As of March 31, 2023, most DCAs (direct connect aggregators) participating in the 10dlc registration process will not support any A2P messages from unregistered long-codes. Along with this new deadline, this post has been updated with the most recent fees and fines. (March 2023)
So, here’s the lowdown on the current fees and fines related to 10dlc registration. Some imposed by The Campaign Registry (TCR), some imposed by the U.S. carriers. Please don’t heckle the messenger…we’re not fond of all of the pricing changes, but we do support the effort being made to to clean up the SMS ecosystem, to cut back on spammers and improve throughput for conscientious and righteous SMS use.
That said…these do have a tendency to change on a whim, we’ll try to keep our readers informed if/when they do again.
The Campaign Registry Fees:
Billed and collected by TCR.
Registration fees:
One-time fee, paid upon registration, either through TCR or Red Oxygen depending on who you register through.
- Brand Registration: $4 non-recurring fee per brand
- Brand Reverify: $4 non-recurring fee per brand (if initial registration information is missing or has insufficient information)
- Third Party Vetting: $40 non-recurring fee per brand (if requested by customer)
Campaign fees:
Campaign fees are billed by TCR every three months, in advance, when you use Red Oxygen, we split the invoices so you pay only the monthly rate, so you don’t have to pay for all three months up front. Most companies land in the two highlighted categories.
Campaign (Standard): $10 monthly recurring charge
- Campaign (Special): $10 monthly recurring charge
- Campaign (Agents & Franchises): $30 monthly recurring charge
Campaign (Low Volume/Class T): $1.50-$2.00 monthly recurring charge
- Campaign (Charity): $3 monthly recurring charge
- Campaign (Emergency): $5 monthly recurring charge
U.S. Carrier Registration Fees
Billed and collected by the carrier, but only as a pass-thru on the provider invoice, e.g. Red Oxygen.
- T-Mobile/Sprint:
(As of March 1, 2022) $50 fee for each new campaign registered through TCR. ($1 for companies designated by TCR as a sole-proprietor). If you have new campaigns being sent using Red Oxygen, you’ll have the option to pay the $50 upon sign-up, we will amortize the fee over a year, $5/mo (12 mo. = $60), as a service to our customers.This fee has been eliminated, as of September 1, 2022. - (as of February 2023) Mandatory manual vetting by mobile operators: $15 one-time fee, if of course the information is incorrect, or you do not pass the vetting for message content or use, you’ll have to go through and pay for this vetting after your information has been updated. (this process can take 2 hours to 2 weeks…so don’t wait to sign up if you have an important SMS you plan on sending out tomorrow)
- All other carriers: As of this posting, there are no other carrier specific registration fees that have been announced or threatened…but if it happens, we’ll update you as soon as we learn about it.
Additional Carrier Surcharges
Billed and collected by the carrier, but only as a pass-thru on the provider invoice, e.g. Red Oxygen.
Dependent on the U.S. Carrier of the recipient: $0.002-$0.005 per outbound SMS credit
Fines for non-compliance
- AT&T: $0.004 per SMS credit on any unregistered account/number, with possible throttling and blocking
- Beginning June 1, 2023, AT&T will increase carrier fees for unregistered messages.
- Verizon: Currently no monetary penalty, but messages will be throttled and blocked
- US Cellular: Currently no monetary penalty, but messages will be throttled and blocked
- T-Mobile/Sprint:
- $0.004 per SMS credit on any unregistered account/number, with possible throttling and blocking
- Upon complaint of unverified 10dlc sender: $10,000
- Program evasion: $1,000 per event
- Content violation: $10,000 per instance/SMS, includes but not limited to content proven SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco), or violation of T-mobile’s code of conduct or CTIA’s handbook
- Gray route fines have been threatened, but not enforced at the moment.
- (As of January 2023) Non-campaign usage fee: If a registered campaign doesn’t send a message to a T-Mobile phone every 60 days, a fine of $250 will be applied to your invoice for each campaign.
- Red Oxygen is doing everything we can to help customers avoid this fine, especially since you can’t pick what phones your recipients use there’s no way to control this without forcing it to happen.
- Beginning June 1, 2023, T-Mobile will increase carrier fees for unregistered messages.
- August 1, 2023 a 2nd increase for T-Mobile carrier fees for unregistered messages
As with every other rule ever written, there are exceptions, but they are rare. For example, emergency services, educational public safety campaigns and if T-Mobile approves special treatment.
So, what does this mean to me?
A few FAQs, but please Contact Us if you don’t see the topic below.
Can I choose what network delivers my messages?
No, the carrier is determined by the mobile service the recipient’s contracted mobile plan is through.
What if my budget doesn’t allow for these charges, does that mean I can’t send SMS?
There’s not a way to bypass the registration charges, but Red Oxygen still may be able to help. Please contact a Red Oxygen sales rep to see if there’s a better plan for you, or if we can create something custom that might keep your messages flowing.
What if I don’t register?
Are there alternatives for 10dlc numbers?
Not any that are local to your business. The other options are toll-free numbers or a dedicated short code, both also have some sort of verification/registration to help ensure messages don’t get blocked. The carriers still want to know who you are and what you’re sending.
Red Oxygen Has Experts to Assist You
Red Oxygen is here to help with the process and will gladly answer any questions you might have.
Jump on our live chat or call us to immediately talk to a live person…those that are a bit more shy are welcome to send a support ticket, and we’ll get back with you ASAP.