Do you send SMS through Twilio? While the information on this page typically applies to anybody who sends SMS messages, we can only guarantee that it applies to users who manage their SMS senders and billing through Customer.io. Your mileage might vary if you obtain phone numbers and manage billing through Twilio. # Brand and campaign registration Before you can register for a phone number, you’ll need to register at least one brand and one campaign. The brand represents ‘who’ sends messages (you or a third party) and the campaign represents the kinds of messages you plan to send. ## How it works[](#how-it-works) *Brand* and *Campaign* are regulatory terms for sending messages in the US and Canada. Before you can register for phone numbers, you have to declare who you are—your brand—and what kinds of messages you’ll send—your campaigns. **We’ll help you register your brand and campaigns.** If you want to get started right away, [take a look at campaigns below](#standard-campaign-use-cases). Before you contact Customer.io to help you register as an SMS sender, you’ll need to provide at least three example messages for each of your campaign use cases—each kind of message you want to send. Otherwise, it can be helpful to understand different kinds of brands and campaigns as they come with different requirements, fees, and allowed messages-per-day. *Most* senders have relatively simple brand and campaign registrations: you are a direct brand and one campaign because you send messages on your own behalf for a single, universal purpose. But this can get more complicated if you send messages on behalf of sub-accounts or you want to send different kinds of messages—like transactional and marketing messages. You must register different campaigns for different messaging purposes, like one campaign for transactional messages and another for marketing messages. ## Brand registration[](#brand-registration) Most senders are considered standard, “Direct” brands. Generally, this means that you send messages representing yourself—you don’t send messages on behalf of another company or brand. Customer Type Description **Direct Brand** You’re a business owner that sends messages on your own behalf. You have a business Tax ID (not including a US Social Security Number). **Independent Software Vendor (ISV)** You’re a company that sends messages on behalf of your customers. See the [ISV Onboarding Guide](/docs/messaging/compliance/a2p-10dlc/onboarding-isv) for a detailed registration walkthrough with Twilio. **Sole Proprietor** You’re a student, hobbyist, someone working at an organization or someone trying out SMS messaging products for the first time. ### Brand throughput[](#brand-throughput) Your brand entitles you to a certain number of message “segments” per day, where each segment is up to 160 characters. In traditional SMS applications, a segment is a single chat bubble. Most users will register as a Standard Direct Brand, which grants you more than 6000 segments per day if you use an A2P 10DLC phone number or short code. **Sole Proprietor Brand** **Low Volume Direct Brand** **Standard Direct Brand** **Campaigns per Brand** One Campaign per Brand Each Brand may register up to five Campaigns, unless a clear and valid business reason is provided for exceeding this limit Each Brand may register up to five Campaigns, unless a clear and valid business reason is provided for exceeding this limit **Daily message volume** 1,000 SMS segments and MMS per day to T-Mobile (approximately 3,000 SMS segments and MMS per day across US carriers) Up to 2,000 SMS segments and MMS per day to T-Mobile (approximately 6,000 SMS segments and MMS per day across US carriers), with the exception of companies in the Russell 3000 Index, who will be able to send 200,000 SMS segments and MMS per day to T-Mobile From 2,000 and up to unlimited SMS segments and MMS per day to T-Mobile, depending on your [Trust Score](https://help.twilio.com/hc/en-us/articles/1260804800549-T-Mobile-daily-message-limits-for-long-code-messaging-with-A2P-10DLC) ### Brand trust score (for A2P 10DLC)[](#brand-trust-score-for-a2p-10dlc) When you register as a standard brand and request an A2P 10DLC number, Twilio submits your brand to The Campaign Registry (TCR) for review. TCR will assign a score from 0 to 100 based on your brand’s reputation. The higher your score, the higher your throughput. Twilio also submits the Brand for “secondary vetting,” which assigns a score from 0 to 100 and gives access to higher default throughput and message limits toward US mobile carriers. ### ISV registration[](#isv-registration) Talk to Customer.io if you want to register as an independent software vendor (ISV). ## Campaign registration[](#campaign-registration) Your Campaign use case type describes the general type of messages you want to send to your audience, like marketing or account verification messages. If you send different kinds of messages, you might have different campaigns—and possibly different phone numbers for each campaign. Generally, you can have up to five campaigns per brand. There are a few different categories of use case types: * Standard: [see the full list of standard use cases below](#standard-campaign-use-cases) * Low-Volume Mixed: offers lower messaging volume (fewer than 2,000 message segments per day on T-Mobile) and throughput than standard campaign use cases. But this type also comes with a lower monthly fee. * Special: for non-profits and emergency services. [See the full list of special use cases](https://help.twilio.com/articles/4402972441243-Special-Use-Cases-for-A2P-10DLC) The different campaign types have varying monthly fees associated and messaging throughput associated with them. See a list of A2P Campaign type fees in this support article. Note that Low Volume Standard Brands receive lower messaging throughput for campaigns than Standard Brands. ### Standard Campaign Use Cases[](#standard-campaign-use-cases) When you register as an SMS sender, you’ll need to provide at least three example messages for each of the campaign use cases that apply to you. When your campaigns are approved, you’ll need to work within the boundaries of your allowed campaign use cases. If you want to send messages outside of your allowed use cases, you’ll need to contact Customer.io to request a new campaign. **Campaign use case** **Description** 2FA Any authentication or account verification like one-time passwords Account Notifications Notifications about the status of an account or part of an account Customer Care Support, account management, and other customer interactions Delivery Notifications Information about upcoming deliveries Fraud Alert Messaging Notifications about potential fraudulent activity or spending alerts Higher Education Message campaigns from colleges, universities, and other educational institutions Marketing Promotional content like sales and limited time offers Mixed A campaign that covers multiple use cases like Customer Care and Delivery Notifications. Note that mixed campaigns are likely to have lower throughput and a higher cost per message. Polling and voting Messages conducting polls and votes for non-political activities—like customer surveys. Not for political use. Public Service Announcement PSAs to raise awareness about a given topic Security Alert Notifications about compromised systems (software or hardware)