What is A2P 10DLC? Everything you need to know

“USPS Notification: Your package could not be delivered and is being held at the warehouse. Reference number 3e457800TT….”

“Your IRS tax refund is pending acceptance. Must accept within 24 hours…”

Unless you live in a cave with no cell service, you’ve received text messages like the above. These messages are spam.

You don’t like being spammed, I don’t like being spammed, and US cell carriers don’t like for their customers to be spammed. While you and I can’t do much about it, US cell carriers can do something about it, which is why they’ve implemented A2P 10DLC.

What is A2P 10DLC, exactly? In this article, we break down what A2P 10DLC is, how these carrier requirements can impact your business texting, and how to register your Quo numbers.

Does A2P 10DLC apply to toll-free numbers?

10DLC doesn’t currently impact toll-free numbers. However, if you have a toll-free number and use Quo, you must complete toll-free number verification.

Does A2P 10DLC apply to short codes?

A2P 10DLC does not apply to short codes, which are primarily used for mass marketing campaigns. They’re significantly more expensive than 10DLC numbers, starting at $3,000 per month with business texting services like EZ Texting.

They’re also more likely to be filtered out by carriers as promotional or spam messages. While short codes can be effective for large-scale business messaging, they lack the versatility and trust-building potential of 10DLC numbers for everyday business texting.

We get it — this is a lot to take in all at once. Here’s how A2P 10DLC compares to other business texting options:

Features	Local number - A2P 10DLC	Toll-free number	Short code
Number format	415-555-1234	800-555-1234	12345
Registration required	Requires A2P 10DLC registration	Requires toll-free verification	Requires carrier approval and vetting
Registration costs	$19.50 one-time fee + $1.50 monthly fee + $15 resubmission fee if rejected	Included in Quo subscription	$1,000 one-time fee + setup costs
Registration timeline	5–7 business days	2–3 weeks	6–10 weeks
Message throughput	3–180 messages per second*	3–100 messages per second*	100+ messages per second
SMS/MMS messages	Yes	Yes	Yes
Voice support	Yes	Yes	No
Best for	Local businesses, two-way conversations	National brands, large-scale customer support	High-volume SMS marketing campaigns

*Higher throughput depends on trust score

Why A2P 10DLC compliance matters for your business 

But wait, you say, “I’m not a scammer! Why do I need to do this?” Well, the problem is that scammers also say they’re not scammers. They’re pretty convincing about it, too, which is why they’re so good at scamming. Long story short, if you’re using a virtual phone service like Quo, you need to register your phone numbers, brand, and campaigns with the TCR.

Here’s what you need to register:

• Business information: Legal company name and address matching tax documents
• Brand details: Business type, company type, industry, website, business listing, other online presence, and regions of operation
• Message examples: The type of messages you’ll send, like appointment confirmations or customer support help, with examples
• SMS messages consent process: Outline how you get content and show compliant opt-in mechanisms

If you have business phone numbers with Quo, you don’t need to register specific messaging campaigns. But you do need to do brand registration and share examples of texts you typically send. All brands that register through our app fall under the Sole Proprietor or Low Volume Mixed Use case for any campaigns through our carrier.

Who is required to register? 

If you’re a Quo customer and you send SMS and MMS texts to any US number, you need to register. If you’re using a different virtual phone provider, such as RingCentral or Nextiva, you need to register as well.

Trust scores: How carriers keep track of compliance

Once brands register their information with major carriers, they’re assigned a trust score of 0 to 100 per campaign. These scores will determine the maximum number of sent messages allowed by your campaign according to use case, type, and size. 

Vetting scores are separated into multiple categories and let you send out more texts. For example:

• Appointment reminders: Higher trust scores — customers expect these
• Promotional campaigns: Lower trust scores — more likely to be spam
• Customer support: Higher trust scores  — essential business communication

Additionally, carriers can assign a lower trust score if the business information, including the address, you provide in your carrier registration form doesn’t match the details on file with your business tax identification. 

Carriers may also decrease an organization’s trust score if they discover spam originating from a specific party. A2P 10DLC compliance is about preventing bad actors. 

Keep in mind that these message limits might change according to the carrier and campaign in question. These are just general guidelines to help guide your future decisions.

Penalties for non-compliance with 10DLC 

As of August 31, 2023, unregistered virtual numbers can’t text US phone numbers. You must register your business to avoid these problems: 

• Message filtering: Your texts disappear into the void
• Delivery blocking: Customers never see important updates
• Carrier penalties: Your number gets flagged as spam or you’ll get fined by carriers

Benefits of using A2P 10DLC for your business

Registering for A2P 10DLC messaging has real advantages for business texting:

• Better deliverability: Your texts actually reach your customers, every time. 
• Higher trust scores: Once you register and stay compliant, higher trust scores mean increased message throughput and faster delivery. 
• Stronger features: You can unlock auto-replies, text message templates, and scheduled messages through a virtual number app like Quo. 

It’s a win-win, especially for those sending higher volumes of texts.  But don’t worry: Quo makes it easy to get signed up.

How to register for A2P 10DLC with Quo

At Quo, we’re serious about helping customers make the most of their business communications. To comply with new A2P 10DLC requirements, our company is moving forward with a clear strategy to help everyone thrive. This includes a fast and relatively simple process to register for A2P 10DLC. 

All active workspace owners and admin users in Quo who are not trialing our platform can access our US carrier registration form. This lets you meet A2P guidelines through the web or desktop app. Keep in mind the fees that will be passed on to the TCR:

1. Open Settings from the left-hand menu and select Trust center.
2. Click Register Now to go through a short questionnaire to confirm your eligibility to register as a company under the Low Volume Standard path or a solopreneur. 
3. Follow one of the two registration paths, depending on if you have an EIN or business tax ID number.

Learn more about the differences between each of these registration paths.

Registering for businesses with an EIN or equivalent tax ID number

To complete registration on behalf of a company, keep in mind that you’ll need an EIN or another valid business identification number to register.

By completing this registration, your workspace will have Low Volume Standard status, giving you the option to:

• Send up to 6,000 message segments per day, including up to 2,000 segments to T-Mobile numbers — subject to our Fair use policy
• Text from any phone numbers in your Quo workspace; any additional numbers added to your account after your registration is approved will also be automatically associated with your approved registration

Here is an overview of the steps you’ll complete during registration: 

1. Business details: Select your ID type, e.g., USA: EIN, and fill out the registration number.
2. Business details from your tax documents: Enter the legal business name and full business address, including the country, city, state, and postal code.
3. Additional business details: Enter information for the business type, company type, industry, website, business listing, other online presence, and regions of operation.
   
   Also enter your Estimated daily call volume. This refers to both inbound and outbound calls you expect to make with your Quo number. We share this information with industry partners to reduce the likelihood that your calls are accidentally flagged as spam.
4. Point of contact: Enter their first and last name, email, job title, job position, and phone number.
5. How will your business use text messaging? Add campaign use case descriptions, such as:
   – Appointment reminders
   – Building relationships with potential customers
   – Providing text message support to current customers
6. Message samples: Add at least two examples of real text messages you send, e.g., “Hi [name], this is Amy from the Zest team. Thank you for completing our contact form. How can I help? Reply STOP to unsubscribe.” or “To view more details, visit www.zest.com. Please let our team know if we can help you with anything else!”
7. Ensure your Privacy Policy is compliant. Agree to add an SMS clause to every section in your online privacy policy that describes how you manage personal data. 
8. How do you collect consent to send text messages? Choose from verbal, written, or digital consent or text-to-subscribe opt-in methods.

9. Your consent collection requirements: Upload a screenshot of your SMS consent method to customers. 
10. Forbidden message topics: Confirm you will not send messages in these categories. 

12. Confirm registration fees: Accept carrier review and setup fees: $19.50 one-time and messaging fee: $1.50 a month.

Once you pay and submit your application, you can go to the Trust center at any time to check its status. Unless your registration status shows as rejected or failed, no additional action is needed once you’ve filled out the form.

Registering for businesses and other users that don’t have an EIN or other tax ID number

For businesses or other users without an EIN, or another form of business ID if you’re based outside the US, that wish to text any US number through Quo, you’ll need the following to register through our sole proprietor path:

• A US or Canadian address
• A working mobile number with a country code of +1

Keep in mind that if you have multiple phone numbers with Quo, only one of your Quo numbers will be able to text US numbers if you register through the sole proprietor path.

Want to have multiple phone numbers that can text? If you’re based in the US, you’ll need to obtain an EIN. If you reside outside of the US, you’ll need to obtain another form of business ID.

After successfully registering, you can send up to 3,000 message segments per day, including up to 1,000 segments to T-Mobile numbers — subject to our Fair use policy.

Here is a look at the steps you’ll complete during registration: 

1. Your details: Enter your first name, last name, business or DBA name, email, carrier-based US or Canadian mobile number, and work industry.
2. Your address: Enter the country, address, city, state, and postal code.
3. How will your business use text messaging? Add messaging descriptions, such as:
   – Appointment confirmation
   – Nurturing relationships with potential customers
   – Providing support via text message to current customers
4. Message samples: Add at least two examples of real text messages you send, e.g., “Hi [name], this is Amy from the Orangy team. Thank you for requesting a sales quote. How can I help? Reply STOP to unsubscribe.” or “To view appointment times visit www.orangy.com. Please let our team know if we can help you with anything else!”
5. Ensure your Privacy Policy is compliant. Agree to add an SMS clause to every section in your online privacy policy that describes how you manage personal data. 
6. How do you collect consent to send text messages? Choose from verbal, written, or digital consent or text-to-subscribe opt-in methods.  
7. Your consent collection requirements: Upload a screenshot of your SMS consent method to customers. 
8. Select a phone number for US messaging: You can only have one phone number with US text-sending capabilities.
9. Forbidden message topics: Confirm you will not send messages in these categories. 
10. Confirm registration fees: Accept the one-time carrier review and setup fees for $19.50 along with the messaging fee, which is $2 a month.

Once you pay the fees and submit your application, you can go to the Trust center at any time to check its status. Unless your registration status shows as rejected or failed, no additional action is needed once you’ve filled out the form.

What happens after you register for A2P 10DLC?

Once you submit your registration, mobile carriers review your application through The Campaign Registry.

Here’s a timeline of what to expect:

• ✅ Standard approval: 5-7 business days for the majority of cases
• ⏸️ Additional review needed: 7-10+ days for some applications
• ❌ Rejection: Immediate with reason code for some applications

If your registration is rejected

Check the reason code provided by TCR. Common issues include vague campaign descriptions, missing tax IDs, or campaigns that violate carrier guidelines, like loan solicitations or cannabis. Fix the flagged issue and resubmit — most rejections are easily corrected.

Ongoing compliance

A2P 10DLC campaign registration isn’t a one-and-done deal. Keep your campaign details current — if you change your messaging use case or business information, update your registration. Carriers monitor message content, so stick to your registered campaign type to avoid filtering or suspension.

Good news: once your brand and campaign are registered, you can add new 10DLC numbers without going through the full process again.

Get started with compliant business texting on Quo

Ready to get your business texting compliant? The situation with A2P 10DLC is an evolving one — and likely to change over time as the digital landscape grows. But don’t stress — our team is here to help if you have questions or run into snags. Consider us your compliance co-pilot.

Frequently asked questions about A2P 10DLC