How to Register Your Brand for A2P 10DLC on Twilio

Brand registration is the foundational step of A2P 10DLC and the one that causes the most delays when done incorrectly. The Campaign Registry uses your brand record to verify that a legitimate business entity stands behind your messaging traffic, which influences the trust score your campaigns receive and how carriers treat your messages. Errors in your brand submission, particularly a mismatched EIN or business name discrepancy, trigger a secondary vetting process that can add weeks to your timeline.

What Information You Need Before You Start

Before opening the Twilio Trust Hub to begin brand registration, gather your legal business name exactly as it appears on your IRS filings or state incorporation documents. You will need your Employer Identification Number, your business type such as private company, public company, non-profit, or government entity, and your industry vertical from the predefined list. You also need a business website URL, a physical business address, and a contact email address tied to your brand domain rather than a free email provider. Using a Gmail or Yahoo address instead of a company domain email is a common reason brand submissions score lower on automated vetting checks.

The Business Name and EIN Must Match Exactly

The most frequent cause of brand rejection or secondary vetting is a mismatch between the business name submitted and the name on file with the IRS or state business registry. If your IRS registration says Acme Solutions LLC and you submit Acme Solutions without the LLC, the automated check will flag the discrepancy immediately. Submitting a DBA name instead of your legal entity name also causes problems, even if you commonly operate under that trade name. If your business uses a DBA, use the legal entity name for brand registration and note the trade name in your campaign description. EIN verification is cross-referenced against third-party data sources, so there is no workaround for an incorrect EIN.

Standard vs Enhanced Vetting

Standard brand vetting runs automatically through The Campaign Registry within minutes to a few hours and assigns your brand a trust score on the 0 to 100 scale. A score of 75 or above is generally considered strong and results in higher campaign throughput allowances across all carriers. If your brand scores below a threshold, you may be eligible for Enhanced Vetting, a manual review process that costs an additional one-time $40 fee but can raise your score and unlock higher throughput limits. Enhanced vetting requires submitting supplementary documentation such as a business license, a utility bill showing your business address, or articles of incorporation. Not every business qualifies for Enhanced Vetting, and Twilio support can advise whether the investment makes sense for your volume.

Sole Proprietors Without an EIN

Sole proprietors who have not obtained an EIN face significantly tighter restrictions under the Sole Proprietor brand track, including a hard cap of 1 message per second and 1,000 messages per day per campaign. If your SMS program ever exceeds those limits even temporarily, you will see the same carrier filtering as completely unregistered traffic. Obtaining an EIN from the IRS is free and takes minutes online, and it allows you to register as a Standard brand with access to much higher throughput. Registering as a Sole Proprietor when your actual volume requires Standard throughput is a common mistake that causes deliverability problems that look like carrier filtering but are actually a registration category mismatch. Consult with a compliance advisor before choosing your brand type if you are uncertain which track applies to your business.

Conclusion

Brand registration done correctly takes under 30 minutes and protects every campaign you run from that brand going forward, but a single data entry error can stall your entire SMS program for weeks. Speak with our compliance team and we will review your brand submission before you file it to prevent avoidable rejections.