Guide
The 10DLC Use-Case Selection Guide for 2026
Your use case is the first classification decision in every 10DLC registration — it shapes the review, the monthly fee, and what carriers expect your traffic to look like forever after. This guide maps what you actually send to the declaration that fits, using the current TCR use-case definitions.
Why it matters
The declaration carriers hold you to
Last updated July 21, 2026 — reflects current TCR use-case definitions. (This guide replaces our older downloadable use-case PDF, which predates today's standards.)
A 10DLC campaign's use case isn't a label — it's a commitment. Reviewers check that your description, opt-in, and sample messages all tell the same story as the declared use case, and in 2026 carriers increasingly audit live traffic against it after approval. Declare precisely, and both the review and the audit become non-events.
Prefer a narrative walkthrough of how use case drives throughput, cost, and approval odds? See Choosing Your 10DLC Use Case.
Quick picker
Choose by what you actually send
| What you send | Declare |
|---|---|
| Order, shipping, billing, and account updates | Account Notification (or Customer Care) |
| Two-way support conversations, appointment reminders & confirmations | Customer Care (Account Notification preferred for reminders) |
| One-time passcodes and login verification | 2FA |
| Promotions, offers, cart reminders, win-back messages | Marketing |
| Operational + promotional to the same audience, one program | Mixed (sample every content type) |
| A small sender's mixed traffic (low volume) | Low Volume Mixed |
| Delivery and courier notifications | Delivery Notification |
| Suspicious-activity and fraud warnings | Fraud Alert / Security Alert |
| Donation asks or nonprofit updates | Charity (501(c)(3) details required) |
| Candidate, committee, or issue advocacy | Political (committee ID + verification required) |
| Prize promotions and giveaways | Sweepstakes (official rules required) |
| School-to-parent communication | K-12 Education |
| Many locations/agents sending under one brand | Agents & Franchises |
| An individual without an EIN | Sole Proprietor |
Monthly TCR campaign fees differ by type — $10 for most standard, marketing, and mixed campaigns, $1.50 Low Volume Mixed, $2 Sole Proprietor, $3 Charity, $30 Agents & Franchises. Current tables live on the 10DLC registration page.
Special cases
Declarations that carry extra requirements
- Political — the organization or candidate name, an FEC or state committee ID, and the official website belong in the registration; verification (e.g., Campaign Verify) applies, and opt-in lists are per-sender — consent never transfers between campaigns or committees.
- Charity — 501(c)(3) status with EIN, website, and an accreditation listing; donation solicitation must be disclosed in the CTA and terms, separately from informational messaging.
- Sweepstakes — official rules hosted on your site covering sponsor, eligibility, entry method, prize dates, winner notification, age restrictions, and a free entry route.
- Lending content — the sender must be the direct lender, the Direct Lending attribute set, and the opt-in collected separately from the loan application (verbal opt-in isn't accepted). Note the attribute applies when the brand is a lender, even for its non-lending campaigns.
- Emergency, K-12, Agents & Franchises, Proxy, Social — declare the special case and expect post-registration review by the mobile network operators.
Traps
The misclassifications that get campaigns rejected
- Cart reminders are Marketing. So is any promotional content — an "order updates" campaign whose samples include "20% off your next order" fails the match.
- "Customer care" is not a catch-all. Operational service content fits; promotions, donation asks, and advocacy under an operational declaration fail — declare what the content actually is, or declare Mixed and sample all of it.
- Your CTA and privacy policy testify too. If either mentions marketing messages, Marketing must be among the declared use cases — and vice versa.
- Every consent path must be disclosed. A description that says "customers reaching out to us" implies a consumer-initiated path — if the message flow only describes a website checkbox, that undisclosed path is a rejection-level mismatch.
- One program, one campaign. Duplicate campaigns for the same program aren't allowed, and one opt-in enrolls a consumer in exactly one program — split genuinely different programs into their own campaigns instead.
Sample-message coverage seals the declaration: marketing, mixed, and special use cases need at least two samples (up to five), mixed campaigns need at least one per declared sub-use case, and every sample should be a realistic production message with variable content in [brackets].
Use-case selection FAQ
What happens if I pick the wrong use case?
Two ways to lose: at review, samples or descriptions that don't match the declared use case get the campaign rejected; after approval, carriers audit live traffic against the registration in 2026, and content that drifts from the declared use case can suspend a campaign that originally passed. When your messaging changes, update the campaign.
Should I register one Mixed campaign or several specific ones?
Specific declarations generally review faster and read cleaner to carriers — a 2FA campaign and a Marketing campaign each say exactly what they are. Choose Mixed when the same program genuinely interleaves content types for the same audience, and provide at least one sample per declared sub-use case.
Are appointment reminders Customer Care or Account Notification?
Both readings are defensible — reminders, confirmations, and schedule changes are operational service messaging. Account Notification is the more precise declaration and the one we recommend; a customer-care declaration covering that content is not by itself a rejection.
Is Low Volume Mixed just a cheaper Mixed?
It's the same multi-content declaration at a lower monthly fee ($1.50 vs $10) for genuinely small senders, with correspondingly lower throughput. If your volume grows past low-volume reality, move up — sending heavy traffic on a low-volume declaration is the kind of mismatch audits catch.
Do special use cases take longer to approve?
Plan for extra review. Political, Charity, Sweepstakes, K-12, Emergency, Agents & Franchises, Proxy, and Social campaigns carry extra registration requirements and can face post-registration review by the mobile network operators, so complete documentation up front is what keeps them moving.
Not sure which declaration fits?
Tell us what you send and to whom — our vetting team classifies campaigns against these definitions every day and will get yours right the first time.