If you’re texting your clients, or are thinking about starting, there’s a new rule in town.

The A2P 10DLC rule has gone into effect with some communication providers, like Verizon, already, and is expected to go into effect with all providers this summer.

What’s A2P 10DLC, you ask? A2P stands for “application to person.” And 10DLC stands for “10-digit long code” phone numbers, also known as local numbers.

As a result of this rule, businesses that want to text clients using local phone numbers need to comply with new requirements, regardless of the platform they use to text.

More rules?!

Yep. The Campaign Registry, or TCR, will begin clearing text messages between brands and mobile providers. TCR will check if the message is registered by a brand before instructing the provider to deliver the message.

For the provider to deliver a text message, the message must have been registered under a specific campaign and brand with the TCR. Each brand will be required to register a campaign for each type of message they plan to send.

For example, an insurance agency would likely need to register several campaigns: customer service, surveys, review requests and potentially appointment reminders.

Are there new fees?

Yes. TCR will charge $4 per month per brand registration and $10 per month per campaign. Per message fees on local phone numbers are also expected to go up.

Messages from unregistered brands may not get delivered and/or may be subject to fines.

What ClientCircle is doing

We are building an integration with TCR to automatically register numbers, so you don't need to worry about registering any 10DLC numbers we manage for you.

If you are part of a larger brand, you may be able to register with TCR once, under the "agents and franchise" policy, to save on registration fees for all your agencies. We're working with TCR to understand this process and will keep you updated.

Pricing changes

The TCR has not yet determined when the additional fees will go into effect. As soon as we know when the fees will be active, we’ll let you know and add them to your texting bill.

And while we will pass your new TCR fees on to you, we will be able to collect and remit them on your behalf to make the process easy.

When will this happen?

We expect messages from unregistered brands/campaigns will begin to be blocked by the end of this summer.

More to come.