Short answer: A2P 10DLC is the US carriers’ system for business texts sent from a regular 10-digit phone number. Before you text customers from one, your texting provider registers your business (the brand) and what you will send (the campaign) with The Campaign Registry. On Twilio, the brand costs $4.50 or $46.00 once, each campaign $15.00 to review and $1.50 to $10.00 a month. Most rejections come from the opt-in or the privacy policy.
What 10DLC is
10DLC stands for 10-digit long code: a regular US phone number. The Campaign Registry, the registry the carriers use, calls 10DLC “the sanctioned standard for non-consumer (A2P) text messaging utilizing a traditional 10 digit phone number”. A2P means application-to-person: the texts a business sends, as opposed to texts between two people.
It isn’t only for marketing. The registry says any business that texts its customers or employees from one of these numbers has to register, “even if it is not for marketing purposes”. Appointment reminders, order updates and replies to customers count. Short codes and toll-free numbers follow their own rules and are not part of 10DLC.
Who registers your business
You don’t register with The Campaign Registry yourself. The registry calls a business that wants to text its customers a “Brand”, and says that registering directly “is not the correct path” for it. Your messaging provider does it: the registry calls it a CSP, or campaign service provider, and Twilio is one.
The registry doesn’t approve or reject campaigns either. It says your provider and the other companies that carry your texts to the carriers review them. When a campaign is rejected, the answer comes through your provider.
The brand and the campaign
A registration has two parts:
- Brand: the business your customers believe is texting them. For a private company, the registry asks for the legal company name, country, EIN, address, industry and contact details, and strongly recommends a website.
- Campaign: what you will send. The registry calls it “the use case of your messaging”, such as marketing or customer care. A brand can have more than one campaign. If you send marketing and reminders, register each as its own campaign, or use a mixed campaign where your provider offers one.
The legal name and the EIN have to match. The registry says the number one reason a brand stays unverified is that “the Legal Company Name and EIN do not match what is filed with the Federal Government”. Each resubmission has a fee, so copy the legal name as registered with the federal government, not the name on your sign.
A business without an EIN can register as a sole proprietor, with limits. On Twilio, a sole proprietor gets one campaign, one number and up to 3,000 text segments a day to US phones, no more than 1,000 of them to T-Mobile.
A segment holds up to 160 characters, or 70 if the text has a character outside the basic set, such as some accented letters or an emoji.
With an EIN, Twilio offers Low Volume Standard for fewer than 6,000 messages a day and Standard above that.
If your company is publicly traded, the registry also emails your brand contact a link to confirm who is registering. It calls this step Authentication Plus, and it started with public companies.
What to have ready
Your provider will ask for most of this in its registration form:
- The legal business name and the EIN, exactly as filed with the federal government.
- Business address, industry, website and a contact person.
- A description of what you will text and why people receive it.
- Sample messages written the way you will send them, with your business name and how to stop.
- How people opt in, step by step, with a link or a screenshot of the form.
- The address of your privacy policy.
- Links on your own domain, if your texts carry links: the registry says public link shorteners such as bitly or tinyurl are not accepted.
- How many texts you expect to send a day.
The opt-in that gets approved
Carriers want to see that people asked for your texts. The CTIA, the wireless industry’s trade group, publishes the messaging best practices that the registry and the providers point to. Twilio lists six things your consent text has to say:
- Your business name.
- What kind of messages people will get.
- How often.
- “Message and data rates may apply.”
- How to stop, such as “Reply STOP to unsubscribe.”
- How to get help, such as “Reply HELP for help.”
Twilio rejects campaigns where the box to accept texts comes already ticked, or where people can’t buy, book or sign up without accepting texts. Consent has to be a separate, active choice. The CTIA adds that the sign-up should link to your privacy policy and that opt-in details shouldn’t be hidden in the terms.
Keep proof of each yes. The CTIA lists what to keep: the date and time, how the person agreed, the wording they saw, the campaign, the IP address, the phone number and who they are. A yes covers your business and that campaign only, and the CTIA says not to text lists that were rented, sold or shared.
After someone opts in, send a confirmation before anything else. The CTIA says it should name the program, give a way to get help, explain how to stop, say how often you text and mention any charges.
The privacy policy
Reviewers read your privacy policy. Twilio rejects campaigns when the policy is missing or contradicts the opt-in. It also rejects them when the policy doesn’t say that mobile numbers and opt-in data are not shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing.
Twilio says that since June 30, 2026, it requires the policy’s address with every campaign created through its API.
Ours says it this way: “We do not sell, rent or share your mobile number with any third party or affiliate for their own marketing. Your opt-in to texts and your consent are never shared with any third party, except the providers that deliver our messages.”
What it costs and how long it takes
The registration fees start at the registry, and Twilio says it passes them on “with no added cost”. Its prices, read on November 1, 2026:
| Fee | Twilio |
|---|---|
| Brand, sole proprietor or Low Volume Standard | $4.50 once |
| Brand, Standard (includes secondary vetting) | $46.00 once |
| Campaign review, not refundable | $15.00 per campaign |
| Campaign, every month | $1.50 low-volume mixed, $2.00 sole proprietor, $10.00 standard |
| Authentication Plus, publicly traded companies | $12.50 per retry |
Carrier fees are charged on each text on top of the sending price. Twilio says the registry raised several of these fees on August 1, 2025. These are Twilio’s prices: check your own provider’s. What the texts themselves cost is in our article on email and SMS marketing costs.
On timing, Twilio says registration “currently takes up to 5 business days for standard use cases”. The registry gives a wider range: campaign reviews “can range from 1-4 weeks”. Your texts can’t go out on the 10DLC route until the campaign is approved.
Why campaigns get rejected
Twilio publishes a code for each rejection reason. These are among the ones it lists:
- No privacy policy, or one that allows sharing mobile data for marketing (30908, 30932, 30933).
- Texts are a condition to buy, sign up or use the service (30923), or people can’t decline and still finish (30931).
- The consent box comes already ticked (30925).
- The consent text leaves out the kind of messages, how often, rates, STOP or HELP (30924).
- The opt-in shown belongs to another company (30927).
- An opt-in method is listed without describing how it works (30917).
A rejected campaign can be fixed and submitted again through your provider. On Twilio, the $15.00 review fee isn’t refunded.
When 10DLC isn’t the fit
Twilio mentions toll-free numbers as the alternative: they need their own verification, but no brand and campaign registration. Short codes are a third option, with their own rules.
This guide covers the carriers’ registration, not the law. Texting laws, such as the TCPA and Florida’s rules on sales texts, are on our page about email and SMS marketing in Miami. We are a marketing agency, not a law firm: confirm your case with your lawyer.
RememberYour texting provider registers your brand and each campaign. Give it your legal name and EIN exactly as filed. Your consent text names your business, the messages, how often, rates, STOP and HELP. Your privacy policy says mobile numbers aren’t shared for marketing. On Twilio: $4.50 or $46.00 once, and $15.00 per campaign.
Quick answers
How long does 10DLC registration take?
On Twilio, up to 5 business days for standard use cases, according to its vetting FAQ. The Campaign Registry says campaign reviews can take 1 to 4 weeks, depending on the companies in the chain. Complete and accurate details speed it up.
How much does 10DLC registration cost?
On Twilio, $4.50 once for a small brand or $46.00 for a standard one, $15.00 to review each campaign and $1.50 to $10.00 a month per campaign. Carrier fees go on top of each text. Other providers can charge differently.
Can I register for 10DLC without an EIN?
Yes, as a sole proprietor in the US or Canada. The Campaign Registry then asks for a name, address, email and phone number instead of an EIN. On Twilio you get one campaign, one number and up to 3,000 segments a day.
Do appointment reminders need 10DLC registration?
Yes. The Campaign Registry says businesses that send individual messages have to register too, even if it is not for marketing. Pick the campaign type that matches the reminders with your provider.
Why was my 10DLC campaign rejected?
Most of the reasons Twilio lists are about the opt-in or the privacy policy: a pre-ticked box, texts required to buy or sign up, consent text without frequency, rates, STOP or HELP, or a policy that allows sharing mobile data. Fix it and resubmit through your provider.
Want help with texts and email?
We write and send email and text campaigns for local businesses, in English and Spanish. Texts go only to people who said yes, and the 10DLC registration is done in your name. See email and SMS marketing.
Sources
All read on November 1, 2026. The Campaign Registry: The Campaign Registry & 10-Digit Long Code (2026), CSP User Guide (April 2026) and Authentication Plus. CTIA: Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023). Twilio Help Center: Pricing and Fees for A2P 10DLC Service, A2P 10DLC Campaign Vetting FAQ, Comparison between Sole Proprietor, Low Volume Standard, and Standard registration and How long can a message be?. Twilio error codes 30908, 30917, 30923, 30924, 30925, 30927, 30931, 30932 and 30933.