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Toll-free verification

Overview​

Toll-free numbers are a great alternative to messaging with Short Code or 10DLC (local area code) numbers. In the US, toll-free numbers can be used for business messaging to all major US carriers, as well as most major mobile Canadian carriers.

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All toll-free numbers must be verified prior to sending messages.

Toll-free verification form

Submit this form to begin the verification process for a new toll-free number.

As a rule of thumb, some categories of messaging are forbidden on SignalWire. Please take the time to review our list of explicitly prohibited content before submitting your application for Toll-Free, 10DLC, and Short Code.

Downstream message filtering is designed to prevent unwanted messaging, fraud, and abuse. Before considering verifying your Toll-Free number, please be sure to follow the CTIA guidelines and best messaging practices.

Requirements​

The following standards must be followed for Toll-Free messaging:

  • Obtain clear opt-in consent from your recipients before sending messages
  • Enable easy opt-out for message recipients
  • Avoid using shortened URLs
    • It's highly recommended to use a full branded URL as well as URLs that lead back to a legitimate website that contains branding, a privacy policy, terms of service, and contact information. Publicly hosted URL shorteners are forbidden and are guaranteed to cause spam blocks.
  • Using multiple Toll-Free numbers to send the same or similar content to bypass throughput limitations is known as snowshoeing. This is highly prohibited by carriers. If you need to increase your throughput, it can be approved by our Sales team. If you have a valid use case for using multiple Toll-Free numbers (such as multiple locations all requiring an individual Toll-Free number), this is something we may be able to work out with our carriers.

Verification process​

Getting your Toll-Free number verified means that your business and use case has been reviewed and vetted prior to sending messaging via Toll-Free and that your content has received carrier approval.

There is no charge associated with the verification process.

Having your Toll-Free numbers verified will greatly reduce the risk of spam filtering on Toll-Free traffic towards all major mobile carriers in the US, as well as most major mobile carriers in Canada. Make sure you stick to the content you submitted for verification and continue to follow SignalWire's messaging best practices and code of conduct. Deviation from your verification registration can still result in spam filtering. Verified does not mean whitelisted.

Verification affects messaging to mobile subscribers in the United States as well as Fido, Rogers, Telus, and Videotron in Canada.

Note: Other (non-US/Canada) countries do not treat Toll-Free SMS any differently than other international SMS, and you should consult that country's SMS Guidelines page to learn more about compliance considerations for messaging.

Toll-Free Verification Process​

If you believe you have a valid use case for a Toll-Free number, our Carrier Operations team would be happy to assist you. Once you fill out the verification form, a ticket will be generated for our Carrier Operations team to process. The turnaround for Toll-Free verification is 3-5 business days.

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Due to an influx of upstream requests, our messaging peer has stated that the current turnaround time for registrations can be around 1-2 weeks or longer if insufficient information is provided.

The form linked above includes the following fields. All of this information is required to verify traffic for your Toll-Free number:

  • Business Name
  • Company Website
  • Business Address
  • Compliance Contact (someone at your business who can respond to compliance questions if they arise)
  • Requested Throughput (default is 3 MPS)
  • Toll-Free number(s) to be verified (if multiple, please provide justification)
  • Use Case / Description of the Use Case
  • Message Content (samples that reflect the type of messages you will be sending)
  • Opt-in Description (how do your recipients provide consent to receive messages?)
  • Opt-in details (link to, image of, or scanned copy of opt-in page or process)
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Note: While it is not required to include samples of every different iteration of your messaging content, it is strongly recommended that the message samples you provide represent the majority of the content you plan on sending.

FAQs​

If you are an ISV, for example, and need to complete verification for multiple customers/multiple numbers, please download this template and fill out the required information for each number. To download, click File > Download > Microsoft Excel (.xlsx). Once you're ready to submit, send the form to support@signalwire.com and our Carrier Operations team will be in touch.

No.

No, TCR is not involved with Toll-Free verifications. A specific Toll-Free Aggregator handles Toll-Free messaging for the industry and is unrelated to TCR.

Canada is more restrictive because of its anti-spam laws and the policies implemented by mobile carriers to meet the law.

Toll-Free Verification and the downstream provider require legal language to be found somewhere on the brand's website about messaging. You will have to provide a link to your company's terms and conditions and your privacy policy.

It can take up to 2 weeks, from start to finish.

No, your verified Toll-Free number is subject to limited filtering. If your content is flagged as spam, that specific content will be blocked, but not the Toll-Free number.