10DLC Registration Guidelines

10DLC Registration Overview

Please note that 10DLC enforcement is not unique to Shape but is required by all texting providers to comply with applicable regulations. To stay compliant and ensure that your messages are delivered to recipients, you will need to register your numbers for 10DLC.

10DLC registration approval is determined solely by third-party carriers and registration authorities and is outside of Shape’s control. While Shape will assist with the registration process, approval cannot be guaranteed. A denial, delay, suspension, or other action by a third party does not constitute a failure of Shape’s services. Please refer to the Shape Terms of Service for additional information regarding 10DLC registration, payment obligations, and service availability.

Shape works with many clients in mortgage, real estate, debt, financial services, and other industries that carriers and The Campaign Registry (TCR) subject to heightened scrutiny. Shape does everything in its power to help these clients get approved — including guidance on required disclosures, help completing brand and campaign attributes accurately, and resubmission support when an application is rejected. That said, final approval decisions are made entirely by carriers and TCR, not by Shape, and some registrations in these industries may be delayed, restricted, or denied regardless of how they are submitted.

If a brand or campaign is not approved, message deliverability drops significantly. Carriers actively filter and block traffic from unregistered or non-compliant numbers, so a denial or delay in 10DLC approval is likely to result in very low delivery rates for that number, even though the underlying phone number and Shape account remain active. We strongly encourage every client — and especially those in higher-scrutiny industries — to review this page closely, register as early as possible, and reach out to Shape immediately if a registration is rejected so we can help identify what needs to change.

10DLC registration requires businesses provide information about themselves. Follow the instructions here to minimize the possibility of your brand or campaigns being rejected by The Campaign Registry (TCR).

Approval times vary by carrier and by industry. Brand registration is often approved within a few days; campaign approval can take anywhere from a few days to several weeks. Registrations in higher-scrutiny industries — including mortgage, real estate, debt, and other regulated financial services — commonly take longer and face a higher likelihood of rejection on the first submission. If your application is rejected because you didn’t follow these guidelines, you must make changes and ask Shape to resubmit your application. If the information you submit is incorrect, you will be charged a $15.00 re-submission fee.

10DLC registration can be broken down into two different approval processes, your Brand and your Campaign, see details below.

Brand Registration

Here are some things to keep in mind as you provide information to register your brand:

• Make sure your EIN and Company Name match – The values you enter for company name and tax ID number (EIN) must exactly match the values on your tax registration document.
• Provide a secure website that represents your business – Registrations without a website, those that use websites that lack an SSL certificate to support the HTTPS protocol, and those whose websites display boilerplate content or templates are likely to be rejected.
• Provide a working phone number – Preferably, the same one mentioned on your website’s contact or support page. Shape or TCR may attempt to verify the authenticity of this phone number.
• Provide a working email address – Preferably, the same one mentioned on your website’s contact or support page. A personal email address from a provider like Gmail or Yahoo or one from a disposable domain is likely to result in your brand registration being rejected.

It is also advised to declare whether your campaign involves any of the below eight attributes:

• Subscriber opt-in – indicates whether you collect and process customer opt-ins
• Subscriber opt-out – indicates whether you collect and process customer opt-outs
• Subscriber help – indicates whether you have implemented message replies that tell customers how they can contact the message sender when they reply with the HELP keyword
• Direct lending or loan arrangement – indicates whether this campaign includes content related to direct lending or other loan arrangements. (Direct Lenders are required to provide a lender certification)
• Embedded link – indicates whether campaign messages will use an embedded link
• Embedded phone number – indicates whether campaign messages will use an embedded phone number (other than the required HELP information contact phone number)
• Affiliate marketing – indicates whether the campaign involves affiliate marketing

Note: You must provide a unique contact address, email address, and phone number for each registration. TCR prohibits using the same contact information for multiple brands. Brands found in violation of this policy may be deactivated by Shape or TCR.

Campaign Registration

The use case of a campaign must be appropriate for the brand with which it is associated. For example, a marketing company should not try to create a campaign for a mortgage use case. TCR and carriers may reject campaign registrations that they deem unrelated to or not consistent with the brand.

Here are some things to keep in mind as you provide information:

• Campaign Description
• Sample messages
• Message Flow
• Opt-Out Message
• Help Message
• Opt-In Message

Campaign Description

Provide a detailed campaign description that includes the use case type of the messages you’ll send. A good example is “{Brand Name} uses this campaign to provide real-time alerts to customers regarding packages they ordered on {website}.” A bad example would be “Using for delivery notification” — Lacks brand name and the type of messages going out.

Sample Messages

Example: Good content

• {Name} — your one-time passcode is 12345
• Hi, {Name}, and thank you for requesting more information from {CompanyName}. The content you requested is available at https://realurl.com/?id=12345. Reply STOP to opt out.
• {CompanyName} — your order has been completed and is on its way. Look for it in 15 minutes. Track your order via our app: https://realurl.com/?id=12345. Reply STOP to opt out of future notifications.

Example: Bad content

• Get a FREE quote about your home! Lowest APR! https://urlshortener.com/?id=12345
• Bad credit? Still get approved for a home! Check out our free finance options https://urlshortener.com/?id=12345
• Download our app {appname} now to get $20 in free credits https://appstoreurl.com/myapp
• Accept your special offer before it expires https://urlshortener.com/?id=12345

Note: Three new campaign fields “Message Flow”, “Opt-Out Message” & “Help Message” became mandatory beginning November 17, 2023.

Be honest. If a campaign is related to loans, for instance, specify Yes for the Direct Lending or Loan Arrangement option. Businesses found to be providing incorrect attribute information may have their campaigns suspended.

If you have questions about 10DLC registration, contact your customer success manager or the Shape support team by emailing help@setshape.com.

Best Practices for A2P Messaging in the US

All use of Shape services is subject to our acceptable use policy; violations may lead to suspension of your services.

SMS Content Best Practices

These best practices for message content make messages more valuable to consumers and less likely to trigger real-time content analysis from messages flagged incorrectly as spam.

As a general rule, carriers don’t pre-approve or whitelist messaging content. A carrier may review any message content as part of an account review. Message content flagged by automatic spam detection algorithms is reviewed by a human operator. If the message is reviewed by a third party, out of context, it should appear to be a transactional, application-to-person message, originating from a specific request by the end user. If the operator decides the message is inappropriate, it may block the sending number.

In general, message content should include:

• Your organization’s name
• A reference to the reason the message is being sent
• A STOP message

While a STOP message does not need to be included in every message sent, consider sending it with every fourth or fifth message.

Message content should avoid:

• The words “Free,” “Now,” “Offer,” “Winner,” or any other promotional-sounding language
• Requests for action without specifying context
• Generic URL shortener links

Use of URLs in SMS Traffic

If your message contains a link, use a URL in a domain that your business owns and that aligns with the brand or campaign from which you send the message.

Use full URLs in your messages when you can. Avoid public URL shorteners such as Bitly and TinyURL. US carrier policies discourage the use of public URL shorteners, which means a higher risk your message will be filtered with no recourse. If you use a URL shortener, we recommend getting one that’s specific to your business (such as swoo.sh, which is used by Nike). Bear in mind, though, that many recipients view shortened URLs warily and refuse to click on them because they can be used by spammers and in phishing attempts.

URLs included in your messages must avoid multiple redirects, which are generally perceived as suspicious. Operators or message recipients might flag a message with multiple redirects as a phishing attempt, which might result in the suspension of your campaign.

Additional Best Practices

• Use Natural Language
• Set Expectations for Message Frequency
• Avoid Deceptive Marketing
• Avoid Fraud or Scam Content
• Follow Best Practices for Promotional Messages

SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco)

Content related to SHAFT use cases such as the following is prohibited in the US by local or federal law:

• Pornographic and/or adult entertainment industry purpose, prostitution, human trafficking
• Violence, hate speech, or otherwise engaging in threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, or fraudulent behavior
• Sale or promotion of substances that are classified as controlled substances as per federal law (e.g. cannabis)

Contact your customer success manager or our support team if you suspect your use case falls under a prohibited content type, and find CTIA messaging principles and best practices here.

Forbidden Industries

The Campaign Registry (TCR) has indicated several industries that fall in a forbidden category and are unable to be approved through 10DLC at this time. This list is determined and maintained by TCR and mobile carriers, not by Shape — if your business falls into one of these categories, Shape can still help you register and resubmit as needed, but the approval decision itself rests entirely with the carriers.

Prohibited Messaging Practices

All messages in the US must adhere to the codes of conduct published by mobile network operators (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon). If a message sender is observed sending any of the kinds of disallowed content listed below, Shape will perform an account review. This review can result in the suspension of sending rights for a provisioned phone number, restriction of high-throughput access, suspension of provisioning rights for new phone numbers, and/or suspension of all network services. Message senders are expected to enforce restrictions on their own networks to prevent these types of content at the intake source.

Phishing

Phishing is the practice of sending messages that appear to come from reputable companies but in fact trick consumers into revealing personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.

Other Prohibited Practices

• Snowshoeing
• Filter Evasion Assistance and Number Cycling

Managing Messaging Campaigns for Better Deliverability

Here are some best practices that can help you improve your message deliverability scores.

Customer Consent

All Shape customers must comply with the opt-in requirements outlined in the CTIA guidelines. In short, businesses should send messages to customers only after receiving opt-in permission. Also, message senders should not use opt-in lists that have been rented, sold, or shared.

When customers opt in, you should send them a confirmation message that includes details about the campaign, possible charges, whether they’ll get recurring messages, and how to opt out. Example: “Welcome to Shape customer outreach. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help, STOP to cancel.”

You should collect the consumer consent yourself. Don’t use consent acquired from a third party. Consumers expect a relationship with the businesses with which they interact.

Shape reserves the right to suspend or terminate your messaging services if we learn you’ve failed to comply with opt-in guidelines.

If your opt-in process involves a web form, you should ensure that it clearly conveys all of these details to the consumer:

• Brand/company name
• Program/campaign description
• Link to Terms and Conditions page and Privacy Policy pages
• Customer care information
• Message frequency information

Proof of Opt-In

Shape recommends maintaining an updated list with a record of every opted-in user. If we receive carrier or subscriber complaints about spam, Shape and its partners may carry out an audit. In that event we will ask you for proof of opt-in consent. For each user, you must be able to produce this information as proof of opt-in:

• Timestamp of opt-in
• Opt-in medium (e.g. web forms, SMS, paper opt-in, physical signup, etc.)
• IP address used for opt-in process (if opted in via web form)
• The consumer phone number that has granted consent (if opted in via SMS)
• Name of the individual or other identifier (e.g. online username, session ID, etc.)

You should also offer an opt-out mechanism in every message to avoid violations. Shape also recommends that you review inbound messages for messages like “I’m not interested,” “Do not send messages,” “Not required,” etc., and remove those subscribers from your target group.

Allow Customers to Opt Out

Ensure that users can opt out of your messages easily. A general best practice is to add opt-out instructions to your messages, particularly for informational, marketing, and promotional messages. Shape recommends adding “Reply STOP to unsubscribe” or “reply STOP to cancel” to the end of your message.

Not providing an opt-out option or sending people messages after they have opted out is a violation that could result in the termination of your campaign.

A high rate of opt-outs from your numbers or campaigns may result in filtering or blocking your traffic.

Carrier Monitoring

Our carriers continuously monitor text messages sent over their networks. To ensure uninterrupted service, avoid incurring a high number of consumer complaints and a high opt-out rate.

Consumer Complaints

Major operators in North America support consumer-driven spam controls. Their mobile subscribers can forward unwanted or unconsented text messages to the short code 7726 (it spells “SPAM” on the dialpad).

Carriers actively monitor consumer complaints sent to this service. When multiple complaints are received for a sender, mobile network operators (MNO) send a notification to the message sender that includes the source phone number, destination phone number, timestamp, and original message ID. Upon receipt, the sender provider must provide proof of a TCPA-compliant opt-in for those specific messages, as well as an overview of the messaging campaign and the opt-in process that the unwanted message was a part of.

If a large number of unwanted or unconsented messages are reported on a source phone number, that number may have its sending rights suspended while opt-in is being confirmed.

Opt-Out Rate

MNOs also track opt-out rates. The daily opt-out rate on a phone number is defined as the number of opted-out consumers that were sent messages divided by the unique consumer phone numbers contacted within a 24-hour period.

If the daily opt-out rate on a sending phone number is 5% or greater, the account is flagged for monitoring. An opt-out rate of 10% or greater on a sending phone number may result in immediate suspension of services.