Overview

On April 17, 2023, Twilio re-launched 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), see our product documentation on Creating a New Sole Proprietor Brand.

Customers with a Tax ID (EIN) should register Low Volume Standard or Standard Brands depending on their traffic requirements. For a deeper comparison of the Brand registration options, see our Comparison between Starter, Low Volume Standard, and Standard registration for A2P 10DLC.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the requirements for Sole Proprietor registration?

Sole Proprietor brands are available to individuals or small business that meet the following requirements:

• No Tax ID: Customer brands that have a tax ID are not eligible for Sole Prop Brands - use a Low Volume Standard Brand instead.
• OTP Verification: Confirm your identity using a One Time Password (OTP) verification step.
• Valid Details: Starter Brands must include a valid and accurate business name, first name, last name, email address, phone number, and physical address. 
• 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.
• ERC's are now supported: More details here: Can I go directly to The Campaign Registry for US A2P 10DLC registration? 
  
  

What are the fees for Sole Proprietor registration?

The following fees apply for Sole Proprietor brands:

• One-time Sole Proprietor Brand registration fee: $4 (previous Starter Brands that were converted by Twilio will be exempt from this fee)
• One-time Campaign vetting fee: $15 (existing Campaigns will be exempt from this fee at this time)
• Monthly Sole Proprietor Campaign fees: $2 (applicable to existing and new Campaigns)
  
  

What are the limitations for Sole Proprietor registration?

Sole Proprietor brands have the following limits:

• 1 Sole Proprietor Campaign per Brand
• 1 Phone Number per Campaign
• 1 Message Per Second (1MPS) throughput limit

*You can only verify your Sole Proprietor Brands with a U.S. or Canadian number from a mobile provider. Using a VoIP number (including Twilio numbers) or any other number not associated with a mobile carrier will result in an error and will keep you from registering your Brand(s).

Do Sole Proprietor Campaigns undergo the new Campaign Vetting process?

New Sole Proprietor campaigns will be subject to the changes in the Campaign Creation process, as well as the newly introduced vetting process.

How do I complete OTP Verification?

For full instructions on how to register Sole Proprietor brands, including how to complete the OTP verification, see our product documentation on Creating a New Sole Proprietor Brand.

What do you need to do if you have unregistered 10DLC traffic in the US?

Register for A2P 10DLC via the Twilio Console or API as soon as possible. 

There are three important requirements under the A2P 10DLC system:

1. Businesses must identify who they are to the carrier networks (Brand registration).
2. Businesses must register what type of messages they are sending, such as notifications (Campaign registration).
3. Businesses must associate all the 10DLC Phone Numbers they intend to send messages from with a Campaign.

We’ve integrated with The Campaign Registry (TCR) to meet the requirements of the ecosystem, while making it easy for businesses and other types of organizations and users to onboard.

Determine your Brand Type

If you’re an individual or small business without a Tax ID, a new Brand registration option called “Sole Proprietor” will be available to you from April 17, 2023.

First, determine whether or not you have a Tax ID (such as a US EIN):

• If you don’t have a Tax ID, and:
  • You’re located in the U.S. or Canada, you can use a Sole Proprietor Brand. This new registration option will be available via the Twilio Console or API on April 17, 2023. See below for additional requirements for Sole Proprietor Brands.
  • You’re outside the U.S. and Canada, you can’t send messages to U.S. recipients via 10DLC phone numbers.
• If the Brand has a Tax ID, and:
  • If you intend to send fewer than 6,000 message segments/day, register via the Low-Volume Standard Brand registration process.
  • If you intend to send more than 6,000 message segments/day, register via the Standard Brand registration process.

If you need help with your Brand type, please review Twilio’s Determine Your Brand Type guide.

Messages from unregistered Twilio phone numbers run the risk of being filtered or blocked. In the future, you may not be able to send messages from unregistered numbers.

Why is this happening?

The U.S. telecommunications industry wants to verify the mobile number of the Sole Proprietor as a way to limit abuse of the Sole Proprietor brand registrations.