10DLC explained: what this US rule means for Canadian alert texts

10DLC is how US mobile networks register businesses that text from ordinary 10-digit US local numbers. If your alarm script sends from a US local number through an SMS API, you must register a brand and a campaign first. With Welco, you don't file either one. Welco sends from its own verified toll-free numbers, so there is no 10DLC filing at all.

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Published: October 6, 2026

The problem

A homegrown alarm script

Texts from a local number on your own SMS account
No brand or campaign on file
Alarms blocked before they reach a phone

The fix

The same alarm through Welco

Your system emails your Welco address
No brand or campaign for you to file
The on-call phone gets one short text

10DLC means texting from a normal 10-digit US local number as a business. It is a US system.
Every business sender must register a brand and a campaign with The Campaign Registry.
Unregistered 10DLC texts are reported to be fully blocked since February 1, 2025.
Welco texts from verified toll-free numbers, so your team never files a brand or campaign.

What is 10DLC?

10DLC stands for 10-digit long code. A long code is an ordinary phone number, like (555) 201-4417, rather than a 5 or 6-digit short code. When a business sends texts from software over one of these numbers, the networks call it 10DLC traffic.

US carriers now treat that traffic differently from texts between people. A business has to say who it is and what it sends before its US local number can text at all. This guide covers that US system only, not the rules for Canadian local numbers. Our other SMS alert guides cover the rest.

Brand and campaign, the two parts of registration

Registration happens through The Campaign Registry, a shared database the major US carriers use. Its site (read October 6, 2026) says brands and the providers that file for them are checked before any texts go out. Each filing has two parts.

The brand is your business: legal name, tax ID, address and website.
The campaign is what you send: the use case, sample texts, how people opt in and how they opt out.

Do system alert texts need 10DLC registration?

Yes, when your own software sends them from a US local number. For years, many alarm systems on both sides of the border texted staff for free through carrier email-to-text addresses. Those gateways are closing, Bell's included, which is why alarm texts stopped working for many teams. The usual next step is an SMS API, a paid service that scripts and alarm modules call to send texts.

An SMS API sending from a US local number is 10DLC traffic, and it has to be registered. Since February 1, 2025, unregistered 10DLC texts are fully blocked by the major US carriers, as reported by Bandwidth's 10DLC FAQ. Before then, they were slowed down or filtered, one of the reasons alert texts get blocked.

Setups that fall under 10DLC

A Python or PowerShell script that calls an SMS API when a server goes down.
A SCADA alarm module set up with your own SMS account. See Ignition alarms without your own Twilio account.
A monitoring server with an SMS plug-in tied to a US local number you rent.
An in-house tool that texts the IT team from a company number.

10DLC vs toll-free for alert texts

Both number types can carry business texts. Each has its own sign-off before it can send, and only the toll-free review also covers texts to Canadian phones.

For the toll-free side, see toll-free verification explained.

What the number looks like

10DLC: A local number, like (555) 201-4417
Toll-free: An 800-style number, like (833) 555-0142

What you register

10DLC: A brand and a campaign with The Campaign Registry
Toll-free: A toll-free verification request for the number

If you skip it

10DLC: Texts fully blocked since February 1, 2025, as reported by Bandwidth
Toll-free: Texts to US numbers blocked since January 31, 2024, and no texts to Canadian phones until verified

For the toll-free side, see toll-free verification explained.

What the number looks like	A local number, like (555) 201-4417	An 800-style number, like (833) 555-0142
What you register	A brand and a campaign with The Campaign Registry	A toll-free verification request for the number
If you skip it	Texts fully blocked since February 1, 2025, as reported by Bandwidth	Texts to US numbers blocked since January 31, 2024, and no texts to Canadian phones until verified

Sources: Bandwidth: 10DLC FAQ (read October 6, 2026); Twilio blog: New industry-wide requirements for toll-free messaging (read October 6, 2026)

Text your alarms without a 10DLC filing in 4 steps

Welco takes the number paperwork off your plate. Your part is the same short setup for any alarm system.

Create your account and verify the business
Sign up with a work email on your company's domain, answer the business questions once and book a short intro call. Welco verifies its own toll-free numbers, so there is no brand, campaign or sample text for you to file.
Invite the on-call staff
Send each person an email invite. They enter their own cellphone number, reply YES to one confirmation text, and can reply STOP at any time.
Approve your alarm system and point its email
Add the system's sending address as an approved sender, then set its alert email to your Welco address. Mail from unknown senders is refused.
Run a test, then a live alarm
Check the result in test mode first. Then trigger one real alert and make sure it reaches each phone.

Skip the brand and campaign forms

Verify your business once, and your alerts go out from Welco's verified toll-free numbers.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

Send alerts without 10DLC filing Book a demo

A SCADA alarm sent with no 10DLC paperwork

This lift station alarm at a small Canadian utility used to go through a script and a US SMS account the plant ran itself. Now the SCADA server emails Welco, and the operator on call gets one text.

Characters~~226~~891 credit

The plant registered nothing. For a number only your company uses, add a dedicated alert number, offered in the US and Canada.

What you would file to register 10DLC yourself

If you keep your own SMS account, plan for this paperwork before the first alarm text. Approval can take time, and a rejected campaign means fixing it and sending it in again.

Brand details that match your tax records exactly, including a tax ID such as a US EIN.
A campaign description that says the texts are internal system alerts to staff.
Two or more sample texts that name your business and include STOP wording.
A written opt-in flow showing how each employee agreed to get texts.
Your HELP and STOP replies, and who answers when someone texts HELP.
Upkeep: new numbers, changed use cases and staff turnover all need the records kept current.

What does 10DLC cost, and how long does approval take?

Plan on a few small fees from your SMS API company and a wait of days to weeks. Prices differ by company and carrier fees are listed separately. Ask yours before you build alarms around a US local number.

As one dated example, Bandwidth's 10DLC fee list (read October 6, 2026) shows a one-time US$9 brand registration. A standard campaign there costs US$20 a month, with a 3-month minimum. All prices are in US dollars (USD). Customers in Canada pay in US dollars too.

The same list says an extra brand check, called Authentication+, will apply to all brands after January 21, 2027. Expect the paperwork to keep growing, not shrinking.

Time is the bigger cost when the texts are alarms. Bandwidth's FAQ says standard campaigns should be approved right away, while special use cases can take a few weeks. A rejection restarts the clock, and the number can't send business texts until it clears.

With Welco, there is no brand fee, campaign fee or vetting wait for you. Plans are sold in message credits, and Welco pricing lists each plan and the free trial.

Mistakes to avoid when you register alert texts for 10DLC

Most 10DLC delays come from small gaps between what you file and what you really send. Check for these before your first campaign goes in.

Brand details that don't match the tax records. The legal name and tax ID, such as a US EIN, must match exactly. Bandwidth's FAQ also warns that an EIN issued in the last 90 days may not show up yet.
A vague or wrong use case. Say plainly that the texts are internal system alerts to your own staff. Don't pick a broad catch-all use case for alarm texts.
Samples that don't match your real alarms. Copy two actual alert texts with your business name and the STOP keyword line. Our best practices for alarm texts show what reviewers expect.
No written consent story. Explain how each employee chose to get texts, and keep the records. CTIA's messaging principles (May 2023) suggest saving the time, the method and the phone number for every opt-in.
One number for alarms and everything else. If the same number also sends other kinds of texts, complaints about those can bring carrier filtering down on your alarms too. Keep alarms on a number that carries nothing else.

Check whether your alerts depend on 10DLC

If any of these is true, your alarm texts need a registered brand and campaign or a different route.

0 of 6 done

Your alarm texts come from a US local 10-digit number.
A script, plug-in or SCADA module calls an SMS API with your own account.
You rent the sending number from an SMS API company.
Nobody on your team remembers filing a brand or campaign.
Some alarm texts arrive and some quietly don't.
Your setup used carrier email-to-text addresses before and was switched in a hurry.

Frequently asked questions

Do texts to my own staff still need 10DLC registration from a US number?

In most cases, yes. US carriers look at how a text is sent, not just who reads it. Texts sent by software from a US local number count as business traffic, even when every reader is an employee. Register a campaign that describes internal system alerts, or send through a service that handles registration for you.

What is The Campaign Registry?

The Campaign Registry is the shared database the major US carriers use for 10DLC. Businesses register a brand, which is the company, and a campaign, which is what they send and why. The carriers check those records before letting a local number send business texts.

What happened to unregistered 10DLC texts in February 2025?

They stopped getting through. From February 1, 2025, the major US carriers fully block unregistered 10DLC traffic, as reported by industry sources such as Bandwidth. Before that date, unregistered texts were slowed or filtered but often still arrived. Many homegrown alarm scripts failed quietly after the change.

Is a local number or a toll-free number better for Canadian alarm texts?

Either can work once it is registered or verified. US local numbers need a 10DLC brand and campaign. Toll-free numbers need toll-free verification, which also covers texts to Canadian phones. What matters most for alarms is that the number is registered, used only for alerts and not shared with senders who might hurt its reputation.

Do I need a 10DLC brand or campaign to use Welco?

No. Welco doesn't use 10DLC numbers. Alerts go out from Welco's own verified toll-free numbers, and you only verify your business once at sign-up. Welco uses alerts-only numbers, so your alarms don't share a number with marketing senders. Your part is inviting staff, who each opt in from their own phone, and pointing your alert email at Welco.

Who submits 10DLC registration, my team or the SMS provider?

Your SMS provider submits it, using details your team supplies. The Campaign Registry works with registered providers, and each brand files through one of them. You still write the use case, the sample texts and the consent description. When something is wrong, the provider passes the rejection reason back to you to fix.

What happens if a 10DLC campaign is rejected?

You correct the problem and file again, and the number stays unable to send meanwhile. Rejections usually point to a vague use case, weak samples or a missing consent description. Some providers also charge for a failed brand vet or an appeal, as Bandwidth's fee list shows. A careful first filing is the fastest route.

Reviewed by Rakesh Patel, Founder, Welco

Send alarm texts without registering 10DLC yourself

Verify your business once and point your alarm email at Welco.

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