The Campaign Registry (TCR) is the industry registry used by US mobile carriers to identify businesses that send text messages from standard local phone numbers. Under the 10DLC framework, a business’s messaging provider registers the business (its “brand”) and each type of messaging it sends (its “campaigns”) with TCR, and the providers and carriers that handle the traffic use that record when deciding whether to accept it, how much of it to allow and how closely to filter it. Most buyers never log in to TCR themselves, but its registration is often why a texting launch takes weeks instead of days.
At a glance
- TCR is where US 10DLC brands and campaigns are registered, usually by your messaging provider on your behalf.
- A brand is your business identity; a campaign is one declared messaging use case with sample messages and opt-in details.
- TCR stores the record but doesn’t approve campaigns; your provider and its upstream partners review and accept them, and vetting results can affect throughput and filtering.
- It applies to local-number texting, not to toll-free numbers or short codes, which have their own approval routes.
- Fees, review steps and limits are set by the registry, carriers and providers and change over time.
What problem it solves
Before a shared registry existed, US carriers had little reliable information about who was sending business texts from ordinary local numbers. Legitimate reminders and spam looked similar, so carriers filtered broadly and good traffic was caught along with bad.
TCR gives the industry a common record of who is sending and why. A registered brand ties messages to a real business; a registered campaign tells carriers what to expect, such as customer care or marketing, and how recipients agreed to receive it. That lets carriers set limits and filtering according to the sender and use case, and trace abusive traffic back to a registered business. For buyers, it is the gate that turns local-number A2P messaging from a grey area into a sanctioned channel.
How it works
Brand registration. Your provider submits your business details, typically legal name, tax ID, entity type, address, website and contacts. Details that don’t match public records are a common cause of delay. Some brands go through additional third-party vetting, which some carriers use when setting limits.
Campaign registration. For each use case you describe what you will send, provide sample messages, explain how people opt in and confirm how opt-outs and help requests are handled. Campaign types such as marketing, account notifications or mixed use may be reviewed differently.
Review. TCR itself doesn’t approve or reject campaigns. The submitting provider, often called a campaign service provider (CSP), shares the campaign with its upstream connectivity partners, which review it and accept or decline it; review by the mobile carriers themselves mainly applies to certain special use cases. Campaigns can be accepted, declined or returned for changes at different points in that chain, so ask your provider where a campaign is stuck. Common reasons for rejection include vague descriptions, sample messages that don’t match the use case, missing opt-in details and websites that don’t support the stated business.
Number linking. Approved campaigns are linked to the long code numbers that will send them. Messages are expected to match the campaign they’re sent under.
Ongoing. Registration is not a one-time event. New use cases may need new campaigns, changes in business details may need updates, and traffic that drifts from its campaign or draws complaints can still face carrier filtering.
The exact steps, vetting options and fees differ by provider and change as carriers update their requirements, so treat your provider’s current guidance as the reference. Our CPaaS solutions page covers how to compare messaging providers more broadly.
When it matters for buyers
- Launching texting from a cloud phone system, contact center or app. Registration is usually a prerequisite and review time belongs in the launch plan.
- A campaign is rejected. Knowing what was submitted, and by whom, speeds up the fix.
- Throughput or daily volume feels too low. Vetting results and campaign type can influence the limits carriers apply.
- Switching providers. Brands and campaigns may need to be moved or re-registered, and numbers relinked.
- Adding a use case. Sending marketing under a customer-care campaign risks filtering; a new campaign may be needed.
Questions to ask vendors
- Do you register our brand and campaigns, and what information and documents do you need from us?
- Will you review our campaign descriptions and sample messages before submitting?
- What one-time and recurring registration and vetting fees will we pay, and are they passed through at cost?
- Which vetting options do you recommend, and how might they affect our limits?
- When a campaign is rejected, how do you tell us why and how quickly can it be resubmitted?
- If we move to another provider, how are our brand, campaigns and numbers transferred?
How it differs from 10DLC
10DLC is the overall US framework for business texting from local numbers: the rules, the carrier policies and the expectation that traffic is registered. The Campaign Registry is the registry inside that framework where the brand and campaign records live. Put simply, 10DLC is the program and TCR is where your enrollment is recorded; the review and acceptance happen with your provider and its upstream partners. Toll-free texting uses a separate toll-free verification process rather than TCR.