A2P 10DLC registration is how a business proves to US mobile carriers who it is and what texts it will send, before it texts customers from a regular 10-digit phone number. If you want software to send appointment confirmations, reminders or on-my-way texts from a local number, you register your business (the "brand") and your texting purpose (the "campaign") with your messaging provider. It sounds worse than it is. Most of the work is gathering details that match each other.
This article explains the rules in plain English. It isn't legal advice.
What A2P 10DLC means
Break the name apart:
- A2P is "application to person": texts sent by software, like a reminder system, rather than typed by someone on their own phone.
- 10DLC is "10-digit long code": an ordinary local phone number, like (512) 555-0142.
Twilio describes A2P 10DLC as the system US carriers put in place so that text traffic sent through long code numbers "is verified and consensual" (Twilio's 10DLC overview). In other words, the carriers want to know the texts come from a real business, and that the people getting them agreed to it.
Do you have to register?
If software sends your business texts from a 10-digit number to US phones, yes. Twilio's documentation puts it plainly: "Anyone sending SMS/MMS messages over a 10DLC number from an application to the US must register for A2P 10DLC" (Twilio A2P 10DLC docs).
The same page says senders who don't register "will receive additional carrier fees for sending unregistered traffic." Skipping it costs money, not just paperwork.
Brands and campaigns
Registration has two parts.
Your brand is your business: legal name, tax ID, address, website and a contact person. Carriers check that the business is real.
Your campaign is what you'll text and why: a description, the type of messages, a few sample messages, and how customers agree to receive them, opt out and get help.
Most trade businesses need one brand and one campaign covering service messages: booking confirmations, reminders, on-my-way texts, reschedules and cancellations.
Which kind of brand fits your business
Twilio offers a sole proprietor path for people without a business tax ID, and standard and low-volume standard paths for businesses that have one. Twilio's docs note that standard and low-volume standard brands "require a Tax ID (e.g. EIN in U.S.)". If you run an LLC or corporation with a few trucks, one of the standard paths is the usual fit, and low-volume standard suits most shops that only send appointment texts.
Each path has its own fees and limits, and Twilio changes them from time to time. Check Twilio's US SMS pricing on the day you register, rather than a number someone wrote down last year. Expect registration fees as well as the cost of your number and each message.
What to gather before you start
Most delays come from details that don't line up. Twilio's list of required business information covers it in full. For a trade business it comes down to this:
For the brand
- Your legal business name, exactly as it appears on your tax paperwork
- Your EIN
- Your business type and industry
- A working website that relates to your business name
- An authorized contact with a business email address on your own domain
- Your business address
For the campaign
- A description of what you'll text and why
- Two to five sample messages that name your business
- A description of every way customers opt in
- Your opt-out and help keywords
- A privacy policy and terms of service on your website
Where contractor applications get stuck
The name doesn't match. Your trucks say "Harbor Plumbing". Your tax paperwork says "HP Services LLC". Register the legal name, and make sure your website mentions both, so the reviewer can connect them.
A free email address. Twilio's docs say personal or free email addresses "will result in a brand failure." If the office still runs on a free account, set up an address on your own domain first.
No website, or a thin one. A one-page site with your name, services and contact details helps. So does a privacy policy page on it.
A privacy policy that doesn't mention texting. Twilio's guidance asks for "a statement of non-sharing for mobile numbers", message frequency, and a "message and data rates may apply" disclosure. Add them.
Vague opt-in. "Customers agree to texts" isn't a description. Say where and how: "Customers opt in by ticking a box on our online booking form, or by agreeing when they book by phone, which our office records on the customer record."
Sample messages that don't name you. Twilio requires the brand to be identified by name or website in each sample. Every sample should say who it's from.
Mixing in marketing. If your campaign says "appointment reminders" and a sample offers a spring tune-up discount, expect questions. Keep service messages and promotions apart.
Sample campaign details for a heating company
Here's the kind of description and samples that make a reviewer's job easy. Adjust them to your business.
Description: Harbor Heating sends one-way service messages to customers who have booked a visit and agreed to texts: booking confirmations, appointment reminders the day before, a notice when the technician is on the way, and reschedules or cancellations. We don't send marketing messages. Customers who need us call the number in each text.
Opt-in: Customers opt in by ticking an unticked box on our online booking form, from their customer portal profile, or by agreeing when they book by phone, which our office records on the customer record with the wording read to them.
Samples:
- Harbor Heating: appointment confirmed for [date], [time window]. Questions? Call [office number]. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Harbor Heating: reminder, your technician comes tomorrow, [date], [time window]. Questions? Call [office number]. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Harbor Heating: [first name] is on the way, about [minutes] min out. Questions? Call [office number]. Reply STOP to opt out.
Square brackets mark the parts that change, which is how Twilio asks you to show variable content.
How long it takes
Twilio's 10DLC page says "it takes under one week to get campaign approval." A rejection and resubmission adds another round. Start as soon as you decide to text customers, and get the details right the first time.
Registration is only half of texting properly. You also need each customer's permission, a record of it, and a way to stop when they ask. Put the opt-in on your booking form and in your phone script before the first text goes out.
Where FSM Navigator fits
FSM Navigator is one app from first call to renewals: online booking, quotes, intelligent dispatch, invoicing and service agreements. On the Enterprise plan, text notifications run on your own Twilio account. You register your brand and campaign in Twilio, connect it in Company Settings, and texts wait until carriers approve the registration.
- The texts are one-way service messages: booking received, appointment confirmed, a day-before reminder, on my way, rescheduled and cancelled, plus optional invoice, quote and recurring service texts.
- Every text starts with your business name, gives the number to call and ends with how to opt out, which is what a reviewer looks for in your samples.
- Consent comes from an unticked box on your booking page, the customer portal or your office, and STOP replies take effect at once.
- Texts go out only between 8am and 9pm, with at most three automated texts a day to any number.
For what the on-my-way text should say and when to send it, see on my way texts for contractors. Plan details are on the pricing page.