Overview

10DLC (10-Digit Long Code) is the industry standard for business SMS messaging in the US. It requires registering your business with The Campaign Registry (TCR) before sending messages. This ensures compliance with carrier requirements and provides better deliverability and throughput.

Onboarding Flow

┌─────────────────────┐

│  1. Brand           │  Register your business identity

└─────────┬───────────┘

          ▼

┌─────────────────────┐

│  1b. External       │  (Optional) Third-party vetting for higher throughput

│      Vetting        │

└─────────┬───────────┘

          ▼

┌─────────────────────┐

│  2. Campaign        │  Register your messaging use case

└─────────┬───────────┘

          ▼

┌─────────────────────┐

│  3. Messaging       │  Create a profile to configure messaging settings

│     Profile         │

└─────────┬───────────┘

          ▼

┌─────────────────────┐

│  4. Attach Numbers  │  Link phone numbers to your messaging profile

└─────────────────────┘

Step 1: Brand Registration

A 10DLC Brand represents your business identity in the TCR ecosystem.

Step 1c: External Vetting

External vetting is an optional step where a third-party vetting provider verifies your brand.

Why Get Vetted?

• Higher message throughput limits

• Improved trust score with carriers

• Required for certain high-volume use cases

External vetting is performed by approved EVPs (External Vetting Providers) such as Campaign Verify (AEGIS). We always use Aegis.

### Vetting Output

• Score - 0–100 rating of brand trustworthiness

• Classification - Category (e.g., STANDARD, POLITICAL)

• Status pending, completed, or failed

Step 2: Campaign Registration

A 10DLC Campaign defines how you'll use SMS messaging. Each campaign is tied to an approved brand. This is where many Pylon customers may experience difficulty.

Use Cases

Campaigns must declare their messaging purpose:

- CUSTOMER_CARE — Support and service messages

- MARKETING — Promotional content

- MIXED — Combination of use cases

- Other specialized use cases available

Required Information

We are required to provide these details:

Messaging Details

• Description — What the campaign is for

• Message flow — How customers opt in and receive messages

• Sample messages — 2–5 examples of messages you'll send

Compliance Messages

• Help message — Response when customer texts HELP

• Opt-in message — Confirmation when subscribing

• Opt-out message — Confirmation when unsubscribing

Step 3: Messaging Profile

A Messaging Profile is the configuration layer that controls how messages are sent.

What It Does

• Links your approved campaign to your carrier account (Telnyx)

• Configures delivery settings and webhooks

  Manages throughput and rate limiting

The messaging profile is created automatically in Telnyx and associated with your campaign.

Step 4: Attach Phone Numbers

The final step connects your phone numbers to the messaging profile.

What Happens

1. Phone numbers are assigned to the messaging profile

2. Numbers inherit the campaign's compliance settings

3. Throughput limits from the campaign/brand apply

4. You're ready to send 10DLC-compliant SMS messages

Completion

Once numbers are attached, the onboarding status becomes complete and you can begin messaging.

Debugging Telnyx Issues

It's best to log into Telnyx because they surface more information than we do in Pylon.

Below is a list of common failure modes and how to address them.

Failure Mode 1: Campaign failure

Pylon customers can fail to pass the carrier check, depending on what type of business they run. Below is an example of a customer failing the campaign check due to advertising crypto and lending services on their marketing site.

We also surface these errors in the Pylon UI:

Action: Go to Pylon 10DLC compliance page, and you can update your campaign details and adjust it based off of the feedback received. Then click "Resubmit Campaign".

Note, every time we resubmit we pay $40 to Telnyx, so it's a costly operation.