How to Register an A2P 10DLC Campaign on Twilio

Campaign registration tells carriers exactly what kind of messages you plan to send and how recipients consented. The quality of your submission directly determines your approval odds and throughput score.

Danial A

Senior Twilio Consultant, Telphi Consulting

June 20, 2026

8 min read

Twilio

Compliance

Deliverability

A campaign in A2P 10DLC terms is a specific messaging use case registered with The Campaign Registry and approved by the mobile network operators before you send. Each campaign is tied to your registered brand and to the actual Twilio phone numbers that will be sending messages for that use case. The content of your campaign submission, including sample messages and opt-in description, is reviewed by carrier representatives and is the primary factor in whether your campaign is approved, rejected, or throttled.

Choosing the Right Use Case

The Campaign Registry defines specific use case categories including marketing, account notifications, customer care, delivery notifications, two-factor authentication, polling and voting, public service announcements, and mixed use cases. Selecting the wrong use case is a common cause of campaign rejection because your sample messages then conflict with the declared category. Marketing campaigns face the strictest scrutiny and the highest subscriber opt-in requirements, while transactional use cases like two-factor authentication receive faster approval and less filtering. Mixed use cases exist but result in lower trust scores than purpose-specific campaigns, so registering separate campaigns for marketing and transactional traffic generally produces better throughput. Never select a transactional use case if you plan to send promotional content, as carrier spot-checks that find a mismatch between declared use case and actual traffic result in immediate campaign suspension.

Writing Sample Messages That Pass Review

The sample messages you provide during campaign registration are the most heavily scrutinized part of the submission. They must accurately represent the actual messages recipients will receive, including your business name, the type of content, and an opt-out instruction where appropriate. A sample message for a marketing campaign that omits the business name or the STOP opt-out keyword will be flagged by reviewer and rejected. Avoid using URL shorteners in sample messages because they are a strong spam signal that carrier reviewers are trained to identify. Write sample messages at a professional level, proofread them, and ensure they reflect real message content rather than placeholder text, since reviewers reject submissions with sample messages that read like test content.

Describing the Opt-In Method Accurately

The opt-in description field explains how your subscribers agreed to receive messages and is reviewed to confirm that your consent collection meets TCPA standards. You must describe the exact mechanism: whether it is a web form with a checkbox, a keyword opt-in via SMS, a verbal opt-in recorded on a call, or a point-of-sale sign-up. Vague descriptions such as subscribers opted in online are insufficient and frequently cause campaign rejection or requests for additional information. If you use multiple opt-in methods, list all of them. If your opt-in form includes a specific disclosure statement, include the text of that disclosure in this field. Carriers want to see that you understand how consent was collected and that you can document it if challenged.

Assigning Phone Numbers and What Happens After Approval

After your campaign is approved, you must explicitly assign each Twilio phone number that will send messages under that campaign in the Trust Hub console. Unassigned numbers sending traffic under an approved campaign are treated as unregistered by carriers and face the same filtering as traffic with no registration at all. Campaign approval timelines vary by carrier: T-Mobile typically processes within a few days, while AT&T can take two to four weeks for its manual review. Once AT&T approves your campaign, you can expect throughput improvements on their network almost immediately. A2P 10DLC campaigns must be re-registered or updated any time your use case materially changes; simply amending your actual message content to diverge from the approved use case without updating the campaign registration is a carrier policy violation.

Conclusion

A well-written campaign registration submission is the difference between instant approval with high throughput and weeks of back-and-forth with carrier reviewers that leaves your messages filtered the entire time. Speak with our compliance team and we will draft and submit your campaign registration with the correct use case, sample messages, and opt-in language.