How does a US dealership get approved to text customers?
A US dealership gets approved to text customers by registering with the carriers under A2P 10DLC. You register your brand, which is checked against IRS records, and a campaign describing what you text and how customers agree to it. A person reviews the campaign against your website, which is where most rejections come from.
What is A2P 10DLC and why does a dealership need it?
A2P 10DLC is the US carriers’ registration system for businesses that text customers from a regular ten-digit phone number. Every US dealership that sends texts from software, rather than a rep’s personal phone, needs it. Unregistered business texting gets filtered or blocked by carriers, so customers may simply never receive your messages.
That is the frustrating part. Nothing looks broken on your side. The rep sends the text, it shows as sent, and the customer never sees it. If your store has had a run of leads that never reply, registration is worth checking before you blame the reps.
What do carriers check when you register?
Carriers check two things. Your brand, meaning your legal business name, EIN and address, is matched against your IRS records, so it must match your EIN letter exactly. Your campaign, meaning what you text and how customers opt in, is reviewed by a person who will open your website to check it.
The brand step usually passes if the paperwork lines up. Small differences cause trouble: a trade name where the legal name should be, or an old address. Pull the EIN letter and copy it exactly.
Why do dealership texting campaigns get rejected?
Most dealership campaigns are rejected because of the website, not the texts. Reviewers look for consent wording next to every phone field, a privacy policy that says mobile numbers are never shared, and SMS terms naming the program, message frequency, rates, STOP and HELP. If any of these is missing or hidden, the campaign fails.
The fixes are small but specific. An unchecked consent checkbox beside every form that asks for a phone number. A line in the privacy policy that mobile opt-in data is never shared or sold. An SMS terms page linked from the forms. Every page must open without a login, and you register your main dealership website, not a landing page.
Sample messages matter too. Each one should name the dealership and end with how to opt out, so the reviewer can see who is texting and how to stop it.
How can you tell if your dealership texts are being blocked?
Look for silence that does not fit. Texts that show as sent but get almost no replies, customers who say they never heard from you, or delivery errors on outbound messages are all signs. If your store texts US customers and has never registered, assume some messages are being filtered.
Compare reply rates on texts against calls and emails to the same leads. If customers answer the phone and reply to email but never to texts, the texts are probably not arriving. Registration is the fix, and until it is approved, calls and email are the safer first touch.
How does bkd.ai help US dealerships register?
bkd.ai gives US dealerships a US Texting Registration page in Settings with a guide, copy-paste website text and a short checklist. You fill in your business details, press send, and bkd.ai registers the brand and campaign with the carriers. The result shows on the same page, along with exactly what to fix if changes are requested.
Dealerships marked as United States in bkd.ai get the page and a reminder automatically, so nobody has to go looking for it. Review takes from a few days to a few weeks. If the carriers send it back, you fix what they asked for and resubmit at no extra cost.
Frequently asked questions
How long does A2P 10DLC approval take for a dealership?
Review usually takes from a few days to a few weeks. The brand check is mostly automatic against IRS records, while the campaign is reviewed by a person who checks your website. The fastest way to get through is to fix your website before you submit, because that is where most rejections come from.
Do Canadian dealerships need A2P 10DLC registration?
A2P 10DLC is a US carrier requirement for texting US customers from US ten-digit numbers. A dealership texting from Canadian numbers is not registering under it. In bkd.ai the US Texting Registration page appears for dealerships marked as United States, so a US store should check its country is set correctly.
What does SMS consent wording need to say?
It should sit next to every phone field with an unchecked checkbox, name the dealership, say what texts the customer will get, and include message frequency varies, msg and data rates may apply, reply STOP to opt out and HELP for help. It should also say consent is not a condition of purchase.
Can a rejected texting campaign be resubmitted?
Yes. Carriers return a reason with each rejection, such as missing SMS terms or no consent wording on a form. Fix that item on your website or in the registration, then send it again. In bkd.ai you see exactly what to fix on the same page, and resubmitting costs nothing extra.