10DLC, TFN, and Short Code Fees and Charges

A2P 10DLC (Application-to-Person 10-Digit Long Code) enables businesses to send text messages using standard local phone numbers. U.S. carriers apply per-segment surcharges for SMS and MMS messages sent through these channels.

Important: All carrier fees listed below are passthrough costs that Volt forwards to customers at cost with no markup.

Using Volt Connect? If you're using your own carrier contract through Volt Connect, please refer to your CPaaS provider's 10DLC fee sheet, as rates and review processes may differ.

⚠️ Unregistered Traffic Is Now Blocked: As of February 1, 2025, U.S. carriers block all text message traffic from unregistered 10DLC numbers. Registration with The Campaign Registry (TCR) is mandatory to send messages. See the Unregistered Traffic section below for details.

The Campaign Registry (TCR) sets registration and vetting fees. TCR implemented fee increases on August 1, 2025, including slight increases across brand registrations, vetting services, and appeals, plus a new Authentication Plus Verification charge.

Note: TCR adjusted several registration fees on August 1, 2025. Exact amounts may vary slightly depending on your CSP/aggregator (e.g., Twilio bundles secondary vetting into their $46 standard brand registration fee). Always confirm with your provider.

Campaign fees are recurring charges billed monthly by TCR for each active campaign based on its messaging use case. Each campaign has an initial 3-month minimum commitment (except Political campaigns).

Carriers charge per-segment rates for every message sent or received. These fees vary by operator and message type, and are updated by carriers periodically, often with limited advance notice. The rates below reflect the most current confirmed pricing as of February 2026.

⚠️ Upcoming Change (AT&T): AT&T has announced new A2P SMS and MMS pass-through fee increases effective April 1, 2026. Rates below will be updated once the new schedule is confirmed. Budget accordingly.

T-Mobile (effective Jan 19, 2026): T-Mobile increased MT (outbound) fees across Short Code, 10DLC, and Toll-Free channels. MO (inbound) fees for 10DLC and Toll-Free are now $0.0025. The previous rate of $0.003 outbound / $0.003 inbound is no longer current. Outbound Fees are now $0.0045 for 10DLC.

US Cellular (effective Jan 15, 2026): US Cellular confirmed new pass-through fees for 10DLC, Toll-Free, and Short Code traffic.

AT&T (effective April 1, 2026): AT&T has announced upcoming fee increases for A2P SMS and MMS. We will update this document once final rates are published.

Toll-free numbers also incur per-segment carrier fees. Key update: Verizon increased its toll-free SMS fee from $0.003 to $0.004 effective June 1, 2025.

SMS (approximate ranges by carrier):

MMS (approximate ranges by carrier):

Note: T-Mobile's January 2026 changes also affect Toll-Free messaging. Confirm current rates with your CPaaS provider.

Most regional U.S. carriers charge $0.0035-$0.004 per segment for short code SMS.

Critical: As of February 1, 2025, U.S. carriers block all A2P text message traffic from unregistered 10DLC numbers. Unregistered messages will not be delivered and are subject to delivery fees. Always register your numbers and campaigns through TCR before sending.

Prior to the block taking effect, carriers charged elevated surcharges on unregistered traffic. For reference, the final known unregistered surcharge rates were:

These surcharges are no longer the primary concern. The traffic simply will not deliver. If you have numbers that are not yet registered, do so immediately to avoid complete service disruption.

Effective September 30, 2024, a failed message processing fee of $0.001 per message is applied to messages that terminate in a "Failed" status. This is an industry-wide carrier/aggregator passthrough fee and applies regardless of the reason for failure. It is not charged by Volt.

T-Mobile charges a $250 non-use fee for any 10DLC campaign with an "active" status on TCR that does not have at least one long code phone number associated with it over a rolling 60-day period. If you have inactive campaigns, either deactivate them or associate a number to avoid this charge.

Note on SHAFT: This includes sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco, plus CBD/marijuana/vaping-related content. Businesses in these industries must exercise extra caution.

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