Register your business for texting
Last checked in v0.64.0, Oct 2026
US mobile carriers only deliver a business's texts when the business has told them who it is and what it texts about. This is called A2P 10DLC registration. Fifi does it for you: you answer a short set of questions, agree to the fees, and press one button. Fifi submits your business to Twilio and The Campaign Registry, follows the review to the end, attaches your number, and starts texting for you when carriers accept it. This guide covers the registration. For sending texts, see Texting your contacts.
Who can do it:
| Task | Owner | Admin | Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| See where the registration stands | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Answer the questions and fix a problem | Yes | Yes | No |
| Agree to the fees and submit | Yes | No | No |
| Cancel the registration | Yes | No | No |
Before you start
- Who can do it: an owner or admin fills in the questions. Only an owner can agree to the fees and press Agree and submit, because the fees are a charge to your business.
- Needs: the Texting module on a Business plan, and a US number from Settings → Texting → Get a number. Canadian numbers don't go through carrier registration: Fifi's team reviews them, as before.
- Have ready:
- With an EIN (a US tax ID): the letter from the IRS that shows your legal name and EIN (a CP 575 or 147C letter, not a W-9). The name must match it exactly.
- Without an EIN (a sole proprietor): your name, your mailing address, and a mobile phone you can text from. Fifi sends a code to it.
- Your website, or a public Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn or Google Business page if you don't have one.
- Time: about 15 minutes to answer, then days of waiting on carriers (see How long it takes).
Heads up
An LLC has an EIN, so an LLC is registered as a business, even if you're the only person in it. A business with an EIN that registers as a sole proprietor is rejected, and the fees are charged again to start over. If you're not sure, look at your IRS letter.
What it costs
US carriers charge a one-time registration fee and a monthly fee for your texting program. Fifi passes these on at cost, with no markup. CorporateMutt sends you an invoice. Fifi shows you the exact amounts before you submit and asks an owner to agree to them. US carriers charge a one-time registration fee, passed on at cost: from $19.50, and from $1.50 a month.
| Your business | One time | Every month |
|---|---|---|
| With an EIN (the usual choice) | $19.50 | $1.50 |
| Sole proprietor (no EIN) | $19.50 | $2.00 |
| With an EIN, a larger "Standard" registration (Fifi's team sets this up if you need it) | $61.00 | $10.00 |
These are the carriers' prices as of 2026-10-20, plus any taxes. If they change, Fifi shows you the new amounts and asks again before charging you anything you haven't agreed to. Three things to know before you agree:
- The fees are charged when your registration is submitted. They are not refunded if carriers don't approve it.
- A fix after some rejections can add a charge. Fifi shows the new amount and asks an owner to agree first.
- The monthly fee continues until you cancel the registration in Settings → Texting, even if you turn the Texting module off.
Steps
- Go to Settings → Texting. Under Your number, find the Registration card.
- Click Register your business. (After you've started, the button says Continue registration.)
- Before you start. Read what registration is, what it costs and how long it takes, then continue.
- Your business type. Choose My business has an EIN (US tax ID) or I don't have an EIN (I'm a sole proprietor). A nonprofit, a government body or a publicly traded company isn't registered here yet: choose Something else and Contact us, and Fifi's team does it for you.
- Your business. Type your legal name exactly as on your IRS letter, your EIN, your business structure and industry, your website, and your address. A sole proprietor types their own name, an optional business name, and a mailing address instead of an EIN.
- Who we can contact. Give the person carriers can reach: name, title, job position, email and phone. A sole proprietor gives an email, a phone and the mobile that gets the code.
- How people agree to your texts. Tick the ways that are true for your business: your online booking form, in person, or by phone. Each shows the exact wording Fifi will publish. Check the summary of what your texts are for. You can add one sentence of your own.
- Costs and agreement. Read the fee table and the three notes above, tick the box, and click Agree and submit (owners only; an admin sees Ask an owner to agree with a link to copy).
You can click Back on any step, or save and carry on later. Fifi keeps your answers as you go and deletes an unfinished draft after 30 days.
What you'll see: the card shows where you are, and See progress opens the progress list. Fifi's team looks at the first registrations and any that look unusual before anything is sent (usually within a business day); the status says so.
How long it takes
| Your business | Usually |
|---|---|
| Sole proprietor | 3 to 10 days |
| With an EIN | 1 to 3 weeks |
Carriers review your business, then your texting program, then your number is registered (up to a day more). A fix on your side adds time. You can leave and come back: the page refreshes while you look at it, and Fifi emails the person who submitted and the owners when something needs them and when it's done.
You can receive texts while you wait. Fifi can't send until registration is complete. The composer says "Texting is being finished" while your number is being registered.
What you'll see
See progress on the Registration card opens the status page. It lists the steps, with a date for each one that's done:
| Step | What it means |
|---|---|
| Submitted | Fifi has your answers and your agreement to the fees |
| Business verified | Carriers have checked your business against the tax record |
| Mobile confirmed | (Sole proprietors) you replied YES to the code |
| Texting program reviewed | Carriers have approved what you text and how people agree |
| Number registered | Your number is registered with carriers |
| Ready | Registered. You can text |
Under the list: what Fifi is doing now, what you need to do (if anything), the typical time, the fees you agreed to and what's been charged so far, and Cancel registration. The card's words for each state are:
| State | The card says |
|---|---|
| Not finished | Continue registration. |
| Submitted | Fifi's team is taking a quick look (usually within a business day). |
| Verifying your business | Verifying your business with carriers (minutes to a week or more). |
| Waiting for your reply | Reply YES to the text we sent to your mobile. |
| Carriers are reviewing | Carriers are reviewing your texting program (days to a few weeks). |
| Registering your number | Registering your number with carriers (up to a day). |
| Registered | Registered. You can text. |
| We need one thing from you | See When we need one thing from you. |
| Not approved | Fifi's team will be in touch. |
When we need one thing from you
A rejection you can fix shows an alert at the top of Settings → Texting and of the status page, in words, naming the fields to check. Click Fix and resubmit: it opens only those steps. If resubmitting costs nothing, it says so. If it could add a fee, it shows the amount and asks an owner to agree first.
| It says | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Your legal name doesn't match the IRS record | The name must be exactly as on your IRS letter. Carriers compare it with the tax record, and a mismatch is the most common reason for a rejection | Use the name from the IRS letter, with its punctuation and endings like "LLC" or "Inc." |
| Your address doesn't match the IRS record | The address you gave isn't the one the IRS has | Use the address on your IRS letter |
| Brand-new EINs can take 30 to 90 days to show up | Carriers can't find a very new EIN yet | Try again later, or contact support |
| Carriers couldn't open your website | The address didn't open, is parked, needs a login, or goes to another business | Check the address, or use your public Facebook page instead |
| That email, mobile number or address has been used for too many registrations | Carriers limit how many registrations one email (10), mobile (3) or address (10) can have | Use a different one |
| Because you have an EIN, you need a business registration | An EIN holder can't register as a sole proprietor | Start again with My business has an EIN (the fees are charged again) |
| Carriers asked for different wording | The sentence you added about what you text didn't pass | Reword it and submit again |
| A resubmission can add a fee | The fix may cost money | Read the new amount, and have an owner agree |
| The code we texted expired | Sole proprietors have 24 hours to reply YES | Click Resend the text |
Some rejections only Fifi's team can fix. You'll see "We need a little more time on this one. Fifi's team has been told." (nothing for you to do), or "Not approved: Fifi's team will be in touch." with a Contact support link that opens a ticket with the details filled in.
The code for sole proprietors
When carriers approve a sole proprietor's business, Twilio texts the mobile you gave from (915) 278-2000: "Please confirm your registration for US A2P Messaging by replying YES." The page says "Reply YES to the text from (915) 278-2000 on the mobile ending ••34 within 24 hours."
- Reply YES from that phone. The status moves on within minutes.
- Didn't get it? Click Resend the text (3 a day; it waits a minute between sends). Check that the number is a mobile you control, not a Google Voice, Twilio or other internet number.
- Fifi emails you 12 and 23 hours after the code was sent.
- If the code is never confirmed within 30 days, the registration ends and you start again. The business fee is charged again.
Cancel the registration
An owner can open See progress and click Cancel registration at any step, even after it's approved. Fifi deletes your texting program from Twilio, so the monthly fee stops. A confirm box says what happens (and Keep my registration backs out): fees already charged aren't refunded, the business registration stays with the carriers, your number stays, but texts can't be sent until you register again.
What Fifi shares, and what it keeps
- Shared: your business's legal name, EIN if it has one, address, website, industry and your contact person's name, title, email and phone (for a sole proprietor, your name, email, mailing address and mobile). Fifi sends them to Twilio, who passes them to The Campaign Registry and the mobile carriers to verify your business. They keep their own copies under their own policies, and Fifi can't delete theirs.
- Kept encrypted, then deleted: Fifi keeps your legal name, EIN, address and contact details encrypted, only until your business is verified (or for 30 days if you stop partway). Then it deletes them. Fifi keeps the status, the fees, your agreement to them, and a scrambled fingerprint of the EIN so the same EIN can't be registered twice by accident.
- Never: Fifi never puts these details in logs, emails, texts, reports, Ask Fifi or the export, and never uses them for marketing.
- A public page: Fifi publishes a public page at
/sms/followed by your workspace's address, which says what your texts are for and how people agree to them. Carriers read it. It exists from submission until the registration is cancelled or rejected.
What you can text
Registration is for appointment and service updates and replies to customers who asked to hear from you. It is not for marketing or promotions. Fifi has no text marketing feature, and carriers can suspend your registration, with the monthly fee still due, if promotions go out. A text with a link shortener such as bit.ly is refused, because carriers filter those. Your online booking form's reminder box uses the wording Fifi registered, so what customers agree to is what carriers approved.
Check your work
- To do: Settings → Texting shows your number and a Registration card.
- To do: The legal name is spelled exactly as on the IRS letter.
- To do: The website opens in a private browser window and shows your business.
- To do: An owner has read the fees and agreed.
- To do: (Sole proprietors) the mobile is a real mobile that can receive a text from (915) 278-2000.
- To do: You know who to ask if the card says "We need one thing from you".
Troubleshooting
| What you see | Why | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| No Register your business button | You're a member, the number isn't a US number, or registration isn't switched on for Fifi yet | Ask an owner or admin; for a Canadian number nothing is needed; otherwise see the card's sentence |
| "Registration is being reviewed by Fifi's team" | Fifi's team registers numbers by hand until automatic registration is switched on | Wait; usually a business day |
| "Registration is paused while Fifi checks something. Your texting registration isn't lost." | Fifi's team paused registration for a moment | Your answers are safe; check back later |
| "We couldn't reach the texting service. Your answers are saved and Fifi will keep trying." | The texting service was unreachable | Nothing to do |
| Agree and submit is missing | Only owners agree to fees | Ask an owner; use Ask an owner to agree to send the link |
| It's been over two weeks | Carriers can be slow | Fifi flags it for its team after a while; contact support if you want to check |