What is 10DLC?
10DLC stands for 10-digit long code. It’s the standard for business texting (also called A2P messaging) from regular local phone numbers in the United States.
Registering for 10DLC means your business and the way you text are registered with The Campaign Registry (TCR) and approved by U.S. mobile carriers. It helps carriers know who’s texting, why, and how recipients agreed to hear from you.
In short:
- Register once from Settings › Phone Settings, and all your Shape numbers are covered
- The form asks for your contact, brand, and campaign information, with examples to guide you
- Choose 10DLC Standard for most businesses, or 10DLC High-Volume if you send a lot of texts
- Your company name and website must match exactly, or registration can be rejected
- Unregistered business texts to U.S. numbers can be blocked by carriers, even if Shape shows them as sent
Helpful terms
| Term | What it means |
|---|---|
| A2P | Application-to-person messaging: businesses using software to text customers. It’s the technical term for business texting. |
| 10DLC | A standard 10-digit local phone number used for business texting in the U.S. |
| TCR | The Campaign Registry, the organization that verifies your business and approves or rejects your registration. |
| Short code | A 5- or 6-digit number, like 31313, built for very high-volume texting. Short codes support texting and MMS but not calls. |
| Toll-free number | A number starting with 800 or a similar prefix. It has its own separate verification process for texting. |
Why is 10DLC important?
U.S. carriers require businesses texting from local numbers to register their business and how they text. If your business isn’t registered, carriers can block your texts to U.S. numbers. Those texts may still show as sent in Shape, because Shape handed them to the carrier, but they never reach the recipient’s phone.
10DLC applies to texts sent to U.S. phone numbers. Texts to numbers outside the U.S. aren’t part of 10DLC.
Registering also brings real benefits:
Better deliverability. Carriers give registered businesses a trust score and use it to decide how to handle their texts. Unregistered numbers may hit spam filters, delays, or blocked messages.
Higher response rates. People tend to trust local numbers more, and 10DLC supports two-way texting and media, which encourages replies.
Higher throughput. Throughput is how many messages can be sent per second. Registered numbers can send more messages, more reliably.
Flexibility. Unlike short codes, local numbers support texting, MMS, and calls, so one number can handle appointment reminders, follow-up, notifications, and more.
What you’ll need before you register
Have this information ready before you open the form. For field-by-field guidance, see the 10DLC Registration Guidelines.
| Section | What you’ll need |
|---|---|
| Contact information | A business contact’s first and last name, title, phone number, and email |
| Brand information | Your legal company name, website, industry (vertical), entity type, business address, country of registration, and tax ID or EIN |
| Campaign information | How you’ll use texting, two sample messages, a help message, and how customers opt in (your message flow) |
Use your exact legal company name. It must match your tax records, and your website should clearly belong to the same company. Mismatches are one of the most common reasons registrations are rejected.
Use unique contact information. Each registration needs its own contact address, email, and phone number. Carriers don’t allow the same contact information to be used for multiple brands.
Messaging standards carriers look for
Carriers review your registration against industry messaging standards, including the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Before you register, make sure you:
- Get clear written permission from people before texting them
- Include opt-out instructions, like “Reply STOP to opt out,” in the first text of every campaign
- Identify your company name in the first text of every campaign
- Have SMS terms and conditions and an SMS privacy policy on your website
See Best practices for your company website below for example language.
How to register for 10DLC in Shape
You fill out one form in Shape, and our team submits your registration to the carriers for you.
Go to Phone Settings
Click Settings in the top navigation, then Phone Settings in the left sidebar. Quick link: https://secure.setshape.com/manage-call-settings
Click Register for 10DLC
The 10DLC Registration form opens. It has five sections.
Enter your contact information
Carriers use this to verify the business behind your texts and to reach a responsible person if there are questions about compliance, your registration, or messaging complaints. Enter the business contact’s first and last name, salutation, title, phone number, and email.
Enter your brand information
Brand registration tells carriers who is sending the messages. Enter your legal company name, website, vertical (industry), entity type, business address, city, state, ZIP, country of registration, and tax number or EIN.
Review your campaign information
Campaign information tells carriers how you plan to use texting, like alerts, follow-up, or marketing. Each field comes pre-filled with example text to show you what to enter. Edit each one to describe your own business and messages. Carriers compare these with your actual texts and website.
| Field | What to enter | Example from the form |
|---|---|---|
| How will you be using SMS and MMS messaging? | A short description of why you text customers | “We send follow-up messages to people who request information about our services, appointment reminders, and occasional updates related to their inquiry.” |
| Sample Message 1 and 2 | Two realistic texts you’ll send, with your company name and opt-out language | “Hi {{FirstName}}, this is {{UserName}} from {{CompanyName}}. Just checking in to see if you still had questions about your options. I’m happy to help whenever you’re ready. Reply STOP to opt out.” |
| Help Message | What someone receives if they reply HELP | “{{CompanyName}}: You’re receiving messages related to your inquiry or account. Msg frequency varies. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for support. For assistance contact {{SupportEmail}} or {{SupportPhone}}.” |
| Message Flow | How customers agree to receive your texts | “Customers opt in to receive text messages by submitting a form on our website requesting information about our services. The form includes a checkbox that clearly states they agree to receive text messages from our company.” |
Click Show Example next to a sample message field to see another example.
Choose your registration type
Pick the option that fits how many texts you expect to send.
| 10DLC Standard | 10DLC High-Volume | |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Small to mid-size businesses sending under about 6,000 text segments a day | Businesses with an EIN that send higher volumes |
| Selected by default | Yes | No |
| Registration | Faster approval and a simpler process | A more detailed registration and vetting process |
| Cost | Included in the Communications Package. Without a Communications Package, it’s billed to your usage credits. | Has its own registration and monthly fees, shown in the form before you submit |
Most businesses should choose 10DLC Standard. Choose High-Volume only if you regularly send more texts than Standard supports. If you’re not sure, ask your account representative or Shape Support before submitting.
Review and authorize
Read the 10DLC Authorization and Acknowledgement, then check the box. By checking it, you authorize Shape to submit your information for 10DLC registration and acknowledge that:
- Approval is decided by carriers and outside vetting providers, and isn’t guaranteed
- Inaccurate or non-compliant information can lead to rejection, resubmission, and additional fees
- Registration and carrier fees aren’t refundable once submitted
- Carriers can limit or suspend messaging that doesn’t follow messaging rules
- You’re responsible for following the law and the 10DLC guidelines, along with Shape’s terms of service and privacy policy
Click Register for 10DLC
Shape receives everything you entered, including your registration type, and our team submits it to the carriers. The Register for 10DLC button changes to Registration Pending while carriers review it.
What happens after you register?
- Carriers review your registration. Timing is set by the carriers and can take a few weeks.
- You only register once. After approval, all your Shape phone numbers are covered, including numbers you add later, up to 49 numbers.
- Fees are billed automatically. Standard is covered by your Communications Package or usage credits. High-Volume fees are billed to your account.
- If your registration is rejected, Shape Support will let you know why. Fix the issue, often the company name, website, or opt-in language, and resubmit.
Common rejection reasons
Carriers commonly reject 10DLC registrations for these reasons:
- The company name or tax ID doesn’t match the business type or tax records
- The website doesn’t clearly match the company name
- The website collects phone numbers without opt-in language, or the opt-in language isn’t on every form that collects phone numbers
- The website doesn’t have About Us, Terms and Conditions, or Privacy Policy pages
- The website shares user information with third parties for loans
- High-risk financial services, like payday loans, education loans, third-party auto and mortgage loan offers, or cryptocurrency
- Debt collection, debt relief, restructuring, refinancing, or credit repair offers
- Unsolicited insurance quotes
- Work-from-home job offers, including pyramid schemes
- Third-party lead generation services
- Illegal prescriptions, gambling, or other content that doesn’t follow CTIA messaging principles and best practices
Best practices for your company website
Carriers review the website you submit, looking for opt-in language, terms and conditions, and a privacy policy. These updates can improve your chances of approval.
1. Opt-in language
If your website collects mobile numbers, it needs opt-in language. This is usually on a Contact Us page or any web form where people enter their name and phone number.
Add language to each form letting people know they’re agreeing to receive text messages, with links to your privacy policy and terms, plus message frequency and data rate information. A checkbox that clearly states they agree to receive texts is a strong approach.
2. Terms of service
Most websites have a Terms of Service or Terms & Conditions page. Carriers look for texting-specific terms, like:
Consent and charges: “By providing your phone number and opting in, you consent to receive text messages from [Your Company Name] regarding our products, services, and promotions. Standard messaging and data rates may apply.”
Message frequency: “You can expect to receive messages from us [occasionally, weekly, monthly, etc.].”
Data rates: “Message and data rates may apply depending on your mobile carrier plan. If you have any questions about your plan or charges, please contact your mobile carrier.”
3. Privacy policy
Most companies add a section to their privacy policy, often near the communication terms, with this sentence:
“Subscriber information will not be shared or sold to third parties for their direct marketing purposes.”
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to register for 10DLC?+
If you text customers at U.S. phone numbers from Shape, yes. Carriers can block business texts from companies that aren’t registered, which hurts both one-to-one and bulk texting.
My customers say they aren’t getting my texts. Why?+
The most common reason is that your company isn’t registered for 10DLC, or your registration is still pending. Texts can show as sent in Shape but still be blocked by the carrier. Check your registration status in Settings › Phone Settings, then see SMS Spam Filtering & Deliverability for other causes.
Does 10DLC apply to international numbers?+
No. 10DLC applies to texts sent to U.S. phone numbers.
Should I choose 10DLC Standard or High-Volume?+
Most businesses should choose Standard, which is selected by default and fits businesses sending under about 6,000 text segments a day. Choose High-Volume only if your business has an EIN and regularly sends more than that. If you’re not sure, ask Shape Support before submitting.
Is 10DLC Standard included?+
Yes. Standard is included in the Communications Package. If you don’t have a Communications Package, it’s billed to your usage credits.
Why are the campaign fields already filled in?+
They’re examples to show what carriers expect. Edit each one to describe your own business, messages, and opt-in process before you submit.
Why does my company name need to match my website?+
Carriers verify that the business registering is the same one shown on the website and in tax records. If they don’t match, registration is often rejected.
Do I need to register again if I add a new phone number?+
No. Once you’re registered, all your Shape phone numbers are covered, including numbers you add later, up to 49 numbers.
How long does registration take?+
Timing is set by the carriers, and review can take a few weeks. Your button shows Registration Pending until it’s complete.
Can I get a refund if my registration is rejected?+
No. Registration and carrier fees aren’t refundable once submitted, and resubmitting may involve additional fees. Double-check your company name, website, and campaign details before submitting.
Will 10DLC stop my calls from showing as spam?+
No. 10DLC is only for texting. If your number is flagged as spam for calls, see Spam Remediation.
Can I use a toll-free number instead?+
If you don’t need a local area code, a toll-free number is an option. Toll-free and short code numbers have their own required registration and verification, and toll-free numbers can still be affected by spam filters and message limits. See Toll-Free Verification.
Need help?
If you have questions about 10DLC registration, contact your customer success manager or Shape Support.
Email: help@setshape.com · Phone: (888) 718-6344
Related guides: 10DLC Registration Guidelines · Bulk Texting · SMS Spam Filtering & Deliverability · Request a Toll-Free Number · TCPA & First-Party Consent