What Is 10DLC? A Plain-English Guide to Business Texting

If you want to text your customers from a real business number, US carriers require a quick one-time registration called 10DLC. Here's what that actually means.

What 10DLC means

10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code — a standard local phone number (like your area-code number) approved to send A2P (application-to-person) business text messages. To cut down on spam, US mobile carriers require businesses to register their brand and their texting use-case before that traffic will deliver reliably.

What you register

• Your brand — legal business name, EIN, address, and contact. This verifies you're a real company.
• Your campaign (use-case) — how you'll use texting (lead follow-up, appointment reminders, etc.).
• Your number — a dedicated 10-digit number assigned to you, so your traffic never shares a number with another business.

What it costs and how long it takes

There are modest one-time and monthly carrier fees (a small brand registration fee, a campaign fee, and a low monthly number fee). Approval usually takes a little time while carriers review your campaign. Once approved, your texts deliver reliably from your own number.

The rules you must follow

10DLC comes with consent and compliance requirements that protect both you and your customers:

• Get consent first. Only text people who opted in (a web form, a keyword, or clear agreement).
• Consent is never required to buy. Agreeing to texts can't be a condition of purchase.
• Always honor STOP and HELP. Opt-outs must work instantly.
• Say who you are and how often. Disclose your business and set message-frequency expectations.

The easy way to get registered

Sales Team Toolbox handles 10DLC for you. Use the guided 3-step wizard, or let the AI concierge collect your details in a chat and register your brand, campaign, and number automatically. Your public forms and policies already carry the required consent language. Walk through it in the Business texting setup guide.