A2P 10DLC explained: what business owners need before texting customers

What is A2P 10DLC?

A2P means application to person: a text sent by software (your CRM, scheduling tool or AI receptionist) to a real person’s phone. 10DLC means a 10-digit long code, which is a normal local phone number rather than a short code like 55555.

US carriers decided years ago that businesses texting from local numbers had to register who they are and what they send, through a central database called The Campaign Registry. Your texting provider (Twilio, or a platform like HighLevel that runs on it) is the form you fill in. The carriers approve or reject.

Two things get registered:

• The brand: your business. Legal name, tax ID, address, website, a contact person.
• The campaign: what you text and why. Appointment reminders, missed-call replies, review requests, promotions. It includes a description, sample messages and how customers opt in.

Why are my business texts not being delivered?

If your number is not linked to an approved campaign, carriers treat your texts as unregistered traffic. On Twilio-based systems the failure shows up as error 30034, which Twilio describes as a message blocked because the sending number is not tied to an approved A2P 10DLC campaign. The customer just never gets the text, and your team assumes they ignored it.

This is a common reason automations "don’t work". A missed-call text-back that never arrives, appointment reminders that silently fail, review requests that go nowhere. Before you blame the software, check the number shows as registered and approved.

Toll-free numbers don’t use A2P 10DLC; they go through a separate toll-free verification. If you are setting up a text-back for missed calls, read Missed call text back: how it works and what to send with this in mind: the registration has to be approved before the first text goes out.

Should I register as a sole proprietor or with an EIN?

This one decision causes more rejections than anything else, so get it right the first time.

If your business has an EIN, it is a Standard brand, even a one-person LLC. An LLC registered as a sole proprietor will keep getting rejected, and resubmitting won’t fix it. Use the exact legal name on your IRS letter, letter for letter.

How much does A2P 10DLC registration cost?

Not much. These are Twilio’s pass-through fees as listed in its pricing article. Platforms built on Twilio usually bundle them; HighLevel’s fee page, read Nov 6, 2026, lists a one-time $22.50 for sole proprietor or low volume standard and $64 for high volume standard (brand, campaign vetting and fast track together), plus the monthly campaign fee: $1.50 for low volume mixed, $2 for sole proprietor and $10 for standard use cases.

How do I get my A2P campaign approved the first time?

Carriers check that everything points to the same real business and that customers clearly agreed to your texts. Have this ready before you start:

1. 1Your exact legal detailsLegal name and EIN exactly as on your IRS letter, a street address (not a P.O. box), and a contact person with a mobile number and an email they check.
2. 2A live website that matchesIt shows your business name and contact details, with a Privacy Policy and Terms page linked in the footer.
3. 3An opt-in that matches the campaignA checkbox on your form, not pre-ticked, that names your business, says what you will text, that message frequency varies, that message and data rates may apply, and how to reply STOP and HELP.
4. 4A privacy policy that says you don’t share numbersCarriers reject policies that mention selling or sharing leads. It should say mobile information is not shared with third parties for marketing.
5. 5Sample messages that look like your real textsInclude your business name and the opt-out line. "Hi Dana, it's Northside Heating, your tune-up is tomorrow at 9. Reply STOP to opt out."
6. 6Link the number after approvalApproval does nothing until your phone number is attached to the approved campaign. Don’t switch on texting automations until it is.

A brand-new EIN can slow you down. HighLevel’s brand guide (updated Sep 29, 2026) says EINs issued within the last 15 days may be rejected, because the verification systems may not have the new number yet. If you just formed the LLC, expect a wait.

What are the TCPA rules for business text messages?

A2P registration is the carriers’ rule. The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) is the law, and it applies on top. The basics for a service business:

• Get consent before you text. Replying to someone who texted you first is generally fine. Marketing texts (promotions, offers) need clear written consent, which is what that opt-in checkbox is for.
• Honor opt-outs fast. Since April 11, 2025 the FCC’s rules say customers can revoke consent "using any reasonable method", and a reply of stop, quit, end, revoke, opt out, cancel or unsubscribe always counts. You have no more than 10 business days to process it, and you can send one confirmation text with no marketing in it.
• The "stop one means stop all" rule has been loosened. The FCC’s rule that one opt-out covers every kind of message from your business was first delayed to January 31, 2027. Then an FCC order adopted September 30, 2026 (in effect from November 25, 2026, per law firm alerts) lets you treat an opt-out from an informational text, like a payment reminder, as covering only that category. An opt-out from marketing still stops all marketing. Treating every STOP as a full stop is still allowed and is the safe default.
• Respect sending hours. Federal rules limit telephone solicitations to 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. in the customer’s time zone. Florida is stricter for sales calls: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and no more than three on the same subject in 24 hours. Florida’s hours rule is written for phone calls and doesn’t mention texts, so the safe move is to keep marketing texts to the same window.
• Keep proof. Save when and how each customer opted in. If a dispute comes up, the record is your defense.

Transactional texts (appointment confirmations, "we’re on our way", invoice reminders for a job the customer booked) are treated differently from marketing. Keep the two clearly separate in your opt-in wording and your campaigns.

Does an AI receptionist that texts customers need A2P registration?

Yes. If the AI sends texts from a local number, the number needs to be on an approved campaign like any other software. That includes missed-call text-backs, booking confirmations and follow-ups.

When we set up an our AI Receptionist page or our AI Sales Follow-Up page for a client, registration is one of the first jobs, because nothing else works if the texts don’t arrive. The missed-call assistant in the tire and seasonal automotive service case study replied by text within seconds of a dropped call. That only works on a registered number.

If you would rather not deal with the forms, the brand details and the policy pages yourself, book a free consult.