US A2P 10DLC

A2P (Application to Person) 10DLC (10 digit long code) is the standard that United States carriers have put in place to ensure that SMS traffic to US end-users through 10-digit long codes is verified and consensual.

What is A2P?

Application to Person (A2P) messaging is any SMS traffic in which a person is receiving messages from an application rather than another individual. US carriers consider any messages sent from a Notificare number (or any other messaging provider) to be application to person. Traffic sent from an individual person to another person is called Person to Person (P2P) traffic.

What is 10DLC?

10DLC stands for 10-digit long code. A 10DLC phone number contains 10 digits, and is also called a local phone number. Additionally, you can also use Toll-Free numbers and Short Codes to send messages from Notificare to consumers in the US and Canada.

Why A2P 10DLC was created?

10-digit long codes in the US were originally designed for P2P communication. These routes were unregulated, and in recent years have started seeing abuse. Due to the increase in SPAM, many consumers have lost trust in SMS as a form of communication. US A2P 10DLC is the standard that carriers have implemented in the US to regulate this communication pathway. A2P 10DLC improves the end-user experience by making sure that people can opt in and out of messaging and also know who is sending them messages. It also benefits businesses, offering them higher messaging throughput, brand awareness, and accountability.

Who needs to register for US A2P 10DLC?

Anyone sending text messages with a long code from an application to the US must register for A2P 10DLC. Carriers consider all SMS traffic from Notificare to be sent from an application, so anyone using a Notificare's long code to send text messages to the US will need to register.

US A2P 10DLC Registration

US A2P 10DLC campaigns were put in place to ensure that all A2P traffic to US phone numbers is verified and consensual. Notificare offers different A2P 10DLC Brand types, depending on the type of customer you are and the messaging volume and throughput you need.

To start this process, you will need to submit a request as described in these guides. The costs above will be charged after a request is submitted and before we start the approval process.

Campaign Guidelines

The following information outlines best practices when submitting a campaign registration. To prevent potential campaign registration rejections, please make sure that you meet these requirements.

Message Flow

The primary purpose of the Message Flow (or Call to Action) and required disclosures is to ensure the end user consents to receive text messages and understands the nature of the program. The Message Flow must be accessible by a 3rd party reviewer so it can be verified.

If the Call to Action is behind a login, not yet published publicly, is verbal, on in paper, provide a screenshot of the Call to Action. Please indicate if disclosures are provided to end user in any language other than English and provide a translated copy for verification.

Campaign Description

Provide a clear and comprehensive overview of the campaign's objectives and interactions the end-user would experience after opting in.

Terms and Conditions

Provide publicly accessible terms of service. Boilerplate terms of service that cover minimum requirements from the carriers as described below:

{Program name}

1. {Insert program description here; this is simply a brief description of the kinds of messages users can expect to receive when they opt in.}

2. You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text "STOP" to the short code. After you send the SMS message "STOP" to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.

3. If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at {support email address or toll-free number}.

4. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages

5. As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. You will receive {message frequency}. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.

6. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy: {link to privacy policy}

Opt-in

Campaigns require a proper opt-in method which ensures that end-users provide consent to receive text messages. This can take many forms, and you are required to provide information about all the opt-in methods you offer.

A mockup image, or script in the case of verbal opt-ins, of how you are advertising your program to users and collecting their consent must be attached with your application. There are specific required disclaimers that must be presented to your users before their consent can be obtained.

Verbal

Verbal opt-in is the most difficult method to verify, however it is an acceptable method as long enough details are provided that a 3rd party reviewer can verify. An example of a verbal opt-in would be something along these lines:

• Brand: "As part of our service we can send you automated monthly text alerts regarding account payment activity. We will send two messages per month. Message and data rates may apply, depending on your mobile phone service plan. At any time you can get more help by replying HELP to these texts, or you can opt out completely by replying STOP. Mobile Terms of Service are available at {URL} and our Privacy Statement can be found at {URL}. Please reply with 'yes' or 'no' to indicate if you would like this service".
• Customer: "Yes please."
• Brand: "Great! We will send you a text message to confirm your enrollment here shortly."

Web/App Form

An embedded form on the brand's website/app that prompts end-users to enter their phone number and opt into the texting campaign. Please note checkbox should be selectable by customer and should not be selected by default.

Via Text

Customers can also opt-in via a text message to a brand's 10DLC. This could be a banner in a website, a billboard, newspaper publication, etc. In those cases, you should also provide an example of that campaign.

Opt-in Message Confirmation

With Notificare you can configure how this confirmation looks like. Please ensure that is meets the requirements listed below.

Sample Messages

Provide message examples highlighting use case of your campaign.

Message throughput (MPS) and Trust Scores

Under the US A2P 10DLC framework for sending messages via 10-digit long code numbers in the United States, there are changes to how message sending throughput is allocated. Message throughput in the US will now be determined based on your Brand type, Campaign type (use case), and Trust Score (for Standard Brands).

Additionally, T-Mobile will also impose daily message limits toward their subscribers. This is separate from message sending throughput. For more information please read this guide.

Throughput overview

Message sending throughput for SMS is measured in message segments per second (MPS). Each message segment consists of up to 160 GSM-7 encoded characters, so an SMS with more characters and/or different character encoding can be comprised of multiple segments.

What is a Trust Score?

A Trust Score is a score assigned during Standard Brand registration with The Campaign Registry (TCR - the 3rd party that administers the US wireless carriers' new registration system). When a registration for US A2P 10DLC messaging is submitted to Notificare, we send this information to TCR for review. We will also submit the brand for secondary vetting, which assigns a score from 0 to 100 and gives access to higher default throughput and message limits toward US mobile carriers.

The Standard Brand registration process uses a reputation algorithm to review specific criteria relating to your company, and then assigns a Trust Score. Bottom line, the higher your Trust Score, the higher your messaging throughput (MPS).

If you receive a low Trust Score, we will do our best to offer guidance on possible causes or resolutions for a low score. Brands can receive a low Trust Scores because:

• Data discrepancies in the information you submitted in your A2P registration, such as a different address than the one associated with your official business registration number (e.g. EIN).
• A small brand footprint

Basically, smaller organizations and those with less business presence will receive lower scores.

Message Throughput

The Trust Score you receive (for Standard Brands) will dictate the throughput of your long code numbers towards AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile networks. Please review the table below:

Unsupported Long Code Use Cases

Notificare will not accept nor submit US A2P 10DLC campaign registration requests for the following use cases:

These campaigns have been identified as contributing to significant complaints of unwanted messaging by consumers.

Most Common Rejections

Make sure you submit a campaign registration with accurate and consistent data. Failing to do so will result in campaign registration rejections.

Approval Period

After submitting a request for a US A2P 10DLC campaign, our team will provide feedback (if some information needs clarification) or a confirmation within 15 business days.