A short code must be reviewed by all supported wireless carriers before it can send and receive SMS and MMS messages. To ensure that this process goes as quickly and smoothly as possible, Twilio will advise you on carrier requirements before submitting your short code application to the carriers. Once your application is ready for submission, Twilio will then work with the wireless carriers on your behalf to have your application approved. During this approval process, you will not be able to use your short code.
The standard timeline for the short code carrier approval process is between 6 – 10 weeks from the time that you make your initial payment to when the short code is live on major carriers, but in some cases can take longer. Short code provisioning can vary considerably depending primarily on the time that it takes for mobile carriers to review and approve your short code. Our Short Code Team makes every effort to expedite carrier approval on your behalf.
Twilio Review Process (1-2 Weeks): Twilio reviews your application and helps you refine it before it can be submitted to carriers.
Payment: Once our team has approved your application, we will notify you that you can log in here and pay for your short code. (for more information about how payment works, see here).
Mobile Carriers review process (6-10 weeks on average)*:
- Carriers review your application and related websites or mobile apps.
- We answer questions carriers have about your application.
- Carriers connect the short code to their network for testing.
- Carriers give final approval and Twilio lets you know when your short code is live on their networks.
* Carriers require payment as soon as they begin the review process. Therefore, you should expect your bill date to come within the next 1-2 weeks, before your short code is live.
You can check on your short code’s carrier approval status at any time by going to the Short Codes page of your Twilio project. For information on carriers’ requirements for short code applications, please see here. If you have any questions about the carrier approval process, please contact your account manager.
In addition, carriers may reject -- or significantly delay approval -- of short code campaigns that they deem to be competitive, such as offering or advertising competitive communications services. Carriers may also decide to reject other types of campaigns from time to time for reasons they alone determine. Carriers have considerable discretion over the SMS traffic that they decide to carry on their networks.
Unless your campaign violates Twilio’s Acceptable Use Policy, Twilio will use good faith efforts to get your short code approved by the relevant carriers. Unfortunately, Twilio has no control over whether carriers approve or reject your particular use of a short code or the time that it might take for the carriers to reach a decision.