What is A2P 10DLC?
- What is A2P 10DLC?
- What do I need to do?
- How does A2P 10DLC work?
- Do I need to register? If so, what’s the deadline?
- What if I am testing or sending a low volume of messages to the US?
- What happens if I don’t register?
- Required information for United States A2P 10DLC registration
- What’s a campaign use case?
- What does the campaign use case options mean?
- Can I buy new phone numbers to use this A2P 10DLC service?
- How long does it take to get registered?
- Is MMS messaging affected by A2P 10DLC?
- How do these rule changes affect shortcodes and Toll-Free numbers? Should I switch to 10DLC?
- Are these changes also affecting messaging to Canada, Puerto Rico, or other countries?
- Is WhatsApp messaging affected by A2P 10DLC?
What is A2P 10DLC?
A2P 10DLC is a messaging compliance system that enables businesses to send Application-to-Person (A2P) messages via 10-digit long code phone numbers in the United States. This comprehensive guide provides a detailed overview of A2P 10DLC, registration requirements, campaign use cases, compliance guidelines, and the impact on message delivery and pricing. Whether you’re a small business or an ISV, understanding messaging compliance is crucial for maintaining reliable and effective communication with your audience.
A2P 10DLC refers to a system in the United States that allows businesses to send Application-to-Person (A2P) type messaging via standard 10-digit long code (10DLC) phone numbers. Carriers in the US consider all LC Phone traffic to be A2P. Carriers’ A2P 10DLC offerings provide better delivery quality and lower filtering risk than long code SMS of the past, using the same phone numbers.
Special Use Cases are now supported; however, if you are a customer registering a special use case requiring additional carrier approval or a 527 Political Organization, please see our guidance on Special Use Cases before proceeding with registration.
Register now to benefit from improved deliverability and increased throughput in the new verified A2P 10DLC ecosystem. A2P 10DLC has new registration requirements for businesses that intend to send long-code messages to AT&T in the US.
What do I need to do?
If you do not send any messages to users in the United States using long code numbers, you do not need to do anything. If you send messages to the United States using long code numbers, you have the following registration options based on your Tax ID status, volume, and use case:
- If you have a Tax ID (EIN) and send under 6,000 message segments per day, you should re-register for Low Volume Standard Brands
- If you have a Tax ID (EIN) and send over 6,000 message segments daily, you should re-register for appropriate campaign types within Standard Brands.
- If you don’t have a Tax ID (EIN), you should register a Sole Proprietor Brand (available April 17th).
A2P 10DLC registration can be done by you or by your designated CSM. Don’t hesitate to reach DigiRep Care team to learn more about your process status.
If you are a Go High Level user and want to do your own registration, see https://help.gohighlevel.com/support/solutions/articles/48001225526 for a more detailed overview of what information you will need and how to begin.
Read on for details of the rules and requirements under the new A2P 10DLC registration system and answers to many common questions.
How does A2P 10DLC work?
There are two important requirements under the new A2P 10DLC system:
- Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks (Brand registration).
- Businesses must register what type of messages they send, i.e., notifications (Campaign registration).
Registration can be done entirely through LC Phone System Trust Center if you are a Go High Level user or by your DigiRep Customer Success Manager.
Please see how I register to use A2P 10DLC messaging for additional guidance.
Do I need to register? If so, what’s the deadline?
We strongly recommend customers complete registration as soon as possible. Your traffic will be subject to higher unregistered fees and possible filtering until your phone number(s) are associated with a registered campaign. You must re-register in a timely manner to minimize the impact of these fees.
What if I am testing or sending a low volume of messages to the US?
If you do not have a tax ID, you should ask to be register as a Sole Proprietor Brand designed for individuals and small businesses. This offering will be available on April 17th. See New Changes to A2P 10DLC Sole Proprietor Brands FAQ for more information.
If you have a tax ID, you must register even if you send low volumes of messages. You should register for Low Volume Standard Brands if you send under 6,000 message segments daily.
What happens if I don’t register?
Increased message filtering and fees will apply to messages that are sent without registration. We also expect that at a future date, unregistered messaging to the US via long code numbers will cease to be supported altogether.
Required information for United States A2P 10DLC registration
Low-Volume Standard Brands
Each business will need the following information to register for A2P 10DLC. This means you must collect this info for your customers if you are a direct brand.
Business Information
- Business Name
- Physical Address (Street, City, State/Province/Region, Postal Code, Country)
- Business Identity (Direct Customer or ISV/Reseller/Partner)
- Business Type (Sole Proprietorship/Partnership/Corporation /Co-Operative/LLC/Non-Profit)
- Company Status (Private/Public)
- Stock Ticker & Exchange (if Public)
- Business Registration Number & Type (EIN for US-based companies, other business identifiers for non-US companies)
- Industry
- Website
- Regions of Operations
- Points of Contact
An authorized representative with the following info:
- Name
- Title
- Phone Number
- Job Position (Director/VP/GM/General Counsel/CEO/CFO)
- A second point of contact may also be provided but is optional.
Sole Proprietor Brands
Sole Proprietor registration is available now. The following requirements will apply.
No Tax ID (EIN): To qualify for Sole Proprietor registration, you must not have an EIN (Employer Identification Number). Any business with a Tax ID (EIN) is not eligible and should instead register for a Low Volume Standard Brand.
US or Canada only: Sole Proprietor Brands are limited to individuals in the US and Canada.
Information required for registration
- Brand or business name
- First name
- Last name
- Email address
- Mobile phone number (in US or Canada)
- Physical address (in US or Canada)
Each mobile phone number can only be used to validate up to 3 brands. Each email or physical address can only be used to validate up to 10 brands. This limit applies for all A2P registrations within the ecosystem, even brands registered outside of DigiRep or Go High Level.
What’s a campaign use case?
This represents a messaging use case, for example, sending account notifications or conducting marketing. In carrier terminology, these are called “Campaigns.” Some companies may only need to register one campaign use case; in other scenarios, you may have multiple. For example, if you are a company that sends authentication codes to validate new users but also sends marketing messages, you should register two campaign use cases.
What does the campaign use case options mean?
Your campaign use case describes the type of messaging you plan to send. This will influence the price you pay per message on AT&T.
Use cases vary from notifications and fraud alerts to customer care to social updates. For more information on Campaigns and a full list of campaign use cases, please see: List of Campaign Types and Use Case Types for A2P 10DLC registration.
Can I buy new phone numbers to use this A2P 10DLC service?
Buying new numbers is unnecessary if you already use long code numbers. Following the registration process will enable your existing numbers to use the new A2P 10DLC service.
How long does it take to get registered?
A2P 10DLC registration is a multiple-step process that includes registering a Business Profile, a US A2P Brand, and a Campaign use case.
Brand registration can typically be completed in a few minutes if you’ve collected all the required information. For example, when registering a US-based business, you should ensure your Employer Identification Number (EIN) is ready when you begin registration. However, in the event that there is a discrepancy with the information you provide, a manual review may be required for Secondary Vetting, which can take up to 7 days. To avoid this, please see A2P 10 DLC Brand Approval Best Practices
Effective January 26, 2023, all new A2P Campaign registrations are subject to a manual vetting process. We are currently experiencing several weeks of delays in vetting A2P 10DLC Campaigns. We are working with our 3rd Party provider to improve the vetting times. In the meantime, please account for these delays when registering, and for more information, visit our FAQ on A2P 10DLC Campaign Vetting Changes – January 2023.
Is MMS messaging affected by A2P 10DLC?
Yes, MMS messaging via long code is subject to carrier fees as part of A2P 10DLC. We also expect registered MMS traffic to ultimately benefit from reduced carrier filtering. However, long code MMS messaging remains subject to throughput limits due to limited carrier capacity. A shortcode is still the best option for high-volume MMS use cases in the United States.
How do these rule changes affect shortcodes and Toll-Free numbers? Should I switch to 10DLC?
These changes do not directly affect shortcodes and Toll-Free numbers, except for officially prohibiting shared short codes for all use cases except authentication codes. Details below.
Shared short codes will be banned, date TBD
Dedicated short codes are still a great way to send high-volume A2P messaging in the United States. However, the transition to A2P 10DLC will ban sharing short code numbers. The only exception to this policy is shared short codes used to send 2-factor to auth (2FA) or OTP codes only.
“Shared short codes” refers to short code numbers that are shared among multiple brands; for example, Shoe Company A and Beverage Company B send messages via the same short code number. If you have purchased a short code number from LC Phone and are using it only for your business and brand, this change will not affect you.
Under the new policy, a short code may be shared across multiple companies only for the purposes of sending authentication code messages, for example, “Your login code is 12345.” Any other category of messaging is not allowed on a shared shortcode.
Customers sharing a short code among multiple clients or brands for purposes other than sending 2-factor codes (OTPs) should completely migrate away from shared short codes.
Previously, the end date for shared short codes was identified as June 1, 2021. As of early 2022, the end date for shared short codes is on hold until the successful implementation of A2P 10DLC. A specific date will be shared here when we have information to share.
Toll-Free SMS – no changes
US Toll-Free phone numbers are not affected by these changes. Toll-Free SMS is still a great way to send A2P SMS in the United States and Canada. See Information and best practices for using Toll-Free SMS in the US and Canada for more information.
Are these changes also affecting messaging to Canada, Puerto Rico, or other countries?
No, Canada mobile carriers are not impacted at this time. Canadian mobile carriers may introduce registered A2P 10DLC solutions in the future, but at this time, carriers have not announced any plans to do so.
Yes, Puerto Rico carriers are impacted as well. Many recipients in Puerto Rico have telephone services from US-based carriers. Messages to those recipients are treated the same as messages to US-based recipients of those networks.
For information about message sending in countries other than the US, we recommend checking out our country-specific SMS Guidelines pages to learn about any unique rules or restrictions in that country.
Is WhatsApp messaging affected by A2P 10DLC?
No. WhatsApp messaging is unaffected by any of these changes. WhatsApp messages are transmitted over the Internet rather than through carrier networks like SMS and MMS.