How to Register for 10DLC in Z360
Want to send text messages to your US customers through Z360? You’ll need to complete 10DLC registration first. Don’t worry — this guide will walk you through every step.What is 10DLC?
10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code. It’s a system that US mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, etc.) put in place to verify that businesses sending text messages are legitimate. Think of it as getting a “verified sender” badge for your SMS messages. Here’s the simple version: before you can send any business text messages using a regular 10-digit phone number in the US, the carriers need to know who you are (your Brand) and what kind of messages you’re sending (your Campaign). Z360 uses Telnyx as its carrier behind the scenes, and the registration is managed by an industry body called The Campaign Registry (TCR). But you don’t need to worry about those details — you’ll do everything from within Z360.Why Should You Care?
Your texts won’t go through without it. Since February 2025, all major US carriers block unregistered business text messages. No registration = no delivery. Better delivery rates. Registered numbers get priority treatment from carriers. Your messages arrive faster and more reliably. Higher sending limits. Registered businesses can send more messages per second. The better your registration (called your “Trust Score”), the more you can send. No surprise fees or fines. Unregistered traffic gets hit with much higher carrier fees. Worse, you could face fines for non-compliance. Registration protects you from all of that.What You’ll Need (Gather This First)
Before you start, pull together the information below. Having everything ready upfront makes the process much smoother. A quick heads-up on accuracy: Your business details must exactly match your official records. For US businesses, that means matching your IRS Form CP-575 (the letter the IRS sends when they assign your EIN). Even small differences — a missing comma, “LLC” vs “L.L.C.”, a slightly different address — can cause your registration to fail. So take a moment to double-check everything against your tax documents before you begin.Your Business Details
- Legal company name — exactly as it appears on your tax registration (not your marketing name or abbreviation)
- DBA (Doing Business As) name — your brand name or trade name. If it’s the same as your legal name, enter it again — this field is required either way
- Business type — are you a private company, publicly traded, charity/non-profit, or government entity?
- Industry — the category that best describes what your business does (you’ll pick from a list)
- Country of registration — where your business is officially registered
- Website URL — your business website address
- EIN (Employer Identification Number) — your federal tax ID from the IRS. If you’re outside the US, use whatever business identification number your country issues
- Business address — your full official address (street, city, state, zip code) as it appears on your tax registration
An Authorized Contact Person
- Email address — must be a real person’s email, not a group alias like info@ or support@
- Phone number — a direct number for someone authorized to represent the business
Your Messaging Details
You’ll need to think through how you plan to use SMS in your business:- What types of messages will you send? Support conversations? Appointment reminders? Marketing offers? Order updates? You’ll pick a “use case” that matches.
- A description of your messaging — a paragraph explaining what you’re sending and why (40–4,096 characters)
- Sample messages — actual examples of texts you’d send to customers. You need at least one per use case, and two if you’re doing marketing. Write these like you’d actually send them.
- How customers sign up to receive your texts — this is called your “Message Flow.” Carriers want to know the specific way customers give consent. For example: “Customers enter their phone number on our website’s contact form and check a box agreeing to receive SMS updates from our business.”
- Opt-in keywords and message — the word(s) customers can text to subscribe (e.g., START, YES, JOIN) and the automatic confirmation reply they’ll get
- Opt-out keywords and message — the word(s) customers can text to unsubscribe (e.g., STOP) and the confirmation they’ll receive
- Help keywords and message — the word(s) customers can text to get help (e.g., HELP) and the reply explaining how to reach support
The Registration Process (3 Phases)
The whole process has three parts: register your brand, create your campaign, and assign your phone number. Let’s go through each one.Phase 1: Register Your Brand
Your brand is your business identity in the system. This tells the carriers who you are. Where to go: In Z360, navigate to Settings → Phone → 10DLC. What to do: Start the brand registration and fill in your business details: Enter your legal company name — this is the single most important field. It must match your tax documents exactly. If your IRS paperwork says “Acme Solutions LLC”, don’t enter “Acme Solutions” or “ACME SOLUTIONS LLC.” Match it character for character. Enter your DBA or brand name. Even if it’s identical to your legal name, you still need to fill this in. Select your organization type from the options: Private Company, Publicly Traded Company, Charity/Non-Profit, or Government. Choose the industry vertical that best fits your business. Enter your country of registration and your EIN. For US businesses, this is the Employer Identification Number assigned by the IRS. For businesses outside the US, enter your equivalent national business identification number. Fill in your complete business address — street, city, state, and zip code, matching your official registration. Provide the email and phone number of an authorized representative at your business. Review everything one more time, then submit. What happens after you submit: Your brand goes through automatic identity verification by The Campaign Registry. They check your details against official records. This usually happens quickly. If everything matches — great, your brand is verified and you can move on to creating a campaign. If your brand is not verified, it’s almost always because something doesn’t match. The most common culprits are the legal company name or EIN not matching your tax records exactly. Go back, compare every field against your IRS Form CP-575 (or equivalent), fix any differences, and try again. If the issue is with the EIN itself, reach out to Z360 support at complaints@z360.biz for help. What it costs: There’s a one-time $4 brand registration fee. This is a pass-through charge from The Campaign Registry — Z360 doesn’t add anything on top. It’s non-refundable. Good to know: You can only create one brand per EIN. If your business has multiple EINs (like separate divisions), each one gets its own brand.Phase 2: Create Your Campaign
Now that the carriers know who you are, you need to tell them what kind of messages you’re sending. That’s what a campaign does. Where to go: Stay in Settings → Phone → 10DLC and navigate to campaign creation. What to do: Select your brand — pick the brand you just registered. Choose your use case. This is the category that best describes the type of messages you’ll send. Here are the most common ones for Z360 users:- Customer Care — back-and-forth support conversations with customers. This is the most common choice for businesses using Z360’s AI agent and inbox for customer communication.
- Marketing — promotional messages, special offers, sales campaigns. Requires two sample messages instead of one.
- Alerts/Notifications — account alerts, appointment reminders, status updates.
- Delivery Notifications — shipping updates, order tracking, delivery confirmations.
- Two Factor Authentication — verification codes and security PINs.
- Mixed — if you send multiple types of messages (like both support conversations and appointment reminders), choose Mixed and select up to 5 sub-use cases. This is a good option if you only have one phone number and use it for different purposes.
- Most use cases: at least 1 sample message
- Marketing: at least 2 sample messages
- Mixed with multiple sub-use cases: 1 sample per sub-use case
- Description too vague or generic — add more detail about what you’re sending and why
- Sample messages don’t match the use case — make sure your examples align with the category you selected
- Message Flow isn’t specific enough — explain exactly where and how customers consent (include your website URL, describe the form, mention the checkbox language, etc.)
- Missing character requirements — description must be at least 40 characters, message flow at least 40 characters, keyword messages at least 20 characters each
- Wrong number of sample messages — double-check you have enough for your use case
Phase 3: Assign Your Phone Number
This is the easy part. Once your campaign is approved, you just connect your Z360 phone number to it. Where to go: Your approved campaign in Settings → Phone → 10DLC. What to do: Select your approved campaign and assign the phone number you’ve rented in Z360 to it. That’s it — your number is now 10DLC compliant and ready to send. A few things to keep in mind:- Each phone number can only be assigned to one campaign at a time
- A single campaign can have multiple phone numbers assigned to it
- If you only have one number and send different types of messages, the Mixed use case (from Phase 2) is your best option
For Sole Proprietors (No EIN)
If you’re an individual running a business without a federal tax ID (EIN), you can still register — but the process is a bit different. During brand creation, select Sole Proprietorship as your entity type. Instead of an EIN, you’ll provide your personal information as it appears on your government-issued ID. After submitting your brand, there’s an extra manual verification step:- Email 10dlcquestions@telnyx.com and let them know you’ve created a Sole Proprietor brand and need a verification PIN
- They’ll send a one-time PIN to the mobile phone number you registered with
- Email that PIN back to 10dlcquestions@telnyx.com
After You’re Registered: Rules to Live By
Congrats, you’re 10DLC compliant! But registration isn’t a “set it and forget it” thing. Here are the rules you need to follow to stay compliant: Send only what you registered for. If your campaign is registered for Customer Care, stick to customer support messages. Don’t start sending marketing blasts under a Customer Care campaign. If your needs change, register a new campaign with the correct use case. Always honor STOP requests immediately. When a customer texts your opt-out keyword, stop sending them messages right away and send the confirmation reply. No exceptions, no delays, no “one more message.” Always reply to HELP requests. When someone texts your help keyword, your system must respond with your help message. This is a carrier requirement. Keep proof of customer consent. You should be able to show how and when each customer opted in to receive your messages. Keep records of your opt-in forms, checkbox language, and any verbal consent processes. Keep your registration up to date. If your business name, address, or other details change, update your 10DLC registration to match. Outdated information can cause verification issues down the line. Don’t try to work around the system. Carriers impose fines for things like sending from unregistered numbers, using techniques to circumvent compliance controls, or misrepresenting your message content. Play it straight and you’ll be fine.Quick Fee Reference
All of these are pass-through charges from carriers and The Campaign Registry. Z360 doesn’t mark them up. One-time fees:- Brand registration: $4 (non-refundable)
- Campaign verification: $15 per submission
- Monthly campaign fee: typically 10/month per campaign (varies by use case)
- Per-message carrier fees: small per-message charges for both sending and receiving on registered 10DLC numbers (these are significantly lower than fees for unregistered traffic)