Related Terms

TCPA

SMS patient consent

HIPAA-compliant texting

See Also

Registration is one piece of a compliant patient texting setup. See how it fits into a HIPAA-compliant texting setup.

HIPAA-Compliant Texting

ABOUT THIS ENTRY

Category Core: Compliance

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Updated: Sep 2026

10DLC Registration

Definition

10DLC is the registration standard that lets a business send text messages over standard 10-digit local phone numbers, after the carriers vet the sender and its use case.

Why the distinction matters

US mobile carriers route business texting through a registered system called 10DLC, short for 10-Digit Long Code. A practice registers its organization and the kind of messages it sends. In return, it gets reliable delivery and higher throughput. Skip registration, and texts may be filtered or blocked, so reminders and confirmations quietly fail to land.

For healthcare, 10DLC is the plumbing under patient SMS. It does not make texting HIPAA-compliant on its own, but it is what keeps the messages flowing.

Example

A clinic moving to text reminders registers its practice and a “healthcare appointment” use case through its texting vendor. Once approved, reminders reach patients reliably instead of getting caught in carrier spam filters.

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