Phone Number Registration FAQs

General Overview

What is messaging compliance and why does my business need it?

Businesses can send Application-to-Person (A2P) type messaging via standard 10-digit long code phone numbers. Carriers consider all Twilio traffic to be A2P. Carriers’ offerings provide better delivery quality and lower filtering risks compared to the old system of long code SMS while still using the same phone numbers.

What is an “excerpt from a commercial register”?

This will be a piece of federal documentation (such as your tax forms or corporate registration) that prove your business is legitimate and verifies all of your business information for review by the carriers.

• Example: For the USA, this would be your CP-575.

Guidance for companies in Canada.

If your primary business registration is in Canada, please enter your Canadian Corporation Number, which may be federal or provincial. Please do NOT enter your business number or federal tax ID number, as that is not readily cross-referenced. As always, please ensure that your legal company name is consistent with your corporation registration and is properly spelled. The address you enter should also match the address you registered with Corporations Canada.

Guidance for companies in the rest of the world. 

Please enter the numeric portion of your VAT ID number. If you don't have a VAT ID, please provide the primary corporation registration number or tax ID number for your country.

Use a Valid Tax ID for companies based outside of the U.S.

For private and public profit companies, the provided business registration authority and legal company name need to match your registration sources. 

Please note:

• All customers creating a Business Profile must provide a valid Tax ID. 
• For Standard Brand Registration or customers with an international presence, a Tax ID from their country is required.

My company was acquired by another company, whose information do I provide?

The guidance is always to provide the same business information you would use for your tax reporting at that given time.

My company is registered under A2P 10DLC and UKRC, which brand will be prioritized?

The US Brand will be prioritized.

My company’s business information has changed, how can I update my A2P Brand? 

It’s important that your registered business information stays accurate and up to date for your Brand. Currently, once your Brand and Business Profile are approved, you cannot make changes to them through the console or API, so if you need to update any information in your Brand/Business Profile, please reach out to Twilio Support with the necessary changes. 

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United States: A2P 10DLC Compliance

How does A2P 10DLC work?

There are two important requirements under the new A2P 10DLC system:

• Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks (Brand registration).
• Businesses must register what type of messages they are sending, i.e. notifications (Campaign registration).

What is Authentication+?

Starting October 7, 2024, a new brand identity verification step known as Authentication+ will be required for new and existing brand registrations for public, for-profit entities.

Once you have completed the 10DLC form and your registration is approved (which on average  takes 4-6 weeks once Paradox receives it), you will need to verify your identity through two-factor authentication (2FA).

• You will receive an email from the Campaign Registry (TCR) sent from noreply@auth.campaignregistry.com. If you do not see it in your inbox, please check your spam folder.
• You will have 7 days to complete verification before this link expires.
• The email will include instructions to confirm that the email address used during registration is both valid and associated with your brand.
• The verified email address will also serve as the primary contact for any future 2FA requests from TCR.
• Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks (Brand registration).
• Businesses must register what type of messages they are sending, i.e. notifications (Campaign registration).

How will Authentication+ impact existing brands and new brands?

If existing clients do not provide a brand contact email and complete the 2FA process, they will not be able to register new campaigns for their brand. Active campaigns will not be affected. New campaign registration will be blocked until the verification is complete.

• Once provided, they will need to follow the steps outlined in the “What is Authentication+?” section above.

Use a valid EIN for US-based companies – not a DUNS number.

For private and public for-profit companies, the provided EIN and Legal Company Name must match business registration sources. Please ensure: 

• For Standard A2P 10DLC brand registration, customers with a US presence must use an EIN number.
• A DUNS number is not acceptable for US companies creating Standard A2P Brand registrations. A DUNS number should only be used in Business Profile creation if you do not want to use US A2P messaging and only want to use Stir/Shaken for Voice.
• For non-profit and political organizations, the EIN provided has to match the Legal Company Name available in the list of tax-exempt organizations or registered political organizations. Learn more in Nonprofit and Government Guide to A2P 10DLC Text Messaging.

Common customer errors for EIN/Tax ID.

• Using an incorrect business name, such as the name of the messaging provider, or a trade name of the company instead of the official legally registered name.
• The number entered in the EIN field is not a valid EIN or home country company ID number.
• Providing a DUNS number instead of an EIN for a US-based company.

Check your business address.

For all entity types, a mismatch in one of the following might produce a lower Trust Score:

• Address/Street line
• City
• State
• Postal Code/Zip Code
• Country

Please note: Submitting the address of a local branch or any address different from the official registered company address might produce a mismatch with a negative impact on the Trust Score. 

Supported stock exchanges.

For public for-profit companies, the stock ticker symbol and the designated stock exchange must match available sources. Available stock ticker values are as follows:

• NONE
• NASDAQ
• NYSE
• AMEX
• AMX
• ASX
• B3
• BME
• BSE
• FRA
• ICEX
• JPX
• JSE
• KRX
• LON
• NSE
• OMX
• SEHK
• SGX
• SSE
• STO
• SWX
• SZSE
• TSX
• TWSE
• VSE
• OTHER

Other factors.

The following factors will impact the Trust Score, but cannot be influenced by data submitted:

• Company size: For all companies, points are earned for the detected size of the company based on independent sources of employee count and revenue.
• Years in operation: All companies earn points for their years in operation and domain age.
  

Is an EIN number required?

For A2P standard brand registration for US entities, EIN is required and mandatory. DUNS will result in an error and puts the brand in an Unverified state preventing customers from proceeding with next steps. DUNS is not an acceptable format for A2P brand registration.

Is messaging to Canada or any other countries also affected by these changes?

No. Canadian mobile carriers may introduce registered A2P 10DLC solutions in the future, but at this time carriers have not announced any plans to do so.

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United Kingdom: Regulatory Compliance

How does UKRC work?

There are two important requirements under the new UKRC system:

• Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks and confirm business presence/operations in the UK.
• Businesses must register what type of messages they are sending, i.e. notifications (Campaign registration).

Will there be any fees for registering my UK long codes?

No, there are no fees to register UK long codes.

What if I have multiple entities in multiple countries, which should I use for registration?

We recommend using your UK entity for registration (if you have one).

Do I have to be registered with the UK Companies House?

No, but you will need valid commercial registration (with documentation to confirm it) in order to register UK phone numbers.

If I have a valid UK address, but am not registered with the UK Companies House, which long codes am I eligible to use?

You will only have access to UK Mobile or UK Toll Free numbers.

If I don’t have an entity within the UK or have registration with the UK Companies House, which long codes am I eligible to use?

You will only have access to UK Mobile or UK Toll Free numbers.

If I have registration with the UK Companies House, which long codes am I eligible to use?

You will be able to use UK Local, UK Mobile, or UK Toll Free numbers.

What documentation is required for proving my business name?

You'll need to provide an excerpt from the commercial register.

• Example: In the UK, a Company Record or Certificate of Incorporation would suffice. For the USA, this would be your CP-575.

What is a registration authority?

It’s the name of the entity where your business is registered (if it’s not already registered with the UK Companies House). 

• Example: In the UK this would be the Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) and for the USA, this would be the Employer Identification Number (EIN).

What documentation is necessary for proving the registration authority?

Please provide an excerpt from your local commercial register.

• Example: In the UK, a Company Record or Certificate of Incorporation would suffice. For the USA, this would be your CP-575.

Is proof of business registration number required?

Yes, you'll need to provide an excerpt from your local commercial register which shows your business registration number.

• Example: In the UK, a Company Record or Certificate of Incorporation would suffice. For the USA, this would be your CP-575.

What documentation is necessary for proving the business or emergency addresses?

No documentation is required for the business or emergency address, but it must be a valid address.

What if my emergency address is different from my business address?

No documentation is required but again, the address must be valid.

What is an authorized representative?

Your authorized representative should be a senior person in the company who is responsible for managing your phone numbers.

Can I use any phone number for the authorized representative?

No, it must be a valid mobile number where the representative can be directly reached. Numbers acquired from CPaaS providers such as Twilio are not acceptable.

I am a client and I don’t have the required identity or address documents, what do I do?

Unfortunately, you will not be able to use Twilio’s UK long codes without proper documentation.

What happens to my messaging traffic if I do not submit any registration information? 

Unfortunately Twilio customers will not be able to buy new UK Longcodes without an approved UKRC bundle after May 6th, 2024. Numbers purchased before May 27th will be able to continue service up until September 30th. If you have not registered your numbers by September 30th, all traffic will be blocked.