Carrier registration gets your agency approved to send text messages, but how you structure your campaigns determines whether those messages actually reach your clients. This article covers the decisions behind registration: how many campaigns to register, how to qualify for government throughput, how to share campaigns across phone numbers, and how to avoid carrier filtering.

### Overview

- **What it is:** Guidance on structuring, describing, and maintaining your 10DLC campaigns so carriers approve them quickly and keep delivering your messages over time.
- **Why it matters:** Since February 2025, all major U.S. carriers block unregistered application-to-person traffic outright. Registration alone is not enough. Carriers continue to monitor approved campaigns and can throttle or suspend them for content, volume, or complaint issues.
- **Who uses it:** Agency administrators, IT staff, and anyone responsible for messaging compliance at your agency.
- **Expected outcomes:** Campaigns that pass carrier review on the first submission, government throughput that matches your send volume, and stable message delivery that does not degrade as your program grows.

For the step-by-step registration process, see [How to Complete Carrier Registration](/how-to-complete-carrier-registration). This article assumes you have already read it or are about to register.

### Prerequisites

- **Super Admin** access to your eCourtDate agency
- Your agency's EIN and legal entity name exactly as they appear in IRS records
- A live, publicly reachable agency website, ideally on a `.gov` domain
- A clear understanding of every type of message your agency plans to send
- An estimate of your monthly message volume and your largest single-day send

### How-To Steps

#### Step 1: Decide how many campaigns to register

A campaign tells carriers what kind of messages you send and why. Register one campaign per distinct messaging purpose. Mixing unrelated message types into a single campaign is one of the most common reasons an approved campaign is later filtered or suspended.

Match each type of message your agency sends to a use case:

| Your messages | Use case to select |
|---------------|--------------------|
| Hearing reminders, payment alerts, check-in notices, status updates | **Account Notification** |
| Replies to inbound questions, case status inquiries, support conversations | **Customer Care** |
| Jury duty notices, community safety information, public awareness campaigns | **Public Service Announcement** |
| Login codes for client portals | **2FA** |
| Disaster, weather, and public safety alerts | **Emergency** |
| Non-political surveys and feedback requests | **Polling and Voting** |

Most agencies using eCourtDate for event and payment notifications need only the **Account Notification** use case. Add a second campaign when you begin sending something genuinely different, such as jury summons outreach or emergency alerts.

> **Note:** A **Mixed** use case exists that combines several standard use cases under one registration. It is convenient, but it inherits the strictest consent and content rules of every use case you include, and a suspension takes down all of your messaging at once. Separate campaigns are safer.

#### Step 2: Register as a verified government entity

Government entities have their own brand category with the Campaign Registry, and verified government status unlocks higher throughput than a general business registration.

1. Select the government entity type during brand registration. This triggers automatic vetting of your agency.
2. Enter your **Entity Name** exactly as it appears in IRS records. An abbreviation, a "County of" versus "County" difference, or a doing-business-as name will fail verification.
3. Enter your **EIN Number** with no dashes or spaces.
4. Enter your agency's official website. Use a `.gov` domain if your agency has one, since it is the strongest signal of government status.
5. Confirm that the **Government Entity** field appears in your results after submitting.
6. Confirm that **Verification Status** reads **VERIFIED** or **VETTED VERIFIED**.

The Campaign Registry checks your submission against IRS records, Secretary of State filings, business credit bureaus, public records, and domain registration history. A mismatch between your EIN and your legal entity name is the single most common cause of failed brand verification.

Once your agency is verified as a government entity, you become eligible for all standard use cases plus the **Emergency** use case, which is restricted to government senders.

#### Step 3: Write a description and samples that pass review

Carriers read your campaign description and sample messages to confirm your registration matches what you actually send. Vague descriptions are the leading cause of campaign rejection.

Your **Campaign Description** must answer three questions:

1. Who you are (name your agency).
2. Who you are messaging (name the population, such as defendants with scheduled hearings).
3. Why you are messaging them (name the purpose, such as reducing failure to appear).

A description like "communicate with clients and partners" will be rejected. A description like "The Example County Justice Court sends automated hearing reminders and payment due notices to defendants with active cases, to reduce failure to appear and missed payments" will not.

For **Sample Messages**:

- Provide messages that are specific and unique, not slight variations of each other.
- Name your agency in the message so recipients know who is texting them.
- Include at least one sample that shows your opt-out language.
- Write opt-out instructions with spaces between words. "Reply STOP to opt out" is acceptable. "Stop2End" is not.
- Show merge tags as they will appear, such as "Your hearing for case [CaseNumber] is on [EventDate] at [EventTime]".
- Keep samples under 160 characters where possible.

Set your content attributes carefully. If your messages contain links or phone numbers, say so. Content attributes cannot be edited after submission, so an incorrect answer means registering a brand new campaign rather than correcting the existing one.

Your agency website should describe your messaging program and link to a privacy policy stating that opt-in data is not sold or shared with third parties for marketing.

#### Step 4: Share one campaign across multiple phone numbers

You can assign multiple phone numbers to a single approved campaign, and most agencies should. Registering a separate campaign for each phone number adds cost and review time without adding capacity.

Share one campaign across numbers when:

- Different departments or divisions send the same kind of message.
- You use local area codes for different regions of your jurisdiction.
- You run a separate number for a pilot program with the same messaging purpose.

Register a separate campaign when the content or the basis for consent is genuinely different, such as court reminders on one campaign and jury summons outreach on another.

Before you share a campaign across numbers, understand three consequences:

- **Throughput is shared, not multiplied.** Your messages per second limit is assigned to the campaign and split across every number on it. Adding a second number does not double your sending speed.
- **Reputation is shared.** Carriers track spam complaints per number, but a number that draws complaints affects the standing of the whole campaign and every other number attached to it.
- **Carriers cap numbers per campaign.** Carriers limit how many numbers a single campaign can carry, and exceeding that limit requires a separate request with volume justification. Contact the help team before planning a campaign with a large number of phones.

To assign a number to an approved campaign, go to **Admin** > **Settings** > **Agency Phones**, open the phone number, and select the campaign. Assignment takes up to 1 business day. See [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers) for details.

#### Step 5: Match your campaign type to your send volume

Choose your campaign type based on your largest expected send day, not your average day. Hitting a daily cap means messages simply do not deliver, and the cap resets at midnight Pacific time.

| Campaign type | SMS per minute | MMS per minute | Daily limit | Annual cost |
|---------------|----------------|----------------|-------------|-------------|
| Low Volume | 75 | 50 | 2,000 | $120 |
| Standard | 4,500 | 2,400 | Uncapped | $250 |

A **Low Volume** campaign suits a pilot program or a small court with a limited docket. Be aware that vetting cannot raise the throughput of a Low Volume campaign, and opt-out processing cannot be disabled on one.

A **Standard** campaign suits any agency running daily automated reminders across a full docket, sending mass messages through Bulk Actions, or planning to grow. If you are unsure, choose Standard. Moving up later means registering a new campaign and waiting through carrier review again.

#### Step 6: Keep your campaign healthy after approval

Approval is not permanent. Carriers monitor live traffic and can filter, throttle, or suspend a campaign that was approved months earlier.

- **Send only what you registered.** Sending content that does not match your approved use case is the fastest way to trigger filtering.
- **Ramp up volume gradually.** A brand new number that immediately sends thousands of messages looks like spam. Start with a smaller batch and increase over several sends.
- **Use branded links.** Public link shorteners are a strong filtering signal. Use eCourtDate [trackable redirect links](/how-to-create-trackable-redirect-links) on a [custom domain](/how-to-create-a-custom-domain) so links carry your agency's identity.
- **Personalize every message.** Identical messages sent to many recipients look automated and unwanted. Merge tags make each message unique.
- **Keep opt-out keywords active.** A rising opt-out rate is a spam signal that can suspend an approved campaign. See [How to Configure Opt-in and Opt-out Compliance](/how-to-configure-opt-in-and-opt-out-compliance).
- **Keep the campaign active.** Campaigns can be suspended for extended inactivity.

Avoid these content patterns, which eCourtDate and carriers both flag as filtering triggers:

- Unbranded shortened links, or a link placed at the very end of a message
- ALL CAPS text or unusual special characters
- Repetitive, non-personalized content sent to many recipients
- Test messages sent from a production campaign
- Message lengths well outside your registered samples
- Typos and grammatical errors

Content involving sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco, or cannabis is prohibited outright, including indirect association through your website.

### What to Expect

Brand verification typically completes within one hour. Campaign approval takes 5 to 15 business days depending on the use case, and special use cases such as **Emergency** can take longer. Assigning an additional phone number to an already approved campaign takes up to 1 business day.

Once a campaign is approved and phone numbers are assigned, your messages deliver at your campaign's throughput tier with reduced filtering across all major carriers. The eCourtDate help team monitors registrations, notifies you of carrier blocks, and can resend failed messages through an alternate campaign while an issue is resolved.

### Best Practices

- **Register one campaign per messaging purpose** rather than combining unrelated message types, so a problem with one program cannot suspend your court reminders.
- **Verify your EIN and legal entity name against an IRS document** before you submit, since a mismatch is the most common cause of failed verification and forces you to start over.
- **Choose a Standard campaign if your volume is growing**, because moving up from Low Volume later means a new registration and another carrier review cycle.
- **Write sample messages you would actually send**, including your agency name, real merge tags, and opt-out language, so carriers can confirm your registration matches your traffic.
- **Review your campaign status quarterly** and watch your opt-out rate, since carriers can suspend a campaign that was approved long ago if complaint rates climb.

### Frequently Asked Questions

**Q: Should we register one campaign per use case, or put everything in one campaign?**

A: Register one campaign per distinct messaging purpose. Combining unrelated message types under one registration is a leading cause of post-approval filtering, and a suspension would stop all of your messaging at once rather than just the program that caused the problem.

**Q: Can we use one campaign for multiple phone numbers?**

A: Yes, and most agencies should. All numbers on a campaign must send content matching the approved use case. This works well for different departments, divisions, or regional area codes that all send the same type of message.

**Q: Does adding more phone numbers make our messages send faster?**

A: No. Your messages per second limit is assigned to the campaign and shared across every number attached to it. Adding numbers spreads the same capacity across more phones. To send faster, you need a higher throughput campaign type, not more numbers.

**Q: How many phone numbers can we assign to one campaign?**

A: Carriers cap the number of phones on a single campaign, and going beyond that cap requires a separate request explaining your volume and use case. If your agency needs a large number of phones on one campaign, contact the help team before you register so the campaign can be structured correctly.

**Q: How do we get verified as a government entity?**

A: Select the government entity type during brand registration and submit your EIN, legal entity name, and official website. The Campaign Registry vets your agency automatically against IRS and public records. Using a `.gov` website is the strongest signal. Confirm the **Government Entity** field appears and that your status reads **VERIFIED** or **VETTED VERIFIED**.

**Q: Our brand verification failed. What is the most likely cause?**

A: An EIN that does not match your legal entity name exactly as filed with the IRS. Check for abbreviations, word order, and doing-business-as names. A website that is offline or not publicly reachable is the second most common cause.

**Q: What is the difference between a Low Volume and a Standard campaign?**

A: A Low Volume campaign is capped at 2,000 messages per day and 75 SMS per minute, and its throughput cannot be increased through vetting. A Standard campaign has no daily cap and sends up to 4,500 SMS per minute. Choose Standard unless you are running a small pilot.

**Q: Our campaign is approved, so why are some messages still being filtered?**

A: Approval sets your baseline trust, but carriers filter individual messages on content and behavior. Common causes are public link shorteners, ALL CAPS text, identical non-personalized messages, a sudden volume spike from a new number, or content that does not match your registered use case.

**Q: Can an approved campaign be suspended later?**

A: Yes. Carriers monitor live traffic and can throttle or suspend a campaign for sending content outside the approved use case, for high opt-out or complaint rates, or for extended inactivity. Review your campaign status periodically rather than assuming approval is permanent.

**Q: Our agency is exempt from TCPA. Do we still need to register?**

A: Yes. TCPA governs whether you are legally permitted to send a message. 10DLC registration governs whether carriers will deliver it. They are separate requirements and both apply, so a TCPA exemption does not remove the need to register.

**Q: Can we change a campaign after it is approved?**

A: Some fields can be updated, but content attributes such as whether your messages contain embedded links cannot be changed after submission. Correcting them requires registering a new campaign. Contact the help team before changing anything on an active campaign, since changes may trigger re-verification.

**Q: Should jury notices go on the same campaign as court reminders?**

A: Usually no. Court reminders fit the **Account Notification** use case and go to people with an active case. Jury notices fit **Public Service Announcement** and go to a different population under a different basis for consent. Separate campaigns keep each one aligned with its approved use case.

### Troubleshooting

**Issue:** Brand verification fails or remains unverified.

**Symptoms:** The **Verification Status** field does not reach **VERIFIED**, or the **Government Entity** field does not appear in your results.

**Solution:**

1. Compare your **Entity Name** character for character against an IRS document such as your EIN assignment letter.
2. Re-enter the **EIN Number** with no dashes, spaces, or leading characters.
3. Open your submitted website URL in a private browser window to confirm it loads publicly without a login.
4. Confirm you selected the government entity type rather than a general business type.
5. If the status has not changed after several hours, contact the help team to escalate with the Campaign Registry.

**Issue:** Campaign is rejected by carriers.

**Symptoms:** Campaign status shows as rejected, often with a reason code.

**Solution:**

1. Rewrite the **Campaign Description** so it names your agency, names the recipients, and states the purpose in plain language.
2. Replace generic sample messages with specific ones that include your agency name and real merge tags.
3. Confirm at least one sample shows opt-out language with spaces between words.
4. Verify the content attributes match your samples. If your samples contain links, the embedded links attribute must say so.
5. Confirm the selected use case matches what you actually send.

**Issue:** Messages stop delivering partway through a large send.

**Symptoms:** Early messages deliver, later messages in the same batch fail or never arrive, and delivery resumes the next day.

**Solution:**

1. Check whether you are on a **Low Volume** campaign, which caps at 2,000 messages per day.
2. Compare your batch size to your campaign's daily limit. Daily limits reset at midnight Pacific time.
3. Split large sends across multiple days, or contact the help team about upgrading to a **Standard** campaign.
4. Review your throughput tier if messages are delayed rather than failing, since a lower tier sends more slowly.

**Issue:** Delivery rates decline over time on a previously healthy campaign.

**Symptoms:** Messages that used to deliver reliably are increasingly filtered, with no change to your registration.

**Solution:**

1. Review recent message content for public shortened links, ALL CAPS text, or unusual characters.
2. Confirm your messages are personalized with merge tags rather than identical across recipients.
3. Check your opt-out rate. A rising rate signals to carriers that your messages are unwanted.
4. Confirm you have not started sending a new type of message that falls outside your approved use case.
5. Contact the help team to check for carrier blocks on your campaign.

> **Important:** If you continue to experience issues after following these troubleshooting steps, sign in to eCourtDate and create a ticket by clicking the ticket button in the bottom right corner of the screen.

### Related Articles

- [How to Complete Carrier Registration](/how-to-complete-carrier-registration)
- [How to Configure Opt-in and Opt-out Compliance](/how-to-configure-opt-in-and-opt-out-compliance)
- [How to Manage Agency Phone Numbers](/how-to-manage-agency-phone-numbers)
- [How to Port In a Short Code](/how-to-port-in-a-short-code)
- [How to Create Trackable Redirect Links](/how-to-create-trackable-redirect-links)
- [How to Create a Custom Domain](/how-to-create-a-custom-domain)
- [Message Troubleshooting for Clients](/message-troubleshooting-for-clients)