10DLC Registration for Real Estate Agents, Explained in Plain English

You set up texting for your leads, press send, and nothing arrives. Or your texting tool asks you to register a "brand" and a "campaign" before you can send a single message.

The short answer: US mobile carriers require businesses to register before they send texts from a regular 10-digit phone number. This is called 10DLC registration, and it applies to real estate agents who text leads through a CRM or texting tool. Without it, carriers block your messages. This guide explains what 10DLC is, what it costs, how long it takes, and what you need to have ready, without the jargon.

What is 10DLC?

10DLC stands for 10-digit long code. It simply means a normal local phone number (an area code plus seven digits) that a business uses to send texts.

You will also see the term A2P 10DLC. A2P means "application to person": texts sent by software on behalf of a business. If you text leads through a CRM, an Action Plan or a texting tool, that is A2P texting.

Registration runs through The Campaign Registry (TCR), the industry body the carriers use to keep track of who is sending business texts. Businesses do not sign up with TCR directly. Your texting provider submits the registration for you.

Three words come up again and again:

• Brand: your business identity, meaning your legal name, tax ID, address and website.
• Campaign: what you will text about, and how people agreed to receive your texts.
• Trust score: a rating given to your brand that affects how many messages you can send per day.

Why carriers require it

Carriers introduced 10DLC to cut down on spam and scam texts. They want to know which business is behind every automated message.

The rules have gotten stricter. Today, unregistered 10DLC traffic is blocked: according to Telnyx's 10DLC FAQ, unregistered traffic has been blocked altogether since February 2025.

Does 10DLC apply to real estate agents?

Yes, if you text leads or clients through software from a 10-digit number. That includes CRMs and texting tools.

• Follow Up Boss texting. The Follow Up Boss texting overview states that your business registration must be approved before you can send texts from FUB. For a full picture of what is built in, see Follow Up Boss Texting: What It Can and Can't Do.
• Texting integrations. Drip, bulk and AI texting tools send from their own numbers, and those numbers need their own registration.
• Your personal cell phone. Texting one person from your own phone the normal way is person-to-person messaging, which is a different situation.

Solo agents without a business tax ID can usually register as a sole proprietor. According to Twilio's A2P 10DLC documentation, a sole proprietor brand gets one campaign and lower daily volume (about 1,000 messages a day to T-Mobile, roughly 3,000 across US carriers), and the registration is confirmed with a code sent to your mobile phone. If your business has an EIN, register as a standard business instead.

How 10DLC registration works

Your texting provider handles the submissions, but it helps to know the five steps.

1. Register your brand. You submit your business details: legal name, tax ID (EIN), address, website and a contact person.

2. The brand is verified. Your details are checked against official records. A mismatch, such as a business name that is spelled differently from your EIN records, is one of the most common reasons for rejection.

3. Register your campaign. You describe what you will send, give sample messages, and explain how contacts opted in.

4. The campaign is reviewed. Carriers manually review the use case, the opt-in description and the sample messages.

5. Your number is linked to the approved campaign. Once that is done, you can start sending.

What you will be asked for

Have these ready before you start to avoid delays:

• Your legal business name, exactly as it appears on your tax records
• Your EIN or tax ID (or your sole proprietor details if you do not have one)
• Your business address and website
• A contact name, email and phone number
• A short description of what you will text about
• 2 to 3 sample messages
• How people opt in, for example a website form with consent language
• Your opt-out wording, for example "Reply STOP to opt out"
• A privacy policy on your website

Here is what a sample message can look like. It says who is texting, why, and how to opt out:

How much does 10DLC registration cost?

The fees below are pass-through fees from the registry and the carriers. Providers bill them differently, and some bundle them into their plans. These are approximate amounts as of November 2026, based on published fee pages from Twilio, Bandwidth and Telnyx. Fees change often, so check with your provider.

Fee	Approximate amount (as of November 2026)	How often
Brand registration	About $4.50	One time
Campaign vetting	About $15	Per campaign submission
Campaign monthly fee	About $1.50 to $10, depending on the use case (about $2 for a sole proprietor)	Monthly, usually with a 3-month minimum
Extra brand vetting (optional, for higher volume)	About $41.50	One time
Carrier surcharges	Fractions of a cent per message, different for each carrier	Per message

With Texting Betty, carrier registration is handled by our team and included in every plan, with nothing extra to pay.

How long does 10DLC registration take?

It depends on the provider and on how clean your details are. Mismatched details can mean weeks of back-and-forth.

With Texting Betty, onboarding takes about 5 minutes. Allow 3 to 5 business days for carrier registration before your number is active. It is usually done within 3. If you are setting up a new account, here is how to verify your Texting Betty setup once you are live.

How Texting Betty handles registration for you

Texting Betty is an automated texting solution built for Follow Up Boss, and registration is part of setup:

• Our team submits the registrations as part of setup, at no extra cost on any plan.
• You get a new dedicated texting number in the area code you choose. This applies in all cases.
• No Twilio account needed. Plans include the Twilio-related fees and setup.
• Your main business number stays separate. Your Follow Up Boss line keeps doing what it does now.

More answers about setup are in our FAQ. One Follow Up Boss user put it this way:

"What I've appreciated about the Texting Betty team is anytime one of my texts goes undelivered, their team is diligent in letting me know and finding out why."

Elena K.

See Texting Betty in action

Common reasons registrations get rejected

Most rejections come down to a handful of fixable issues, and fixing them can cost extra: Twilio lists an $11 appeal fee when a brand comes back unverified. Twilio lists similar ones in its guide to improving your chances of A2P 10DLC approval.

• Business name or address does not match tax records. Fix: copy it exactly from your EIN letter.
• Wrong registration type. Fix: if your business has an EIN, register as a business, not as a sole proprietor.
• No website, or a website with no privacy policy. Fix: publish a simple privacy policy that says you do not share or sell opt-in data.
• A vague or missing opt-in process. Fix: describe exactly where people give consent, such as the form on your website, and what it says.
• Sample messages that do not match the use case. Fix: use real examples of the texts you will send.
• Sample messages without your business name or opt-out wording. Fix: add both, like the example above.

What happens if you text without registering?

• Your messages are blocked. Carriers stop unregistered 10DLC traffic, so the texts never arrive.
• You may still pay for the attempt. Some providers charge for messages that fail.
• Carriers can charge penalties. Carrier fines apply to serious violations, such as prohibited content or sending without verification, and providers pass them on to the sender.
• Your number's reputation suffers. Numbers flagged for unregistered or spam-like traffic are filtered more often.

Sending a large campaign once you are registered? Check your daily and monthly caps first. Here is how to set sending limits in Texting Betty, and here is how to send bulk texts in Follow Up Boss the careful way.

10DLC vs toll-free vs short code

Here is how the three main business number types compare:

Number type	Looks like	Best for
10DLC	A local number	Most agents and teams. It feels personal.
Toll-free	An 800, 888 or similar number	Customer service style messaging. It needs its own verification.
Short code	5 or 6 digits	Very high volume brands. It is expensive.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 10DLC stand for?

10-digit long code. It means a regular local phone number, an area code plus seven digits, used by a business to send texts.

Do real estate agents need 10DLC registration?

Yes, if you text leads or clients through a CRM or texting tool from a 10-digit number. Texting one person from your personal phone the normal way is a different situation.

How much does 10DLC cost?

As of November 2026, brand registration is about $4.50 one time, campaign vetting about $15 per submission, and campaign fees about $1.50 to $10 a month, plus small carrier surcharges per message. With Texting Betty, registration is included in every plan.

How long does 10DLC approval take?

It varies by provider and by how complete your details are. With Texting Betty, allow 3 to 5 business days for carrier registration. It is usually done within 3.

Can I register as a solo agent without an LLC?

Usually yes. Agents without a business tax ID can register as a sole proprietor, which comes with one campaign and lower daily sending limits. If you have an EIN, register as a business instead.

Why are my texts not being delivered?

The most common causes are an unregistered number, messages that look like spam, texting a landline, and a recipient who has opted out. Check your registration status first.

Is 10DLC the same as TCPA compliance?

No. 10DLC is a carrier registration. Consent rules, such as getting permission before you text and honoring opt-outs, are separate and still apply. This is general information, not legal advice.

Can I use my own cell number?

Not with Texting Betty. A new dedicated texting number is provisioned in all cases, and you choose the area code.

Registration is paperwork, not a barrier

10DLC sounds technical, but it comes down to telling carriers who you are and what you send. Once it is done, your texts are trusted by carriers. With Texting Betty, our team takes care of it as part of setup, in every plan.

See Texting Betty in action or view plans and pricing.