The part businesses underestimate is the opt-in evidence. Carriers want to see the actual consent flow: the web form with its checkbox and disclosure, the keyword instructions, or the paper form wording. A campaign is far more likely to be rejected for vague or missing opt-in proof than for anything technical. Screenshots of a real, live consent flow are the single best thing you can prepare in advance.
Registration also produces a trust score, which is what actually governs your daily message throughput. A verified business with a clean EIN match and a well-described campaign scores higher and can send more per day. A thin or mismatched brand record scores lower and gets throttled, regardless of how good the messages are.
10DLC registration, step by step
Five steps, in the order the registry and the carriers process them. On SimplyRCS steps 1 to 4 are prepared and submitted for you: you supply the business details and the consent evidence, and approve what goes in.
Step 1. Gather the brand record. Legal business name exactly as registered, EIN, registered address, website, and a contact. The EIN has to match the legal name; a mismatch is the most common reason a brand scores low or stalls.
Step 2. Register the brand. The brand record is submitted to The Campaign Registry (TCR) and matched against business registries. Approval is often same-day. The one-time brand registration fee is $4.50. Standard vetting through Aegis ($41.50 one-time, or $101.50 enhanced) is the optional review that raises the trust score and with it your daily throughput.
Step 3. Describe the campaign. One campaign per use case: what you will send, how often, how people opt in and out, and sample messages. Attach a screenshot of the live consent flow, the web form with its checkbox and disclosure or the keyword instructions. This is where most rejections happen.
Step 4. Campaign vetting. The campaign is reviewed by the Direct Connect Aggregator (DCA) and the carriers, typically within a few business days, longer for regulated or higher-risk use cases. The one-time DCA vetting fee is $15, then a monthly campaign fee by type, from $1.50 for low-volume mixed to $10 for standard use cases and $30 for agents and franchises.
Step 5. Attach numbers and start sending. Approved campaigns are linked to the sending numbers, the carriers assign throughput from the trust score, and traffic is treated as sanctioned rather than suspicious. On SimplyRCS there is no change fee for editing a campaign later.
| Fee | When | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Brand registration | One-time | $4.50 |
| Standard vetting (Aegis / WMC) | One-time, optional | $41.50 |
| Enhanced vetting (Aegis) | One-time, optional | $101.50 |
| DCA campaign vetting | One-time | $15.00 |
| Campaign, standard use cases | Monthly | $10.00 |
| Campaign, low-volume mixed | Monthly | $1.50 |
| Campaign, sole proprietor | Monthly | $2.00 |
| Campaign, charity or non-profit | Monthly | $3.00 |
| Campaign, emergency | Monthly | $5.00 |
| Campaign, agents and franchises | Monthly | $30.00 |
| Campaign, political | Monthly | $10.00 |
Every registry and vetting fee is set by TCR or the vetting provider and passed through at cost on SimplyRCS. The pricing page is the source of record for these figures; if the two ever differ, the pricing page is right.
10DLC registration requirements
What the registry needs before a brand or campaign can be approved:
- Legal business name exactly as it appears on the EIN registration, the EIN itself, the registered address and a website.
- A contact who can answer vetting questions, and the brand's vertical.
- For each campaign: the use case, a description of what will be sent, expected volume, sample messages, and how people opt in, opt out and get help.
- Opt-in evidence: a screenshot of the live consent flow with its disclosure, or the keyword instructions, or the paper form wording.
- The numbers that will send under the campaign.
How long does A2P 10DLC registration take?
| Stage | Typical time | What decides it |
|---|---|---|
| Brand registration | Often same day | Legal name and EIN match the business registry |
| Optional vetting (Aegis) | Days | The vetting provider's review |
| Campaign vetting | A few business days | Opt-in evidence and use-case clarity; longer for regulated or higher-risk use cases |
| Number attachment | Same day once approved | Provider provisioning |
The whole sequence is usually a week or two when the brand record is clean and the consent evidence is ready, and it is the mismatched legal name or the missing opt-in screenshot that turns it into a month. Start it on day one and prepare the content in parallel; how to migrate from SMS to RCS sets out that plan.
- Two stages: brand registration first, then one campaign registration per use case.
- Brand approval is often same-day; campaign vetting is usually a few business days.
- Opt-in evidence is the most common rejection reason, so prepare a screenshot of the live consent flow.
- The resulting trust score sets your throughput, so an accurate legal brand record directly affects how much you can send.
- Carrier and registry fees are passed through at cost on SimplyRCS with no markup.