Overview
Text messaging from brands (whether for-profit companies or political campaigns/advocacy organizations/nonprofits) has increased dramatically in recent years. In response to this increase in texting activity, cell phone carriers like AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, etc. have introduced new regulations to reduce spam texting traffic. These regulations are collectively referred to as “10DLC.” (The acronym “10DLC” technically refers to the “10 digit long-code” phone number that is used to send text messages, if you were wondering.)
Essentially, cell phone carriers now require brand registration for any entity that sends out text messages. Every vendor who offers texting is affected by these 10DLC registration requirements.
Since the introduction of these regulations back in 2021, we at Impactive have worked tirelessly with our underlying messaging partners, who in turn work with cell phone carriers, to maximize deliverability and ensure that our clients’ messages can still achieve their intended program goals - while also doing our part to combat spam and misinformation.
How to Register for 10DLC with Impactive
To use either Peer-to-Peer Texting or Broadcast Texting on Impactive, 10DLC registration is mandatory. But the good news is that it's easy and completely free.
You will not be able to send any texts until your 10DLC registration is approved - therefore, 10DLC registration should be one of your first setup steps upon gaining access to Impactive, so we can get your submission approved and get you on your way to texting ASAP. 10DLC registration currently takes between 1-3 weeks; unfortunately, there is no way to expedite this timeline, as it is managed by third-party vetting agencies.
To submit your registration:
Visit the "10DLC" tab under Campaign Settings in your admin dashboard.
Follow the instructions there to select the type of organization you're registering as, and fill out the required information. You can fill out the form partially, save it, and return later to submit it if needed. Pay careful attention to give the proper information (as registered with the IRS), without typos or other mistakes; errors can delay your registration approval. Here's the information you'll need to submit:
Organization’s Legal Name
This does not have to be the same name as your Impactive license - it should be the legal name of your organization, present on IRS paperwork
Organization’s Website
Organization’s Address
This must be the address that matches your organization’s IRS paperwork, and it cannot be a PO Box. (If that presents issues for your organization, reach out to us at [email protected].)
Organization’s Campaign Verify token, if applicable
Electoral campaigns, party entities and 527/PACs are eligible to receive a Campaign Verify “token” by registering with Campaign Verify. If your organization is eligible, we strongly recommend completing the Campaign Verify registration and receiving a token before completing your registration with Impactive. But if you’d prefer to get your Impactive 10DLC registration going first, feel free to submit it without a token, and then send your token to [email protected] when you receive it; we can manually add it to your registration on our backend.
Receiving a CV token can be very fast if your organization has public email contact methods available (you’ll typically get the token in one business day), or slower if you have to receive the token via mail (one week).
If you are not an electoral campaign, party entity, or 527/PAC, leave this field blank.
Organization’s EIN
Again, this should match your IRS paperwork
Organization’s Authorized Representative (Name, Title/Role, Email, Phone)
This should be a person who works for your organization that could be contacted for registration verification if needed (though this is rare). Ideally, this person is verifiably connected to your organization - their email address matches the org’s website domain, they work at the organization on LinkedIn, etc.
After triple-checking that all of the information you submitted is accurate, click Submit Registration.
That’s it! From here, we’ll automatically forward your registration to relevant third-party vetting agencies. The timeline for registration approval can vary depending on the time of year and other factors outside of our control, but our clients typically receive approval in anywhere from 1-3 weeks.
Once you’re approved, you'll receive an email (one email confirming approval for each of Peer-to-Peer and Broadcast Texting), and you'll see in the 10DLC tab of Campaign Settings, and on your Peer-to-Peer Texting and Broadcast Texting pages, that your registration is approved.
For any assistance with your registration or questions about this process, feel free to reach out to [email protected].
Do we have to register for 10DLC?
Yes - 10DLC registration is mandatory, if you intend to use Peer-to-Peer Texting or Broadcast Texting on Impactive. We won’t deactivate your Impactive license if you don’t register (given that we offer many other features beyond texting), but you will not be able to use our text messaging features. If you’d like guidance on whether and how to register for 10DLC, don’t hesitate to reach out to [email protected].
Are there any "downsides" to registering for 10DLC?
Not at all - registration is very easy, is completely free, and does not impact texting via another vendor. Each registration applies only to that specific vendor (that's why you need to register again, even if you've already registered on a different texting platform), so even if you're still testing out Impactive relative to other vendors, there's no downside to register via Impactive. Even if you're not sure whether you'll use texting on Impactive, we recommend registering anyway - again, there are no downsides, so you might as well give yourselves the option of texting if the need ever arises in the future.
Is this the same as the Campaign Verify registration process?
Unfortunately, no - this is a distinct, subsequent process. If you're eligible for Campaign Verify (you're an electoral campaign, a party entity, or a 527/PAC), you'll need to register with Campaign Verify as a first step - once you receive your Campaign Verify token, you can then begin 10DLC registration with Impactive as a second step.
What if we aren’t eligible for a Campaign Verify token?
Registering with Campaign Verify to obtain a Campaign Verify token is required if you are eligible - meaning you’re an electoral campaign, a party entity, or a 527/PAC. If you’re any other type of organization (a nonprofit, a c4, etc.), you aren’t eligible to receive a CV token. But don’t worry - it’s entirely possible to register and send texts without a CV token.
When you indicate in the 10DLC form (in the 10DLC tab of Campaign Settings in your admin dashboard) what type of organization you're registering as, the Campaign Verify token field will not be listed if you are not eligible.
While CV tokens are beneficial in that they unlock maximum message limits, countless of our clients still run very large texting programs without CV tokens.
We've already registered with another vendor. Do we need to register again?
Unfortunately, yes - you must re-register with every texting vendor, because your registration is specific to sending texts via that vendor's specific texting lane.
How do we minimize carrier filtering?
Registering for 10DLC is your first step to ensure texting deliverability. Beyond registration, make sure your individual texting actions (whether Peer-to-Peer or Broadcast) are adhering to the 10DLC best practices listed here.