Unregistered 10DLC Message Fees Will Increase; Register Numbers by June 1, 2023, to Avoid Higher Unregistered Messaging Fees

What do you need to know?

To send messages in the US, you must register all 10DLC phone numbers. As a result, AT&T and T-Mobile are increasing the per-message rate on unregistered traffic to motivate unregistered senders to register. If these numbers remain unregistered, they may be subject to additional filtering or blocking.

Some carrier fees will be increased on June 1, 2023, and others will be increased on August 1, 2023.

Most customers are observing significant savings and better deliverability by registering their 10DLC numbers.

Upcoming carrier fee changes summary
Effective Date for Increase
Carrier
Outbound Message Type
Unregistered per-message fee

June 1, 2023
AT&T
SMS
$0.01

June 1, 2023
AT&T
MMS
$0.015

June 1, 2023
T-Mobile
SMS
$0.005

June 1, 2023
T-Mobile
MMS
$0.014

August 1, 2023
T-Mobile
SMS
$0.006

August 1, 2023
T-Mobile
MMS
$0.015

Please refer to this article to see a list of all fees as applicable today.

Why is this happening?

These changes align with the broader industry goals to create a fully registered and verified business messaging ecosystem in the U.S. to protect consumers from SPAM, bad actors, and unwanted messaging.

What do you need to do?

If you have unregistered traffic, register for A2P 10DLC via your account Trust Center before June 1, 2023, to avoid the higher fees and service disruptions. If you’re unsure if you have unregistered traffic, review our help article, how do I check that I have completed U.S. A2P 10DLC registration?

For more guidance on the various A2P 10DLC registration steps and requirements, review our documentation on the A2P 10DLC Campaign Approval Best Practices.

As an alternative to A2P 10DLC, you may also consider using Toll-Free phone numbers and complete Toll-Free Number Registration for your account - Phone (US/Canada) for your use cases; some customers have found Toll-Free number verifications to be simpler and more cost-effective.

What if you don’t take action?

Messages from unregistered numbers will be subject to the increased per-message carrier fees on AT&T and T-Mobile and are also subject to additional filtering.