“USPS Notification: Your package could not be delivered and is being held at the warehouse. Reference number 3e457800TT….”
“CHASE BANK: Your transaction of $7,000 will be automatically approved. To deny the transfer or report suspicious activity, please click [link] to re-activate your CHASE account….”
“Your IRS tax refund is pending acceptance. Must accept within 24 hours…”
Unless you live in a cave with no cell or internet service (which would call into question how exactly you’re reading this), you’ve received text messages like the above. These messages are scams. They’re 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 OpenPhone numbers.
What is A2P?
A2P stands for application to person. The concept refers to any text message from a business entity through a virtual phone service like OpenPhone sent to a real customer. Think feedback messages, appointment confirmations, or any other text.
What is 10DLC?
10DLC (10-digit long code) is a standard phone number with a local area code. In the past, carriers only allowed these numbers to be used for one-on-one texting, like back-and-forth conversations between a business and a customer. Now, new guidelines have emerged to reduce spam and make it easier to track when businesses send texts to multiple recipients at once.
What is A2P 10DLC?
A2P 10DLC is a system designed specifically for business text messaging from a local virtual number. The major US cell carriers pushed for new guidelines around virtual phone services, aiming to minimize spam. This new requirement helps improve your text message deliverability rates and eliminates the risk of carriers filtering your outbound messages on their network.
All major US carriers, including AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint, are working toward A2P 10DLC support for 10-digit local numbers.
Once you register, you can use 10DLC numbers — standard-looking phone numbers — to build trust with customers while unlocking features like auto-replies and scheduled messages.
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 OpenPhone, you must complete toll-free number verification (if you haven’t already done so).
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) and are more likely to be filtered out by carriers as promotional or spam messages. While short codes can be effective for large-scale 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 everything you need to know about A2P 10DLC registration.
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 OpenPhone, you need to register your phone numbers, brand, and campaigns with a third-party organization called The Campaign Registry. Here’s how this breaks down:
- Brand registration: Businesses identify who they are to all carrier networks.
- Campaign registration: Brands specify the type of messages they plan to send.
If you have business phone numbers with OpenPhone, you don’t need to register specific campaigns. But you do need to register your brand (more on how to do this here) 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 an OpenPhone 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.
How carriers keep track of compliance
Once brands update 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, a promotional campaign may have a lower trust score than an appointment confirmation text.
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 — as 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.
What happens if you don’t comply with 10DLC?
If you’re already using 10-digit local phone numbers, you won’t have to purchase a new number for 10DLC. However, you must register your business to minimize the odds of message filtering, blocking, or dropping by major carriers.
You’ll also get better deliverability, higher trust scores, and stronger functionality — it’s a win-win, especially for those sending higher volumes of texts. But don’t worry: OpenPhone makes it easy to get signed up.
How to register for A2P 10DLC with OpenPhone
At OpenPhone, 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 OpenPhone (who are not trialing our platform) can access our US carrier registration form to meet A2P guidelines through the web or desktop app. Simply open Settings from the left-hand menu and select Trust center.
Then 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. 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:
- 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 OpenPhone 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.
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 messaging descriptions, such as appointment reminders, building relationships with potential customers, or 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.
11. Confirm registration fees: Accept carrier review and setup fees: $19 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 OpenPhone, 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 OpenPhone, only one of your OpenPhone 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 (optional), email, carrier-based US or Canadian mobile number, and work industry (optional).
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 confirmations, nurturing relationships with potential customers, or 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 carrier review and setup fees: $19 one-time and messaging fee: $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.
Unlock the full potential of A2P 10DLC with OpenPhone
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.
FAQs
Not at this time. If you’re not messaging customers in the US, 10DLC won’t impact your campaigns or texts.
The time to complete the entire registration process can vary. We’ve received some approvals as quickly as 5-7 business days; others have remained in pending status for up to 30 days. In rare cases where key information is unable to be verified quickly, registration may take longer than 30 days. Keep in mind that you’re not able to message US numbers while awaiting registration approval.
Yes. However, these fees are not charged by OpenPhone. US carriers are working with The Campaign Registry and other third parties to review submissions from users across all virtual phone service providers. These third parties charge a one-time $19 fee, which OpenPhone collects on behalf of The Campaign Registry and forwards to them upon registration. In addition to the one-time fee, The Campaign Registry also charges an ongoing monthly fee for keeping your registration in good standing with US carriers:
– $1.50 per month if you register as an organization
– $2 if you register as a sole proprietor
– $3 per month if you’re a non-profit
Note: If your submission is not approved, you’ll need to pay a $15 resubmission fee.
Prohibited messaging categories vary by provider. Open Phone’s guide to messaging categories and examples not allowed on our platform covers all prohibited use cases.
Your text messages will only be successfully delivered if you have a successful A2P 10DLC registration, which ensures your business is verified by carriers and helps reduce the chances of your messages being marked as spam.
