10DLC
What is 10DLC?
10DLC, or “10-Digit Long Codes,” allows businesses to send and receive messages using 10-digit phone numbers. This new policy, which will be activated on August 31st, 2024, targets SMS spam messages within the USA.
Why is it important?
Carriers will tighten restrictions on unregistered senders by increasing fees on unregistered traffic or blocking it entirely.
Although 10DLC is being enacted in the USA, it impacts not just American businesses but any business sending SMS marketing within America—even if it operates outside the USA.
To protect your profits and ensure your SMS marketing campaigns continue uninterrupted, we recommend registering for 10DLC as soon as possible. It’s worth registering, just in case, even if you think you don’t need it.
Approval Process
We want to help keep things simple. Click the button below to begin the registration process, and your application will be delivered to the necessary reviewers.
Once your brand is registered, you can proceed to register your campaigns. You cannot register campaigns without first registering your brand.
Please note that although we aid you in the application process, we do not approve clients ourselves.
Campaigns
Ways to Opt-In
Once your business has been successfully registered in compliance with 10DLC, you can register a campaign.
For users to receive messages from your newly registered campaign, they must have a way to opt in.
Users can do this in four ways:
- Online: to receive messages, a user must complete a form or otherwise consent and supply evidence (such as a screenshot).
- Text-to-Join (SMS): a user must send text with a specific keyword (such as “JOIN”) to receive messages.
- Live Operator: to receive messages, a user must verbally converse with an operator and then submit the script.
- Point-of-Sale: to receive messages, a user must visit a physical location, complete a form, and then submit a PDF or a scan.
Types of Campaigns
There are numerous types of campaigns. Here are a few to get you started. You can talk to your account manager about what works best for you.
- Low Volume Mixed: campaigns that involve occasional messages to a few clients/contacts.
- Account Notification: campaigns that require no response but communicate important account information.
- Higher Education: campaigns to help students from alerts that course registration has opened to campus closures due to weather conditions.
- Marketing: typically promotional codes, coupon codes, ads, or loyalty programs.
- Public Service Announcement: emergency alert systems, trash disposal, and governmental services can communicate important information to residents of a specific area.
- Security Alert: messages about a subject's physical or digital security.
Special Campaigns
Special campaigns or use cases require the carriers' direct approval. Some require permission before registering for the campaign. These campaigns may require more time to be approved than normal, so please factor that into your decision to apply for one of these use cases.
- Charity: this option is available only to non-profit brands in the United States, specifically 5013C Charities, to help with fundraising.
- Emergency: situationally urgent messages such as evacuation orders, changes to an emergency, public health announcements, or weather emergency alerts. Please note that emergency campaigns may not be delivered - and thus not guaranteed - due to factors involved, such as damaged cell towers.
- K-12 Education: restricted only to educational institutions that teach between kindergarten and grade 12 and are used to send out alerts for early closures, school-related messages between the school and parents, or between the school and students.
- Political: only available to non-profit organizations, registered with a 501c3/4/5/6 tag, registered with a Section 527 tag, and have undergone special political grand vetting.
- Government: restricted entirely to government entities and would require a Government Brand registration such as Department of Justice, FBI, or RCMP.
- Social: campaigns are typically run by online personalities, influencers, or other internet celebrities, and the messages in question are related to their social media presence, including live stream reminders, product releases, online Q&A announcements, and more. These types of campaigns require approval pre- and post-brand registration and proof of a double opt-in mechanism.
- Sole Proprietor: this is likely one of the most restricted special campaign types, as only one campaign and one number are permitted. These campaigns will likely be used for testing purposes or limited customer interaction.
- Agents and Franchises: special campaigns are based on their throughput and are considered on a per-number basis. A franchise chain could register a maximum number of numbers. The throughput of SMS communication would then be considered on a per-number basis. This type of campaign may require special information to be passed on to the carrier and should be used only by multi-location or agent-based businesses.
- Conversational (Proxy): texts sent between you and a proxy number that routes to a specific person. However, they allow person-to-person communication in a large group messaging scenario.
