10 DLC compliance is now required for businesses who send SMS or MMS. You’ve probably heard of it. Maybe you have unanswered questions or some concerns. This article arms you with exactly what you need to know and do to ensure your business has 10 DLC compliance.

First, a quick roundup of some helpful resources:

1. A quick discussion of 10 DLC essentials.
2. A comprehensive 10 DLC FAQs.
3. March 18, 2021 webinar answering all your questions about 10 DLC (free attendance).

Now, here’s what you need to know and do to make sure you have secured 10 DLC compliance.

What do I need to in order to have 10 DLC compliance?

To comply with the new 10 DLC requirements, you will need to migrate your A2P (app to person) messages to 10 DLC (10 digit long code).

How do I migrate my A2P messages to 10 DLC?

Your A2P provider should instruct you on how to migrate to a 10 DLC.

Salesmsg users will be able to submit their migration requests through the Salesmsg app.

You’ll be notified through the app and through email when it’s time to do so.

If you don’t have an A2P provider, you should sign up for a vendor as soon as possible to make sure you’re 100% compliant with the new business text messaging rules.

How much will it cost to switch to 10 DLC to ensure 10 DLC compliance?

The all-in cost is $54 plus a monthly recurring fee.

Here’s how it breaks down.

• $4 - registering your brand for 10 DLC
• $50 - registering your campaign for 10 DLC
• $X - monthly fee set by the carrier on a per-message or per-campaign basis

In addition, your A2P provider may charge you for the service.

For Salesmsg users, all 10 DLC costs are pass through, meaning the platform does not charge anything extra for 10 DLC registration and migration.

How much will the recurring cost be for 10 DLC messages?

There are additional per-message surcharges that vary based on the carrier.

Here are those charges for the major carriers.

For example, if your carrier is Verizon and you send an SMS to 100 recipients, your charge is 25 cents.

If you are a US Cellular customer sending an MMS to 200 recipients, it will cost one dollar.

Salesmsg will not charge markup for carrier fees.

To restate, all 10 DLC required fees will be 100% passthrough for all Salesmsg users.

What Happens If I Don’t Make the Switch to 10 DLC?

10 DLC compliance is imperative, but there is a grace period with most carriers extending to June 1, 2021.

After this time, accounts may be charged fines for noncompliance. So far, AT&T and T-Mobile have announced their fines:

AT&T 10 DLC Fines

Starting March 1, long code traffic that is not registered as 10DLC, will incur the following fines

• $0.004 / SMS message pass-through fee for messages terminating to AT&T
• $0.03/message for outbound SMS to AT&T
• $0.0035/message for outbound MMS to AT&T

These fines are per message, so a violation of 1,000 outbound SMS messages that terminate to AT&T will cost $30.

T-Mobile 10 DLC Fines

T-mobile plans to levy larger fines for accounts that do not register or otherwise violate the new 10 DLC policies.

• Non-registered or non-approved long code: $10,000. Most likely, this fee would apply only in cases where T-Mobile receives a complaint about a specific offender that is non-registered and/or non-approved.
• Grey Route: $10 for each 10DLC message sent through a grey route. Once 10 DLC is enabled, if a sender attempts to route messages as P2P to avoid the extra fees, they will be charged ten dollars per message.
• 10DLC Long Code Messaging Program Evasion: $1,000. This fine is for any evasion technique that a sender tries to use (snowshoeing, dynamic routing, etc.).
• Content Violation: $10,000. Content violation involves sending messages in violation of the rules in the Code of Conduct. Most of the time, these are SHAFT violations (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco including CBD, marijuana, vaping).

Any business that uses MMS, SMS, or text messaging of any kind will need to secure 10 DLC compliance this year.

It's not a matter of if. It's a matter of when.

As soon as possible, make sure your business has 10 DLC compliance by following the guidelines in this article.

10 DLC: What to do next

Now that you know what to do now, here's your quick guide to what to do next for 10 DLC compliance:

• Be sure to check out our upcoming 10 DLC webinar, answering any and all questions on 10 DLC.
• If you are not using an A2P platform for sending and receiving text messages with customers, be sure to sign up now.