A2P 10DLC for sales teams
A2P 10DLC is the registration framework for business texts sent over ordinary US ten-digit numbers. Your messaging provider registers the business and its messaging use case. Registration identifies the sender; it does not establish a customer’s permission to receive a message. Check registration, consent and opt-out handling separately.
Before your next conversation
Use this checklist with the people who own the process.
Confirm the number’s registration and messaging use case with its provider.
Check the customer’s permission separately from the campaign’s registration.
Test suppression with synthetic recipients before using the workflow.
Read the full guide and examples
The full answer
A2P 10DLC is the registration framework for business texts sent over ordinary US ten-digit numbers. Your messaging provider registers the business and its messaging use case. Registration identifies the sender; it does not establish a customer’s permission to receive a message. Check registration, consent and opt-out handling separately.
What registration covers
The Campaign Registry describes a brand as the business sending the messages and a campaign as the use case for those messages. Business messaging includes individual customer conversations as well as larger sends. A rep typing each message does not by itself remove the registration question.
Start with the provider that supplies your business texting service. It can tell you which sender type you use and which registration path applies. Do not register a second campaign because a delivery problem looks like a registration problem; first ask which existing campaign the number uses.
Prepare the actual business details
Gather the legal business name, address, website and the identification details your provider requests. The registry uses the legal name and tax identifier to verify a business, with a separate path for sole proprietors. A trading name or a copied number can prevent that match.
Describe the messages you actually intend to send. Put a real sample beside the collection form or spoken opt-in that would precede it. Show where the sender is identified and how a recipient can stop messages. Have the person who owns the website check that its description matches the texting workflow.
Consent is a separate decision
Registration is a carrier process. Permission to contact a particular person is a different question. The FCC’s delivery restrictions at 47 CFR 64.1200 govern covered calls and texts, including consent and its revocation. Which requirements apply depends on the message, the technology and the circumstances. Ask counsel to review those facts before sending.
Store the customer’s choice with the words they saw or heard, when they agreed and the purpose they agreed to. Do not turn a customer-service exchange into an unrelated promotion merely because the business has a registered campaign.
Test the stop path before using it
Use a designated test recipient. Check how a stop request enters the record, how pending messages are suppressed and whether every sending workflow reads that suppression. Include plain requests such as “please do not text me” in the test plan, not just an exact keyword. The FCC rule recognizes reasonable methods of revoking consent.
Keep the test as a process check, with invented customer details. A delivered test message proves that one delivery worked; it does not establish permission for a different recipient or promise that future messages will arrive.
Keep the evidence with the owner
Name the person responsible for the sender number, campaign, consent record and suppression list. When a provider reports a registration issue, keep its response beside the campaign identifier. Ask the provider about its review and activation stages before treating a submitted application as ready to send.
See A2P 10DLC and opt-out keywords for the definitions. This is general information, not legal advice.
Key takeaways
- Confirm the number’s registration and messaging use case with its provider.
- Check the customer’s permission separately from the campaign’s registration.
- Test suppression with synthetic recipients before using the workflow.
Questions and answers
Does registration prove consent?
No. A registered sender does not establish permission to message a particular recipient. Check the collection language, the intended message and the rules that apply.
Does a manually typed business text need registration?
Do not assume it is exempt. The registry includes individual business messages in its description of A2P messaging; confirm the path for your number with its provider.
Does submitting a campaign mean it is ready?
No. Ask the provider to distinguish submission, review, activation and the number’s attachment to the campaign.