Setting up text messaging and fixing registration rejections

Texting your customers from a workspace number requires a one-time business registration that U.S. carriers mandate for all business texting (the 10DLC standard). This guide covers how setup works, what reviewers check, and how to fix the rejections we see most often.

Contents

• How texting registration works
• Choosing a registration type
• How long approval takes
• Common rejection reasons
• Why is my EIN not being accepted?
• Common questions

How texting registration works

When you enable messaging in Settings → Messaging, we assign a dedicated number to your workspace and submit your business details for carrier registration. Carriers (the networks that actually deliver every text) require this so they can tie each sending number to a real, verified business. Until the registration is approved, the number can't send or receive texts and the Messages tab stays locked.

You'll provide your legal business name, business address, contact details, a tax ID (for Standard registrations), and a couple of sample messages. An independent industry registry reviews the submission, not Coastline, so we can't approve it ourselves. What we can do is submit accurate information and help you fix anything that gets flagged.

Choosing a registration type

There are two registration types:

• Sole Proprietor. For single-owner businesses without a tax ID (EIN). Verified with a one-time code we text to your personal mobile. It has lower daily sending limits, but it's the fastest path if you don't have an EIN.
• Standard. For registered businesses with an EIN. Higher sending limits. Your EIN and legal business name have to match your IRS records.

Pick the one that matches how your business is registered. If you have an EIN, choose Standard.

How long approval takes

Most registrations are reviewed within 1 to 2 business days. Sole Proprietor numbers can be faster once you reply to the verification text. If something needs correcting, you'll get an email explaining what happened, and the status in Settings → Messaging changes to Rejected.

Common rejection reasons

If your number was rejected, open Settings → Messaging to see the exact reason, or contact our support team and we'll walk through it with you.

Why is my EIN not being accepted?

This is the most common Standard rejection, and most of the time your EIN is fine. Carriers check your EIN and legal business name against commercial business databases, not the IRS directly. A newly issued EIN can take a few weeks to appear in those databases even though it's already valid with the IRS. So a brand-new business often gets rejected on a perfectly correct EIN simply because the databases haven't caught up yet.

Work through these in order:

1. Confirm the EIN is correct. Check it against your IRS EIN assignment letter (Form CP-575) or a 147C confirmation letter. It's a 9-digit number.
2. Confirm the legal business name matches exactly. The name on your registration has to match the name tied to the EIN on your IRS paperwork, character for character (including LLC vs L.L.C., commas, and spacing).
3. If both are correct and the EIN is recent, the databases likely haven't caught up. Contact our support team. We can submit your IRS confirmation letter (CP-575 or 147C) so a reviewer verifies the EIN by hand, instead of waiting weeks for the databases to refresh.

Having your IRS confirmation letter saved as a PDF makes this much faster. If you don't have one, you can request a 147C letter from the IRS by phone.

Common questions

Can I just resubmit the same information?

If nothing changed, an automated re-check usually returns the same result. The reliable fix for an EIN that won't verify is to have a reviewer check it by hand against your IRS letter, which we handle through support.

Do I need a website or privacy policy?

A working website helps reviewers verify your business, but it isn't strictly required. Coastline automatically hosts a compliant texting privacy and terms page for your workspace.

Will I be charged again if I'm rejected?

No. A rejection doesn't add any charges, and your number stays reserved while we sort it out.

How do I reach a person about this?

Use the Contact support button on the rejection notice, or open the Help menu (the question mark in the top bar) and choose Contact support.

Wondering what happens if you give up your number, or a teammate whose phone backs the registration leaves? See What happens if I release my text number or someone on my team leaves?.