10DLC Registration & Regulations: Your Complete Guide

Not only is business texting increasingly popular for legitimate businesses like yours, but also for spammers.  Mobile carriers have implemented 10DLC regulations to guarantee compliance and mitigate spam.  Which implications does this have for you?

These 10DLC regulations may seem complicated, but we are here to help. This guide provides a breakdown of:

• Important dates and deadlines
• The terminology used in the industry
• What is transpiring
• What this means for you
• What steps do you need to take to ensure compliance and message delivery

We would be delighted to provide you with personal assistance. You can get compliant business texting set up by texting or calling us at 240-621-8530, or by emailing us.

10DLC Important Dates

The delivery of messages from unregistered numbers will experience a significant reduction on August 31, 2023.  We strongly encourage all of our customers to complete vetting before this date.

10DLC Terms and Definitions

10DLC is an abbreviation for a 10-digit long code, phone number. It refers to a standard phone number, like 240-621-8500. Your business landline or VoIP phone number is considered a 10DLC. If you want to use your existing business lines for texting, these 10DLC rules apply to you.

Note: Toll-free numbers are not considered 10DLC. 10DLC regulations do not apply to toll-free numbers.  There is a separate set of rules for toll-free number text messaging.

Is there a difference between a short code and a 10-digit long code?

10DLC numbers have been increasingly popular for business texting for three main reasons:

• Businesses already own the numbers
• They’re inexpensive
• Customers trust messages from 10DLC phone numbers more than short code numbers

A short code is a four, five, or six-digit phone number – such as 55555 – commonly used for mass texting and automation.  Short codes tend to be expensive – starting at $1,000/month, resulting in some brands sharing them to cut costs. However, that creates issues, since SMS opt-ins for short code numbers are entirely based on keywords.

The process of managing keywords and opt-ins across brands on the same number is cumbersome and has caused a lot of spam and consumer frustration. Carriers have stopped allowing brands to share short code numbers, which is what led to most of these 10DLC regulations.

What is A2P messaging?

A2P is an acronym for application-to-person texting. It means you're using an application like Callicity's desktop and mobile extensions, rather than your mobile phone's standard texting app.

The A2P concept was previously solely applicable to automated messaging services; however, the emergence of business texting has a striking resemblance to person-to-person conversations, prompting carriers to revise their definitions.

Additional Vetting

Beginning in 2023, mobile carriers are now requiring the business messaging providers, such as Callicity® conduct an additional, currently manual, vetting process to prove that the contacts a business is texting have indeed opted in to receive those messages. There are supplementary charges associated with this screening process, and you will also find further information regarding opt-ins as a fundamental component of the 10DLC regulations further down.

Message delivery will be significantly reduced for businesses that have not completed this vetting by August 31, 2023.

Why did carriers create 10DLC regulations?

In order to prevent bad actors from posing as legitimate businesses and spamming or scamming contacts, mobile carriers implemented 10DLC regulations.

The objective of the 10DLC regulations is to guarantee that consumers receive messages that they actually desire, that they are not subjected to harm by unscrupulous individuals, and that texting remains an effective and efficient means of business communication.

The 10DLC regulations also have a few benefits for your business.

• You’ll be able to send more messages faster and with higher delivery rates
• Once you have registered, your business will look more legitimate.

What are the 10DLC regulations?

Several 10DLC regulations and process changes affect the telecommunications industry, but only a few that matter to a business leader like you.

• Your business must register
• You have to show that your contacts have agreed to receive texts from you.
• Businesses in certain industries will be rejected outright, such as those in cannabis/hemp, firearms, third-party collections, payday loans, and those selling other illicit materials.
• The new 10DLC and per-message fees apply to everyone, not only Callicity®.

How do I register my business 10DLC?

Gather your business info.

Once you’ve shared your business info with us, we’ll handle the registration process and keep you in the loop. We need:

• Your company’s legal name
• Your company’s country of registration
• Organization type (private, publicly traded, nonprofit)
• Your company’s tax ID / EIN
• Your business website
• Descriptions of each use case you text for
• Sample messages for each use case

We’ll collect this info when you sign up for Callicity service. If you’re an existing customer, then we’ve already gotten it or a rep will reach out to you soon.

Submit registration for your “brand.”

A 10DLC brand is the business doing the texting. A single brand can have multiple campaigns associated with their account.

Submit registration for your messaging “campaign(s).”

A 10DLC campaign is a use case for texting. If you're texting for multiple purposes, there's a “mixed” use case that covers everything. You can have up to 50 10DLC phone numbers associated with each campaign.

Get approved or rejected.

The good news is that we will hear back quickly. The bad news is that you need to do something else before you can start texting.

Submit your registration for vetting.

Every campaign registration has to go through an additional vetting process. This is where you will have to “prove opt-ins.” Make sure that the contacts you will be texting have actually agreed to get text messages from you.

This is a manual process that can take anywhere from two days to four weeks or more, but we will keep you informed along the way.

How to prove that you have opt-ins.

We've found that the best way to prove that your contacts have opted-in to receive texts is to add an opt-in language to your website. There are numerous ways to do this.

You should do as many of these as you can, and we are listing them in order of importance, so you can prioritize accordingly.

Here are four ways to show that people who sign up for SMS messages on your website actually want to receive them.

Add opt-in language to your contact forms, with a required checkbox.

Add opt-in language and opt-out language to your terms of service.

Common examples of opt-out language include:

Reply STOP to opt out. To stop receiving messages from [Your Company Name], reply STOP, CANCEL, or UNSUBSCRIBE.

Use keywords to prompt inbound messages.

Use a keyword prompt, like “Text DEALS” for text alerts about new items and discounts, as contacts are intentionally texting you to get something in return.

If your business uses keywords, make sure to include them on your website.

You can add 'Text or Call Us' wherever you have your phone number.

You probably have a page on your website that says, “Call us at [this number]”. If you're texting from that phone number as well, it's a good idea to add “Text or call us...”

It’s good for growing your texting engagement, and it tends to count as a proof of opt-in.

Sample Opt-In Language

Here are some instances of opt-in language that have been approved. We can't promise results, but we do recommend using the samples below or some variation of them.

Please note that we are not legal professionals, and this does not constitute legal counsel.

By texting us, you agree to receive text messages at the number provided. Standard message and data rates apply.

By checking this box, you agree to receive text messages at the number provided.

I wish to receive text messages at the number provided. Standard message/data rates apply.

Additional Ways to Prove Opt-Ins

These may not cover all of your contacts, or get through all vetting stages, but they do tend to work.

1. Add a pop-up form to your website.

If a pop-up is utilized in any manner, this is an ideal location to incorporate opt-in language. This pop-up will need to meet the same standards as the contact form example.

2. Ask for approval over the phone.

Verbal confirmations of opt-ins are acceptable, but you will need documentation demonstrating:

• • That you ask for verbal opt-ins
  • The script you use to ask and confirm
  • The process you follow to update a contact’s records to opt them into texts

3. Use physical forms.

You can use handwritten forms to sign in or register for things like doctors’ appointments, local meetups, or trade shows. These are fine, but they must contain explicit consent language, and we will need to attach a copy of the form when we sign up for your 10DLC.

How do you keep your texts from being marked as spam?

It is important to remember that the whole point of 10DLC registration is to reduce spam. Even if you're verified and registered, your messages could still be flagged as junk if you're delivering bad traffic.

A few red flags for spam include:

• Mass messages that include shortened URLs
• Ending a message with a link
• Sending links without “https://” at the beginning
• Having any words in ALL CAPS
• Using multiple dollar signs ($) or emojis in the same text
• The same message being sent to large groups of people.
• The transmission of lengthy texts to large audiences.

In practice, if you text like a normal person would text, you should be fine.  If you require any further assistance, please feel free to reach out to your Callicity® representative.