If you've been asked to complete a registration process before sending text messages through our platform, you might be wondering — why is this necessary? I text people all the time without doing any of this.
That's a fair question, and the answer comes down to a fundamental difference between how personal texting works and how business texting works.
Personal Texting vs. Business Texting: What's the Difference?
When you send a text to a friend or family member from your personal phone, you're using a standard consumer phone number on a carrier network (like AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile). The carriers recognize this as person-to-person (P2P) messaging — one individual talking to another. There's no registration required because the volume is low, the intent is personal, and the carriers can see normal human behavior patterns.
Business texting is a different category entirely. When a company sends texts to a list of customers — appointment reminders, updates, alerts, or outreach messages — those messages are sent programmatically through software, not typed out one by one on a phone. This is called Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging: an application sending messages to people. Your messaging on Bonzo falls into this category.
Because A2P messaging can reach thousands of people at once, carriers treat it differently. Without oversight, bad actors could easily use the same infrastructure to send malicious spam or fraudulent messages at massive scale.
What Is 10DLC?
10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code — which is just a standard 10-digit phone number (the kind that looks like a regular local number). Historically, these numbers were primarily used for personal texting. As businesses started using them for outreach, carriers needed a way to distinguish legitimate business messaging from spam.
A2P 10DLC is the system that U.S. carriers built to manage this. It requires businesses that send texts programmatically to:
- Register their brand — who you are as a business
- Register their campaign — what types of messages you're sending and why
Once registered and approved, your messages are recognized by the carriers as coming from a verified business, this is required to send A2P messaging in the U.S.
Why Do the Carriers Require This?
In short: spam protection and consumer trust.
Before A2P 10DLC regulations took effect, it was easy for spammers to send mass text messages using regular phone numbers with no accountability. This eroded trust in SMS as a communication channel and frustrated consumers.
The major U.S. carriers — led by industry group The Campaign Registry (TCR) — rolled out the 10DLC framework to fix this. By requiring businesses to register and disclose how they're using messaging, carriers can:
- Verify that messages come from legitimate businesses
- Ensure consumers have consented to receive messages
- Filter out fraudulent or unwanted traffic more effectively
- Hold businesses accountable for the content they send
This is now an industry-wide requirement in the United States. It's not something unique to Bonzo — it applies to any business sending A2P messages over 10-digit phone numbers.
What Does the Registration Process Involve?
The registration process is straightforward, and your Bonzo account will guide you through it:
- Brand information: Your legal business name, EIN (Employer Identification Number), business type, and contact details
- Campaign information: A description of your use case (e.g., customer outreach, appointment reminders, alerts), sample message content, and confirmation that you have proper consent from recipients
Once submitted, your registration is reviewed and approved by The Campaign Registry and the carriers. This is a one-time process per use case, not something you need to repeat for every message you send.
The Bottom Line
Registration isn't about creating barriers — it's about making sure legitimate business messages get delivered reliably. Think of it the same way you'd think about a business license: it's how the ecosystem verifies that you're operating above board.
If you have questions about your specific registration or need help completing the process, our support team is here to help.