New Alert: Changes in registrations for A2P 10DLC with respect to TCR guidelines
Effective immediately, Textmunication has paused the support and services to new Starter Brand registration due to renewed registration requirements as directed by The Campaign Registry (TCR). Please read the complete official guidelines released by TCR here.
Effective 15th January 2023, no brands with an EIN can register under can Sole Proprietorship (SP) entity registrations via Textmunication. If you possess a Tax ID or an Employer Identification Number, you’re no longer a sole proprietor, and getting a 10DLC for the A2P communication process changes as per the declaration from TCR.
With an EIN, you can either register under Low Volume Standard Brand or Standard Brand. If you have an EIN and you deal with messages fewer than 6,000 per day, you should register as Low Volume Standard Brands. And with messages more than 6,000 a day, you should register as Standard Brands.
Existing Sole Proprietorship entities need to reregister themselves under the new guidelines asap. Otherwise, Textmunication reserves the right to remove your registry due to noncompliance with TCR directives.
This article will help you understand how your business gets affected if you need or use A2P 10DLC services with your messaging partner in the US and Canada. To understand, we have collated some simple to complex crucial terms and guidelines, so your brand doesn’t fall incompliant in the reports.
- What is a Starter Brand?
If you own a sole proprietary, you usually don’t own an EIN or employer identification number, and you’re a Starter Brand.
- What is Low Volume Standard Brand?
If you own a business with an EIN or Tax ID, based on your volume of messages per day, you’re either a Low Volume Standard Brand or a Standard Brand. For Low Volume Standard Brand, the daily volume is less than 6K messages. If more than that, you’re categorized as Standard Brand.
- What has changed for Sole Proprietary Entities?
Sole proprietors (SP) or Starter Brands regulations are now changed according to the guidelines of TCP. If your business operates with an EIN, you can’t register as a starter brand to opt for A2P 10DLC. Any starter brand looking for this service needs to reregister with TCR through a stricter process.Starting 12th January 2023, as an SP, you need to pass a 2-step validation process. The first step entails your data collection, and the second step needs verification via an OTP with the registered number.
- What data do I need to submit as SP?
As a registered SP, you need to provide your brand name, first name and last name (owner’s), complete address, and mobile number, email address, and a few other information. You can get in touch with the Textmunication team through the contact page to smoothen the registration process. This is a 2-step process.
Data validation
As you submit your data, it gets validated by TCR.
Mobile OTP Validation
After that, your provided mobile number receives an OTP for validation.
Once both steps are completed, you successfully register as an SP and get a VERIFIED status. Without this, you can’t register a campaign.
- As an SP, what else do I need to remember during registration?
- 3 or fewer SP brands (across all service providers) can use one OTP-verified mobile number.
- 10 or fewer SP brands (across all service providers) can use the same email address.
- 10 or fewer SP brands (across all service providers) can use the same physical address.
- What are the consequences of non-compliance?
First of all, TCR needs a monthly report from all CSPs (campaign service providers like T-Mobile, AT&T, etc.) about all the registered brands. So, delinquency from a brand side might terminate their registration.Moreover, failing to register yourself as an SP in case of no EIN or Standard Brand based on EIN and volume of your daily messages, you can’t register for campaigns and can’t utilize A2P 10DLC. Also, you might attract higher charges for messaging without being registered.
- What is A2P 10DLC?
A2P 10DLC is a communication protocol that allows businesses to send messages to individuals using a 10-digit long code. A2P stands for Application-to-Person and is a one-way communication method that allows only outbound texting.Since all carriers support A2P 10DLC, the messages bear a low risk of filtering and carry a better delivery quality. There’re 2 requirements for the brands to use this:
- Brand registration: You need to register yourself with the carrier networks.
- Campaign registration: You need to register what sort of text you are going to send (OTPs and pins, notifications, etc.)
- Brand registration: You need to register yourself with the carrier networks.
- What are Score and Vetting, and why are they important?
TCR assigns a score to the brands during their registration. When you submit your form to us for A2P10DLC messaging, we send this information to The Campaign Registry for their review. We at Textmunication also submit your brand for vetting, to get you a number or a score between 0 to 100.This vetting and score together, along with your campaign (the use case) and the vertical, increase your throughput—message limits toward US mobile carriers.
If you seek more detail on this new regulation, we encourage you to contact our experts here. Textmunication always strives to fulfill its commitment to its clients and brands and stands by them during a period of changes and precedence like this.
