Since the major carrier shifts between 2021 and 2023, business texting has changed from an open wild west to a strictly regulated ecosystem. As of February 2025, all major US carriers began blocking unregistered A2P (Application-to-Person) traffic entirely. These changes were driven largely by the need to comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), a federal law that restricts telemarketing and the use of automated telephone equipment. If your business isn’t certified and compliant with these legal standards, your messages simply won’t be delivered.
Why Certification is Mandatory
The certification framework exists to solve a specific problem: the explosion of anonymous, high-volume spam and predatory scamming. By requiring every business to register their Employer Identification Number (EIN) and specific message intent through The Campaign Registry (TCR), carriers can hold senders accountable. Before these regulations, the SMS network was frequently exploited by anonymous actors, many operating from abroad, who could blast thousands of messages without any oversight. While the administrative hurdle is higher, the result is a cleaner network where legitimate messages are no longer drowned out by scams, ensuring your brand receives better attention and higher open rates.
Carrier Limits: The Numbers
SMS certification is about your literal capacity to send. Carriers enforce strict daily and minute-by-minute caps based on your registration type:
- T-Mobile Daily Caps: Most businesses (Low Volume Standard Brands) are capped at 2,000 messages per day across their entire brand. If you are a Sole Proprietor without an EIN, that limit drops to 1,000 messages per day.
- AT&T Throughput: AT&T measures capacity in Messages Per Minute (MPM). A typical small business (Class T) is limited to 75 MPM, while a Sole Proprietor (Class W) is restricted to just 15 MPM.
- All other carriers: Most standard business campaigns without secondary vetting are limited to a total of 3,000 messages per day across all US networks. If you exceed these, you’ll receive Error 30023 and your traffic will be cut off until the clock resets at midnight Pacific Time.
In the AskNeo dashboard, if a message fails to deliver for any reason, a red cross will appear below the message in the conversation feed. You only pay for messages that are successfully delivered!
Which Businesses can and cannot text?
The carrier ecosystem strictly enforces SHAFT guidelines, which stands for Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco. Any business operating in these industries including cannabis, CBD, vaping, and adult entertainment is fundamentally banned from A2P 10DLC messaging. This also covers ancillary businesses like paraphernalia shops or clubs.
Additionally, high-risk financial services are prohibited, specifically payday loans, short-term high-interest lending, debt collection, and “get rich quick” schemes such as multi-level marketing (MLM) or crypto scams. Marketing for gambling, sweepstakes, and certain political campaigns also faces heavy scrutiny and requires specific, high-level vetting that goes beyond the standard registration process.
Third-party lead generation, where a company like a mortgage broker or insurance agent sells consumer data to others, is a major trigger for immediate rejection. Even “cold” outreach for real estate wholesaling or deceptive “tax relief” offers are manually flagged by carriers. If your business falls into these categories, carriers will block your traffic at the gateway to remain compliant with federal consumer protection laws and CTIA guidelines.
While many industries face strict scrutiny, the vast majority of standard business operations are fully allowed and welcomed by carriers, provided they follow the registration process.
Approved Business Types and Use Cases (non-exhaustive):
- Customer Support: One-on-one communication, answering product questions, and technical assistance initiated by the customer.
- Professional Services: Legal offices, accounting firms, and consulting agencies using text for client communication.
- Appointment-Based Businesses: Medical and dental practices, hair salons, and automotive shops sending automated reminders or scheduling updates.
- E-commerce and Retail: Sending order confirmations, shipping tracking alerts, and delivery notifications.
- Hospitality and Restaurants: Managing table reservations, waitlist notifications, and guest services.
- Education: K-12 schools and universities sending campus alerts, class schedule changes, or deadline reminders.
- Non-Profits and Charities: Organizations registered as 501(c)(3) sending out event invitations or community outreach messages.
- Real Estate: Licensed agents and brokers managing lead inquiries and showing schedules (provided there is direct consent, not “cold” outreach).
- Security and Utilities: Two-factor authentication (2FA) codes, fraud alerts, and service outage notifications.
- Marketing and Promotions: General business marketing including sale announcements, coupons, and seasonal newsletters.
- Tech and Software Companies (SaaS): Sending password resets, system status updates, and onboarding sequences for new users.
- Home Services and Contractors: Plumbers, electricians, HVAC technicians, and landscapers sending estimates and arrival notifications.
- Lawyers and Legal Firms: Coordinating case updates, meeting reminders, and document collection.
- Healthcare and Medical Clinics: Specialized clinics using SMS for mental health checks, managing operations, prescription refill alerts and follow-up care instructions.
- Fitness and Wellness: Gyms, yoga studios, and personal trainers use texting for class booking confirmations, membership billing alerts, and motivational challenges.
- Logistics and Transportation: Delivery services, trucking companies, and private car services use SMS for real-time tracking links, driver arrival notifications, and delivery confirmations.
The key to approval for these businesses is not just the industry itself, but the clarity of the “Use Case” and the proof of a clean opt-in process on your website. As long as you are a legitimate legal entity (with an EIN) and your customers have explicitly asked to hear from you, your business is a prime candidate for certification.
The Registration Process: 2026 edition.
AskNeo streamlines the A2P 10DLC registration process in 5 easy steps:
- 1. After signing up for your free trial, simply complete a form regarding your business and use cases. AskNeo handles everything for you, including carrier vetting and relationships.
- 2. If your website or signup page does not currently feature an opt-in checkbox, please incorporate one using the following language: By clicking, signing up, or applying to our website and/or service, you agree to our Terms of Service {URL} and the Privacy Policy {URL}. By submitting, you authorize {Your company name} to send text messages with offers and other information. Message/data rates apply. Consent is not a condition of purchase.
- 3. Add to your Terms and Conditions:
{Your company name} messaging program:
-
- When you opt in to this program, you will receive SMS and text messages related specifically to our communication services, including updates related to your account, service updates, and responses to your inquiries. These messages are designed to facilitate your use of our platform and ensure you remain informed about your account activity and any technical requirements. By providing your phone number, you authorize us to deliver these communications directly to your mobile device as part of the service experience. We ensure that these messages are limited to the scope of our business relationship and do not include promotional or marketing content.
- You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text “STOP” to the short code. After you send the SMS message “STOP” to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and we will start sending SMS messages to you again.
- If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at {support email address}.
- Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages
- As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. You will receive one or two messages a month. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.
- If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy: {link to privacy policy}
- 4. Add to your Privacy Policy:
- Data Collection and Usage: We collect specific personal information necessary to facilitate communication services, including your phone number and any metadata associated with SMS, text messages, and voice calls. This data is used exclusively to route messages, connect calls, and ensure the technical performance of our platform. We also process usage logs to maintain service reliability and provide customer support when requested.
- Third-Party Disclosure and Marketing: We maintain a strict policy against the sharing of your communication data. Your phone number, message content, and call history are never sold, traded, or shared with third parties for their independent use. No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. Furthermore, we confirm that none of the information collected through our SMS or calling services will be used for marketing purposes. You will not receive unsolicited promotional material, and your data will not be utilized to build advertising profiles or shared with external marketing agencies.
- 5. Help & Stop Keywords: Your first message to any customer must include “Reply STOP to opt out” and “Reply HELP for help.”
Get started for free today!
Certification is a one-time process that unlocks the most powerful communication tool in your arsenal. Don’t let your messages get caught in the carrier filters or risk heavy fines for non-compliance. Most campaigns get approved within 2-3 business days. In rare cases, it can take up to 10 days.
Start your free trial today. Once inside the dashboard, you can find our contact details in the support tab. Send us an email and our team will answer any questions you have.