10DLC Registration Best Practices: Making Compliance Easy

Nowadays, businesses are constantly finding effective ways to engage with their customers. One such way is A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging. It lets customers send text messages directly to consumers. However, before you gear up to upgrade your marketing strategy by including text messaging software, hold your thoughts! You need to fit in the critical puzzle piece – 10DLC compliance. This concept was introduced to adhere to 10DLC restoration best practices. You must understand and follow these best practices if your goal is to maintain 10DLC SMS compliance, don’t want your message to be blocked or marked as spam, and optimize your messaging strategy.

This blog explains 10DLC registration best practices that businesses should follow to improve text message communication.

What is 10DLC? Why does it Matter?

10DLC stands for the 10-digit phone number that is approved by TCR – The Campaign Registry on behalf of the mobile network operators (MNOs) for A2P messaging. Traditional long codes are specifically designed for P2P communication, whereas 10DLC numbers are designed for business messaging. It offers various benefits such as:

Improved Deliverability

Whenever businesses register for A2P 10DLC, their messages are more likely to reach the intended recipients. Carriers prioritize A2P 10DLC registered traffic. It ensures a higher message delivery rate compared to non-registered/non-compliant phone numbers.

Increased Trust and Reputation

A2P 10DLC numbers help build trust with the mobile carriers and their subscribers. When businesses comply with registration requirements, it demonstrates their commitment towards delivering legitimate and valuable messages. It can benefit a business’s reputation as a trustworthy sender.

Compliance with Regulations

A2P 10DLC registration ensures compliance with industry regulations and guidelines such as TCPA, CTIA, etc. It helps protect consumers from unsolicited or fraudulent messages and makes sure you follow SMS communication best practices.

In short, the main aim of 10DLC registering is to regulate business text messaging by reducing spam messaging and improving the overall messaging ecosystem.

How to Register for 10DLC?

10DLC registration involves the following steps.

1. Brand Registration

First, you need to register your business as a brand with the TCR – The Campaign Registry. In this process, you need to provide accurate business information, which includes your legal entity name, contact details, tax identification number, etc.

2. Campaign Registration

Once the brand is registered, it’s time to register your messaging campaign. You need to clearly define each campagin’s purpose, target audience, message type to be sent, etc.

3. Number Assignment

You need to assign your registered 10DLC number to the approved campaign in this step. Make sure that each number perfectly matches the intended use case to maintain SMS compliance.

Besides, here are a few common mistakes that you need to avoid while registering.

• Never provide inaccurate business information. If you do so, it can delay or reject your registration. Therefore, make sure all information matches the official records.
• Provide a clear campaign description. Incomplete or incorrect information can be the reason for disapproval. Clearly state the intention and content of your message.
• Properly follow the opt-in mechanism, as non-compliance with the consent requirement can create compliance issues. Ensure that explicit consent is obtained from recipients before sending messages.

What are the Best Practices for 10DLC Registration?

For the A2P 10DLC registration, businesses must follow the best practices described below.

1. Provide Accurate and Consistent Business Information

While A2P 10DLC registration, carriers want to know only two things – who you are and what messages you are trying to send. Therefore, you must provide details like business name, website, EIN number, business contact information, the country where your business is registered, address, etc. All business information must be accurate and consistent across all platforms. When details are consistent, it offers smooth registration and improves credibility.

For example, if your legal business name is “XYZ Marketing Solutions LLC,” but you submit “XYZ Marketing Solutions” in your 10DLC registration, it won’t match the records. Also, it will create registration issues. So, always use the exact legal name, contact details, EIN number, etc.

2. Select the Right Use Case for Your Campaign

Compliance issues and message filtering can occur if you choose the incorrect use case. Let’s say you are an eCommerce business and want to send order updates. In that case, you need to select the “Customer Care” use case instead of “Promotional.”

If you choose “Promotional” by mistake, carriers might block your transactional messages because of the stricter filtering.

3. Submit a Clear and Approved Message Template

Mobile carriers review and approve message templates to prevent spam messaging. Therefore, you must craft and submit a clear and approved message template.

Here is an example of a well-crafted SMS template.

Hello [Customer Name], thank you for placing your order with NewCart! Your order #[Order Number] has been shipped. Click here to track: [Tracking Link]. Reply STOP to opt out.

Here is an example of an unapproved message template which violates compliance rules.

Hi! Limited-time offer specially for you! Click [Link] to grab this offer. Reply ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ to opt-out.

In this message, the sender’s name is not mentioned. So, mobile carriers can flag it as spam.

4. Make Sure Proper Consent and Opt-in Process is Followed

You must obtain the recipient’s explicit consent before sending them messages. Sending them messages without consent violates compliance rules, and you have to deal with penalties.

Here is an example of the proper opt-in process.

A customer visits your website and checks a box which states:

I agree to receive SMS updates from [Your Business Name].

You also implement a double opt-in process by sending them confirmation text like this:

Thanks for signing up for [Your Business Name] updates! Reply ‘Y’ to confirm or ‘STOP’ to unsubscribe.

If you automatically enrol customers without their consent and send them promotional messages, it is called a non-compliant process. You must avoid doing it.

5. Partner With the Reliable SMS Platform

You must choose a good automated SMS platform to ensure SMS marketing compliance and optimize message delivery.

For example,

You can choose an SMS platform like Textdrip, which helps handle 10DLC registration, message routing, and compliance monitoring. It ensures each SMS reaches customers without carrier filtering issues.

Check our blog on how 10DLC registration works with Textdrip to learn more.

6. Follow Carrier and Regulatory Guidelines

Carriers enforce strict messaging policies to protect customers from spam and fraud messages.

For example, carrier guidelines may limit SHAFT content. In such a case, if a liquor store tries to send SMS promotions without age verification, the carrier might block the creative SMS campaign. So, the carrier must verify the recipient’s age and include compliance-friendly messaging.

7. Monitor and Improve Message Deliverability

You must regularly track your message delivery rates and address the issue quickly. Monitoring performance metrics lets you make required adjustments to improve deliverability. A low delivery rate indicates filtering issues, consent problems, or poor message structuring.

For example,

An insurance company finds that 25% of their messages are not delivered. After analyzing their performance metrics, they discovered that their text messages contain many links. It causes carrier filters. Therefore, they modify the messages and make them crisp and clear by including a short link to improve deliverability.

8. Prepare for Carrier Audits and Reviews

You must be prepared for potential audits by carriers to ensure compliance. Maintain thorough records of your campaigns, consent forms, and messaging content for smooth reviews. So, whenever carriers audit your brand and campaign randomly, you don’t have to face any challenges.

For example,

A fitness club maintain a record of customer consent forms, opt-out requests, and message logs. During the audit, they promptly provide the documentation, which avoids disruptions to their SMS campaigns.

9. Set Up and Test Your 10DLC Campaigns Before Launching.

You must conduct proper testing of your SMS campaigns before full-scale launching. It will help you find out and resolve potential issues such as broken links, opt-out failures, undelivered messages, etc. It ensures a consistent and hassle-free customer experience.

For example,

A restaurant has planned to launch an SMS loyalty program and will send test messages to employees before rolling it out. In such a case, they identify formatting issues, and because of that, links are not clickable. They fix this issue before going live.

10.  Update and Maintain Your Registration

You must keep your registration information up to date. Whenever there are any changes in your business details or campaign strategies, quickly update them. Regular maintenance ensures ongoing compliance and uninterrupted messaging services. If your business details change and you don’t update registration details, it can be the reason for campaign suspension.

For example,

A dental office changes its name from “Smile Dental Care” to “Bright Smile Dentistry.” In that case, they need to update their registration to avoid messaging disruptions.

11. Avoid Spam and High Compliant Rates

You must focus on delivering valuable and relevant content to your audience. Avoid spammy practices and maintain low complaint rates. It will help you protect your brand’s reputation and ensure long-term success. If your business receives frequent spam complaints, carriers might block your message or suspend your number.

For example,

If you send a daily promotional message without recipient engagement, then it’s a bad practice.

However, sending targeted offers once a week and including a simple way to opt-out, like “Reply STOP to opt-out” is a good practice.

Here are a few promotional message examples to get an idea how to craft the perfect one that drive conversations.

12. Be Prepared for Message Throughput Limitations

It is essential that you understand the throughput limit associated with your 10DLC numbers and mobile carriers and plan your campaigns accordingly. Different business types have different message limits per second. These limits help in optimizing message delivery without exceeding carrier thresholds. One thing to note here is that the message throughput limit varies as per mobile carrier.

For example,

A large retail store can register for the high-volume campaign, such as 15 MPS. A small local bakery with low traffic can register for 1 MPS to avoid unnecessary fees.

13. Prioritize Customer Experience

You must keep customer experience in mind by sending relevant, timely, and personalized messages. A positive message experience improves customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. Irrelevant or poorly timed messages can increase opt-out rates and complaints.

For example,

A travel agency sends a reminder SMS 48 hours before departure instead of last-minute spam messages like alerts. Customers usually appreciate when businesses send timely, useful, and relevant updates.

How to Troubleshoot Common Issues Causing 10DLC Registration to Fail Repeatedly

Sometimes, even though you’ve made careful planning, you face challenges during the 10DLC registration process. It can be because of brand registration failure or campaign registration failure.

There are a few common issues when brand registration fails, such as incorrect or incomplete business information, mismatched Tax ID numbers, inconsistent business information, etc. Also, a few scenarios in which campaign registration fails are non-compliant content; you have used the same number for multiple campaigns, incomplete or incorrect campaign details, opt-in and opt-out issues, spam and fraud messaging, unregistered numbers, etc.

These issues can cause registration delays, campaign disapprovals, message delivery problems, etc. To resolve these issues, you need to ensure that all your business details match official records, comply with the carrier requirements, and avoid using misleading or restricted content in your messages.

If you face constant issues or uncertainties during the registration, you need to contact a reliable messaging partner/platform such as Textdrip. Such platforms can help you resolve issues by providing personal guidance and ensuring that your campaigns align with the compliance standards.

Wrapping Up

10DLC is no longer a passing trend, but it has become the industry standard for businesses that want to build trust and reach customers effectively. Of course, understanding and dealing with 10DLC registration and compliance is challenging. However, if you follow the best practices discussed above, your business can ensure a smooth registration process and effective messaging campaigns.

At Textdrip, we guide businesses to tackle the complexity of 10DLC compliance effectively. Our platform provides hassle-free registration assistance, impressive SMS campaign management tools, and top-notch expert support. It helps businesses follow 10DLC best practices. Therefore, book a demo or take a FREE trial of Textdrip and make your 10DLC compliance journey smooth, straightforward, and successful.