What is 10DLC? What You Need to Know

10DLC, or 10-Digit Long Code, is the method by which businesses, organizations, and campaigns send Application-to-Person messages via standard 10-digit phone numbers. Simply put, it is how organizations message you from a secure, vetted 10-digit number. It is also the mobile carrier’s way of regulating the text messaging space in response to customers’ oft-voiced frustration with the number of spam texts received. It requires organizations and businesses to complete a campaign registration for their entity and each text campaign via The Campaign Registry (TCR).

Here’s why.

The Facts About 10DLC

When business text messaging was first released, there were very few regulations, and as a result, consumers were bombarded. At first, individual companies created their own regulations and programs. In March of 2022, major mobile carriers came out with a united policy that any business using 10DLC must register with TCR. In order for organizations and businesses to send text messages successfully, it requires two registrations:

• Business Registration - businesses, organizations, movements, and brands must register who they are
• Use Case Registration - businesses, organizations, movements, and brands must register the type of messages they will send (notifications, alerts, member engagement)

As of July 5, 2023, all mobile carriers have started to ramp up penalties for unregistered numbers and on August 31st, unregistered campaigns will be blocked altogether. To ensure compliance, all 10DLC campaigns MUST be registered through The Campaign Registry (TCR). When registering, TCR verifies the business is legitimate and then assigns each number a trust score. The higher the score, the better the deliverability.  

Benefits of 10DLC

10 DLC supports healthier engagement and more meaningful interactions. It highlights the importance of focusing on unique ways to get supporters and audiences to opt-in to text campaigns, makes removing people from text lists a priority, and compels businesses and organizations to be considerate about the frequency and length of text messages sent.

Businesses, organizations, and campaigns can expect:

• Higher Throughput: 10DLC numbers can send SMS message volumes at a higher rate than other texting options.
• Higher Deliverability: Because 10DLC numbers are approved by mobile carriers, messages sent on these numbers are more likely to reach your audiences, guaranteeing the deliverability of all your text messages. And with reputation scores, the higher the score, the better your deliverability.
• Opt-In Channel Protected from Spam: With these regulations limiting spam texts received in the texting space, audiences are more likely to engage via text message and act on CTAs.
• Higher Engagement: With 10DLC supporting two-way text messaging and multiple media types, consumers are much more likely to engage.

Here’s what you need to know.

How Do I Get Started With 10DLC?

Subtext offers white-glove service for all of our hosts when it comes to being 10DLC compliant. We take the guesswork and legwork out of registering. Once our Customer Success team has the paperwork they need on hand, they handle all aspects of registration, which takes anywhere from 10-14 business days. In the meantime, clients get to focus on building plans for growing their communities and engaging with audiences. If your current texting service isn’t registered, we make it easy to switch to Subtext and become compliant.