10DLC Registration Guide

TL;DR: To send SMS to US numbers, you need to register your business and messaging use cases. Sent handles the submission on your behalf. You fill out the form in our platform, our compliance team reviews it, and we submit to TCR. Most approvals take 1–3 business days.

This guide shows you how to register for 10DLC through the Sent dashboard: where to start, which campaign type to pick, and what to put in each part of the form so it passes review. If you are new to 10DLC, or you want to understand why US carriers require registration and how the review works, read What is 10DLC? first. To register many brands programmatically, see Register 10DLC Campaigns via the API.

10DLC registration process overview

Applying through Sent

Step-by-step guide to completing your 10DLC brand and campaign registration for compliant SMS messaging in the US.

10DLCCompliance

Playlist

Fill out the form

In the Sent dashboard, go to Compliance and select Apply on the US 10DLC notice, or open the 10DLC registration form directly. Submit your business and campaign details; the form collects everything TCR requires, and the sections below cover what to enter in each part.

Compliance review

Our compliance team reviews your submission and gives you feedback to maximize your chances of approval before it reaches TCR.

TCR submission

We submit your registration to TCR on your behalf.

Approval tracking

We track the review and notify you when you're approved, or if anything needs fixing.

Most submissions come back approved within 1–3 business days.

If your submission is rejected, the Sent compliance team reviews it and gives you specific steps for resubmission. All Sent customers (including those who haven't sent any messages yet) get compliance support throughout this process.

Choosing the right campaign type

Pick the use cases that reflect what you're actually sending. Don't try to game this: carriers flag mismatches between your registered use case and your actual messages.

Use case	When to use
Marketing	Promotional offers, discounts, announcements
Customer care	Support conversations, ticket updates
2FA / OTP	One-time passcodes, login verification
Account notifications	Password resets, balance alerts
Appointment reminders	Booking confirmations, schedule changes
Delivery notifications	Order shipped, out for delivery
Fraud alerts	Suspicious activity notices

If you have multiple use cases, a mixed-use campaign covers them all under one brand. For smaller senders, low-volume mixed offers the same flexibility with a cap of 2,000 messages per day. This is usually what Sent recommends for growing businesses and startups.

TCR fees

TCR charges pass-through fees for campaign registration. Sent waives the first 12 months of these fees.

Campaign type	TCR fee
Low-volume mixed	$1.50/month
Standard / high-volume	$10.00/month

What goes into your submission

Brand name

Brand name matters. This field should not be your official legal name. It should be how your customers actually know you. If your LLC is registered as "Kevin's Donuts LLC" but your website and receipts say "Kevin's Donuts," use the latter. That's what appears in messages to your customers and needs to match what they'd recognize.

Campaign description

Keep this short: one or two sentences covering who's sending, what they're sending, and why.

Opt-in method

You need to document how you get consent from people before texting them. TCR calls this your message flow.

Someone fills out a form on your site. You provide the URL and describe how they get there. The form itself has its own requirements (see below).

You publish a number and keyword, and subscribers text it to opt in. Best practice is to display the full disclaimer wherever you publish the number.

A physical form collected during an in-person visit, with a hosted screenshot submitted as documentation.

Opt-in form requirements

If your 10DLC keeps getting rejected, the form is usually why. Carriers are strict about explicit consent: missing even one element is enough to fail.

If you're using a web or paper form, it needs all of the following, clearly visible before the user hits submit (not buried in fine print):

Program name: make it clear who is texting them and what the program is
Message frequency: something concrete, like "Max 4 msgs/month," not "frequency may vary"
Cost warning: "Msg & data rates may apply"
Opt-out info: "Reply STOP to opt out" or "Text STOP to cancel"
Legal links: direct links to your Privacy Policy and Terms of Service
Full disclaimer (or equivalent):

You are opting in to receive [message types] from [Brand]. Msg and data rates may apply. Msg frequency may vary. Reply HELP for help or STOP to opt out. No mobile information will be sold or shared with third parties for promotional or marketing purposes.
SMS consent is voluntary, distinct, and explicit, typically an unchecked optional checkbox
The checkbox cannot be pre-checked

For marketing campaigns, the language should make clear the messages are promotional. For charity or political campaigns, note whether donations will be solicited.

Autoresponse requirements

Every 10DLC campaign needs three documented autoresponses. Each has required elements.

Triggered by START or a related keyword. Must include:

Brand name
Reply HELP for help
Reply STOP to opt out
Msg and data rates may apply
Msg frequency may vary

Example:

[Brand]: Welcome! Please reply HELP for help. Message frequency may vary.
Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out.

Triggered by STOP or related keywords. Must include:

Brand name
Unsubscription confirmation
Notice that no more messages will be sent

Example:

[Brand]: You have been unsubscribed and will not receive more messages.

Triggered by HELP or related keywords. Must include:

Brand name
An email, toll-free number, or URL where support can be reached

Example:

[Brand]: Please contact us at [email / toll-free number / URL] for support.

Sample messages

For each use case you select, submit at least one sample message. Mixed and marketing use cases require two. Every sample must include the brand name and look like a real message.

Use case	Example
Marketing	`[Brand]: Thanks for opting in! Use code DISCOUNT20 for 20% off through the end of the month.`
Account notification	`[Brand]: Your password has been reset.`
2FA	`[Brand]: Your code is 123456.`
Customer care	`[Brand]: Thanks for your message! We'll be right with you.`
Delivery notification	`[Brand]: Your order has been delivered.`
Fraud alert	`[Brand]: We noticed a suspicious transaction. Log in or call us to complete it.`

You can update sample messages later. What you cannot do later is send messages that fall outside your registered use cases.

Agencies and resellers

If you're sending on behalf of clients, each business needs its own campaign registration. You can't bundle clients under a single campaign: TCR ties campaigns to the business actually responsible for the messages.

You can submit registrations manually for each client through the dashboard. If you're managing multiple brands, collect the required information within your platform and submit programmatically; Register 10DLC Campaigns via the API covers the endpoints and bulk registration patterns.

If you get stuck

10DLC registration is a one-time requirement for each brand you send from. If a form field is unclear or your submission is rejected and the resubmission steps don't resolve it, email support@sent.dm; the support team typically responds within 1 business day. For errors that appear after approval, see Compliance & 10DLC Issues.

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