The 10DLC Registration Checklist

What do you need before you register for 10DLC?

You need verifiable business identity, a complete website, and documented consent before you open the registration form. Missing or mismatched items are the most common reason carriers return a campaign.

Gather everything below first. Registration runs through your messaging provider, which submits your data to The Campaign Registry (TCR) and then to carrier aggregators for manual review.

Brand identity

• Legal business name exactly as it appears on your IRS EIN letter (CP 575 or 147C). Abbreviations, missing "LLC", or a DBA in this field cause identity mismatches.
• EIN, the nine-digit federal tax ID. Sole proprietors without an EIN use the Sole Proprietor brand type instead.
• Physical business address that matches your registration records.
• Entity type: private company, public company, nonprofit, government, or sole proprietor.
• Business contact email, ideally at your own domain rather than a free webmail address.

Website and policies

• A live, complete website that matches the brand name and describes what you actually do. Missing websites trigger rejection (Bandwidth vetting guidance, April 2026).
• Privacy policy with an SMS section stating that mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.
• Terms of service covering your messaging program: message types, frequency, "Message and data rates may apply", STOP and HELP instructions.
• No prohibited content anywhere on the site. Carriers review the whole website, not just the form page.

Campaign details

• Use case selected from TCR's list, such as Marketing, Account Notification, Customer Care, Mixed, or Low Volume Mixed.
• Campaign description that says who you are, who receives messages, and why.
• Two or more sample messages that include your brand name and match the declared use case.
• Opt-in description and evidence: a URL or screenshot of the form, with the exact consent language shown to users.
• Opt-in confirmation, HELP, and STOP responses written out.
• Flags for embedded links, phone numbers, lending content, or age-gated content, answered truthfully.

What is the difference between brand and campaign registration?

Brand registration verifies who you are and is done once per legal entity. Campaign registration describes a specific messaging program and must be done for each distinct use case.

Two additions since early 2025 are worth knowing. Publicly traded companies must pass an Authentication+ verification ($12.50) before they can create campaigns, and a standard third-party brand vet costs $41.50 if you want a throughput tier above the unvetted default (TCR Fees and Pricing, updated August 2026). Most providers also pass through a $15 manual review fee per campaign submission.

What is the step-by-step order?

Build the website and consent flow first, register the brand second, and submit the campaign only once the site is live and consistent. Submitting early just produces a rejection you have to fix anyway.

1. Prepare the site. Publish the privacy policy, terms, and a form with an unchecked, SMS-specific consent checkbox and full disclosure text.
2. Verify identity data. Compare your legal name, EIN, and address against IRS records character by character.
3. Register the brand. Submit through your provider and wait for identity verification.
4. Decide on vetting. If you need more than the unvetted T-Mobile cap of 2,000 messages per day (Bandwidth, August 2026), order a standard vet.
5. Register the campaign. Enter the use case, description, samples, opt-in evidence, and policy links.
6. Respond to review. If the campaign is returned, fix every cited issue in one pass before resubmitting.
7. Assign numbers. After approval, your provider links your 10-digit numbers to the campaign.
8. Send in line with the registration. Content that drifts from the approved use case can lead to suspension later.

Why do 10DLC campaigns get rejected?

Most rejections come from inconsistency or missing consent evidence, not from the business itself. Reviewers compare your description, samples, website, and form, and any mismatch is a reason to return the campaign.

• Brand name mismatch between the registration, website, and sample messages.
• Thin or unrelated website, such as a single sales page, a site under construction, or a domain that does not reference the brand.
• Missing SMS disclosures at the point of opt-in: brand, message type, frequency, rates, STOP and HELP, and policy links.
• Privacy policy allows sharing phone numbers or consent with third parties or partners.
• Vague use case, such as "marketing" with no detail about audience or content.
• Prohibited or restricted content: third-party lead generation, cannabis, high-risk financial offers, or age-restricted products without a working age gate.
• Undisclosed links or lending content that appear in samples but were not flagged.

How long does 10DLC registration take?

Plan for one to two weeks from a complete submission to sending, with extra time for each round of corrections. Manual campaign review is the longest step.

These are planning ranges, not guarantees. Providers publish their own estimates and they change with carrier queue volume.

What should you do after approval?

Keep your live program identical to what you registered. Carriers review traffic after approval, and changes in content, links, or opt-in flow can require a new or amended campaign.

• Send the opt-in confirmation message immediately after each signup.
• Honor opt-outs sent by any reasonable means, not only the word STOP; FCC rules in effect since April 11, 2025 require processing within 10 business days.
• Keep consent records (timestamp, source URL, disclosure text) for every subscriber.
• Update the campaign before adding a new message type, such as promotions on a notification-only campaign.

How can you check readiness before submitting?

Review your site and form against the checklist above, then have someone who did not build it compare every field. A fresh reviewer catches the name and policy mismatches that cause most returns.

The free Landing Page QA tool scans a page for 10DLC and TCPA consent signals. If you do not yet have a compliant site, Full Percent's 10DLC-compliant website includes the privacy policy, terms, SMS consent pages, and compliant contact forms, delivered within one business day and ready to submit for review. For registration prep itself, see SMS and 10DLC compliance.

Stephen Ventura founded Full Percent in Boca Raton, Florida. He has built email systems since 1997 and SMS platforms since before the iPhone. stephenventura.com