Start Here: What error message do you see?
BoomTown surfaces two different failure messages, and they mean very different things. Identify which one appears on your failed text:
"Message was flagged as spam" → Skip to Section 1: Message Was Flagged as Spam. This points to compliance and content issues.
"Message failed to send" → Skip to Section 2: Message Failed to Send. This points to 10DLC registration or general deliverability issues.
If you're seeing a mix of both messages across different texts, work through each section in order — the fixes are different.
Plain-Language Definitions
Two acronyms that appear in both sections:
10DLC stands for 10-Digit Long Code — the standard U.S. phone number format used for business texting (like
555-123-4567). Since 2023, U.S. carriers require businesses sending texts through 10DLC numbers to register their company and texting campaigns before messages will be delivered.A2P stands for Application-to-Person messaging — any text sent from a business software platform (like BoomTown) to a person's phone. A2P texts are subject to 10DLC registration requirements and carrier compliance rules.
In short: when BoomTown sends texts on your behalf, those are A2P messages going through a 10DLC number, and both the system registration and the content of your messages have to meet carrier rules for texts to deliver.
Section 1: Message Was Flagged as Spam
The "Message was flagged as spam" error usually means the message tripped a carrier's spam filter before reaching the recipient. This is a content and compliance issue, not a system registration issue.
Carriers look at how your messages are written and sent, not just what platform they come from. Common causes below — work through them in order.
Cause A: The message doesn't identify you clearly
Carriers expect business texts to clearly state who the message is from. A message that starts conversationally without identification (for example, "Hey, are you still interested?") looks like a scam to filtering systems.
What to do: Open every first-outreach text with your name and company. For example:
"Hi Sarah, this is Alex from ABC Realty..."
"Jamie here with ABC Realty — just following up on..."
Cause B: The message looks one-sided (broken two-way communication)
Carriers penalize texting patterns that look like blast marketing rather than real conversations. You're more likely to get flagged when:
You send multiple outbound messages to a lead without any replies from them.
You send the same or similar message to many leads in a short time window.
You keep sending messages to a lead who has never responded.
What to do:
Wait for replies before following up. If a lead hasn't responded, give them time before sending another text.
Don't send the same message to many leads at once. Space out bulk sends, or use Smart-Drip Plans to stagger delivery automatically.
Stop texting leads who consistently don't respond. Move them to email-only follow-up instead.
Cause C: The message content contains flagged language or formatting
Specific words and formatting patterns trigger spam filters:
Flagged keywords — financial or promotional terms like loan, mortgage, discount, guaranteed, free, win, claim, or ALL CAPS phrases. These are heavily weighted by carriers.
Link shorteners — URLs from services like
bit.ly,tinyurl.com, orgoo.glare almost always filtered. Use full URLs instead.Excessive punctuation or emojis — strings like "!!!" or repeated emoji sequences look promotional.
Pricing or numbers-heavy content — "$500 off!" or "50% savings" reads as marketing and is filtered aggressively.
What to do: Rewrite flagged messages in conversational language. Use full URLs instead of link shorteners. Save promotional-style content for email.
Cause D: The message doesn't include required opt-out language
Carrier rules require periodic opt-out disclosures in A2P texting. What to do: Add opt-out language to your initial message in any new lead sequence, and include it in broadcast-style messages. A lead doesn't need to see it in every reply, but carrier systems want to see that your campaign honors opt-out mechanics.
Cause E: Too-similar messages being sent at scale
Sending identical or near-identical messages to many leads (even manually, one at a time) can trigger spam filters. Carriers look for pattern-matched text at scale.
What to do: Personalize messages using Template Text merge fields (like {VisitorFirstName}) so each lead receives a uniquely rendered message. Vary your phrasing across templates. See the Smart-Drip Overview or Text Templates articles for how to use merge fields.
Section 2: Message Failed to Send
The "Message failed to send" error usually means the message never made it out of the BoomTown system or was rejected at the carrier level before filtering. This is a deliverability or registration issue, not a content issue.
If you're an Agent user: Most "Message failed to send" causes (10DLC registration, texting feature enablement) require Broker/Admin or Contract Holder access to check or fix. If all or most of your texts are failing, send this article to your Broker/Admin or Contract Holder and ask them to run through the checks below. The one cause Agents can check themselves is the lead's phone number (Cause B).
Cause A: 10DLC registration is incomplete or was rejected
If your company's 10DLC Brand and Campaign registration is not fully approved, U.S. carriers will block your texts at the carrier level. This is the most common cause of "Message failed to send" when the failure is widespread.
10DLC registration has two parts, both of which must be approved:
Brand registration — identifies your company to the carriers (tax ID, business type, address, etc.).
Campaign registration — describes the type of texting you do (lead follow-up, marketing, etc.).
In BoomTown, both parts are submitted together through a single form called Texting Registration.
How to check (Broker/Admin or Contract Holder only):
Log in to BoomTown and open Lead Central. If your 10DLC registration needs attention, you'll see a red banner at the top of the page. The exact wording tells you which state you're in:
If you see "Your 10DLC registration submission was rejected…":
🚩 Action Required! As of August 31st, 2023 all carriers are now blocking messages from unregistered phone numbers. Your 10DLC registration submission was rejected due to incomplete or inaccurate information. Failure to update and submit this form will result in all text messages being blocked by carriers. Please enter the requested information here!
This means a submission was made but rejected by the carriers. Click the here link in the banner to reopen the Texting Registration form, review what was flagged, correct the issue, and resubmit.
If you see "Your account has not completed 10DLC registration…":
🚩 Action Required! As of August 31st, 2023 all carriers are now blocking messages from unregistered phone numbers. Your account has not completed 10DLC registration. Failure to complete registration will result in all text messages being blocked by carriers. Please enter the requested information here!
This means registration has not yet been submitted. Click the here link in the banner to open the Texting Registration form and complete the initial submission.
Note on new platforms: This "not completed" banner is typically seen on newer BoomTown platforms. 10DLC registration cannot be submitted until your platform is live, so if you're in your initial setup period and seeing this banner, you may need to wait until your site is live before you can submit.
If there is no banner, your 10DLC registration is approved and the issue is likely elsewhere — continue to Cause B.
We recommend that the Contract Holder submits the Texting Registration, even though any Broker/Admin technically has access to submit. Only one Broker/Admin is required to fill out this form per platform. Submissions associated with the Contract Holder tend to be processed more smoothly and are easier to resolve if a carrier flags the registration for review. If you're a Broker/Admin who isn't the Contract Holder, the best path is to share this article (or the banner in Lead Central) with your Contract Holder and have them complete the submission.
Completing the Texting Registration form
The Texting Registration form has two sections — Business Registration and BoomTown Contract Holder — that are submitted together with a single Save button.
Important — information must match IRS records exactly. Your Business Name, Address, and EIN must match what the IRS has on file for your business. The form references your W-9 Tax Document as a convenience (most users have a W-9 handy), but the true source of truth is your IRS EIN Confirmation Letter (CP 575) — the document the IRS issued when your EIN was originally assigned.
If your W-9 and CP 575 don't match — or if you're not sure your W-9 is current — use the CP 575 as the reference. Mismatches against IRS records are the most common cause of registration delays and rejections.
Can't find your CP 575? If it's been lost, you can request an IRS Form 147C verification letter from the IRS as a replacement. Call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 to request one.
Section 1: Business Registration
Each field is labeled with the line on your W-9 where the matching information is found. Verify against your CP 575 where possible.
Legal Business Name (W-9 Line 1 or Line 2) — enter the legal business name exactly as it appears on your CP 575.
Address (W-9 Lines 5–6) — your business street address.
City
Zip Code / Postal Code
State / Region
Country
Website URL — your company's active BoomTown website URL.
Business Type (W-9 Line 3) — select one of the following from the drop-down:
Partnership
Corporation
LLC
9-digit Tax EIN (W-9 Part 1) — enter your 9-digit Employer Identification Number with no dashes. The form references the W-9 as a convenience, but if there's any chance your W-9 has typos or is out of date, verify against your CP 575 (EIN Confirmation Letter) before submitting.
Section 2: BoomTown Contract Holder
Enter the contact information for the person who holds the BoomTown contract:
First Name
Last Name
Email
Phone Number
Title — the Contract Holder's job title.
Submit:
Click Save at the bottom of the form. Once submitted, the registration goes to the carriers for review.
Common reasons 10DLC registrations get rejected:
Tax ID doesn't match the registered business name. The EIN and business name you submitted must exactly match what the IRS has on file. If rejected for this reason, verify your entries against your CP 575 (or a 147C replacement letter) rather than a W-9, since W-9s can contain outdated or mistyped information.
Business address doesn't match records. Must match what's on file with your tax and business registration.
Website URL is invalid or missing required elements. Privacy policy and terms of service pages must be live and accessible.
To fix a rejected registration, click the here link in the banner to reopen the Texting Registration form, update the flagged information, and resubmit.
Cause B: The lead's phone number can't receive texts
Individual "Message failed to send" errors on specific leads (when your registration is otherwise working) usually come down to the recipient's number:
Landline — texts cannot be delivered. Cannot be fixed from the BoomTown side.
VoIP (like Google Voice) — delivery is unreliable and varies by carrier.
Disconnected or reassigned — the carrier will reject the message.
Mistyped or incomplete — verify the number on the lead's profile is correct, including area code.
What to do: Open the lead's profile and review the phone number. Confirm it's a mobile number and that it's typed correctly.
Cause C: The lead has opted out
A lead who has unsubscribed from texts cannot receive messages from your account. Leads can opt out by:
Texting STOP (or UNSUBSCRIBE, CANCEL, END, QUIT) to your BoomTown Number.
Clicking an unsubscribe link in an email.
Being manually unsubscribed by an Agent or Admin.
What to do: Open the lead's profile and review their communication preferences. A lead who has opted out cannot be re-subscribed from your end — they must text START to your BoomTown Number themselves to opt back in. See the Opt-Out Functionality Overview article.
Cause D: Texting feature is not enabled on your user profile
If 10DLC registration is approved but you individually can't send any texts, confirm that the texting feature is enabled on your user.
Broker/Admins can verify this under Admin → Users – Agents → [your profile] → Settings.
Agents need a Broker/Admin to check and enable texting on their account.
"Not Really a Failure" — Two Cases That Look Like Failures But Aren't
Smart-Drip texts sent during a Dark Window
If a Smart-Drip text didn't send when you expected, check whether it was scheduled inside a Dark Window. Smart-Drip texts will not send:
Before 9:30 AM in your account's time zone
After 9:00 PM in your account's time zone
A text scheduled inside the Dark Window waits until the window closes, then sends. It isn't a failure — it's TCPA protection.
See the Smart-Drip Overview article for full Dark Window details.
Smart-Drip one-text-per-day limit
Smart-Drip enforces a maximum of one text per day per lead. If a lead has already received a Smart-Drip text today, any additional Smart-Drip text steps scheduled for the same day will not send.
Manual texts sent from the lead's profile aren't subject to this limit.
Quick Sanity Checks
If you've worked through the sections above and still aren't sure what's happening:
Send a test text to your own mobile number from within BoomTown.
Fails with "Message failed to send" → Section 2 cause, likely 10DLC.
Fails with "Message was flagged as spam" → Section 1 cause, check your content.
Succeeds → The issue is lead-specific, not account-wide.
Compare a lead where texts work against one where they don't. The difference usually points to the cause — different carrier, different number type, opted-out status, etc.
Rewrite a flagged message in plain, conversational language and resend. If it goes through, the previous wording was the trigger.
Wait 24 hours and retry. Carrier filtering can be temporary.
Key Terms
10DLC — 10-Digit Long Code. The standard U.S. phone number format used for business texting. Since 2023, companies sending texts through 10DLC numbers must register with the carriers.
A2P — Application-to-Person messaging. Any text sent from a business platform to a person. Subject to 10DLC registration rules and carrier compliance.
Brand Registration — The part of 10DLC registration that identifies your company to carriers (legal business name, EIN, address). Must be complete and approved before texts will deliver.
Campaign Registration — The part of 10DLC registration that describes the type of texting you do. Must be complete and approved before texts will deliver.
Carrier Filtering — When a recipient's wireless carrier (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, etc.) blocks or filters a message as suspected spam before it reaches the recipient's phone. Usually surfaced in BoomTown as "Message was flagged as spam."
CP 575 (EIN Confirmation Letter) — The IRS letter issued when your business was originally assigned its EIN. This is the authoritative source of truth for your business's Tax ID and registered name as the IRS has them on file. Carriers validate 10DLC registrations against IRS records, so any mismatch between the Texting Registration form and your CP 575 is likely to cause rejection. If you've lost your CP 575, request an IRS Form 147C letter as a replacement by calling the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933.
Dark Window — Protected hours during which Smart-Drip will not send texts. Texts are blocked before 9:30 AM and after 9:00 PM in your account's time zone.
"Message failed to send" — A BoomTown error indicating the message did not deliver due to registration or deliverability issues (incomplete 10DLC, invalid number, opt-out, etc.).
"Message was flagged as spam" — A BoomTown error indicating the message was filtered by carrier spam detection, usually due to content or compliance issues (lack of identification, one-sided communication, flagged keywords, etc.).
Opt-Out — A lead's withdrawal of consent to receive texts. Triggered by the lead texting STOP (or similar keywords), clicking an unsubscribe link, or being manually unsubscribed. A lead who has opted out cannot be re-subscribed from your end.
Template Text — Merge fields (like
{VisitorFirstName}) that insert lead-specific information into texts at send time. Helps avoid pattern-matched spam filtering.Texting Registration form — The form in BoomTown (accessible via the red banner on Lead Central) where Broker/Admins or Contract Holders submit their 10DLC Brand and Campaign information. Has two sections: Business Registration and BoomTown Contract Holder. Submitted with a single Save button.
Two-Way Communication — Carrier expectation that business texting involves back-and-forth exchanges, not one-sided broadcasts. Patterns that look one-sided (repeated outbound with no replies) trigger spam filtering.
W-9 Tax Document — The IRS tax form businesses use to provide taxpayer identification information. BoomTown's Texting Registration form references the W-9 as a convenience, but users should verify their entries against their CP 575 since W-9s can contain outdated or mistyped information.