SMS Registration Requirements for Canadian Businesses

Overview

If your business sends text messages to customers using a standard 10-digit phone number (known as a 10DLC number), you may be required to complete A2P (Application-to-Person) registration. The requirements depend on where your recipients are located and when your phone number was purchased.

This article explains what you need to do based on your situation.

Scenario 1: You Only Send Messages to Canadian Recipients

If all of your SMS recipients have Canadian phone numbers, your registration requirements depend on when your 10DLC number was provisioned:

Numbers purchased before March 26, 2025 No A2P registration is currently required for Canada-to-Canada messaging. Your existing number can continue to send messages to Canadian recipients without changes.

Note: Even though registration is not required, Canadian mobile carriers apply strict filtering to unregistered long code (10DLC) traffic. For the best deliverability, we recommend using a Canadian short code or a verified toll-free number instead of a 10DLC number. Please reach out to our team if you'd like to explore these options.

Numbers purchased on or after March 26, 2025 You must complete one of the following before sending messages to Canadian recipients:

• A2P Brand & Campaign registration, or
• Persona verification (an alternative if you choose not to complete full A2P registration)

Scenario 2: You Send Messages to US Recipients (or Both US and Canada)

If any of your SMS recipients have US phone numbers, A2P 10DLC registration is mandatory — regardless of where your business is located. Being a Canadian company does not exempt you from this requirement. US mobile carriers (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, and others) enforce these rules based on where the message is delivered, not where it is sent from.

Unregistered messages sent to US numbers may be throttled, filtered, or silently blocked by carriers.

What the Registration Process Involves

A2P registration consists of two steps completed through Twilio:

Step 1 — Brand Registration

You register your business as a "Brand" in Twilio's Trust Hub. The information you provide must exactly match your official business records (CRA / Corporations Canada).

• If your business is a sole proprietorship without a Canadian Business Number (BN), you register as a Sole Proprietor Brand.
• If your business has a Canadian Business Number or other tax ID, you must register as a Low-Volume Standard Brand or Standard Brand.

Step 2 — Campaign Registration

After your brand is approved, you register a "Campaign" that describes the type of messages you send (e.g., appointment reminders, marketing promotions, transactional notifications, two-factor authentication). Each use case typically requires its own campaign.

• Campaign reviews currently take 10–15 business days.
• You will need to provide sample messages and confirm your opt-in consent process.

Step 3 — Phone Number Assignment

Once your campaign is approved, your 10DLC phone number(s) are linked to the registered campaign and you can begin sending to US recipients.

Summary Table

Sender Type Alternatives

Depending on your messaging volume and use case, a different sender type may be a better fit:

• Short Code — Best for high-volume messaging within Canada or the US. Offers the most reliable deliverability. Note: provisioning takes 12–16 weeks.
• Verified Toll-Free Number — Works across both the US and Canada. Requires verification but has a simpler registration process than 10DLC and is a good option for many businesses.
• 10DLC Long Code — Suitable for lower volume messaging. Registration required if sending to the US or if your number was purchased after March 26, 2025.