Phone System · 2 min read
A2P 10DLC Brand Approval Best Practices
What an A2P brand is
An A2P brand is the legal business entity that sends application-to-person text messages. US carriers require every business texting from standard 10-digit local numbers to register a brand before any campaign can be approved. Your brand's vetting result sets your Trust Score, which affects throughput, filtering and daily limits.
How brand approval works
When you register your brand from your Business Profile, your business information is submitted to The Campaign Registry (TCR) for vetting. TCR checks the details against public business records and assigns a Trust Score. Approval usually takes a few days, but secondary vetting can take longer.
Best practices for a strong Trust Score
Use a valid EIN for US companies, not a DUNS number
- US businesses registering a Standard brand must use their EIN. A DUNS number is not accepted for US companies.
- Non-profit and political organizations must use the EIN that matches their tax-exempt or political registration.
- Companies outside the US should use their local tax or business registration number.
Enter your legal company name exactly as registered
Use the exact legal name on your IRS records, as shown on your CP 575 EIN confirmation letter or 147C letter. Small differences such as a missing "LLC" or "Inc." can cause a mismatch. If you can't find these letters, ask your accountant, or request a 147C letter from the IRS.
Make every detail consistent
- The business address should match the address on your tax registration.
- The website should be live and represent the same business.
- The business email should use your own domain where possible, not a free mailbox.
- The authorized representative should be a real person at the company with a working email and phone number.
Pick the right entity type
Choose the entity type (private company, public company, non-profit, government, or sole proprietor) that matches your registration. Sole proprietors without an EIN should use the sole proprietor option, which has lower throughput.
If your brand fails vetting
Review the failure reason in the Trust Center, correct the mismatched details, and resubmit. Most failures come from a legal name or EIN that doesn't match IRS records exactly.