← All guidesComplianceUpdated July 7, 20267 min read
If your follow-up texts used to land and now mysteriously don’t — no bounce, no error, just silence — you’ve almost certainly hit carrier filtering. The fix is A2P 10DLC registration, and it’s table stakes for any moving company that texts leads.
What A2P 10DLC actually is
A2P means application-to-person: texts sent by software rather than thumbed out by a human. 10DLC means a standard 10-digit local number — the kind customers recognize and can call back.
US carriers built the framework to cut down on spam. To send business texts at any volume, you register two things:
- A brand — who your business legally is: legal name, EIN, address, website, and a real contact.
- A campaign — what you intend to send: use case, sample messages, and how people consented to hear from you.
Skip it and your messages don’t reliably arrive. The cruel part is how quiet the failure is: your software reports “sent” and the customer never sees it. You conclude the lead went cold. It didn’t — it never got your text.
What movers need before starting
Gather these first. Almost every rejection traces back to one of them being sloppy:
- Exact legal business name — as filed with the IRS, not your DBA or the name on the truck. “Smith Moving & Storage LLC” and “Smith Moving” are not the same to a carrier.
- EIN — matching that legal name exactly.
- Business address — the registered one.
- A working website — reachable, and obviously a moving company. A parked domain or dead link is a fast rejection.
- An authorized contact — real person, real title, real email.
- Use case — for most movers, customer care or mixed: quotes, scheduling, move-day coordination.
- Sample messages — real ones you’d actually send.
- An opt-in description — how customers agreed to be texted.
Getting opt-in right
Reviewers care about consent more than anything else. You need a truthful answer to “how did this person agree to receive texts?”
For movers it’s usually straightforward: the customer requested a moving quote and gave their number for that purpose — via your website form, a phone call, or a marketplace. Say that plainly. If your quote form notes that submitting it means you may text them about their estimate, quote that language in your description.
What doesn’t fly: purchased lists with no direct relationship, or vague claims like “customers opt in on our website” when nothing on the site says so.
Why registrations get rejected
Roughly in order of frequency:
- Name or EIN mismatch. Must match IRS records character for character. Abbreviations, a missing “LLC”, and old names all fail.
- Website problems. Down, parked, or with no clear connection to the registered business.
- Samples that don’t match the use case. Declaring customer care and submitting promotional blasts is an instant no.
- Thin opt-in language. Vague equals rejected.
- Missing STOP/HELP handling. Honor opt-outs and answer HELP. Non-negotiable.
Write samples that get approved
Submit the messages you genuinely send, including your business name and an opt-out. For a mover:
- “Hi Dana, it’s Alex at Smith Moving. Your estimate for the June 14 move from Tampa to Atlanta is $3,240. Happy to walk through it — reply here or give us a call. Reply STOP to opt out.”
- “Smith Moving: your crew is scheduled for Saturday 8–10am. Reply with any questions. Reply STOP to opt out.”
Specific, clearly transactional, obviously from a named business. That’s what reviewers want to see.
How long it takes
Brand verification is often quick; campaign approval usually takes a few business days, sometimes longer. Register before you need it, not the week you launch. And if you get rejected, fix the mismatch and resubmit — rejection is a correction step, not a permanent no.
The shortcut
None of this is hard, but it’s tedious and easy to get subtly wrong. MadagascarCRM collects your brand and campaign details in one form and handles registration on your behalf, shows you exactly where it stands, and emails you the moment texting goes live. You fill in your business details once; we deal with the carriers.
Once texts actually deliver, the next question is what to send — our follow-up guide covers the cadence.
Want this handled for you? MadagascarCRM prices moves from your own rates, texts every lead automatically until they book, and keeps calls, quotes, and payments on one screen. Join the waitlist.
Frequently asked questions
What is A2P 10DLC?
A2P 10DLC is the US carrier framework for application-to-person texting sent from standard 10-digit local numbers. Businesses register a brand (who you are) and a campaign (what you send). Unregistered traffic gets filtered or blocked.
Do moving companies need A2P 10DLC registration?
Yes. If you text leads or customers from software using a 10-digit number, that is A2P traffic and carriers require registration. Without it, messages are increasingly filtered — often silently, with no error returned to you.
Why do A2P 10DLC registrations get rejected?
Most rejections come from mismatched business details: a legal name or EIN that does not match IRS records exactly, an unreachable website, sample messages that do not match the stated use case, or a missing opt-in description.
Keep reading
- How to Choose CRM Software for Your Moving Company — What actually matters when choosing moving company CRM software: instant estimating, built-in phone and SMS, dispatch, payments, and the pricing traps to avoid.
- Binding vs Non-Binding vs Not-to-Exceed Moving Estimates — The three moving estimate types explained for movers: what binding, non-binding, and not-to-exceed commit you to, when to use each, and how each one gets disputed.
- How to Follow Up on Moving Leads (and Actually Book More Moves) — Most moving leads are lost to silence, not price. A practical follow-up system for movers: speed to lead, texting over calling, cadence, and what to say at each step.