If you're sending business SMS in the US and haven't registered with The Campaign Registry (TCR), your messages are probably being filtered or blocked. 10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) registration became mandatory for business messaging in 2023. Here's everything you need to know.
What is 10DLC?
10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code — standard US phone numbers used for business A2P (Application-to-Person) messaging. The CTIA mandated that all businesses sending SMS must register their brand and campaigns with TCR to combat spam. Unregistered messages face delivery failures and carrier filtering.
What you need to register
Brand registration: your company's legal name, EIN, website, and business type. Campaign registration: the use case for your SMS, sample message content, and opt-in/opt-out confirmation. Registration takes 1–3 days for brand approval and 2–5 days for campaign approval.
10DLC fees
The Campaign Registry charges a one-time brand registration fee ($4) and a monthly campaign fee ($10/month for most use cases). Carriers also charge a small per-message surcharge ($0.003–$0.005). FloatChat handles TCR registration on your behalf and passes through fees at cost — no markup.
Throughput limits
Registered 10DLC numbers can send 75–225 messages per second depending on your trust score. Unregistered numbers are capped at 1 message per second and face heavy filtering. For high-volume campaigns (10,000+ messages/day), consider a short code — FloatChat supports those too.
How FloatChat handles 10DLC for you
When you activate SMS in FloatChat, we guide you through TCR registration in the dashboard. You enter your EIN and business details; we submit on your behalf and notify you when approved. Your number is then fully compliant and ready to send.
Best practices for compliance
Always include opt-out instructions in your first message. Never send SMS to numbers that haven't opted in. Keep message content consistent with your registered campaign use case. Avoid sending before 8am or after 9pm in the recipient's timezone. These practices improve deliverability significantly.
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