Start with the number, not the business
Look at the number you'll send from before you think about brand types. Business texting from a local number to people in the US runs through A2P 10DLC registration. A toll-free number has its own verification, whatever the size of the business.
- Local number, the business has a tax ID: Standard Brand.
- Local number, no tax ID and no registered entity: Sole Proprietor.
- Toll-free number: toll-free verification, not 10DLC.
Pick the path from the number you text from and the tax ID you hold, not from how big the business feels.
Standard Brand: a business with a tax ID
A business with an accepted tax or registration number registers a Standard Brand. In the US that number is the EIN. A Canadian business uses its BN-9, so there's no need to hunt for a US EIN it was never issued.
Working alone doesn't change this. A one-person business that has a tax ID files a Standard Brand, not Sole Proprietor.
Under 10DLC there are still two filings: the brand, which identifies who is sending, and the campaign, which describes the messages and how people agreed to them. The brand type is the only choice this guide covers.
Sole Proprietor: an individual without a tax ID
Sole Proprietor registration is for qualifying individuals who have no tax ID and no registered entity. It is narrower than a Standard Brand:
- One phone number on the campaign.
- Lower messaging limits.
- A public-domain email address, rather than one on the business's own domain.
Rather have it set up for you?
We pick the registration path for each of your numbers and file it, starting with a 30-minute 1:1 with Rob.
Toll-free: verification, not 10DLC
A toll-free number needs toll-free verification before it can text people in the US or Canada. While verification is pending, SMS and MMS to those countries are blocked, and an unverified send can fail with error 30032. Calls aren't affected: the number keeps working for voice the whole time.
HighLevel says review can take four to six weeks, with no guaranteed timing. Plan a texting launch on a toll-free number around that wait.
Don't text from a toll-free number while its verification is pending.
Where to file each one
Once you know the path, the screen follows. These are the carriers' requirements as HighLevel's help center describes them, not legal advice.
- Confirm whether the sending number is local or toll-free.
- For a local number, match the brand type to the business's registration status: Standard with a tax ID, Sole Proprietor without one.
- File local-number registration in Settings > Phone System > Trust Center.
- For a toll-free number, open Manage Numbers and select Verification Required on that number.
- Supply the sender's identity, the use case for the messages and public evidence of how people opt in.