SMS compliance (10DLC)

What 10DLC is and why it matters

In the United States, businesses that send text messages from standard 10-digit phone numbers must register with carriers through a program called 10DLC (10-digit long code). Registration has two parts:

1. Brand — who your business is (legal name, tax ID, address).
2. Campaign — what you'll send (use case, sample messages, how people opt in).

Carriers use this registration to decide whether to deliver your messages. Since February 2025, US carriers block unregistered application-to-person traffic outright — there is no exemption for one-to-one or low-volume texting (software-sent messages are application-to-person regardless of volume). All SMS in Call Helm — one-to-one conversations and broadcasts alike — is therefore blocked until the sending number is on an approved campaign under an approved brand. This isn't Call Helm being strict; it mirrors what the carriers enforce.

Call Helm submits your registration to The Campaign Registry. Only Organization Admins can register, and registration requires a paid plan (registration carries carrier/registry fees). The fastest route is the Sole proprietor path — no EIN, often approved the same day, with a lower message volume — ideal if agents mainly hold one-to-one conversations. Businesses that need higher volume should register with an EIN (a few business days to vet).

Step 1 — Register your brand

Go to Settings → Phone Numbers → SMS Brands and click Create Brand. Provide:

• Brand Name and Legal Company Name
• EIN / Tax ID (stored encrypted)
• Business Type — Sole Proprietorship, Partnership, Corporation, LLC or Non-Profit
• Industry
• Website URL (optional but recommended)
• Business Phone Number, Email Address and full address

All details must match your official business registration — inaccurate information can lead to permanent rejection.

Brand status shows as Pending → Under Review → Approved (or Rejected / Suspended). Brand approval typically takes 3–5 business days. Status is refreshed each time you open the SMS Brands tab.

Step 2 — Register a campaign

Once your brand is Approved, go to SMS Campaigns and click Create Campaign:

• Select Brand (approved brands only) and enter a Campaign Name.
• Use Case — Customer Care, Account Notifications, Delivery Notifications, Appointment Reminders, Marketing, Two-Factor Authentication, Alerts & Notifications, Surveys & Polls, Mixed or Other.
• Monthly Message Volume (1,000 to 100,000).
• Use Case Description and 1–5 Message Samples that represent what you'll actually send.
• Opt-in Method (Web Form, Mobile App, Point of Sale, Paper Form, Phone Call, Retail Store, Other), an optional Opt-in Confirmation Message, and an Opt-in Process Description.
• Content flags: age gating (18+), direct lending, messages contain links, messages contain phone numbers.

Approval times vary by use case: customer care and notifications are usually 1–3 business days; marketing campaigns typically take longer (5–10 business days, sometimes more).

Standard keywords are set up for you: STOP / UNSUBSCRIBE / CANCEL / END / QUIT opt out, START / YES / JOIN opt in, HELP / INFO returns help text.

Step 3 — Link your number to the campaign

For Broadcasts, the sending number must be linked to your approved campaign — the Broadcast wizard shows a 10DLC badge on linked numbers and No 10DLC Campaign on the rest. There is no self-service control for this step yet; once your campaign shows Approved, email hello@callhelm.com with your organization name and the number to use and we'll complete the link.

While you wait

• No SMS sends — one-to-one or broadcast — until your campaign is approved. Attempting to send from an unregistered number returns a clear "register to enable texting" message; the carriers would block the message anyway. Calling is unaffected — only texting is gated.
• The Sole proprietor path is usually the quickest way to start conversing; you can register an EIN brand later for higher volume.
• Verified caller-ID numbers can never send SMS, registered or not.
• If a brand or campaign is rejected, the app shows the registry's reason, and an Organization Admin can correct the flagged details and use Edit & resubmit right from Settings → Phone Numbers. A rejected brand is re-verified as the same brand. A rejected campaign cannot be edited at the carriers — Edit & resubmit sends it as a new campaign submission (tracked on the same record), and each new submission carries a $15 registry vetting fee that is passed through at cost; that fee is not being collected yet. Stuck or unsure? Email hello@callhelm.com.

Your obligations

Get consent before texting, identify your business in messages, honour opt-outs immediately, and only send the kind of content your campaign describes. Call Helm records opt-ins and opt-outs, blocks messages to opted-out contacts, and skips them in broadcasts — but responsibility for consent and content rests with you.