If you’re using SMS to reach candidates — and you should be — there’s something you need to know about: A2P 10DLC.
It’s not sexy. It’s not fun. But if you ignore it, your text campaigns will get blocked, your messages won’t deliver, and you’ll wonder why your 98% open rate suddenly dropped to zero.
Let’s break it down.
What Is A2P 10DLC?
A2P = Application-to-Person. It’s carrier-speak for “business texting” — any text message sent from a company to an individual.
10DLC = 10-Digit Long Code. That’s your standard phone number format (like 555-123-4567), as opposed to a short code (like 12345).
Put them together: A2P 10DLC is the system US carriers use to register and regulate business text messaging from regular phone numbers.
Why Does This Exist?
Spam. That’s it.
For years, businesses (and scammers) blasted texts from regular numbers with no oversight. Carriers got flooded with complaints. So AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile created A2P 10DLC to:
- Verify that real businesses are sending messages
- Vet the content of those messages
- Assign “trust scores” that determine throughput and deliverability
If you’re not registered? Carriers will throttle or block your messages entirely.
Why This Matters for Staffing Agencies
Here’s the scenario:
Your recruiter sends 200 texts to welders about a new travel job. Without A2P 10DLC registration:
- T-Mobile: Blocks 80% of your messages outright
- AT&T: Throttles delivery to 1 message per second (your campaign takes hours)
- Verizon: Flags you as potential spam, hurting future deliverability
Your candidates don’t see the texts. Your job doesn’t get filled. Your recruiter blames the ATS.
With proper registration:
- Messages deliver in seconds
- Open rates stay high (85-98%)
- Carriers trust your number
This isn’t theoretical. We’ve seen agencies get completely shut down because they were texting from unregistered numbers. One agency lost access to their primary recruiting number for 6 months.
What You Need to Get Compliant
A2P 10DLC registration happens in two steps:
Step 1: Brand Registration
You register your business with The Campaign Registry (TCR) — the central database carriers use. You’ll need:
- Legal business name (must match your EIN)
- EIN (Tax ID)
- Business address
- Website (carriers check this)
- Industry vertical (staffing/recruiting)
- Contact information
This establishes your “brand” in the system. Approval usually takes 1-7 business days.
Step 2: Campaign Registration
Next, you register your specific use case — what you’re texting about. For staffing agencies, this is typically:
- Campaign type: Employment/Staffing
- Message samples: Example texts you’ll send
- Opt-in method: How candidates consent to receive texts
- Opt-out instructions: How they can unsubscribe
Each campaign gets a trust score from 0-100. Higher scores = better throughput.
What affects your trust score?
| Factor | Impact |
|---|---|
| Business tenure (how long you’ve been operating) | High |
| Industry (staffing is generally trusted) | Medium |
| Message content quality | High |
| Website presence | Medium |
| Previous carrier complaints | Very High |
Most staffing agencies score between 50-75, which is plenty for recruiting campaigns.
The Three Things That Get Agencies Blocked
Even with registration, you can still get flagged. Avoid these:
1. Missing Opt-In Consent
You can’t text candidates who haven’t agreed to receive messages. Period.
Good consent:
- Candidate fills out web form with “Text me about job opportunities” checkbox
- Candidate texts your number first (“Text JOBS to 55512”)
- Candidate verbally agrees during intake call (document it!)
Not consent:
- You scraped their number from a job board
- They applied 3 years ago and never heard from you
- They talked to a different recruiter at your company
2. No Opt-Out Path
Every message (or message thread) needs a clear way to unsubscribe.
Example:
“Reply STOP to unsubscribe”
If someone replies STOP and you keep texting them? Carriers will flag your entire number.
3. Misleading Content
Don’t bait-and-switch. If you say “we have a job for you” but you’re really just fishing for resumes, carriers will eventually catch on through complaint reports.
Be direct:
“Hi John, this is Sarah from ABC Staffing. We have a travel welder role at $34/hr + per diem in Louisiana. Interested? Reply YES or call me at 555-1234.”
What Happens If You Don’t Comply?
Escalating consequences:
- Throttling: Your messages slow to a crawl
- Filtering: Carriers silently drop your messages
- Blocking: Your number gets blacklisted
- Number loss: You lose access to your business number entirely
And here’s the kicker: you often won’t know it’s happening. Your system will show “delivered” but the candidate never gets it.
If your text response rates suddenly tank, check your compliance status first.
The Fast Path to Compliance
You’ve got two options:
DIY Route
- Sign up with a business texting platform (Twilio, Bandwidth, etc.)
- Submit brand registration through their portal
- Submit campaign registration with sample messages
- Wait for approval (1-2 weeks typically)
- Monitor your trust score and complaint rates
Time investment: 5-10 hours of paperwork + ongoing monitoring
Done-For-You Route
Use a recruiting platform that handles A2P 10DLC as part of the service. Your registration piggybacks on their established brand trust, which means:
- Faster approval
- Higher initial trust scores
- Someone else monitors deliverability
TalentPrism handles A2P 10DLC registration for all clients. You don’t touch the paperwork — we register your campaigns under our verified brand and manage compliance ongoing.
Compliance Checklist for Staffing Agencies
Before you launch any SMS campaign:
- Registered your brand with TCR (or using a platform that did)
- Registered your campaign use case
- All candidates have opted in to receive texts
- Opt-out instructions included (“Reply STOP”)
- Message content matches your registered use case
- Someone monitors delivery rates weekly
The Bottom Line
A2P 10DLC isn’t optional anymore. If you’re texting candidates from unregistered numbers, you’re either already getting blocked or you will be soon.
The good news: compliance isn’t hard. It’s just paperwork. Get it done once and you’re set.
The even better news: platforms like TalentPrism handle it for you, so you can focus on filling jobs instead of filling out carrier forms.
Related guides:
- Why SMS Beats Email for Blue-Collar Recruiting
- How to Reactivate Your Dead Candidate Database
- 5 Signs Your Candidate Database is Costing You Placements
Ready to run compliant SMS campaigns without the headache?
See how TalentPrism handles the technical stuff →