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10DLC registration cost and process

Registering a US business for 10DLC costs $46 one time for a standard brand with secondary vetting at The Campaign Registry ($4.50 to register the brand, $41.50 for the vet), plus a $15 review per campaign at Twilio and Telnyx, then $10 a month per standard campaign ($1.50 to $30 by use case). Your SMS provider files the registration for you: the brand first, then each campaign. Registered texts then carry carrier fees of $0.003 to $0.005 each, against $0.010 to $0.012 unregistered.

Alain Grossbard OAM Alain Grossbard OAM, with Max Adler Updated How we rate Reader supported, we may earn a commission

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What your 10DLC registration costs

Brand registration, one time
$46
Campaign review, one time
$15
Campaign fees, every month
$10
Registration, first 12 months
$181
Carrier fees a month, registered
$35 to $45
The same texts unregistered
$100 to $120

Carrier fees use the lowest and highest outbound fee per SMS the provider publishes across AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon ($0.0035 to $0.0045 at Twilio); unregistered fees are Bandwidth's ($0.010 to $0.012). Message charges are not included.

10DLC fees at The Campaign Registry and three providers

US dollars, read 21 September 2026. Twilio and Telnyx pass TCR's fees through; Bandwidth publishes its own prices
FeeTCRTwilioTelnyxBandwidth
Standard brand with secondary vetting, one time$46$46Not published$92
Low volume standard brand, no vetting, one time$4.50$4.50$4.50$9
Sole proprietor (no EIN), one time$4$4.50Not publishedNot published
Campaign review, per campaignNot in TCR's schedule$15$15None listed
Standard (marketing, mixed, notifications, 2FA, customer care and the other $10 use cases), a month$10$10$10$20
Low volume mixed, a month$1.50$1.50$1.50$3
Sole proprietor, a month$2$2$2$4
Charity (501(c)(3) nonprofit), a month$3$3$3$6
Emergency services, a month$5$5$5$10
Agents and franchises, a month$30Not published$30$60

Sources: TCR's fee schedule (last updated 13 August 2026); Twilio, Telnyx and Bandwidth. Telnyx's campaign fees are TCR's at cost ("does not currently charge a markup"); it does not list a vetting or sole proprietor price. An Enhanced Vet costs $101.50 at TCR, Authentication+ for public companies $12.50 a vet, and a vet appeal $11.

Carrier fees per text on 10DLC

Outbound, per SMS segment, as the providers that pass them through publish them, read 21 September 2026
CarrierRegisteredUnregistered (Bandwidth)
AT&T $0.0035 Bandwidth from 4/1/2026; $0.0035 Twilio; $0.003 Telnyx $0.010
T-Mobile $0.0045 Bandwidth from 1/19/2026; $0.0045 Twilio; $0.003 Telnyx $0.012
Verizon $0.0045 Bandwidth from 5/1/2026; $0.005 Bandwidth from 10/1/2026; $0.0045 Twilio; $0.0045 Telnyx $0.010
US Cellular $0.005 Bandwidth from 1/19/2026 Not published

No carrier's own fee schedule was reachable, so each figure is the provider's, named in the row. Telnyx lists AT&T and T-Mobile lower than Bandwidth and Twilio. T-Mobile adds, at Bandwidth, $250 for a non-use fee and $500 for a special business review.

What is 10DLC registration?

10DLC registration is the process of recording a business and its texting use with The Campaign Registry (TCR). 10DLC itself means a standard ten digit US local number a business uses to send application to person (A2P) texts. The registration records the business, called the brand, and each use of texting, called the campaign. You register through your SMS provider, and the provider passes TCR's fees on to you. The fees are the subject of the rest of this page.

The registration steps

Choose your brand type

Pick the brand type that matches your business before you submit anything. TCR's fee schedule, last updated 13 August 2026, charges $4.50 to register a government, nonprofit, private or public company and $4.00 for a sole proprietor. A low volume standard brand skips secondary vetting, and a standard brand with secondary vetting pays the third-party Standard Vet fee of $41.50.

Register the brand

Submit the brand through your SMS provider, since TCR charges registration to the CSP account the provider holds. Twilio charges $46 one time for a standard brand with secondary vetting, the $4.50 brand fee plus the $41.50 Standard Vet, and $4.50 for a low volume standard brand without vetting or a sole proprietor brand. Telnyx charges $4.50 for brand registration, with no markup on 10DLC fees.

Register each campaign

Register every campaign by use case, since TCR bills campaign fees monthly per campaign. Standard use cases such as marketing, mixed, 2FA and customer care cost $10 a month, Low Volume Mixed costs $1.50, and Sole Proprietor costs $2. Twilio and Telnyx each charge a $15 vetting or campaign review fee, and Telnyx bills campaign fees for three months initially, then monthly.

Send and budget for carrier fees

Send on the registered number and budget for the carrier fees each text carries. Providers that pass them through, as read 21 September 2026, list AT&T at $0.0035, T-Mobile at $0.0045 and Verizon at $0.0045 per outbound SMS on registered traffic. Unregistered traffic at Bandwidth costs more, at $0.0100 for AT&T and Verizon and $0.0120 for T-Mobile per SMS.

10DLC, toll-free and short code

The three US number types for business texting, from the registry's and providers' own pages, read 21 September 2026
10DLCToll-freeShort code
RegistrationBrand $4.50, vet $41.50, campaign from $1.50 a monthVerification $0 at Twilio and TelnyxLease paid up front for 3, 6 or 12 months
Number, a month$0.50 (Plivo) to $1.15 (Twilio)$2.15 Twilio; $1 Telnyx$500 random or $1,000 chosen (registry); $1,000 random, $1,500 vanity (Twilio)
Published throughputTwilio up to 225 a second per campaign; Sinch up to 75 a second with MNO approvalSinch 10 a second standard; Telnyx 20 a second per number; Plivo 25 a second verifiedTwilio 100+ a second; Sinch 500 a second; Telnyx 1,000 a second per number

Brand registration at TCR's own schedule costs $4.50, or $46 in all for a standard brand with secondary vetting, with campaign fees from $1.50 a month and carrier fees per text on top. Verification is free at Twilio and Telnyx for toll-free, and the number costs $2.15 a month at Twilio and $1.00 at Telnyx. Published throughput runs from 10 texts a second at Sinch to 25 a second on a verified toll-free number at Plivo. Short codes cost the most. The Short Code Registry leases a code you choose for $1,000 a month and a random code for $500 a month, paid up front for three, six or 12 months. Published throughput runs from 100 texts a second at Twilio and Plivo to 1,000 per short code at Telnyx. On 10DLC, Twilio publishes up to 225 messages a second per campaign. For volume pricing, see our page on bulk SMS providers.

10DLC questions

What does 10DLC registered mean?

10DLC registered means the business and its texting use are recorded with The Campaign Registry (TCR). The registration covers the brand, which is the business, and each campaign, which is one use of texting such as marketing or customer care. You register through your SMS provider, and TCR's fees apply.

How much does 10DLC cost?

TCR's fee schedule, last updated 13 August 2026, charges $4.50 for brand registration, and a standard brand with secondary vetting costs $46 in all, the $4.50 brand fee plus the $41.50 Standard Vet. Campaign fees run monthly, from $1.50 for Low Volume Mixed to $10 for standard use cases. Carrier fees per text apply on top, such as $0.0035 for AT&T on registered traffic.

What is The Campaign Registry?

The Campaign Registry (TCR) is the body that records 10DLC brands and campaigns. Your SMS provider registers through its CSP account, which TCR charges a $200 setup fee for, and providers such as Twilio and Telnyx pass TCR's fees on to their customers. TCR publishes its fee schedule as a PDF.

How much does a short code cost?

The Short Code Registry leases a code you choose for $1,000 a month and a random code for $500 a month, for three, six or 12 months paid up front, non-refundable. Twilio charges $1,000 a month for a random code and $1,500 for a vanity code, billed quarterly, with a setup fee whose amount it does not state.

What is the difference between 10DLC, toll-free and short code?

10DLC is a standard ten digit local number registered with TCR, with a $4.50 brand fee and campaign fees from $1.50 a month. Toll-free verification is free at Twilio and Telnyx, and the number costs $1.00 to $2.15 a month. A short code is a leased number at $500 to $1,000 a month, with published throughput up to 1,000 texts a second at Telnyx.