A2P 10DLC Business Texting: What Funding Teams Need to Register
Texting merchants from a regular local number now runs through a registration process. Here is what it asks for and how to prepare before you submit.
A broker sends a perfectly reasonable text to a merchant who asked for a callback: a name, the company, a question about a good time to talk. It never arrives. No error on the broker's screen, no bounce, just silence. Later someone discovers the number was never registered for business texting, and the carrier filtered it.
A2P 10DLC stands for application-to-person messaging over ten-digit long codes, which is to say business texts sent from ordinary-looking local numbers. US carriers built a registration system around it so they can tell legitimate business senders from spam. If your floor texts merchants from local numbers through software, this applies to you.
This guide explains the pieces in general terms. Details, review standards and fees are set by carriers and the registration ecosystem and do change, so confirm current specifics with your messaging provider, and have counsel review anything touching consent.
Pre-flight summary
- Business texting from local numbers generally requires brand and campaign registration.
- Brand details must match official records exactly, backed by a real website.
- Register the messages you will actually send, with realistic samples.
- Opt-in language should be clear, specific and recorded; have counsel review it.
- Honor STOP and informal opt-outs instantly, across every number and broker.
Leg 01Two registrations: your brand and your campaign
Registration happens in two layers. The brand is your business: legal name, tax identification, address, website and contact details. The campaign is what you will actually send: the use case, sample messages, how people opt in, and how they opt out. Numbers are then attached to an approved campaign.
Think of it as answering two questions for the carriers. Who are you, and what exactly will you be texting people about? Vague answers to either one are the most common reason for delays and rejections.
Leg 02Get your brand details consistent first
Before submitting anything, gather your business details exactly as they appear on official records. Mismatches between the legal name you enter, your tax records and your website are a frequent source of trouble. A website that clearly describes your business, shows contact information and links to a privacy policy helps reviewers confirm you are who you say you are.
If you operate under a trade name, make sure the relationship between it and the legal entity is clear. Funding shops sometimes have a brand on the website that differs from the entity name on paperwork; reviewers need to be able to connect the two.
- Legal business name, exactly as registered.
- Tax identification number that matches that name.
- Business address and a working support contact.
- A live website describing what you do, with a privacy policy.
- Any trade names clearly tied to the legal entity.
Leg 03Describe the campaign as it really is
The campaign description should match what your brokers will actually send. For most funding floors, that means conversational follow-up with merchants who inquired about business funding: confirming callbacks, requesting documents, sharing application status. If you also plan marketing messages, say so; mixing undeclared content into a campaign registered for something else can get it suspended.
Sample messages should look like real ones. Include your company name, a clear purpose and opt-out instructions where appropriate. Avoid promising approvals, amounts or timelines in samples, both because reviewers dislike it and because you should not be promising those things to merchants anyway.
Register the texts you will actually send. Reviewers compare the description with the traffic, and so should you.
Leg 04Opt-in language that holds up
Reviewers want to see how a merchant agrees to receive texts. On a web form, that usually means a clear, unbundled statement near the phone field explaining that the person agrees to receive texts from your named company about their inquiry, that message frequency varies, that message and data rates may apply, and that they can reply STOP to opt out and HELP for help. Linking to terms and privacy is common.
An illustrative structure, not language to copy without review: by checking this box you agree to receive text messages from your company about your funding inquiry; message frequency varies; message and data rates may apply; reply STOP to opt out, HELP for help. The exact wording you need, and whether marketing texts require more, is a question for qualified counsel.
Keep a record of every opt-in: the wording shown, the timestamp, the number and the source page. FundPilot keeps texts and calls on the deal record, which makes that history easy to find when you need it.
Leg 05STOP, HELP and keeping opt-outs honored
Merchants must be able to opt out simply, and HELP should return useful information about who you are and how to reach you. The standard keywords are expected by carriers, but people do not always use them; someone writing please take me off your list is opting out too. Your process should catch both.
In FundPilot, two-way texting runs through the deal record and campaigns stop automatically on reply, so a broker sees an opt-out in context and the system stops further sends from that sequence. Still, design your process so that an opt-out applies to every number and every broker in your shop, not just the thread where it was sent.
- Configure STOP and common variants to opt the number out automatically.
- Send a single confirmation if your provider and counsel advise it, then nothing further.
- Configure HELP to return your company name and a contact method.
- Train brokers to flag informal opt-outs as opt-outs immediately.
- Apply opt-outs across all numbers, campaigns and brokers.
Leg 06After approval: staying in good standing
Approval is not the end. Carriers monitor traffic, and campaigns can be filtered or suspended if content drifts from what was registered, complaint rates rise or opt-outs are ignored. Keep sending what you described, to people who asked, at reasonable local hours.
When you add a new type of message, such as renewal outreach to past merchants, check with your provider whether it fits the existing campaign or needs a new one. And review your consent and texting practices periodically with qualified counsel. This article is general information, not legal advice.
Questions from the floor
Do funding brokers need A2P 10DLC registration?
If your team texts merchants from standard ten-digit local numbers through business software, registration generally applies. Unregistered traffic may be filtered or blocked by carriers. Your messaging provider can confirm what is required for your setup, and counsel should review the consent side. Requirements change, so check current rules rather than relying on older guidance.
Why was our campaign registration rejected?
Common causes include brand details that do not match official records, a website that does not clearly describe the business or lacks a privacy policy, vague campaign descriptions, sample messages that do not match the stated use, and unclear opt-in descriptions. Fix the specific issue your provider reports, tighten the descriptions, and resubmit.
Can brokers text merchants from their personal phones instead?
It is a poor idea. Personal phones bypass your registration, your opt-out handling and your records, so a merchant's stop request may never reach the rest of the team and you lose the history of what was sent. Keep all merchant texting on business systems that log messages to the deal and enforce opt-outs.
Does registration mean our texts are legally compliant?
No. Registration is a carrier requirement for delivery. Separate laws govern consent, content, timing and opt-outs for calls and texts, and some states add their own rules. Treat registration and legal compliance as two different checklists, and have qualified counsel review the legal side. This is general information, not legal advice.
General information only — not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules for telemarketing, texting, recording, disclosures and data retention vary and change; confirm current requirements with qualified counsel.
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