TEXTING RULES GUIDE
Political 10DLC Compliance: A Plain-English Guide for Texas Campaigns
Your campaign texts only reach voters if the carriers trust your number. Here is how political 10DLC registration works, how it connects to Campaign Verify and what to fix before your first send.
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THE BASICS
What is 10DLC, and how does it affect campaign texting?
A2P 10DLC is the carrier system for texts sent from software to people using an ordinary 10-digit phone number. A2P stands for application to person: a message leaves a software platform and lands on someone’s phone. 10DLC means a 10-digit long code, the normal local-style number your supporters already know how to read. A volunteer tapping send inside a texting app is still using an application, so the term covers most campaign texting.
The short version: register first, text second. Carriers treat unregistered traffic as suspect, and your messages can be filtered or blocked before a single voter sees them. Spam and scam texts pushed carriers to require every business and political sender on a standard number to identify itself. That review runs through The Campaign Registry, usually called TCR. Your texting platform submits the details, and the carriers decide how to treat your traffic.
We treat this paperwork like it decides the race, because it can. A campaign runs on a calendar it cannot move, and a filtered early voting reminder gets no second chance. When you would rather hand off the paperwork, our done-for-you Campaign Verify and 10DLC registration help takes it from there. Once you are cleared, our political text messaging service covers the sends themselves.
REGISTRATION
How does 10DLC registration work for a political campaign?
Registration has two layers. First the carriers learn who you are. Then they learn what you plan to send. Political senders add one more piece, a Campaign Verify token, that shows carriers your committee is real.
- Register the brand. Your brand is the legal entity doing the texting, usually the candidate committee or PAC. The name, address and identifiers should match your official filings exactly. Small mismatches are a common reason registrations stall.
- Get verified by Campaign Verify. A nonpartisan nonprofit confirms U.S. campaigns, parties and PACs are who they say they are, then issues a token that makes the political use case available.
- Register the campaign. In 10DLC terms, a campaign is not your race. It is your messaging program: why you text, who gets the messages and what they look like.
- Carrier review. Carriers check that your stated purpose, website and sample messages line up. Anything vague or inconsistent can send the file back.
- Keep it matched. If you change what you send, switch platforms or add a committee, your registration may need an update.
SENDING ROUTES
Should your campaign text from a local number, toll-free or a short code?
Match the route to the job. A volunteer conversation program and a one-way notice program may not belong on the same route. Tell us how you plan to text and we will explain the trade-offs in plain terms. The goal is a route that gets approved and fits your plan, not the one that sounds biggest.
CARRIER RULES VS. THE TCPA
Does 10DLC registration make your campaign texts legal?
No. Registration and the law are two separate systems, and meeting one does not satisfy the other. This is the 10DLC fact campaigns most often miss. 10DLC is a carrier requirement that decides whether the phone companies will carry your traffic. The TCPA, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, is federal law enforced by the FCC, and it shapes who you may text and how.
- 10DLC: will carriers deliver it?
- TCPA: are you allowed to send it?
- Manual P2P texts: sent one at a time, person to person, no prior consent needed.
- Autodialed texts to mobiles: prior consent first.
- Opt-outs: STOP means stop on every platform, and a voter can say stop in any reasonable way. Unwanted texts can be forwarded to 7726, and complaints draw a closer look from carriers.
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Our email and SMS compliance for campaigns page shows how we handle the full set of rules across every channel.
THE CASE FOR VERTICAL WEB ON 10DLC
Rules explained, and the work done for you
TEXAS LAW
What Texas rules apply when your campaign texts voters?
Federal and carrier rules are not the whole picture. Two sections of the Texas Election Code touch campaign texting, whether you are running for a Montgomery County seat or a statewide office.
Political advertising disclosure, Sec. 255.001. If a campaign message is political advertising with express advocacy, Texas requires it to say so and name the person who paid for it, the committee that authorized it or the candidate. A text leaves little room, so we write the disclosure into your templates and landing pages, and your treasurer or counsel signs off on the wording.
Voter file use, Sec. 18.009. Using registrar voter information to advertise or promote commercial products or services is a Class A misdemeanor. That matters when a candidate also owns a business: the campaign text list cannot become a sales list later. See how we source and handle files on our Texas voter data and append page.
A single text can touch all three systems at once. The carrier wants a registered sender. The FCC wants the right consent and a working opt-out. Texas wants a clear disclosure and lawful use of voter data. Set each piece in your templates once, and every send inherits it.
BEFORE YOU LAUNCH
What should you check before your campaign sends its first text?
Many registration delays trace back to one of these six items, and each is easier to fix before a reviewer sees it. If your campaign site is the weak spot, our political campaign website design team can rebuild it.
- Your legal name matches your filings with the FEC or the state or local election office. Nicknames, abbreviations and old names cause trouble.
- A live campaign website with a privacy policy and texting terms that explain what people will receive. A placeholder page invites pushback.
- Clear opt-in language wherever you collect numbers: what they will get, how to stop and where to get help.
- Sample messages that look real, with your campaign name and an opt-out line, true to what you plan to send.
- STOP and HELP handled. STOP processed automatically, HELP answered with who you are and how to reach you, both tested before launch.
- A disclosure line ready if your texts count as political advertising, approved by your treasurer or counsel before the first send.
OTHER SENDERS
Does 10DLC apply to government agencies, colleges and nonprofits?
Yes, but not through the political path. 10DLC applies to almost any organization texting from software on a standard number. The political use case and Campaign Verify are for 527 political committees. Government agencies, colleges, performing arts groups and other nonprofits register as their own kind of sender with their texting platform. Advocacy groups that want to talk about an election but are not 527s fall in this group too, and their counsel should confirm how election rules apply.
The carrier logic is the same for everyone: say who you are, describe what you send honestly, show real samples and make stopping easy. For campaigns, the wider plan lives on our voter outreach services overview and the political consulting hub.
The token that unlocks political texting
How the Campaign Verify authorization token and identity verification process works
Campaign Verify is the step that proves your political organization is real. The verification process checks the identity of the committee, party or PAC against official records, such as your filing with the FEC or the Texas Ethics Commission, and confirms that the person applying is authorized to act for it. Federal committees and state or local committees follow slightly different paths, so have your filing ID, EIN if you have one, and official contact information ready before you start.
When the vetting is complete, Campaign Verify issues an authorization token. Your texting provider submits that token with your 10DLC brand registration, and it tells the carriers that your traffic belongs in the political use case. Without the token, a political campaign is treated like any other sender and can face tighter filtering.
The details on the application have to match. The organization name, address and contact on the Campaign Verify submission should be the same as your filings, your brand registration and your campaign website. Mismatches are the most common reason a step gets sent back. Our Campaign Verify and 10DLC registration service handles each step for campaigns that want it done for them.
Limits, fees and delivery
What does 10DLC cost a campaign, and how do carrier limits and fines affect message delivery?
Yes, there are costs associated with 10DLC. Brand registration, vetting, Campaign Verify and the monthly campaign registration each carry a fee, and many texting providers add their own setup charges. The amounts vary by provider, so ask yours for the full list before you commit, and build them into the budget early.
After registration, the major carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon, decide how much volume you can send. Each carrier applies its own limits, which can depend on your brand vetting results and the trust score attached to your registration. A campaign that registers late, or with weak vetting, may find its daily or per-minute delivery capped right when early voting starts.
Can carriers fine your campaign for non-compliant texting? Carriers can charge non-compliance fees for traffic that breaks their rules, and those fees are usually passed through by your platform. They can also block your number. Consent, clear identification and a working opt-out on every message are the best protection. Our email and SMS compliance page covers the consent side.
For firms that text for clients
What if you are a political consultant who sends messages for client campaigns?
A consultant who texts on behalf of clients should register each client campaign under that client’s own brand and Campaign Verify token, not under the consultant’s firm. The carriers want to know who the message is really from. One brand covering many unrelated committees is a red flag in carrier review.
Keep a simple record for every client: its filing details, token, brand and campaign registrations, sample messages and opt-out list. When a client adds a runoff, switches providers or changes its messaging, update the registration before the next send. That discipline protects your clients and your own reputation with the carriers.
If you run strategy and would rather hand off the texting, we can be your digital shop. You keep the client relationship and the big decisions, and we handle the registration, the sends and the paperwork through our political text messaging service.
STRAIGHT ANSWERS
Political 10DLC questions
Yes, in most setups. Sending by hand is about the TCPA and consent. Registration is about the carriers. If your volunteers send from a texting platform using standard 10-digit numbers, carriers expect that traffic to be registered as your brand and campaign.
Proof that a nonpartisan nonprofit has verified your committee as a real U.S. political campaign, party or PAC. Your texting platform attaches it to your registration, which makes the political use case available. Campaign Verify issues tokens for 10DLC, toll-free and short code messaging.
527 political organizations, meaning candidate committees, parties, PACs and similar committees registered with the FEC or a state, local or tribal election office. Groups organized some other way register through a different path.
It depends on how you send. Under FCC rules, texts sent manually, one at a time and person to person, can go out without prior consent. Texts sent by an autodialer to mobile phones require prior consent. Either way, a voter who asks you to stop must be honored.
Carriers filter or block unregistered traffic. Your texts may never arrive, and you may not find out right away. For a campaign, the cost is time you cannot get back, like a missed reminder during early voting.
No. Carrier registration is a phone industry requirement. It does not satisfy the Texas Election Code, including the political advertising disclosure in Sec. 255.001, and it has nothing to do with your treasurer’s reports.
No. The political use case is for 527 political committees. Government agencies, colleges, performing arts groups and other nonprofits register as their own kind of sender with their texting platform. The same carrier logic applies: say who you are, what you send and how people stop.
No. It is general information to help your campaign understand how texting rules fit together. Rules and carrier policies change, and every campaign’s facts are different. Talk with your treasurer or legal counsel before relying on any of it.
The Campaign Registry, usually called TCR. Your texting platform submits your brand and campaign details there, and the carriers use that record to decide how to treat your messages.
Yes. Brand registration, vetting, Campaign Verify and campaign registration each carry fees, and providers may add setup charges. Ask your provider for the full list.
Carriers can charge non-compliance fees, usually passed through by your platform, and can block your number. Consent, clear identification and working opt-outs are the best protection.
Register each client under its own brand and Campaign Verify token, keep records for each one and update registrations when anything changes.
Get your texts cleared to send
Your volunteers are ready and your calendar is set. Let us handle the registration, the website fixes and the disclosure line so nothing holds up your first send.
Galleria 713-703-3030 | Kingwood 281-852-8253 | info@verticalweb.com