Notice: Sole Proprietor A2P 10DLC Registration Launches April 17, 2023 
On April 17, 2023, Twilio will be re-launching the Sole Proprietor Brand registration offering (formerly known as “Starter Brand”) in accordance with the new industry guidelines for sending low-volume messaging.
• If you’re an individual or small business without a Tax ID (EIN), please see New Changes to Sole Proprietor Brands FAQ for more details on how to register on April 17th.
• If you have a Tax ID (EIN) and low traffic requirement (less than 6,000 messages per day), Low Volume Standard Brands can be used for mixed messaging campaigns with multiple use cases, multiple numbers per campaign, and higher throughput than Sole Prop. 
• If you have a Tax ID (EIN) and higher traffic requirement (more than 6,000 messages per day), Standard Brands can be used for multiple use cases, multiple numbers per campaign, and higher throughput.
• For a full overview of the different Brand registration offerings, see our Comparison between Sole Prop, Low Volume Standard, and Standard registration for A2P 10DLC.
New Requirements for A2P 10DLC Registrations 
Effective January 26, 2023, new A2P Campaign registrations are subject to a new vetting process, which includes a one-time $15 campaign vetting fee. For more information, visit our FAQ on A2P 10DLC Campaign Vetting Changes - January 2023.

Due to changes in the A2P 10DLC ecosystem, Twilio has announced New Requirements for A2P 10DLC Registrations including the following changes to Starter Brand eligibility:

• No Tax ID: Brands that have a tax ID are not eligible for Starter Brands - use a Low Volume Standard Brand instead. 
• Valid Business Details: Starter Brands must include a valid and accurate business name, first name, last name, email address, phone number, and physical address. 
• Limited Brands Per Validation: Each phone number can only be used to validate up to 3 brands (including brands registered outside of Twilio). Each email or physical address can only be used to validate up to 10 brands (including brands registered outside of Twilio). Twilio will be removing all brands that have this duplicated information.
• US and Canada Addresses: Only valid U.S. or Canadian addresses (including P.O. boxes) are allowed. Addresses in other countries are no longer permitted.
• Limited Campaigns and Phone Numbers: A Starter Brand can only be tied to one campaign and one phone number.

As part of these changes, Twilio has contacted customers directly informing them of any Starter Brands identified as not having met these new requirements. Please see the following FAQ for a full overview of why customers were contacted and what actions to take.

Why was I contacted?

If contacted, Twilio has identified you as having existing Starter Brands that don’t meet the new requirements outlined above. 

Why is my Starter Brand ineligible?

Most customers will have received a list of Brand ID’s and reason the given Brand is ineligible. For customers with a high number of Starter Brands identified, they were instructed to contact Twilio Support for the full list. 

Below you can find a list of specific "reasons" (the criteria) Twilio is checking related to the new requirements. If you have been contacted, it means at least one of your Brands failed for the following reasons:

User Name Obfuscation The name provided in your business verification information does not qualify as a valid brand based on our check.

Address Duplicate The address provided in your business information was identified as being used in over 10 Starter Brand registrations. 

Corporate Domain You domain was identified as a corporate domain potentially associated with an EIN and not eligible for Starter. 

Display Name Obfuscation The name provided in your business verification information does not qualify as a valid brand based on our check.

Email Duplicate The email address provided in your business information was identified as being used in over 10 Starter Brand registrations. 

International Address Your address was identified as an international and not eligible for Starter. 

Phone Number Duplicate The phone number provided in your business information was identified as being used in over 3 Starter Brand registrations. 

What do you need to do?

If you were contacted or suspect that you have Brands that don’t meet the new requirements, please take the following actions:

• First, determine whether or not the brand has an EIN. 
• If the business for that brand does not have an EIN, it will not be removed by Twilio, as long as it meets the new Starter Brand requirements. 
• If the brand has an EIN, you should re-register it as a Standard Brand.
• When registering as a Standard Brand, determine if you intend to send fewer than 6,000 message segments per day. 
• If you intend to send fewer than 6,000 message segments/day, you should register via the Low-Volume Standard Brand registration process. 
• If you intend to send more than 6,000 message segments/day, you should register via the Standard Brand registration process.
• If you do not have an EIN, but submitted other criteria that makes your Starter Brand ineligible (i.e. duplicate registration information), you will need to re-register as a Sole Proprietor Brand. Please see New Changes to Sole Proprietor Brands FAQ for more details.

What if you don’t take action?

Existing Starter Brands that don’t meet the new guidelines may be removed by Twilio starting November 3, 2022. If that happens, messaging traffic will be considered unregistered, and subject to higher fees and filtering..

If any of the brands we’ve listed should not be removed (i.e. you believe they meet the new requirements), you can ask for an exception by following the steps below.

Can I request an exception if my Brand was mis-identified?

If you were contacted and believe any of  the brands should not be removed as you believe they meet the new guidance, you can ask for an exception.

1. Submit a Ticket through your Twilio Console
2. Set the Subject to “Exception for Starter Brands that are listed as  not meeting the new 10DLC requirements”
3. In ‘Comment’ section, type in the Brand SIDs and the reason(s) for the exception(s)
4. A Twilio technical support engineer will review your exception request

Can I edit my existing Starter Brands? 

Starter Brands that don’t meet the new requirements will need to be re-registered. 

Will my Starter Brands be deleted if I have more than 1 number in my Campaign?

While the 1 number limitation is a new requirement, the current audit is only checking the Starter Brand registration criteria. If you have more than 1 number in your Messaging Service associated with a Starter Campaign, please remove any additional numbers to ensure your Campaign is not affected in the future. 

Why is this happening?

The Campaign Registry (TCR) and US carriers require that every company with a Tax ID (EIN) needs to declare the EIN in order to use 10DLC messaging. Twilio will enforce this requirement and other related requirements on existing Starter Brand registrations, and encourage customers to register for Standard Brands for new registrations. 

Sole Proprietor Brands (what Twilio calls Starter Brands) are intended for hobbyists and small or individual businesses without an EIN or other Federal Tax Registration number. Sole Proprietor Brands are intended for limited use, and the new guidelines enforce this limited use. 

TCR’s changes are aligned with broader U.S. industry goals to drive towards a verified business messaging ecosystem through registration and verification.