Business Messaging 10DLC Compliance Fees

Under the TCPA and FCC regulations, third-party entities including The Campaign Registry (TCR) work with companies like Nextiva to register businesses for A2P 10DLC (Application‑to‑Person, 10‑Digit‑Long‑Code) Business Messaging to protect consumers through transparency and trust under 10DLC compliance guidelines.

TCR charges various fees to manage mandated Business Messaging registrations, as do SMS aggregators, mobile carriers, and third-party vetting services required by the mobile carriers for various use cases. Company registrations for all business messaging SMS/MMS traffic incur fees from third parties under these regulatory guidelines. Business Messaging fees incurred by customers fall into three categories:

Upfront registration, setup, verification, or vetting fees – fees charged for initial company (“Brand”) and Campaign registrations for business messaging.
Recurring maintenance fees – a monthly fee for each messaging “campaign” or intended use case registered with mobile network operators.
Additional fees, penalties, or surcharges – fees and penalties carriers may assess for failure to properly use your registered campaign or for violating SMS policies.

What this means for Nextiva customers

Below is a summary of the most common 10DLC compliance fees incurred by customers.

Example:

$19.00 in upfront fees (Business Messaging 10DLC Brand Registration Fee + Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Setup Fee)

$1.50 in recurring fees (Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Low Volume Mixed)

Month 1 - Invoice: $20.50

Month 2 - Invoice: $1.50

IMPORTANT:
TCR, SMS aggregators, mobile network operators, and other entities regularly update fee schedules and policies. Nextiva highly recommends periodically reviewing this article for the latest updates. Compliance fees are subject to change at any time.

Upfront Registration, Setup, Verification, or Vetting Fees

Fee	Fee Charge (USD)	Notes
Business Messaging 10DLC Brand Registration Fee	$4.00	Paid to TCR for each legal entity
Business Messaging 10DLC Brand Reverify Fee	$4.00	Brand Resubmission is required after editing any Brand details
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Setup Fee	$15.00	Vetting and verification of Business Messaging campaigns submitted to carriers for review. One charge per submission

Recurring Maintenance Fees

Campaign Maintenance Fee by Use Case Use case refers to the	Fee Charge (USD)	Notes
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Low Volume Mixed	$1.50	Companies that have multiple use cases and only need very low messaging volume
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Sole Proprietor	$4.00	Limited to individuals or small businesses without an EIN / Tax ID, and requires a separate contract
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Mixed	$10.00	For companies that have multiple use cases and want to run them on the same campaign
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Account Notification	$10.00	Standard notifications for account holders, relating to and being about an account
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Two Factor Authentication	$10.00	Any authentication, verification, or one-time passcode
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Customer Care	$10.00	All customer care interaction, including but not limited to account management and customer support
Business Messaging 10DLC Campaign Maintenance Fee - Other	$10.00	All other use cases

NOTE: For the best quality of service, there may be times when more than one connectivity partner is necessary for your business. When that happens you may see more than one Campaign Maintenance Fee on your invoice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does 10DLC compliance exist?
US mobile carriers created 10DLC to reduce spam and improve deliverability of legitimate business messaging.

What happens if I don’t register?
Your messages may be throttled or blocked, and carriers will assess higher “unregistered” surcharges.

How do I register my Business Messaging?
This article will walk you through brand creation, vetting, and campaign setup. Most customers complete the process in under 15 minutes.

Can I use a single brand for multiple campaigns?
Yes. One brand can register multiple campaigns. For example, separate campaigns for marketing promos and two‑factor authentication.

Will these fees appear on my Nextiva invoice?
Yes. One‑time and recurring fees will display as separate 10DLC fee line items. Per‑message surcharges may appear in the usage section.

Are there fines for non‑compliance?
Yes. Carriers may levy fines (often $500 to $10,000) for prohibited content, snowshoeing, or deceptive opt‑in flows. Nextiva will pass these through at-cost.

Snowshoeing involves spreading similar messages across multiple numbers as a way to avoid per number rate limits and volume limitations. Snowshoeing is a common technique used by spammers. Adopting this technique often results in your messages being blocked based on your message content, including your URLs.

Best Practices to Keep Costs Down

Consolidate similar use cases into one campaign where possible (e.g., account and delivery notifications).
Vet your brand once at the standard level; upgrade to enhanced only if higher throughput (volume of SMS messages per day) is required. Do not change the registered details of your Company (“Brand”).
- Enhanced vets are optional and are used to potentially gain access to higher throughput levels. An enhanced vet is a manual process that looks deeper into history, lawsuits, employee count etc. Once completed, a 0-100 score will be provided to the mobile network operators which will determine your throughput level.
Ensure clear opt‑in/opt‑out language to avoid fines and re‑vetting fees.

Need help?

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