QUICK LINKS:

10DLC OVERVIEW [Article]

10DLC REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS [Article]

10DLC REGISTRATION OVERVIEW AND REQUIREMENTS [Slide deck]


What is 10DLC?

10DLC (10-digit-long-code) is a fancy name for a phone number with a local area code, like 916-215-3333, that has been approved for sending texts at scale from platforms like Scale to Win.

Image above: 10DLC phone numbers are local phone numbers used to contact your lists. You can choose which area codes the numbers are from.

 

To access 10DLC phone numbers, you’ll register your organization following the instructions in this article

  • Registrations have to be vetted by a third-party organization and can take 3-5 business days to complete once submitted to Scale to Win, or even longer if issues arise.
  • Only organizations that have successfully registered for 10DLC can send text messages from phone numbers with local area codes using Scale to Win. Read more in our 10DLC overview here.

TABLE OF CONTENTS



What you need to register

 

Information you'll be required to provide includes your organization type (i.e. 501(c)(3), political entity) and your legal organization name, tax ID/EIN, the address on your tax filings, your reason for texting, and sample scripts. Political organizations must also submit a Campaign Verify token for vetting purposes.

Here's a handy list of every field you will need to fill out in the registration form. Avoid delays to your registration by ensuring you have the correct information.

 

  • You will need a nine-digit Tax ID / US IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN). FEC Committee IDs, social security numbers, and placeholders such as 99-9999999 will be rejected by the registration body. If you don't have an EIN, you can quickly apply for one here.

  • Double-check that you have a legal organization name that is consistent with your IRS forms and is properly spelled

  • Your business address should be exactly what appears on your IRS forms

  • Non-profits may be subject to additional vetting and asked to submit a copy of a letter of determination from the IRS and/or a Form 8976, Notice of Intent to Operate Under Section 501(c)4. If this ends up being the case, Scale to Win will reach out with a request for this documentation.


Registration Requirements: Breakdown by Organization

 

The steps you'll need to take to register depend on your organization type. Here's a quick overview of what you'll need:

Political campaigns, parties, and PACs

Political campaigns, parties, and PACs will need to procure a vetting token from Campaign Verify, then fill out the form in the "Compliance" section of Spoke, as described below. Please read more about Campaign Verify instructions here.


501(c) non-profits

501(c)3s, 501(c)4s, and 501(c)5s operating under a single EIN can simply register for 10DLC by going to the "Compliance" section of Spoke and filling out the registration form following the instructions below. 

 

Note that your organization will either need to have received a letter of determination from the IRS or be able to submit evidence of Form 8976 or other tax identification in order to register successfully. Don't have either? Reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com.

Government

Government agencies can simply register for 10DLC by going to the "Compliance" section of Spoke and filling out the registration form following the instructions below. 


Sitting members of government, take note: you'll want to register the government body, i.e. "Alaska State Legislature", rather than your own office, i.e. "Senator Example". Enter the government body's legal organization name, EIN, address, and general website instead of your own information. Your campaign use case and scripts should reflect your own texting plans, however.

Consultants, resellers, private entities 

If you’re a:

  • non-profit with multiple legal entities & Tax IDs,

  • non-profit with one Tax ID but many different sub groups,

  • non-profit strictly performing polling,

  • private business (like a consulting firm) sending texts for political customers, 

  • private business performing polling for political customers, 

  • political party stumping for many different candidates, 

  • or otherwise foresee a nuanced registration process,

 

please schedule a time to talk with us here so we can make sure we get you registered appropriately, then review the steps outlined in this article.

 


Political Campaigns, PACs, or parties ONLY: How to register with Campaign Verify

For vetting purposes, political campaigns, parties, and PACS must obtain a token from Campaign Verify to register for 10DLC. Check out our full guide here


Note: If your committee's public filing only lists a postal mailing address, Campaign Verify will have to mail you your PIN code. To ensure your PIN code arrives in time before the November 8 election, Campaign Verify strongly encourages submitting verification requests by October 24, 2022. If you are blocked from 10DLC registration for this reason, please reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com

 

Step 1: Sign up for a Campaign Verify account at app.campaignverify.org

 

Step 2: Select "New Verification Request", choose your campaign type, and fill out the form, making sure the information you provide matches what is on your filing record. We’ve written up a guide here.

 

Step 3: Submit payment for a $95 verification fee. Campaign Verify staff will review your request. Once it has been approved, a secret PIN code will be sent either to the email address, cell phone number, landline, or mailing address on the filing record.

 

Note: Campaign Verify charges a $95 fee for submissions. If the initial submission is rejected and you resubmit your information, Campaign Verify will issue one (1) $95 refund upon receipt of the resubmission. If this too is rejected, you will need to pay $95 for the next resubmission. Please follow all directions carefully before submitting your request.

 

Step 4: Once you receive the PIN code, log in to Campaign Verify at https://app.campaignverify.org. Click on your verification request and enter the PIN code in the field at the bottom to generate a token. 

 

Note: The token should look like this: cv|1.0|tcr|10dlc|7235b63cc-2202-40e1-84cb-9de96531f2|wbxkDjcaeiSSJd6Spsw0mPg3l9xBVojdabg1tyTsIf - if you have a 6 digit number, that is the PIN that you need to enter into Campaign Verify to get this token.

 

Step 5: Once you have your token, follow the instructions below to submit the token to Scale to Win and complete your 10DLC registration. 

 

If you already have used your Campaign Verify with a different vendor, you’ll need to generate a new token for Scale to Win. Here’s a guide on how to create an additional token at no cost.


REGISTERED FOR CAMPAIGN VERIFY BEFORE 11/15/2022? PLEASE NOTE:


Campaign Verify requests submitted before November 15, 2022 expired on January 31, 2023. Requests made after November 15, 2022 will remain valid until January 31, 2025.

 

In order to obtain a Campaign Verify token with a 2025 expiration date, you will need to submit a new verification request by logging into your account at app.campaignverify.org and going through the verification process again. If you would like to apply a token with a 2025 expiration date and already have filled out the form on your Spoke Compliance page, you can share the new token with us by filling out this form.


Questions? Reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com.


Fill out the 10DLC form in Spoke

To register a team for 10DLC, navigate to the "Compliance" page in your Spoke. Only Account Owners have access to this page. 

 

Political campaigns will need to take this step after generating a Campaign Verify token. Tokens are not automatically shared with Scale to Win; submitting the token in the form is the only way for us to register you.


Image displaying how to access the “Compliance” page on the admin side of Spoke. You’ll click “Start 10DLC Registration” to access the registration form.

If you don't see the "Compliance" page, make sure you have Owner permissions (you can check your permissions level on the "People" page).


Most customers will submit one 10DLC registration per account or team. If you plan to associate the same 10DLC registration with multiple teams on your Spoke account, please see the instructions below under "Registration for Customers with Multiple Spoke Teams".

Fill out the Registration Form

On the "Compliance" page, click the green “Start 10DLC Registration” button to access the form. 

 

Image displaying how to start 10DLC registration. Click on the green “Start 10DLC Registration” button to begin registration from the Compliance page in Spoke.

Here’s a list outlining the 10DLC form requirements. You can also share the 10DLC registration form with people who aren't in your Spoke by clicking on the form, then clicking the "Share Form" button.

 

Image displaying the 10DLC registration form and the button to share the form with people outside of Spoke.


Check your registration status

Once you’ve submitted the form on the “Compliance” page, registrations go through a vetting process that can take up to five business days, sometimes longer. Once the registration has been approved, you'll receive an email notification letting you know you're all set to begin texting.

 

For status updates, check the “Compliance” page. (Give the page a few hours to update after you’ve clicked submit on the form.)

                             

                        Example of a 10DLC registration status update on the “Compliance” page.

 

You’ll be able to see whether your application is still being processed, whether problems arise, and whether your application is complete. Should any issues arise, we’ll be in touch directly as well with next steps. 


Registering multiple teams for 10DLC

Accounts with multiple Spoke teams can easily register individual teams for 10DLC on that team's Compliance page following the steps outlined above. If you wish to apply the same 10DLC registration to more than one team, reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com so we can make sure we’re getting your teams correctly registered.

 

Example: Consulting Firm with Multiple Clients

Let's say you are a consultant managing texting for several clients. Each client has their own EIN, so you'd need separate 10DLC registrations for each. 

 

If this is your situation, we can create a separate Spoke subaccount for each client - just let us know which teams you'll need by emailing support@scaletowin.com. To set up the 10DLC registration for each client, you'd simply submit the 10DLC form on that team's Compliance page.

 

Example: Group with Multiple Chapters

Let's say your organization contains multiple chapters, i.e. one for every state. Your organization uses a single EIN but you'd like to have different subaccounts for each chapter to separate their users and text campaigns.

 

For groups in this situation, we would create Spoke subaccounts for each chapter (email support@scaletowin.com to set this up). You could then let us know in your 10DLC registration, or at our support address, that you wanted the registration applied to all or just specific teams. 



Global Settings: Register Multiple Teams Under One EIN

If your organization has subaccounts, and you have Super Admin permissions, you can access a Global Settings page in Spoke. The "Compliance" page of Global Settings includes a version of the 10DLC registration form where you can indicate that you want a single 10DLC registration applied to more than one of your subaccounts. 

 

To access this version of the registration form, click "Global Settings".

 

Image of the Global Settings menu accessible to Super Admins.

From "Global Settings", go to the “Compliance” page.  

 

Image showing how to access the Compliance page in Global Settings.

After selecting "Compliance", select “Start 10DLC Registration” to access the registration form. 

 

Image showing the button to access the 10DLC Registration form.


Submit the form for multiple teams

To register multiple teams for 10DLC, you'll submit the form with the information applying to all of those teams. Submit the form as many times as needed, i.e. for each EIN / Tax ID that will be applied to your teams.


If you are registering multiple Spoke teams correlating to one EIN, you must specify the names of each team that will be registered under that EIN / submission.



Checking the registration status of your teams

 

After you’ve completed your form submission(s), the Global Settings Compliance page will update to show the registration status of your teams. 

 

Example of the Compliance page under Global Settings, showing updates to team registration status(es).

 


FAQ

 

What does registration do?

Registration has been required since March 1st, 2022 by the mobile carriers (like AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon). The stated aim is to allow the carriers to verify the identities of groups sending texts and mitigate spam.


What does 10DLC cost?

Political organizations must pay a $95 vetting fee to Campaign Verify in order to generate a verification token that unlocks high-volume texting. Scale to Win is covering all other 10DLC fees, backdated to April 1st, 2022.

 

Does toll-free follow the same rules?

Toll-free texting (i.e. texts sent from a toll-free number) will not be impacted by 10DLC. Toll-free is available to all of our customers at no extra cost. You will need to go through a separate registration process to utilize toll-free. 

 

Can I text if I'm not registered for 10DLC?

You can register for toll-free phone numbers instead, which requires going through a separate registration process. Here's how to text with toll-free numbers in Scale to Win


If you have an urgent election or texting need, or a special use case that makes it difficult to register for either 10DLC or toll-free, reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com to discuss your options with us. 

 

I don't have an EIN - can I register?

10DLC requires an EIN - you can quickly apply for one here. Alternatively, you can register for a toll-free number instead, which does not require providing an EIN.


I haven’t registered for 10DLC yet - what do I do?

Learn how to register for 10DLC here, or book a time to chat with us about 10DLC here. The benefits of 10DLC include getting to send texts from phone numbers with local area codes, plus better deliverability than previously seen while texting with local phone numbers.

 

What if my 10DLC registration is still in pending status?

If your 10DLC registration is still in a pending status after more than 5 days, or you have an urgent need to expedite your registration, please reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com.

 

What if I can’t register for 10DLC?

If you’re a group unable to get an EIN, a non-profit without a letter of determination or 8976 form from the IRS, are a political organization experiencing blockers with Campaign Verify, or otherwise cannot register for 10DLC, Scale to Win will work with you on a case-by-case basis. Reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com or book a call with us here.

 

What are the throughput limits for non-political registrations?

10DLC comes with throughput limits, or caps on how many texts you can send per day to subscribers of a particular mobile carrier like AT&T or T-Mobile. Each cap depends on your organization type (non-profit, political campaign or PAC, labor union, etc). 


The limits determine how many text segments you can send per second to AT&T customers and how many you can send per day to T-Mobile customers. Most customers will not come close to approaching the AT&T limit. Political customers with a Campaign Verify token and government clients are exempt from T-Mobile throughput limits.


501(c) non-profit organizations and private entities are subject to a daily cap on how many text segments can be sent to T-Mobile subscribers in a day. You can view your throughput limits on the Compliance page, and will receive a warning from Spoke if you are approaching your daily T-Mobile quota. Read more about this here.


If you are approaching these limits, or need to surpass the daily T-Mobile limits for your organization, we recommend registering for a toll-free number. Toll-free registration is free and there are no daily caps from any carrier. Alternatively, large organizations can apply for a "Special Business Review" at the cost of $500 to have a third-party review the registration and lift the T-Mobile cap. If this is something of interest to you, please reach out to us at support@scaletowin.com. 

 

How should I define my use case(s) and what do I need in my scripts?

To complete your registration for 10DLC, you’ll need to provide information about your use case(s) and at least two sample scripts.

 

A use case describes the reason you’re sending texts, e.g. voter outreach, volunteer recruitment, vaccine outreach, polling, etc. Ideally, you'll also briefly describe your audience and why you’re texting them.


Image above: Example of a use case description.


For each use case, you’ll need to submit two sample scripts for approval. You don’t have to send these exact scripts, just give an idea. Scripts must include sender identification and opt-out instructions.


Click here to learn more about how to write an initial script. 

 

If you anticipate having many use cases and would like to discuss the best registration options for your organization, schedule a time to talk with us here.

 

What links are allowed on 10DLC?

10DLC offers better deliverability of links in scripts than unregistered numbers. Please note, however, that public URL shorteners like bit.ly and tinyurl are not allowed on 10DLC. Read more about best practices for sending links here.