SMS 10DLC Carrier Fees Explained: Registration, Surcharges & Rates
The complete guide to US 10-Digit Long Code (10DLC) telecom pricing: The Campaign Registry (TCR) brand vetting ($44), recurring monthly campaign fees ($1.50 to $10), and per-message carrier surcharges for AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile.
2026 Official 10DLC Fee Schedule
Granular breakdown of The Campaign Registry (TCR) charges, mobile network operator surcharges, and non-compliance penalties.
| Fee Category | Amount / Rate | Billing Frequency | Recipient / Mandate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard Brand Vetting | $44.00 | One-time | TCR (Third-Party Vetting Agency: Aegis/WMC) |
| Sole Proprietor Brand Vetting | $4.00 | One-time | TCR (For individuals without EIN / Tax ID) |
| Campaign Vetting Fee | $15.00 | One-time per campaign | TCR (Content and opt-in workflow vetting) |
| T-Mobile Campaign Activation Fee | $50.00 | One-time per campaign | T-Mobile USA carrier activation |
| Low-Volume Mixed Campaign | $1.50 / month | Recurring Monthly | TCR (Under 2,000 messages/day throughput) |
| Standard Campaign (Marketing / 2FA / Alerts) | $10.00 / month | Recurring Monthly | TCR (High throughput, 10,000-200,000+ msgs/day) |
| AT&T Outbound SMS Surcharge | +$0.0020 / segment | Per message segment | AT&T Mobility network termination |
| Verizon Outbound SMS Surcharge | +$0.0030 / segment | Per message segment | Verizon Wireless network termination |
| T-Mobile Outbound SMS Surcharge | +$0.0030 / segment | Per message segment | T-Mobile / Sprint network termination |
| T-Mobile Outbound MMS Surcharge | +$0.0100 / MMS | Per media message | T-Mobile multimedia messaging |
| Unregistered / Non-10DLC Penalty Surcharge | +$0.0100 - $0.0150 | Per message attempt | Imposed by all carriers on unapproved DIDs |
| Tier-1 Messaging Violations (SEV-0) | $500 - $10,000 fine | Per violation incident | Carrier fine for phishing, SHAFT, or spoofing |
Live 10DLC Monthly Cost & Compliance Estimator
Calculate your true communications bill including base CPaaS costs (e.g. Twilio/Vonage), TCR monthly campaign fees, and exact carrier surcharges.
Production Code: Intercepting 10DLC Errors (30034 / 30035)
How to capture carrier rejection codes in delivery receipts (DLRs) to detect unvetted campaigns, content violations, or missing opt-outs.
Production Scenarios: True Monthly 10DLC Bills
How 10DLC fees accumulate across bootstrapping developers, mid-market SaaS companies, and high-velocity commerce.
5,000 SMS / Month
Low-volume mixed campaign: password resets, user verification OTPs, and system uptime alerts.
100,000 SMS / Month
Standard 2FA authentication and transactional team notifications across 5 pooled long code numbers.
500,000 SMS + MMS / Month
Order confirmations, delivery tracking, and VIP promotional MMS across dedicated high-throughput routes.
TCR Trust Scores, Daily Buckets & Throughput Economics
How your company's corporate identity directly determines delivery speed and daily carrier capacity limits.
1. The TCR Brand Trust Score Algorithm
When you register a Standard Brand in The Campaign Registry, your corporate identity is evaluated against federal tax databases, Dun & Bradstreet records, state Secretary of State corporate registrations, and public web footprint. Scores are graded into three distinct tiers:
- Low Score (0-24): Typical for newly incorporated startups (<6 months old) or entities with mismatched EIN/legal names. Results in 15 MPS throughput and a T-Mobile daily bucket of 2,000 messages.
- Medium Score (25-74): Standard corporate entities with clean corporate filings. Unlocks 30 to 40 MPS throughput and 10,000 to 40,000 messages/day on T-Mobile.
- High Score (75-100): Established corporations, publicly traded entities, or vetted financial institutions. Unlocks 75 MPS throughput and 200,000+ daily messages on T-Mobile.
2. T-Mobile's Daily Brand Cap Mechanism
Unlike AT&T and Verizon (which enforce per-second throughput limits), T-Mobile enforces a strict Daily Brand Cap. Once your brand reaches its allocated daily message volume to T-Mobile subscribers, all subsequent messages to T-Mobile handsets fail with error 30035 (Daily Cap Exceeded) until midnight Pacific Time. Senders with volumes exceeding 50,000 msgs/day must apply for a Special Review ($5,000 fee) or migrate to a Short Code.
3. Mandatory Opt-in & Opt-out Compliance (CTIA Guidelines)
To prevent campaign rejection and $500 to $10,000 carrier fines, your SMS workflow must implement strict automated compliance handlers:
- STOP / UNSUBSCRIBE: When a recipient texts STOP, UNSUBSCRIBE, END, or QUIT, your CPaaS provider must immediately send an opt-out confirmation and block further dispatches.
- HELP: Replying HELP must return brand name, support contact info (email/phone), and disclosure of message frequency.
10DLC Campaign Approval Checklist
Follow these steps to guarantee 100% first-pass campaign approval without paying $40 re-vetting penalties.
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1. Exact Legal Entity Name & EIN Match: Your Brand Legal Name must match your IRS Form CP 575 or W-9 letter letter-for-letter. Any typo or abbreviation will cause immediate brand rejection.
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2. Public Privacy Policy URL with Explicit SMS Disclosure: Your privacy policy must explicitly state: "No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes." Failure to include this exact phrase causes 95% of campaign rejections.
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3. Explicit Opt-In Mechanism Documentation: You must provide a live URL or screenshot showing the web form where users enter their phone number with an unchecked consent checkbox.
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4. Sample Message Format Compliance: Every sample message must contain your Brand Name and opt-out keywords: "[BrandName] Your security code is 123456. Msg & data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel."
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5. Provision DIDs Under Campaign: After campaign approval, manually assign your long code phone numbers to the verified campaign ID in your Twilio/Vonage console.