A2P 10DLC Registration: What Sales Teams Need to Do Before Texting

"A2P" means application-to-person: messages sent by software or a business platform to individuals, as opposed to a friend texting a friend. "10DLC" means ten-digit long code, an ordinary local phone number. Carriers built a registration system so they can tell legitimate business texting from spam.

If your team texts prospects or customers from a business number in a phone or CRM tool, that counts, even at low volume. Your phone provider is required to register the traffic, and it walks you through the process. Registration status affects whether messages are delivered, how many you can send per second and whether carriers block them.

Rules and fees are set by carriers and providers, and they change, so confirm the current requirements with your provider before you start.

Gather this before you open the form, since mismatches cause rejections:

1. Legal business name exactly as it appears on your tax records.
2. Business type and tax ID, such as an EIN for a US company. Sole proprietors typically have a separate, simpler registration route.
3. Business address and contact details that match public records.
4. A working website that shows your business name and describes what you do.
5. A privacy policy or terms page, where required, that mentions text messaging.
6. Campaign details: the type of messages you'll send, such as sales follow-ups, appointment reminders or account notifications.
7. Sample messages that match the real ones you'll send, with your business name and opt-out language.
8. A description of how people opt in, such as a web form checkbox, a verbal agreement recorded in your CRM or a customer's reply to your text.

Reviewers look for clarity and consistency. Follow these rules:

• Be specific about use. "Follow-up messages to prospects who requested a demo or a quote" is better than "marketing and sales."
• Make sample messages realistic. Include your business name, a clear purpose and opt-out wording such as "Reply STOP to opt out."
• Match your website. If your messages mention a service your site doesn't, reviewers may reject the application.
• Describe the opt-in in plain steps. State where consent is collected and what the person sees.
• Avoid content that carriers restrict, such as certain categories of financial or health offers, and shortened links from public link-shortening services. Ask your provider for the current restricted list.

If a submission is rejected, read the reason, fix that specific issue and resubmit. Don't submit several near-identical applications.

No. Registration lets carriers deliver your messages. It doesn't give you permission to send them. Consent rules apply separately, and in the US they can carry significant liability for unwanted marketing texts. In general, you need clear consent before sending marketing or sales texts, and you need to honor opt-outs immediately.

Practical steps:

• Text only people who've agreed to hear from you by text, such as those who filled in a form with a phone field and consent language, or who texted you first.
• Record when and how consent was given, in the CRM record.
• Honor STOP replies at once, and don't re-add people who opted out.
• Send at reasonable hours in the recipient's time zone.
• Keep cold outreach to prospects on channels where consent rules are clearer, such as email or a call, and get advice before texting people who haven't opted in.

Ask an attorney to review your consent language and process. The rules depend on the message type and the recipient's state.

Some phone providers include registration inside their app, which can simplify the process. OpenPhone fits small teams that want to complete registration and manage compliant texting in the same app they call from. KrispCall fits teams that need US numbers registered for carrier compliance alongside business telephony across regions. Confirm in a demo what each handles for you and what you must supply.

After approval, check your registration status occasionally and keep your website, privacy page and sample messages consistent with what you actually send. If you're setting up the wider phone system, read business phone setup for a small sales team, and to compare providers see OpenPhone vs KrispCall vs Aircall.