Register for A2P
Self-Serve Registration Process for A2P 10DLC
I’m ready to register for A2P! Is it a self-serve process?
Yes! Avochato users with Owner or Manager permission levels are able to complete A2P registration. We've also enabled trial accounts to apply for A2P. This will give you a head start on the registration process and ideally have a ready use case for your inbox when you upgrade to a paid plan.
How can I verify my business for A2P?
Avochato makes it easy for you to register to A2P in just 3 steps:
- Register for A2P: Business Brand Registration
- Optionally, you can vet your brand to enable it for high-volume.
- Use Case creation
- You can only choose a high-volume Use Case if you completed the optional step 1a above to vet your brand.
- Syncing Use Case to an inbox or a set of inboxes
- You only need to create one Use Case per each specific Use Case you plan to use. If you have multiple inboxes, you can assign the inboxes to a single Use Case.
In order to be verified successfully, you need to complete all 3 steps.
All pass-through A2P fees will be deducted from your account balance. Please refer to our other article A Complete Guide to A2P 10DLC for a full breakdown of fees.
To start, navigate to Settings from the left-hand menu. At the top, you will see a NEW section called "Verify Business" — click on A2P & Use Case. This will take you to the “Verify Business” page.
Step 1: Register for A2P: Business Registration
- Click on the "Register for A2P" button to fill out the form about your business. If this button is greyed out, it means your account is still in trial mode. Make sure you have upgraded your account before applying for A2P 10DLC.
- IMPORTANT: Please ensure all fields are completed accurately.
- EIN must exactly match your business name and your business address on file with your state / government registration.
- To ensure you are using the most accurate information, please locate your EIN Letter from the IRS and use those exact details. This letter will list your exact EIN and business name as its filed with the IRS.
- NOTE: for LLCs, you may need to list the full name of the LLC (including “[Member Name] Sole Mbr”). This is a common error that can lead to delays in approvals.
- Providing inaccurate business information will cause carriers to reject the application leading to additional $4 in fees for each subsequent submission.
- If business type, EIN, business address, and other business details are not accurate before submitting your application, you will need to contact Avochato support to resubmit the details and an additional $4 charge from carriers will be applied.
- Although the “Website” field is not required, it is highly recommended you include it to speed up the approval process for carriers.
The Step 1 submission will process within 10 minutes. Please refresh the page to check status.
After verification, you will see there is a button to “Apply to Vetting” on Step 1. Moving forward on the Apply to Vetting may be required if your anticipated segment volume is more than 5,000 segments within a 24 hour period. Continue reading for more information on Use Case volume selection.
If Step 1: Business verification fails, please contact Avochato Support.
Apply to Vetting Option
Vetting your brand allows you to receive a trust score which can positively impact SMS deliverability by increasing the chances of your messages reaching your subscribers' inboxes instead of getting filtered into spam or promotional folders. Learn more about Vetting here.
Step 2: Use Case
A Use Case shows carriers the types of messages you will be sending to your contacts. The Use Case details you enter will be manually reviewed. Accurate information is important to avoid delays. The most important field to consider is CALL TO ACTION / MESSAGING FLOW. Carriers want to know that you have consent from your users to text. If you do not list a website or other evidence in this field, your use case may be rejected, leading to additional delays in the approval process.
Carriers require the following details in the Use Case:
- Description of the communication you will be sending to recipients
- Call to action / messaging flow with explicit detail on how your contacts opt in to SMS communication.
- Two sample messages that should include “Reply STOP to opt out” or similar compliant opt-out language.
How many Use Cases do I need?
- Avochato allows you to add as many Use Cases as you have. However, you only need to create 1 Use Case per each method of how you plan to use Avochato. For example, if you use Avochato for customer support alone, you only need 1 Use Case. If you use Avochato for high-volume marketing, and customer support, you can apply for 2 separate Use Cases.
- If you have multiple account inboxes within Avochato that are operating under the same Use Case, you may associate up to 49 accounts with the same Use Case. You can do this in Step 3 “Sync’ing a Use Case.”
Select Use Case type based on your volume - Low Volume or High Volume
There are two options for your Use Case.
- Low Volume: Fewer than 5,000 message segments within a 24 hour period
- High Volume: More than 5,000 message segments within a 24 hour period
To determine your volume, go to Analytics and filter by date range.
Not sure if you should select Low Volume or High Volume? Contact Avochato Support for guidance.
If you select High Volume and have not obtained a score, you will see the Vetting Score is Required pop up.
Go back to the main A2P page and click ‘Apply for Vetting.’ Learn more about Vetting here.
What if I am Low Volume now, but I become High Volume later?
That’s great! Once your segment volume qualifies for high volume use case, you need to submit another Use Case and select High Volume. If you anticipate needing High Volume in the future, we recommend obtaining High Volume use case from the start for ease of scale.
How to fill in Use Case fields
USE CASE DESCRIPTION
This description should include the following information: type of business, what kind of messaging you plan on sending, the context of your messages, and who your contacts are. All campaign descriptions must contain at least 40 characters.
SAMPLE MESSAGES
Samples must be two different messages and should mimic the content that will be sent to your contacts as closely as possible, and correlate directly to your use case description. Include any links or phone numbers you plan on sending, and do not use any public URL shorteners.
Make sure you include in each sample message:
- Your business name when introducing yourself to a contact
- Appropriate opt-out language such as “Reply STOP to opt out” in at least one message
OPT-IN METHODS
Select from the drop-down menu how your contacts opt-in to receive messages.
Once you select an opt-in method from the drop down menu, a field where you’ll need to describe the method in detail will appear. Please be thorough in filling this out as insufficient details may result to rejection leading to additional delays and carrier re-application fees. If you have more than one opt-in method, please click “Add another Opt-In Method” to add another field.
SHARE A WEBSITE LINK TO DEMONSTRATE OPT-IN COMPLIANCE
Provide the URL to the website of your business. Please make sure that the URL is correct, working and is under the name of your business. Providing an incorrect or non-working URL is a big red flag for rejection.
ADDITIONAL CHECKS
In addition to the data you have to submit, there are a few additional checks we need to ask before we proceed with submitting your use case.
Direct Lending or Loan Agreement - Will this Use Case be related to direct lending or loan arrangements?
Embedded Link - Are you using any embedded links? Note: Public URL shorteners (ie. bitly, tinyurl) are not accepted.
Embedded Phone Number - Are you using any embedded phone numbers, not including the required HELP information contact phone number?
Age-gated Content - Will this Use Case include any age-gated content, categorized per Carrier and CTIA guidelines?
Terms and Conditions - Confirm that you attest that your business is following CTIA messaging principles and best practices, and is not performing affiliate marketing.
Step 3: Syncing Use Case to an Inbox
- Once a Use Case is approved, an 'Inbox Syncing' column will appear with a drop-down menu. Within the drop-down menu, select the specific inbox(s) that the newly submitted Use Case will be assigned to and click the green Sync button.
- This is an important last step to ensure your account is fully verified on A2P.
- Please note that inbox syncing is disabled for trial accounts. You'll be able to sync your use case to your inboxes once you upgrade to a paid plan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the $4 brand creation fee and $15 manual use case vetting fee refundable?
No, both are not refundable. The $4 fee is passed to The Campaign Registry (TCR) while the $15 fee is passed directly to the wireless industry’s main A2P Direct Connect Aggregator (DCA) who performs the manual vetting. Avochato only passes and does not, in any way, mark-up these fees.
Can I opt out of the manual approvals during use case registration?
No, this is required by the industry. Please note that this is different from the optional $40 brand vetting fee.
How long is the A2P use case registration process?
An A2P use case registration is considered done once it passes the manual vetting done by our DCA. This manual vetting can take up to 4 or more weeks due to an industry backlog of applications.
What happens if my campaign is rejected?
Use case applications can be rejected if you submit incomplete and incorrect information. The $15 manual vetting fee is non-refundable and a re-submission will cost another $15 fee. On top of that, a re-submission can take another 10 or more business days to review and be approved by our DCA. We highly suggest that you verify the information you include in your A2P 10DLC use case application to avoid rejection and unnecessary fees.
Can I still send messages during the vetting process or if my use case is rejected?
No. All messages will be blocked from being sent if it is not associated with an accepted use case.
Does A2P apply to Canada?
No, sending messages from Canada to Canada is currently not in the scope of A2P. However, if you are a Canadian business that is sending messages to US recipients then you will have to comply with A2P rules and register just like any other US businesses.