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10 Digit Long Code (10DLC)

A verified 10-digit phone number that businesses use to send text messages to customers at scale while meeting carrier compliance requirements.

Text messaging is one of the most direct ways to communicate with customers, but sending business SMS isn't as simple as it used to be.

In the early days of SMS marketing, companies could send promotional messages from standard phone numbers without much oversight. That changed when mobile carriers started cracking down on spam and implemented stricter rules for business messaging.

Today, businesses need to follow specific protocols to send SMS messages at scale. The biggest change came with the introduction of 10DLC, a verification system that separates legitimate business messages from spam.

This registration process might seem like an extra hurdle, but it actually benefits companies by improving message deliverability and building trust with mobile carriers. If you're planning to use text messaging for customer communication, you'll need to understand how 10DLC works.

The registration requirements, compliance, rules, and technical specifications can seem complicated at first. But once you know the basics, you can set up a compliant SMS program that reaches your customers reliably.

Whether you're sending order confirmations, promotional offers, or appointment reminders, 10DLC provides the framework for professional business texting. Read on to learn how this system works and what you need to do to get started.

What is 10DLC?

A 10-digit long code (10DLC) is the sanctioned system for business-to-consumer SMS and MMS messaging using local 10-digit phone numbers. These are the same format as regular phone numbers, but they're specifically registered for business use.

When you register a 10DLC number, you're telling mobile carriers that you're a legitimate business with a valid reason to send text messages at scale.

To understand why this registration matters, you need to know how carriers categorize different types of text traffic. The term "Application-to-Person (A2P)" describes any text message sent from a software application to a consumer's phone.

Mobile network operators created this specific path for business traffic because they needed a way to distinguish between person-to-person texts and automated business messages. This classification helps them apply the right filters and delivery rules to different types of traffic.

Before 10DLC, businesses could use traditional long code numbers that weren't filtered to send messages without registration. This led to widespread spam problems, with carriers struggling to separate legitimate business messages from junk texts.

The old system had no verification process, so anyone could buy a phone number and start blasting promotional messages. 10DLC exists because carriers needed a better way to vet businesses and monitor their messaging practices.

Understanding the 10DLC ecosystem

The Campaign Registry (TCR) is the central hub for vetting brands and their messaging intentions. When you register for 10DLC, TCR reviews your business information and assigns you a trust score based on factors like how long you've been in business, your industry, and your messaging volume. This registry acts as the middleman between businesses and carriers, maintaining a database of approved senders.

The ecosystem includes three key players working together to deliver your messages:

  • Your brand: This is your business entity, the legal organization that's registering to send SMS messages. Your brand information gets submitted to TCR for verification.
  • Your messaging campaign service provider: This could be a platform like Mailchimp that handles the technical side of sending SMS. The provider connects your business to the carrier network and manages the actual message transmission.
  • Mobile carriers: Companies like Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile actually deliver your messages to customers. They enforce the rules and apply filters based on your trust score.

Trust scores determine how carriers treat your messages. A higher score means better deliverability and higher message limits. Carriers assign these scores during the vetting process by evaluating your business details, industry reputation, and messaging history.

If you're a new business in a high-risk industry, you'll start with a lower score than an established company with a clean track record.

Key benefits of using 10DLC

Moving to 10DLC offers several practical advantages for business communication. Here are the main reasons why this system works better than older approaches:

  • Localized presence: Using a local area code increases open rates and builds trust within specific communities. When customers see a text from a number with their area code, they're more likely to recognize it as a local business rather than a random marketer from across the country.
  • Improved deliverability: Registered traffic is less likely to be blocked by carrier spam filters compared to unregistered traffic. Carriers know you've been vetted through TCR, so they treat your messages as legitimate business communication instead of potential spam.
  • Cost efficiency: The lower overhead of 10DLC beats the high monthly lease costs of dedicated SMS short code options, which can run hundreds or even thousands of dollars per month. With 10DLC, you get reliable business messaging at a fraction of the price.
  • Voice and text integration: 10DLC numbers can often support both standard voice calls and text messaging on a single line. This flexibility lets you use one number for customer service calls and SMS notifications, simplifying your contact strategy.

10DLC vs. short codes vs. toll-free numbers

When setting up business texting, you have three main options: 10DLC numbers, short codes, and toll-free numbers. Each has different strengths depending on your budget, message volume, and how you plan to communicate with customers.

Short codes

An SMS short code is a 5-6-digit number designed for high-volume messaging. These work best for mass emergency alerts, promotional campaigns, and situations where you need to send hundreds of messages per second.

The main advantage is throughput and brand recognition, but they take several weeks to set up and are typically the most expensive option.

10DLC

Again, 10DLC uses standard 10-digit local phone numbers registered for business messaging. This format suits personalized marketing, conversational SMS interactions, and ecommerce SMS marketing where you're sending targeted messages to specific customer segments.

Setup takes just a few weeks, costs significantly less than short codes, but it has tighter volume restrictions.

Toll-free numbers

Toll-free numbers (like 1-800 numbers) offer a middle ground between short codes and 10DLC. They fit customer service scenarios where you want a memorable number that people can text or call. These provide a professional appearance and decent message volume but lack the local presence that local long code numbers offer.

The registration and compliance process

The 10DLC registration process involves submitting specific information about your business and messaging strategy. Here's what you need to do for a successful registration:

  • Brand registration: Submit your legal business identification, including your EIN (Employer Identification Number), business name as registered with the government, and basic company details like your address and website.
  • Campaign registration: Describe the type of messages you'll send, such as promotional offers, account notifications, or appointment reminders. Carriers want to know exactly what subscribers will receive and how often you plan to send messages.
  • Documentation requirements: Provide your privacy policy URL showing how you handle customer data, clear opt-in descriptions explaining how people subscribe to your messages, and sample message content demonstrating what your texts will look like.

It's also a good idea to include a specific call to action (CTA) that shows how subscribers agree to receive messages. This could be a checkbox on your website, a keyword they text to opt in, or a verbal agreement during checkout.

Message throughput and volume limits

Carriers determine your messages per second (MPS) based on your brand's vetting class. A verified business with a high trust score might get 75 MPS, while an unverified brand might only get 3-6 MPS. This rate controls how fast your messages flow through the carrier's network, which matters when you're sending time-sensitive notifications.

Daily message caps vary between major carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. These caps also depend on your use case. For example, a banking SMS OTP system might get higher limits than a promotional campaign because authentication messages are considered more critical.

Businesses can request higher throughput if their use case requires significant scale. You'll need to justify the increase by explaining your messaging volume, showing your opt-in process, and demonstrating that you maintain good sending practices.

The SMS character limit of 160 characters per message also affects your throughput, since longer messages get split into multiple segments.

Best practices for SMS compliance

Following compliance rules protects your business and keeps your messages reaching customers. These practices help you stay in good standing with carriers:

  • Clear opt-in consent: Get explicit permission before sending the first message. This means showing customers exactly what they're signing up for and giving them a chance to decline. "Text YES to receive updates" works better than automatically enrolling people without asking.
  • Mandatory opt-out keywords: Include instructions for unsubscribing in every message, like "Reply STOP to opt out." Carriers require this, and customers expect an easy way to unsubscribe. Make sure your system processes these requests immediately.
  • Consistent sending cadence: Maintain regular messaging patterns to avoid being flagged for suspicious spikes in volume. If you normally send 1,000 messages per day and suddenly send 50,000, carriers might block your traffic, thinking your account was compromised.

How to scale your SMS strategy

10DLC is a professional, scalable solution for modern business communication.

Once you're registered and approved, you can send thousands of messages daily while maintaining reliable reach to your customers. The system handles everything from appointment reminders to promotional campaigns, giving you a dependable channel for customer engagement.

Mailchimp streamlines the complex registration process to help businesses get started quickly. Instead of navigating TCR directly and coordinating with multiple carriers, you can manage your 10DLC setup through a single platform. This saves time and reduces the technical headaches of SMS compliance.

Using Mailchimp to manage SMS alongside email and other channels creates a unified marketing approach. You can add UTM links to track campaign performance, coordinate your messaging timing across channels, and see all your customer communications in one place.