If your business sends SMS or MMS messages to recipients in the United States using 10-digit local phone numbers, you must register an A2P Brand before registering an A2P Campaign. Your Brand identifies the business or individual responsible for sending messages, while your Campaign explains what types of messages you plan to send.

This article explains how to choose the correct Brand type, what information you need before registering, and how to submit your A2P Brand registration in HighLevel.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• What is A2P Brand Registration?
• Choose the Correct Brand Type for Your Business
  • Register as a Standard Brand
  • Register as a Sole Proprietor Brand
• Required Information for Brand Registration
  • Standard Brand Requirements
  • Sole Proprietor Brand Requirements
• How to Register Your Brand
• Email OTP Verification
• Tips to Avoid Brand Registration Rejection
• What to Do if Brand Registration Fails
• Next Step: Register Your A2P Campaign
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Articles

What is A2P Brand Registration?

A2P messaging refers to any message sent from an application to a person, such as automated marketing texts, appointment reminders, billing alerts, or verification codes. To send A2P messages in the United States using 10-digit local phone numbers, you must register your Brand and Campaign(s) with The Campaign Registry (TCR) through your messaging provider.

An A2P Brand is the verified identity of the business or individual responsible for sending those messages. Carriers use Brand registration to confirm who is sending messages and to evaluate trust, messaging behavior, and long-term deliverability.

Your Brand is separate from your Campaign. The Brand identifies who is sending messages, while the Campaign explains what types of messages you plan to send, why you are sending them, and how contacts gave consent to receive them. After your Brand is approved, you can continue to Campaign registration, where you’ll describe your message use case, sample messages, opt-in method, and consent details.

Choose the Correct Brand Type for Your Business

Before registering your A2P Brand, determine whether your business should register as a Standard Brand or a Sole Proprietor Brand. 

A Standard Brand is designed for businesses registered with an EIN or other accepted business registration number. It allows greater messaging throughput and access to a wider variety of campaign use cases than Sole Proprietor brands. Standard Brands can support multiple phone numbers. 

Sole Proprietor Brands are for individuals or businesses with only 1 employee that do not have an EIN, Tax ID, Business Number, or registered business entity. They have lower messaging limits and stricter sending restrictions compared to Standard Brands.

Once you've identified the correct Brand type, continue to the registration process.

Note: Sole Proprietor accounts are limited to 1 phone number per campaign. Accounts purchasing multiple local numbers may encounter errors when texting, specifically error code 30034, even with approved numbers. This issue arises because each purchased number needs to be specifically linked to an approved A2P 10DLC campaign.

Important: Sole Proprietor Brands are only for businesses or individuals without a Tax ID. If your business has an EIN, Tax ID, Business Number, or other accepted business registration number, you must register as a Standard Brand.

Accepted Business Registration Numbers by Country

When registering a Standard Brand, use the accepted business registration number for the country where your business is registered. Your legal business name and registration number should match official records exactly.

Non-Profit and Political Organizations: The EIN has to match the Legal Company Name available in the Tax-Exempt Organizations or Registered Political Organizations list. Learn more in Nonprofit and Government Guide to A2P 10DLC Text Messaging.

Public companies: If your business is a public for-profit company, the stock ticker symbol and selected stock exchange must match publicly available sources.

Supported exchange values include: NONE, NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX, AMX, ASX, B3, BME, BSE, FRA, ICEX, JPX, JSE, KRX, LON, NSE, OMX, SEHK, SGX, SSE, STO, SWX, SZSE, TSX, TWSE, VSE, OTHER.

How to Register Your Brand

The general Brand registration process is similar for Standard and Sole Proprietor Brands. The main differences are the eligibility questions, required fields, and verification steps. Follow these steps carefully to complete your Brand registration:

Step 1: Navigate to Trust Center

1. Click on Settings from your sub-account.
   
   
2. Under Business Services, select Phone System
   
   
3. Click on the Trust Center tab.

Step 2: Start A2P Registration

Click the Start Registration button under A2P Messaging (SMS) tab.

The registration flow includes two main sections:

This article covers the Business Details section. For Campaign Details, see A2P Campaign Registration.

Step 3: Get Started Questions

In the Get Started section, answer the initial registration questions.

1. Select where your business is registered.
   
   
2. Answer whether your business has a Tax ID. This question determines which Brand registration path you follow.

Step 4: Enter Business Details

After selecting your Tax ID status, complete the Business Details fields. The fields shown may change based on whether you selected Yes or No for Tax ID.

If your business has a Tax ID, enter the registered business information:

• Legal business name
• Business type
• Business industry
• Business registration ID type: 
• Business registration number
• Business email
• Business region of operations

Be sure to use the exact legal business name and tax ID shown on your tax documents. Small mismatches can cause delays or rejection.

Note: DUNS are not accepted for U.S. A2P Registration.

If you have your IRS CP-575 form, you can upload it directly on the Business Details page. Uploading this document allows the system to automatically populate key fields, including:

• Legal business name
• EIN (Business Registration Number)
• Registered business address

Using your CP-575 helps ensure your information matches IRS records exactly and reduces the risk of errors during entry. This can significantly improve your chances of getting approved on the first submission.

Note: EINs issued within the last 15 days may be rejected because the information may not have propagated to the systems used for verification.

If your business does not have a Tax ID, enter the Sole Proprietor business or owner information:

• Business name or full name
• Industry
• Phone number

The Brand name should reflect the individual or unregistered business and should not include terms such as LLC, Inc., Corporation, or similar entity designations

The phone number must be a U.S. or Canada mobile number that can receive OTP verification. VoIP numbers, LeadConnector numbers, and other CPaaS numbers are not accepted.

Note: One phone number can be used for up to three Sole Proprietor Brand registrations as per carrier limits.

Step 5: Add Business Address

Enter the business or owner address:

• Country
• State / Province / Region
• Street address (Please don't add a P.O box in the Street Address)
• City
• ZIP or postal code

Step 6: Add Contact Information

Then add an authorized representative. This should be someone who can answer questions about the business if carriers need to verify the registration. The mobile number and email must match carrier records for successful verification.

• First name
• Last name
• Email address 
• Phone number (Don't use the same number for more than 5 brands and number provided should be reachable)
• Job position
• Job title

Important: For Standard Brands, use a business-domain email address when possible (e.g. info@mycompany.com). Free email services like Gmail or Yahoo may lead to slower approval times.

For Sole Proprietor Brand registration, business email domains are not eligible. Make sure you are using a public domain email (e.g., Gmail (NOT Gsuite), Hotmail, Yahoo, etc).

Note: Each business should have its own unique contact person. Avoid using the same email address for more than five brands.

Step 7: Complete Verification (If Prompted)

After entering your contact details, HighLevel may ask you to complete a verification step before continuing. The verification step shown depends on the sub-account and registration details.

You may be prompted to complete one of the following:

• Persona Identity Verification: Confirms the identity of the user or business representative. Persona verification is generally completed once per sub-account. To learn more, see Identity Verification for Phone Numbers
  
  
• Email OTP Verification: Confirms access to the email address used in the A2P Brand registration. To learn more, see Email OTP Verification below.

After completing the required verification step, continue the registration flow.

Step 8: Continue to Campaign Details

Brand approval does not automatically approve messaging. The next section is Campaign Details, where you’ll choose the messaging volume, registration flow, message use case, chat widget setup, and user consent information.

For the next steps, see A2P Campaign Registration.

Email OTP Verification

Email OTP (one-time password) verification is a security step during A2P Brand registration that confirms you have access to the contact email address. It helps prevent fraudulent registrations and ensures the email is valid and actively monitored. This step typically appears when Persona identity verification is not required and is triggered for business email addresses with a domain age greater than 45 days. You must complete it before continuing with registration.

To complete Email OTP verification:

1. Check the contact email inbox for the verification code.
   
   

2. Enter the code in the verification modal.
   
   

3. Continue the registration flow.

If you do not receive the OTP, confirm that the email address was entered correctly, check your spam or junk folders, and use the resend option if it is available. If verification fails repeatedly or you cannot receive the code, follow the on-screen instructions or contact Support for assistance.

Note: Users have up to 3 attempts to enter the correct OTP and 2 opportunities to resend it. After 3 failed attempts, you must restart the verification process.

Tips to Avoid Brand Registration Rejection

Before submitting your Brand registration, confirm that:

• Your legal business name matches your official business or tax records exactly.
  
  
• Your EIN, Tax ID, Business Number, or other registration number is correct.
  
  
• Your business address matches your official records.
  
  
• Your website, if provided, clearly matches your business name and services.
  
  
• Your contact details are accurate and accessible in case verification is required.

For full website, opt-in, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions, and Campaign approval requirements, see A2P Compliance & Approval Checklist and A2P Campaign Registration.

What to Do if Brand Registration Fails

If your Brand registration fails or is rejected, review the error message and compare your submitted Brand details against your official business records.

Common Brand registration issues include:

• Legal business name does not match official records
  
  
• EIN, Tax ID, or business registration number is incorrect
  
  
• Business address does not match registration records
  
  
• Sole Proprietor registration was attempted for a business with a Tax ID

After correcting the issue, resubmit the Brand registration.

For detailed troubleshooting steps, including specific rejection reasons and required fixes, see A2P Rejections, Required Fixes & Vetting Errors.

Next Step: Register Your A2P Campaign

After your Brand is approved, the next step is Campaign registration.

Campaign registration explains:

• What types of messages you send
  
  
• Who receives the messages
  
  
• How contacts opt in
  
  
• What your sample messages look like
  
  
• Whether messages include links, phone numbers, age-gated content, or restricted content

To continue, see A2P Campaign Registration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What’s the difference between Sole Proprietor and Standard Brand?
A Sole Proprietor Brand is for individuals or single-employee businesses without an EIN, Tax ID, or business registration number, and has stricter sending limits. A Standard Brand is for registered businesses with an EIN, Tax ID, or business registration number, and supports higher throughput and multiple numbers.

Q: I don't want to deal with all of this. Is there any alternative for me and my clients?
Yes, you can use. Toll-Free Numbers as an alternative. These also require registration, but the process is free and less complex. You can continue messaging in the U.S. without A2P 10DLC restrictions. See: Toll-Free Verification Guide for LC - Phone (US/Canada)

Q: How do we move from low volume sending to higher volume sending?
Please reach out to HighLevel support. We’ll share a form that you can submit, and our team will create the brand and campaign manually in the backend for increased throughput.

Q: Does this apply to only marketing campaigns or does it apply to all SMS?

A2P 10DLC is applicable for all Application-to-Person texting like marketing SMS, reactivation campaigns, appointment reminders, prospecting, billing alerts, 2FA login codes, etc. 

Q: What should I do if my Brand registration fails or I see the “Maximum 3 tries exhausted” error?

If your Brand registration fails, review the error message and confirm that your legal business name, EIN or business registration number, business type, and address match your official business records exactly. If you see the “Maximum 3 tries exhausted” error, your registration attempts likely failed because the submitted business details did not match official records. You may need your CP-575 EIN Confirmation Letter or 147C letter from the IRS to confirm the correct legal business name and EIN. For detailed troubleshooting steps, see A2P Rejections, Required Fixes & Vetting Errors.

Q: Does my Brand registration affect my Trust Score or message throughput?

Yes. After Brand submission, eligible Brands may be vetted and assigned a Trust Score. Trust Score can affect message throughput, carrier limits, and overall sending capacity. The information submitted during Brand registration, such as your legal business name, EIN or business registration number, business type, address, and website, may influence vetting results. Make sure your Brand details are accurate and consistent before submitting. For more information, see Message throughput (MPS) and Trust Scores for A2P 10DLC in the US.

Q: What if my EIN was created recently?

Newly issued EINs may not immediately appear in carrier validation systems. If your Brand fails because of a Tax ID mismatch and the EIN is new, you may need to wait for records to update or provide federal documentation to Support for manual review.

Q: Do I need a website to get approved?

For Standard Brands, a website is strongly recommended and may be required during Campaign registration. Carriers review your web presence to verify your business, messaging use case, and opt-in practices. Your website should be live, publicly accessible, clearly show your business name, describe your products or services, and include visible Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions pages that align with your messaging.

For Sole Proprietor Brands, a website is not required. However, if you do have a website, it should accurately reflect your business and match the information submitted during registration.

Q: Will my messages be blocked if I skip registration?

Yes. Unregistered 10DLC traffic may be filtered, fail delivery, or be subject to carrier penalties or surcharges. A2P registration is required for reliable SMS/MMS delivery over 10-digit local numbers in the United States.

Q: What if my registration fails?

Review your carrier records for mismatches and correct any errors. Contact Support if necessary.

Q: Are there forbidden message types I should avoid?

Yes. Certain message categories are prohibited or restricted by carriers, even if contacts have opted in. For details, see Forbidden message categories for SMS and MMS in the US and Canada.

Q: How long does registration take?

Approval typically takes 24–72 hours, but can greatly vary based on Brand type, verification requirements, and whether your submitted information matches official records. If the registration requires manual review or corrections, approval may take longer.

Q: How do I collect A2P registration information from my clients?

Use a client intake form or checklist to collect the business, contact, website, opt-in, and messaging details needed for A2P registration.You can use the following resources to request this information from clients:

[Google Doc Link] [Printable PDF Link]

Related Articles

• Getting Started with A2P 10DLC
  
  
• A2P Campaign Registration
  
  
• Identity Verification for Phone Numbers
  
  
• A2P Campaign Rejections, Required Fixes & Vetting Errors
  
  
• A2P 10DLC Campaign Use Cases
  
  
• Forbidden message categories for SMS and MMS in the US and Canada
  
  
• A2P 10DLC Messaging Fees: Registration, Monthly, and Carrier Costs
  
  
• Message throughput (MPS) and Trust Scores for A2P 10DLC in the US