How to Register for A2P 10DLC
10DLC registration means filing a brand and a campaign with The Campaign Registry before US A2P SMS. Fees, steps, and when to use Messages for Business.
A2P 10DLC registration is how a business gets permission to send application-to-person SMS from a normal US 10-digit number. You do not file it on a carrier website yourself. A messaging provider, called a Campaign Service Provider, submits two records to The Campaign Registry: a brand (who is sending) and a campaign (what the messages are for). Carriers use that registry to decide whether the traffic is sanctioned.
This is the US long-code path. It is separate from a short code, from RCS for Business, and from Apple Messages for Business. If the program lives inside the Messages app on iPhone, start with how to apply for Apple Messages for Business instead of a 10DLC campaign. For the channel definition, see What Is A2P 10DLC?.
Who Has to Register
Anyone sending automated texts to US handsets from a 10-digit long code needs a registered brand and a registered campaign before they scale. Appointment reminders, one-time passcodes, shipping alerts, and marketing blasts are all application-to-person traffic. A person texting another person is not.
10DLC registration does not cover toll-free SMS, which has its own carrier registration, or a 5- or 6-digit short code. It also does not cover Apple Messages for Business. That channel has no business phone number. Customers open it from an entry point, and an Apple-approved Messaging Service Provider runs the thread.
The Campaign Registry’s July 2026 CSP user guide is explicit about the order. A provider registers brands first. Each brand receives an ID, a 7-character code that starts with B. Campaigns can be created only after that brand is Verified or Vetted_Verified. An unverified brand cannot have a 10DLC campaign.
What to Gather Before You File
The details have to match the legal record, not the name on the website header. For a standard business brand, the file includes the legal company name, the EIN or other tax ID, the website, the address, the industry vertical, and a contact email. Sole proprietors follow a different brand type and verify with a one-time password rather than an EIN match.
The July 2026 guide says the most common reason a brand stays unverified is that the legal company name and the EIN do not match what is on file with the federal government. International brands often fail the first automatic check even when the details are right, and then need an identity appeal. An appeal request is $10 regardless of the outcome. Campaigns stay blocked until the brand is verified.
For the campaign, prepare the use case, a description of the program, the opt-in path (how a person agreed to receive the texts), at least one sample message, and the HELP and STOP behavior. The number you will send from is attached to that campaign. A brand can have more than one campaign when the use cases differ, such as one-time passwords and marketing.
The Registration Steps
1. Choose the Provider That Will File
Brands do not open a Campaign Registry account and submit themselves. The CSP does. Twilio, AWS End User Messaging, Microsoft Azure Communication Services, and other US messaging platforms all submit brand and campaign records into the same registry, then add their own console steps on top. Pick the provider that will actually send the SMS. Switching providers later does not move the registration with you.
The Campaign Registry’s terms say a brand may work with more than one CSP, and that each registration and its fees belong to that CSP. They are not transferable. Budget a new brand and campaign filing if you change vendors.
2. Register the Brand
The CSP submits the legal identity. TCR’s fee sheet charges a one-time brand registration of $4.50 for government, non-profit, private-profit, and public-profit entities, and that price includes the initial identity check. A sole-proprietor brand is $4.00 and includes the one-time password used to verify it. Those figures are TCR’s fees, published on its fees and pricing sheet. Your messaging provider can add its own charges on top.
If the brand comes back unverified, correct the legal name or tax ID and resubmit, or appeal with documents. Resubmission has its own fee, listed on the same sheet. Do not write sample messages or buy a stack of numbers while the brand is still unverified. The campaign step will not open.
3. Register the Campaign
After the brand is verified, the CSP registers the campaign: use case, description, message flow, sample messages, and the connectivity partner that will hand the traffic to the carriers. TCR bills campaigns monthly. Its terms create every campaign for an initial three months, except political campaigns, which have a one-month minimum. After that, the campaign renews monthly until someone terminates it. The fees are non-refundable even if a carrier later declines the traffic.
Monthly campaign prices depend on the use case. On the current TCR fee sheet, a low-volume mixed campaign and a UCaaS low-volume campaign are $1.50, a sole-proprietor campaign is $2, a charity campaign is $3, an emergency campaign is $5, and a restricted public-safety campaign is $10. A platform free-trial campaign is $0. Read the sheet for the use case you will actually file. Carrier per-message rates and throughput limits are separate from these registry fees and come from the provider and the operators.
4. Attach the Number and Wait for Carrier Review
The 10-digit number has to be associated with the approved campaign before it is the sending address for that program. TCR recording the campaign is not the same thing as every US carrier accepting the traffic at the throughput you want. Providers run their own review on top of the registry. Twilio’s direct-customer guide, for example, says campaign vetting is manual and can take two to three weeks. Microsoft’s 10DLC guidelines describe a typical brand check of two to three business days, and longer when TCR asks for more information. Use your provider’s clock, not a single industry number.
Send only the kind of message the campaign describes, to people who opted in the way the filing says they did. 10DLC registration is a deliverability requirement. It does not replace consent rules, and it does not approve content the carriers still filter.
What TCR Charges, and What It Does Not
10DLC registration versus the other US and Apple paths
| Question | A2P 10DLC | Short code | Apple Messages for Business |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you register | A brand and a campaign, through a CSP, in The Campaign Registry | A 5- or 6-digit common short code with the carriers | A business account with Apple, through an approved MSP |
| Registry fee you can look up | TCR: $4.50 or $4 brand, then a monthly campaign fee | Carrier lease and setup, not a TCR campaign | Apple does not charge per message. The MSP does. |
| Who the customer texts | A 10-digit US number | A short numeric code | No business phone number. They open a Messages thread. |
| Fits when | US A2P SMS at moderate volume on a local number | High-volume national SMS that needs a shared code | A reviewed iPhone conversation, including Apple Pay |
A CSP’s own onboarding fee is not on the TCR sheet. Twilio, AWS, and others price the console, the numbers, and the messages themselves. Compare those quotes against the same monthly volume. For the Apple channel, Apple Messages for Business pricing is the MSP’s software and seats, not a per-message Apple fee.
When 10DLC Is the Wrong Filing
Register 10DLC when the product is US business SMS from a 10-digit number. If you need a verified rich thread with cards and suggested replies on RCS, that is RCS for Business, filed with a messaging partner and the operators, not with TCR. Personal RCS on iPhone, including the end-to-end encryption beta in iOS 26.5, is still person-to-person. It does not register your brand.
If customers should reach you from Safari, Maps, or a QR code, and agents should reply inside Messages, that is Apple Messages for Business. You still pick an MSP, register in Apple Business Register, and pass Experience Review. Keep 10DLC, or RCS, for the people who will never open that thread. The brands directory shows companies already on the Apple channel.
Sources
TCR fees and pricing — The Campaign Registry.
CSP user guide, July 2026 (v2) — brand verification, brand IDs, and the identity appeal fee.
TCR terms — three-month campaign minimum, non-refundable fees, and registrations that stay with the CSP.
Programmable Messaging and A2P 10DLC — Twilio. Direct-customer campaign vetting described as two to three weeks in the standard onboarding guide.
Ten-digit long code registration guidelines — Microsoft Learn, on brand and campaign fields and a typical two-to-three-business-day brand check.
10DLC registration FAQ
How do I register for 10DLC?
Work through a Campaign Service Provider. They register your brand with The Campaign Registry, wait until the brand is verified, then register a campaign for the use case and attach your 10-digit number. You cannot file the brand and campaign on the registry site as the brand yourself.
How much does A2P 10DLC registration cost?
The Campaign Registry charges $4.50 once to register a government, non-profit, private-profit, or public-profit brand, and $4.00 for a sole proprietor. Campaigns are billed monthly by use case, with a three-month minimum except for political campaigns. A low-volume mixed campaign is $1.50 a month on the current fee sheet. Your messaging provider’s number and message fees are extra.
How long does 10DLC registration take?
There is no single clock. Microsoft describes a typical TCR brand check of two to three business days, longer if more documents are required. Twilio’s direct-customer guide says campaign vetting can take two to three weeks. An unverified brand, usually a legal-name and EIN mismatch, blocks the campaign until it is corrected.
Do I need 10DLC registration for Apple Messages for Business?
No. Apple Messages for Business is not SMS from a 10-digit number. Brands register with Apple through an approved Messaging Service Provider. Keep 10DLC when you also send US business SMS to people who never open a Messages thread.
Can I move a 10DLC campaign to another provider?
No. The Campaign Registry’s terms say registrations and their fees belong to the CSP that filed them and are not transferable. Changing vendors means a new brand and campaign filing.