Guide
10DLC registration for regulated businesses.
Business texting from an ordinary 10 digit number runs on 10DLC. Here is how registration works, and what changes when you sell alcohol, tobacco, or firearms.
What 10DLC is
The Campaign Registry, which runs the registry, puts it this way: "10DLC is an A2P messaging channel in which Brands and Campaign Service Providers (CSPs) are verified."
Registration makes "both the 'Who' and the 'What' of a campaign" traceable: the brand is who you are, the campaign is what you send.
You do not register yourself
The Campaign Registry: "Currently, direct registration with TCR is not available for Brands." A business registers through its messaging provider.
At Gnymble that is part of setup. We register the brand, build the campaign, and write it for what you actually sell.
What changes for SHAFT businesses
Your campaign has to say what you send. For alcohol, tobacco, or firearms content, CTIA expects a working age gate at opt-in and lists SHAFT as content with additional carrier requirements. The SHAFT guide quotes both.
- Describe the content honestly. A cigar shop is a cigar shop.
- Age gate the list at opt-in.
- Use only subscribers who opted in to you. CTIA says rented, sold, or shared lists are out.
- Disclose the program, HELP, how to opt out, and that messages recur.
Questions
What is 10DLC?
A2P messaging over an ordinary 10 digit number, where brands and their messaging providers are verified through The Campaign Registry.
Can I register my business with The Campaign Registry directly?
No. The Campaign Registry says direct registration is not available for brands; your messaging provider registers you. Gnymble does it as part of setup.
Can a cigar lounge or distillery register a 10DLC campaign?
CTIA treats legal SHAFT content as content with additional carrier requirements, starting with a working age gate. Gnymble writes the registration for what you sell and builds the gate in.
Sources
- The Campaign Registry, read October 30, 2026.
- CTIA, Short Code Monitoring Program Handbook, version 1.9 (effective August 2, 2023), read October 30, 2026.
- CTIA, Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023), read October 30, 2026.
Last reviewed October 30, 2026.
Rather not do this yourself?
Setup handled by real humans who know the category.