Texting registration

Why it's needed

US phone carriers block or filter texts from a business's local number until that business is registered with them. The registration is called A2P 10DLC. Calls don't need it, so the phone side works straight away.

Each business is registered on its own, with its own details. Nobody has to do anything in Twilio for each business: once texting is on for them, we send everything to Twilio and the carriers and keep checking until it's approved.

When it starts

Registration starts by itself, within about 10 minutes, once all of these are true:

• texting is on in the business's plan (and included, or bought by the owner)
• the owner said yes to phone calls and texts
• the business has its receptionist number
• the details below are filled in

Test businesses are never registered by themselves. Whoever runs Just a Good Guy can press Submit now on a business's page to register one straight away.

What each business provides

Owners are only asked for these after they say yes to phone calls and texts, in Business details under Texting registration. Some of it is filled in from what we already know, and anything still missing is marked in orange on the form.

• What kind of business it is, legally: sole proprietor, LLC, corporation, partnership or non-profit.
• Legal business name, exactly as on the IRS paperwork.
• EIN (the 9-digit tax ID, like 12-3456789). Sole proprietors without one can leave it blank.
• A contact person: first and last name, job title, email and mobile number.
• The business address (a street address, not a PO Box) and website, from Business details. Without a website, we send the booking page.

If something is missing, nothing is sent. The page lists exactly what's still needed.

How long it takes

The owner sees where it's up to on their Phone screen, and gets an alert when it's done or if something needs fixing.

Sole proprietors: reply YES

A sole proprietor without an EIN gets one text on the contact mobile number once their brand is approved, usually from (915) 278-2000. They reply YES to it within 24 hours to confirm it's them. Nobody can do this step for them.

If the 24 hours run out, the owner can ask for another text from their Phone screen.

Sole proprietor registrations allow one campaign and one number, and up to 1,000 texts a day to T-Mobile customers. That's plenty for a small business.

If it's rejected

The reason shows in plain words on the business's page, and the owner gets an alert when it's something in their details.

• Business details rejected (for example, the EIN doesn't match the legal name): fix them in Business details and we resubmit by ourselves. Brands can be resubmitted 3 times at no charge.
• Campaign rejected (for example, the carriers couldn't check how customers agree to texts): whoever runs Just a Good Guy presses Re-submit once it's fixed. A resubmitted campaign is vetted, and charged, again.

Fees

Twilio charges these carrier fees to the Twilio balance of whoever runs Just a Good Guy, not to the business. They're shown on each business's page before anything is sent. Turning texting on in a business's plan means agreeing to them.

Prices from Twilio's A2P 10DLC fee list, checked October 2026. The monthly campaign fee runs from approval until the campaign is deleted. Businesses with an EIN are registered as low-volume standard brands, for up to about 6,000 texts a day, which skips the $41.50 secondary vetting a full standard brand pays. Texts themselves are charged as usual.

If a business stops texting for good, delete its campaign in the Twilio console (Messaging, Regulatory compliance) to stop the monthly fee. The business's page warns you when texting is off but a registration still exists.

One-time setup in Twilio

Before any business can be registered, whoever runs Just a Good Guy needs their own registration with Twilio, as a software company that registers its customers:

1. In the Twilio console, open Trust Hub and create a Primary Business Profile for your own company. Choose ISV Reseller or Partner as the business identity.
2. Submit it. Twilio's review usually takes a few days.
3. Once it's Twilio approved, copy its SID (it starts with BU) into TWILIO_PRIMARY_CUSTOMER_PROFILE_SID on the server.

Without that setting, we look for it ourselves: if your account has exactly one approved business profile that isn't one of the ones we created, we use it. Setting it is more reliable.

Settings for the server (see self-hosting):

Each business gets its own Messaging Service in your Twilio account, with its number in it. Incoming texts still go to the number's own webhook, so nothing changes for replies.