10DLC - Guide to resellers and partners 10DLC - Guide to resellers and partners

10DLC - Guide to resellers and partners

10DLC Product Manager

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Today, anyone using 10-digits long codes to send application-to-person (A2P) messaging traffic to subscribers in the United States (US) are required to register their legal entity under a 10DLC brand, and register any relevant messaging campaigns. For some of you, this requires to register as a reseller or partner, in order to be able to properly register your customers.

 

 

Definitions

What is a 10DLC reseller?

A 10DLC reseller is a legal entity that needs to create multiple 10DLC brands on behalf of their customers. Each of these "reseller brands" represents a different legal entity. Typically, if you provide your services to businesses, and your services include messaging services which deliver SMS or MMS messages in the United States, you are likely to need to register as a reseller.

 

What is a 10DLC partner?

A 10DLC partner is an entity which has a business relationship with The Campaign Registry (TCR), has signed a contract and is registered as a Campaign Service Provider (CSP) within the 10DLC ecosystem. In this case, you directly register brands and campaigns using TCR's portal or APIs, and you then share your 10DLC campaigns with a Connectivity Network Partner (CNP) -- such as Vonage. After sharing your campaign with Vonage, you need to use our APIs to import the campaign into your account (or sub-account).

 

 

Becoming a 10DLC reseller

In order to become a 10DLC reseller with Vonage, you will need to apply for a reseller ID. Once you are a 10DLC reseller, you will need to specify when registering reseller brands or campaigns. Please be aware that it is not possible to modify the reseller information on a campaign after its registration. There are currently two ways to register as a 10DLC reseller:

 

1. Register via our 10DLC API endpoints

It is now possible to self-register as a 10DLC reseller using our APIs. Please check our API description for the specific endpoints to call to apply. Note that your application will need to be reviewed and approved. If rejected, you will not be able to use the reseller ID when registering or updating brands and campaigns. Please reach out to your account manager to appeal the decision and get your reseller ID application approved.

 

2. Register via your account manager

Currently, to apply for a reseller ID you need to reach out to your account manager with the following information:

  • Your primary account (main API Key) 
  • Your business legal name
  • The contact information of a trusted individual representing the business
    • Email address
    • Phone number
  • A description of the use-case of the services you provide
  • If applicable:
    The number of brands and campaigns you have already created on behalf of your customers

Please make sure that the information is correct and up to date. Once reviewed and approved, our operations team will proceed to create a Reseller ID for your business and assign it to your main account.

 

3. Register via our dashboard -- Coming Later

We are working to implement the ability for customers to self-register as a 10DLC reseller directly on our dashboard in the coming months.

 

Once a reseller ID has been created, approved and linked to your primary account, you can start registering new reseller brands and campaigns.

 

 

Register reseller brands and campaigns

Please read our guide of guides to understand the different steps to follow when on-boarding new 10DLC brands and campaigns for your customers.

 

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Important update

From December, 1st (2024), all new 10DLC campaigns registered will need to provide the correct reseller information. When registering a non reseller campaign (aka. "customer campaign"), a default reseller ID ("R000000") will be added to the campaign. Updating the reseller information will no longer be possible, and you may be required to re-register incorrect campaigns. These changes will also apply when updating any existing campaign.

 

Register and verify 10DLC reseller brands

Please make sure to read our brand registration guide and brand requirements to ensure your reseller brands are properly registered.

 

Using our API endpoints

Registering a reseller brand follows the same logic as for customer brands, you will need to:

  1. Register the reseller brand
  2. Verify the reseller brand
  3. Optional: Request an external vet for your reseller brand

 

Please check our API description for details on the endpoints to call:

Step 1 - Create a new brand

posthttps://api-eu.vonage.com/v1/10dlc/brands

{
...
"reseller" : true,
...
}

Please make sure to set the reseller attribute to true for the brand to be designated as reseller.

 

Step 2 - Verify the reseller brand

TCR will automatically trigger the revet action when registering a new brand, this correspond to a brand basic verification. If your brand cannot be verified successfully, you may need to check the verification feedback, update your brand details and submit a new verification request. Please check this article for more.

If you need to trigger a new verification manually, please call this endpoint:

posthttps://api-eu.vonage.com/v1/10dlc/brands/:brand_id/revet

 

important icon.png

Important update

  1. A basic brand verification request costs $4
  2. Public profit brands are now required to complete a new Authentication+ verification process
  3. Sole Proprietor brands require a mobile phone OTP verification to be verified

 

Step 3 - Vet your brand (optional)

In order to unlock most campaign use-cases for your brand, and increase the message throughput allowed for your campaigns, you need to request a standard or enhanced vet. For political campaigns, a political vet may be required. Please check our 10DLC brand verification requirements article for more information.

 

Using our dashboard -- Coming Soon

Vonage will soon introduce a new reseller attribute our 10DLC brand registration form, allowing you to automatically apply your reseller information to new brands. 

 

Please note that new campaigns registered under a reseller brand will automatically be designated reseller campaigns.

 

Register a 10DLC reseller campaign

Please read our campaign registration guide and campaign requirements articles to ensure your campaigns are compliant with the current 10DLC requirements.

 

Using our API endpoints

Please follow the steps in this article, making sure to call the use case qualification endpoint when registering a campaign with a new use case for that brand, and specifying the reseller information:

posthttps://api-eu.vonage.com/v1/10dlc/brands/:brand_id/campaigns

{
...
"reseller_id": "R123456",
...
}

 

Using our dashboard

Please follow the steps in this article, making sure to select the correct option when asked if this campaign was registered on behalf of another legal entity (i.e. reseller campaign) and provide your reseller ID.

 

Designate existing brands and campaigns as reseller

Before December 1st (2024)

Please work to bring your existing campaigns up to the current 10DLC compliance requirements, and update your campaigns with the correct reseller information before the deadline.

 

After December 1st (2024)

If you have existing campaigns registered with the wrong reseller information, you will need to register new campaigns with the correct reseller information. We recommend you to register your new campaigns first, as the review and approval process may take some time. Once approved, you can transfer your numbers into your new campaigns and cancel the old campaigns.

 

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Information

Please note that all existing campaigns are expected to remain compliant with all 10DLC requirements throughout their lifespan. We strongly recommend you to work to update your older campaigns, to ensure their compliance with the current requirements, and to designate your reseller campaigns appropriately to avoid any risk of disruption.

 

 

Becoming a 10DLC partner

Register as a 10DLC Campaign Service Provider (CSP)

The first step to becoming a 10DLC partner is to reach out to The Campaign Registry (TCR) and be recognised as a CSP in the 10DLC ecosystem. This process has to be done independently from Vonage and we recommend reaching out to TCR's support teams for assistance.

 

Register as a 10DLC partner with Vonage

Once you are a registered CSP, if you wish to partner with Vonage to run your 10DLC campaigns, you will need to reach out to your Account Manager. Our teams will review your request, and if successful, enable your account to use our 10DLC campaign import API endpoint.

 

Import partner campaigns into Vonage

You will need to use the platform or APIs of The Campaign Registry (TCR) to register your brands and campaigns. Please reach out to TCR's support teams for guidance when using their services.

After registering your brands and campaigns, you will need to:

  1. Designate Vonage as CNP for your campaigns (using TCR's API or platform)
  2. Use our APIs to import your campaigns into your Vonage account(s)

 

1. Share a 10DLC partner campaign with Vonage

Similarly to your brand and campaign registrations, you will need to use TCR's API endpoints or platform to elect Vonage as a CNP for your campaigns. On TCR platform, the process looks like this:

 

After registering your campaign, scroll down to the "Other Responsible Parties" section

10DLC BYOC TCR direct Screenshot Jan 8.png

Click on the "Elect CNP" button, and select "Vonage" as connectivity partner10DLC BYO Campaign Jan 8 Screenshot.png

 

 

2. Import a 10DLC partner campaign into your Vonage account

Please check our 10DLC API description for more details on this process. Once your campaign has been shared with Vonage (as your campaign's CNP partner), you will need to use our partner campaign import API endpoint to link your campaign to one of your Vonage accounts.

 

Use the following API endpoint to import your campaign:

posthttps://api-eu.vonage.com/v1/10dlc/partnercampaigns/import

{
"account_id": "abcd1234",
"campaign_id": "C123ABC",
"label": "This is a sample campaign",
"cnp_migration": true
}

 

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Information

Please note the following:

  • Vonage teams need to pre-approve and enable your account to allow you to use this endpoint
  • Always submit your campaign import requests from your primary account
  • Specify the account (primary or child account) in which to import the campaign in the payload
  • You can give a "friendly name" to your campaigns by defining a campaign 'label'
  • When migrating a campaign previously shared with a different supplier, you must set the 'cnp_migration' attribute to "true"

 

Once the campaign is imported and linked to one of your accounts, our compliance team will begin the review process:

  • If updates are required, our team will reject the sharing request:
    • You will receive an event from TCR containing our rejection feedback (i.e. details of the changes required) in the description
    • Once you have updated your campaign on TCR, please re-elect Vonage as CNP, and re-import the campaign into your Vonage account
  • Once Vonage's compliance team has approved the campaign, we will submit the campaign for a carrier review, which may also require you to provide updates & re-submit the campaign to Vonage

When the entire chain has reviewed & approved the campaign, we will set the campaign to 'Active' and you can start linking numbers & sending traffic to your subscribers.

 

Advantages & Limitations

10DLC Resellers and 10DLC Partners are both able to register many brands and campaigns for their customers, clients, partners or other legal entities they may represent but not legally own.

 

10DLC Resellers

Advantages

The main advantage of being a 10DLC reseller is that you will only need to work with Vonage and integrate with our products.

Additionally, Vonage has introduced some exclusive features under 10DLC:

  • The concept of reseller brands (and the automated management of reseller campaigns) introduced in early 2024
  • Advanced campaign registration form
    • Examples of valid use cases
    • Detailed message flow / CTA attributes, to increase compliance at first submission
    • Guidance around CTA requirements and approved legal verbiage

We also offer features available to partner customers, such as:

  • Email notifications
  • Webhook & SNS queues notifications -- coming soon
  • Opt-Out Assist service (managing auto-replies and providing SMS consent collection logs)
  • and more...

 

Drawbacks

As your reseller brands and campaigns are registered on TCR by Vonage, they cannot be migrated to a different supplier. This can be an issue if you would like to:

  • Work with multiple suppliers
  • Have the flexibility to migrate to a different supplier

 

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10DLC Partners

Advantages

As you are recognised as a CSP partner in the 10DLC ecosystem, you can:

  • Register your brands & campaigns on TCR directly
  • Request approval to use special use cases we do not offer all our customers
  • Benefit a much greater flexibility to elect multiple suppliers for your campaigns
    • As a back up, or
    • As an alternative

Another advantage is that you will be more involved in the 10DLC ecosystem:

  • Ability to participate to 10DLC round table meetings
  • Have a direct line of communication with The Campaign Registry (TCR)

 

Drawbacks

As you are more exposed to the ecosystem and benefit a higher visibility, you will be required to:

  • Adhere to additional compliance requirements
  • Ensure an appropriate level of KYC / Vetting when on-boarding new customers
  • Manually review and approve each campaigns before electing a CNP partner
  • Remain aligned with the technical and compliance 10DLC requirements
  • Define the logic of your implementation of the TCR service within your platform

You are likely to be held at a higher degree of responsibility for the customers you on-board, and the traffic you send on the network.

Finally, you may not be able to benefit all the features Vonage offers their customers, specifically around the brand & campaign registrations (reseller brands, automated management of reseller campaigns, advanced campaign registration form, etc.).

 

 

FAQ

10DLC Resellers

How long does it take for a reseller ID submission to be reviewed & approved?

Vonage needs to review your application before approving your reseller ID. This process is currently under review and will probably evolve in the coming months. For now, reseller applications are expected to be processed within 3 to 5 business days.

Once the request has been submitted, you may begin to register reseller brands and campaigns, but please keep in mind that rejected applications will automatically suspend the traffic for brands and campaigns designated as reseller. We would recommend to wait until the application is approved before registering (or designating) reseller brands and campaigns, if possible.

 

What are the requirements to become a 10DLC reseller?

Our teams are constantly looking at ways to improve your experience whilst using our services. We are currently reviewing our 10DLC reseller and partner requirements and will share more information when possible. Generally, we expect resellers to have a valid use case for registering reseller brands.

 

What to do if my reseller application was rejected?

If rejected, any reseller brand or campaign will be suspended to prevent traffic. You will need to reach out to your account manager (or open a support ticket), and request an appeal of the decision. Our teams will request additional information, or documentation, to be considered during the appeal. If an application cannot be approved, we will attempt to assist with a possible alternative to 10DLC for your messaging needs.

 

Where can I use my reseller ID?

Your reseller ID will be linked to your primary account (main API key). When registering reseller brands and campaigns (either via the reseller boolean on brands, or adding the exact reseller ID on campaigns), you need to register that brands or campaign from any of your primary or child accounts related to the primary account tied to the reseller ID. We recommend our 10DLC resellers to design their Vonage setup in a way that they only use a single primary account, and its relative children accounts (aka. sub-accounts). Customers may not use a reseller ID assigned to a different account (or their sub-accounts).

 

Why can I not update the reseller information for my existing campaigns?

From December 1st, 2024, TCR will no longer allow any modification of the reseller ID information tagged on a 10DLC campaign, and will require every new campaigns to specify a default reseller ID (R000000) to customer campaigns (aka. non reseller campaigns). If a new campaign is registered with the wrong information, or an existing campaign is updated without specifying to correct reseller information, you may be required to register a new campaign.

 

 

10DLC Partners

Why do I need to get approved as a 10DLC partner to import my campaigns?

Vonage needs to enable your account to use our campaign import endpoint. We have restricted access to this endpoint to increase security and ensure a higher level of trust between ourselves, our 10DLC partners and our customers. Additionally, without the import endpoint, Vonage would not be able to determine which API key / Vonage account to link to the partner campaign (which 

 

Why do I need to import my campaigns into a specific account?

Due to our account's architecture and platform, without tying partner campaigns to a specific account (or API key), Vonage would not be able to identify the campaign owner, which would not allow you to assign numbers or run traffic for this campaign, this would also have an impact on other operations, such as billing, compliance reviews, etc.

 

Why do I need to re-import my campaigns when re-submitting them after a rejection?

Once Vonage compliance team or the carriers rejected a campaign, we need to reject the sharing request with TCR. Doing this, we put the campaign into a specific status (Rejected). Since TCR will no longer share details of this campaign with Vonage, unless a new sharing request is sent to us, you will need to reimport the campaign to trigger an update of the campaign information and set the campaign status that will kick start a new compliance review, should you wish to re-elect Vonage after amending your campaign details. You can think of the importation as a request to restart the review process.

 

Why are my campaigns rejected, if my campaigns adhere to TCR's requirements?

TCR's requirements revolve around the technical limitations and checks that have been agreed by all carriers and partners, and can be performed automatically. Carriers also require more specific requirements around the compliance of a campaign (which analyses the actual content, matching use cases and sample messages, message flow / CTA and consent collection checks, etc. Since those checks are difficult to automate without a manual review, they are communicated by the carriers to their DCAs. Vonage compiles the different sets of requirements from our 10DLC partners, and uses their guidelines to approve or reject campaigns.

When registering a campaign on our platform, either via our dashboard or our APIs, customers have a slightly different set of information they need to provide in order to increase the chances of their campaigns complying to all requirements, and be approved on the first submission. Since partners register their campaigns directly on TCR, there is less granularity in the information requested. A good example of this is around the message flow. TCR campaigns only have a single attribute for the message flow, and carriers require more or less the same information to be provided within this attribute. Since not all carriers or DCA Partners require the same level of details to be presented within the message flow attribute, TCR is using a single attribute, while Vonage created around 10 separate attributes (message_flow_details). Those separate attributes allows us to do more in-depth relative data validation, require specific information, and once submitted, combined with approved legal verbiage to ensure a successful review.

 

How do I know why my campaign was rejected?

When Vonage or the carriers reject a campaign, TCR will send you a webhook event which contains a description attribute. This description outlines the reasons why the campaign was rejected, and if possible, offers a suggestion of the update required to make the campaign compliant.

 

Does Vonage allow CNP migrations?

Yes -- as a beta feature

Both Vonage and our partners have enabled the CNP migration capability, as a beta feature. If you wish to migrate your campaigns into or away from Vonage, please reach out to your account manager first.

Note that the feature can only be used to migrate campaigns if all the partners involved in both the current and future CNP chain have enabled the feature. You should therefore also check with your current or future supplier if they also allow this operation.

 

 

Please reach out to your Account Manager or open a support ticket if you have any further questions related to the information presented in this article.