them.

People send P2P text messages manually, one by one. The best peer-to-peer texting platforms are iPhone and Android. But there are also other P2P texting platforms and group text apps, like WhatsApp, Signal, and others. 

These P2P apps are different from business text messaging software like MessageDesk. They can’t send A2P text messages automatically in bulk.

The bottom line: you need carrier-approve A2P texting to send text blasts. Peer-to-peer (P2P) messaging is only meant for low-volume personal use.

Do I need to buy a new phone number to use A2P 10DLC?

There’s no need to buy a new 10-digit long code number. In most cases, you can enable an existing business phone number for use with A2P 10DLC.

Can I use an existing SMS phone number for local A2P 10DLC messaging?

Yes, you can set up a new 10DLC phone number. You can also text-enable, port, or host any existing phone number and use it with an A2P 10DLC campaign.

What happens if you don't register for A2P 10DLC?

Unregistered brands without campaigns will incur carrier bans and severe fines (up to $10 per text message). Decreased message delivery rates and fees will apply to organizations that send texts without A2P 10DLC registration.

Beginning in September 2024, carriers will stop delivering text messages tied to unregistered brands and campaigns in the U.S.

Does A2P 10DLC affect messaging in Canada or any other countries?

A2P 10DLC affects Canadian messages sent to U.S. phone numbers. All messages sent to U.S. numbers require A2P registration. Canadian mobile carriers may fully introduce A2P 10DLC registration solutions in the future. At this time carriers haven’t announced any plans to do so.

How long does it take to register a phone number and brand with an A2P 10DLC campaign?

You can complete A2P 10DLC registration in a few minutes if you've collected all of the required information. 

What information do you need to register for A2P 10DLC?

To register a US-based business or organization for A2P 10DLC you’ll need:

1. Your organization’s legal name
2. Your organization’s country of registration
3. The type of your organization (private, publicly traded, nonprofit)
4. EIN number (or other tax ID)
5. Your organization’s website
6. Your organization’s privacy policy
7. Your organization’s industry
8. Organization address
9. Phone number
10. Business or organization email
11. Campaign name
12. Campaign description
13. Campaign use case
14. Campaign sample messages

🚨 Note: Your Tax ID (EIN) must match your business name as it appears on your taxes. This could include an LLC or Inc. at the end of your legal business name. Discrepancy in the provided information requires a manual review and secondary vetting. This process can take between seven and fourteen business days.

Does A2P 10DLC affect MMS messaging?

MMS text messaging is subject to carrier fees as part of A2P 10DLC. Long code MMS messaging also remains subject to throughput limits, due to limited carrier capacity. A shortcode is still the best option for ultra-high-volume MMS in the United States.

What messaging throughput can I expect?

Messaging throughput (MPS) depends on the type of Campaign you get approval for through The Campaign Registry. For many, A2P 10DLC offers much higher throughput than the traditional 1 message per second for long code text messaging.

Does A2P 10DLC registration affect toll-free numbers?

The A2P 10DLC registration process takes longer and comes with additional requirements for US toll-free phone numbers. This process can take upwards of four weeks. During this period you can’t send or receive text messages.

Does A2P 10DLC registration affect shared short codes?

Carriers will begin phasing out shared short code phone numbers as brands transition to A2P 10DLC campaigns. The exception to this policy is a shared short code used to send 2-factor authentication (2FA) messages or OTP codes. “Shared short codes” refers to short code numbers shared between multiple brands. 

A2P 10DLC Campaign Registry Campaign Types, Uses, and Monthly Fees

The table below describes standard and special A2P campaign types. It includes their uses, and monthly fees charged to your text messaging service by The Campaign Registry.

Standard A2P 10DLC campaign types

Special A2P 10DLC campaign types

US A2P 10DLC Pricing and Additional US A2P 10DLC Costs

US A2P Standard Brand registration fee: $4 one-time registration fee – increasing to $44 on August 21st

Note: The threshold for "low volume" is 75 SMS per minute and 50 MMS per minute and no more than 2000 messages per day.

AT&T carrier fees

Since May 1, 2021, Twilio has been passing on AT&T's carrier fees to our customers. AT&T set these fees to a discounted rate of $0.002 per outbound SMS segment and $0.0035 per outbound MMS.

As of March 1, 2022, AT&T has increased the cost of unregistered traffic.

AT&T ultimately plans to implement a detailed fee table. These fees will vary by campaign type, however, the launch date for AT&T's full fee table (shown below) is still TBD.

Fees effective for all long code messages to AT&T as of March 1st, 2022:

• $0.002 per registered outbound SMS message segment to AT&T
• $0.0035 per registered outbound MMS message to AT&T
• $0.004 per unregistered outbound SMS message segment to AT&T
• $0.005 per unregistered outbound MMS message to AT&T

Fees effective for long code messages to AT&T after the transition period ends (date TBD):

T-Mobile carrier fees (including Sprint)

As of March 1, 2022, T-Mobile has increased per-message fees for unregistered long code messaging to T-Mobile (including. Sprint) users.

Fees effective for all long code messages to T-Mobile as of March 1, 2022:

• $0.003 per registered outbound/inbound SMS message segment
• $0.01 per registered outbound/inbound MMS message
• $0.004 per unregistered outbound/inbound SMS message segment
• $0.013 per unregistered outbound/inbound MMS message

Verizon Wireless carrier fees

Verizon introduced the following A2P 10DLC fees in January 2019. They haven’t announced any plans to change this structure since introducing these fees.

Fees for all long code messages to Verizon Wireless, since January 2019:

• $0.0025 per outbound SMS message segment
• $0.005 per outbound MMS message

US A2P 10DLC Trust Scores

What is an A2P 10DLC Trust Score

When you complete your US A2P brand registration, your brand will receive a trust score from 0 to 100. This rating influences the maximum message throughput allocated to each of your Campaign use cases.

When you complete your brand and campaign registration through MessageDesk, we send that info to The Campaign Registry (TCR).

A2P 10DLC Trust Scores and messaging throughput

How carriers determine your Trust Score

Carriers are afraid of spam. They don’t want their customers to receive unwanted, dangerous, or malicious text messages.

So carriers ask for detailed information about your organization. They do this before approving your brand for high-volume text messaging. 

After you submit your brand information, an independent agency assigns you a trust score. Your trust score takes into account the following:

• The kinds of messages you send
• The age of your organization since registered with the IRS
• If your physical address provided matches IRS records
• If your contact information provided matches IRS records
• If your organization is in good legal standing 

A “low-risk” messaging campaign may be something like two-factor authentication. A high-risk use case may be sending A2P messages about debt relief.

How Trust Scores influence text message delivery and throughput

Trust Scores are grouped into four levels, from lowest to highest. Your Trust Score level and your campaign type determine your level of messaging throughput.

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Ready to start sending A2P 10DLC text messages?

MessageDesk offers smarter, simpler ways to send bulk text messages using carrier-vetted A2P SMS channels.

We’re here to get your business or organization set up with a 10DLC or toll-free SMS number to start more conversations.

You’re always free to put us on your calendar and meet with a messaging expert for answers to questions.