A2P 10DLC Sole Proprietor Brands FAQ Follow

The Basics (What, When, Why, etc)

What do you need to know?

On April 17, 2023, Twilio re-launched the Sole Proprietor Brand registration offering (formerly known as “Starter Brand”) in accordance with the new industry guidelines for sending low-volume messaging.

If you’re an individual or small business without a Tax ID (EIN), see our product documentation on Creating a New Sole Proprietor Brand.

Customers with a Tax ID (EIN) should register Low Volume Standard or Standard Brands depending on their traffic requirements. For a deeper comparison of the Brand registration options, see our Comparison between Starter, Low Volume Standard, and Standard registration for A2P 10DLC.

What are the requirements for Sole Proprietor registration?

Sole Proprietor brands are available to individuals or small businesses that meet the following requirements:

• No Tax ID: Customer brands that have a tax ID are not eligible for Sole Prop Brands - use a low-volume standard Brand instead.
• OTP Verification: Confirm your identity using a one-time password (OTP) verification step.
• Valid Details: Starter Brands must include a valid and accurate business name, first name, last name, email address, phone number, and physical address. 
• US and Canada Addresses: Only valid U.S. or Canadian addresses (including P.O. boxes) are allowed. Addresses in other countries are no longer permitted.
• ERC’s Not Currently Supported: Twilio doesn’t plan to support Externally Registered Campaigns within Sole Proprietor Use Cases. 

What are the fees for Sole Proprietor registration?

The following fees apply for Sole Proprietor brands:

• One-time Sole Proprietor Brand registration fee: $4 (previous Starter Brands that were converted by Twilio will be exempt from this fee)
• One-time Campaign vetting fee: $15 (existing Campaigns will be exempt from this fee at this time)
• Monthly Sole Proprietor Campaign fees: $2 (applicable to existing and new Campaigns)

What are the limitations for Sole Proprietor registration?

Sole Proprietor brands have the following limits:

• 1 Sole Proprietor Campaign per Brand
• 1 Phone Number per Campaign
• 1 Message Per Second (1MPS) throughput limit

*You can only verify your Sole Proprietor Brands with a U.S. or Canadian number from a mobile provider. Using a VoIP number (including Twilio numbers) or any other number not associated with a mobile carrier will result in an error and will keep you from registering your Brand(s).

Do Sole Proprietor Campaigns undergo the new Campaign Vetting process?

New Sole Proprietor campaigns will be subject to the changes in the Campaign Creation process, as well as the newly introduced vetting process.

How do I complete OTP Verification?

For full instructions on how to register Sole Proprietor brands, including how to complete the OTP verification, see our product documentation on Creating a New Sole Proprietor Brand.

What do you need to do if you have an existing Sole Proprietor Brand (Starter) that meets the new requirements?

Existing Starter brands that meet the new requirements will automatically be converted to the new Sole Proprietor offering but will need to be updated with a Brand name and complete OTP Verification.  Starting on April 17, 2023, you can use the Twilio Console or Twilio API to update your existing Sole Proprietor brands with a brand name and a mobile phone number (typically your personal mobile device) that you want to use for OTP verification.

How do I complete this OTP Verification as a Direct Brand?

You can complete this OTP check via the Twilio Console. For a visual guide on this process, see our Existing Sole Proprietor OTP Verification Guide.

How do I complete this OTP Verification as an ISV?

You can complete this OTP check using the Twilio API. For a full overview of how to update your existing Sole Proprietor Brands, see our product documentation on Updating a legacy Starter brand.

What happens if I don’t upgrade my existing Starter Brands?

On July 5, 2023, any SMS and MMS traffic sent to U.S. destinations via Twilio Phone Numbers that are not completely registered will begin to be subject to increased filtering.  Completing this OTP Verification check is a part of being fully registered and any Existing Sole Proprietor Brands that do not complete the check by July 5 will also be subject to this filtering.

If you don’t complete the OTP Verification process by August 31, 2023, your existing Sole Proprietor Brand(s), along with any Campaigns tied to those Brands, will be deleted, and your Twilio phone numbers that you use to send messages with these Campaigns will become fully unregistered. 

Messages from all unregistered Twilio Phone Numbers will be fully blocked after August 31.

What do you need to do if you have unregistered 10DLC traffic in the US?

Register for A2P 10DLC via the Salesmate Regulatory Compliance or API as soon as possible. 

There are three important requirements under the A2P 10DLC system:

• Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks (Brand registration).
• Businesses must register what type of messages they are sending, such as notifications (Campaign registration).
• Businesses must associate all the 10DLC Phone Numbers they intend to send messages from with a Campaign.

We’ve integrated with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to meet the requirements of the ecosystem, while making it easy for businesses and other types of organizations and users to onboard.

Determine your Brand Type

If you’re an individual or small business without a Tax ID, a new Brand registration option called “Sole Proprietor” will be available to you from April 17, 2023.

First, determine whether or not you have a Tax ID (such as a US EIN):

• If you don’t have a Tax ID, and:
  • You’re located in the U.S. or Canada, you can use a Sole Proprietor Brand. This new registration option will be available via the Twilio Console or API on April 17, 2023. See below for additional requirements for Sole Proprietor Brands.
  • You’re outside the U.S. and Canada, you can’t send messages to U.S. recipients via 10DLC phone numbers.
• If the Brand has a Tax ID, and:
  • If you intend to send fewer than 6,000 message segments/day, register via the Low-Volume Standard Brand registration process.
  • If you intend to send more than 6,000 message segments/day, register via the Standard Brand registration process.

If you need help with your Brand type, please review Twilio’s Determine Your Brand Type guide.

Messages from unregistered Twilio phone numbers run the risk of being filtered or blocked. In the future, you may not be able to send messages from unregistered numbers.

Why is this happening?

The U.S. telecommunications industry wants to verify the mobile number of the Sole Proprietor as a way to limit abuse of the Sole Proprietor brand registrations.