To send business texts from a standard 10-digit number in the United States, your business has to register first. This is usually called 10DLC registration, for 10-digit long code.
Why registration exists
US mobile carriers need to know the businesses sending texts on their networks are real and accountable. Registration is how they verify that. It is not a ReliaRing rule — it applies to every business texting in the US, whichever provider they use.
What it does for you
Once your business and your use case are approved:
- Your texts are far more likely to be delivered rather than silently filtered.
- You can send at normal business volumes instead of being throttled.
- You build a trusted sender reputation with the carriers.
Unregistered business texting to US numbers is increasingly blocked, so registration is the price of entry.
Do I need it?
You need it if you send business or commercial texts from US 10-digit numbers to US recipients. You generally do not for purely personal, one-to-one texting. Toll-free numbers use a separate verification process with the same goal.
If you only ever use internal team chat and never message real outside numbers, this does not apply to you.
The two parts of registration
They happen in order:
- Register your business — your "brand". Confirms who your company is.
- Register your use case — your "campaign". Describes what kind of texts you will send.
Your business is reviewed first. Only once it is approved can the use case be submitted.
What information you will need
About your business:
- Legal business name, exactly as registered
- Your tax ID (EIN)
- Business address, phone and email
- Your business website
- Your industry, chosen from a list
- Your business type — sole proprietor, private company, public company, non-profit or government
Tip: Use your exact legal name and correct EIN. The most common cause of a rejected registration is a company name that does not match official tax records.
About your use case:
- A description of the texts you will send. Expect to write at least a couple of sentences — very short descriptions are rejected.
- Between one and five sample messages that match what you will actually send.
- How people opt in to your texts.
- The wording of your opt-out and help replies.
Where to register in ReliaRing
If registration is enabled on your account, open Messaging and choose 10DLC Brands. Register your business first, then add your use case. The platform submits them for review and tracks the status.
If you do not see this option, it is not enabled for your account yet — contact us and we can start the process for you.
Tracking status
Your business registration moves through pending, submitted, then verified or failed. Your use case moves through pending, submitted, then active, rejected, paused or expired. You can refresh the status at any time, and it also updates on its own when the registry responds.
Only an active use case can be attached to a bulk campaign.
How long it takes
Timelines are set by the carriers and the registry, not by us:
- Business review is often quick, sometimes a business day or two, longer if details need verifying.
- Use case review usually takes several business days, and can stretch to a couple of weeks for sensitive use cases or when extra verification is requested.
Plan ahead. If you need texting for a launch or a busy season, start well before you need to send.
Common reasons registration is rejected
- Business name or EIN does not match tax records. Use the exact legal name and verify the EIN.
- Sample messages do not match the stated use case. Provide realistic samples.
- Unclear opt-in. Describe exactly how customers agree to receive texts.
- Missing opt-out language in marketing samples. Include a line like "Reply STOP to opt out."
After you are approved
- Keep sending the kinds of messages you registered for. If your use case changes substantially, update your registration.
- Keep honouring opt-outs and keep your opt-in records. See SMS Consent, STOP, and Opt-Outs.
- If your texts start getting filtered, the usual cause is content or consent, not the registration itself.
Read next
- SMS Consent, STOP, and Opt-Outs
- Bulk SMS Campaigns and the Opt-Out Registry