Toll-Free Message Verification for US/Canada – Twilio Support

The Toll-Free Messaging Verification process allows Twilio customers to send more important business messages, and make sure your customers see them. Our users who adhere to their stated use case and all applicable rules (including Twilio's Messaging policy) should see greatly reduced message filtering on Toll-Free traffic towards all major networks in the US and Canada. To help aid customers in the Toll-Free registration process, we have created this comprehensive overview.

Notice: Starting November 8, 2023, messages sent from Restricted (previously “Unverified”) Toll-Free phone numbers will be blocked in the US.

Submitting your Toll-Free phone numbers for verification moves them into a Pending Verification status which allows for the existing industry-wide sending limits and will be subject to progressively tighter message filters while waiting for final approval:

Daily limit: 2,000 message segments per phone number account
Weekly limit: 6,000 message segments
Monthly limit: 10,000 message segments

Toll-Free caps are maximum daily limits, not a guaranteed minimum, so traffic could still experience message filtering even when well below the daily limits if not verified.

Starting Jan 31, 2024, messages sent from Toll-Free phone numbers with Pending Verifications will be blocked and subject to messaging fees. Pending messaging limits are also subject to change.

Any blocked messages will return Error 30032 or Error 30007.

The following topics are covered in this guide:

Who needs to verify?
Is verification required for ISVs?
Verification process
Verification Status
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Who needs to verify?

Toll-Free Verification is required for sending messages over Toll-Free phone numbers to the US and Canada. Users who don't verify will be blocked from sending any messages over Toll-Free numbers beginning on November 8, 2023. We recommend all users submit their registration as soon as possible to avoid delays in processing, and verification. For more information, see What happens if I don't complete Verification.

If you are a Developer, Hobbyists and/or just starting out at Twilio, see this article to help navigate the new industry restrictions for Programmable Messaging in the US and Canada: Toll-Free Verification and Developers: Navigating the New Restrictions

Is verification required for ISVs?

ISVs and aggregators are required to verify Toll-Free numbers. For full details, see Toll-Free Verification for ISVs.

Verification process

We allow users to verify their Toll-Free phone numbers for messaging via Console or our Messaging Compliance API:

Messaging Compliance API

With the Messaging Compliance API, submit your North American Toll-Free phone number for verification to ensure that you’re sending compliant messaging traffic through Twilio. Please see our onboarding guide for a step-by-step walkthrough of the various API calls you will make to register for Toll-Free Verification capabilities using Twilio APIs.

Console

Submit your toll-free phone number for messaging verification directly from the Twilio Console and also review your verification status for any of the toll-free numbers in your account. Please see our onboarding guide for a step-by-step walkthrough of the process to register for Toll-Free Verification using the Twilio Console.

Verification processing

Upon receipt of your submission, Twilio reviews and processes your verification request. Please allow approximately 2-3 weeks for this process.

At this point, Twilio will automatically move the numbers associated with your request into the Pending Verification status. This change allows you to send limited messages from your Toll-Free number, but subjects your traffic to progressively tighter message filters while verification is processed. Pending Verification numbers have the following limits:

Daily limit: 2,000 message segments
Weekly limit: 6,000 message segments
Monthly limit: 10,000 message segments

Notice: These Pending limits are the maximums, and are not guaranteed. If you start to see 30007 errors but have not reached the posted limitations, you can assume that the messages are being filtered.

Verification Status

Once you submit your verification request, you can monitor verification status as they change during processing through the Console or API.. Please see below for a full overview of each status.

TFPN Traffic	Traffic limits	API/Console submission status	What’s happening?
Restricted	Blocked	Console:Not verified API: PENDING_REVIEW, TWILIO_REJECTED (if resubmittable and >7 days since rejection)	Starting on November 8, 2023, ALL Restricted traffic will be blocked in the US. To avoid this, we recommend submitting your number(s) for verification as soon as possible. Restricted (previously “Unverified”) status means that your Toll-Free number has not been submitted for verification or was not approved.
Pending Verification	Sending Limits until January 31, 2024 (not guaranteed) Daily: 2,000 message segments Weekly: 6,000 message segments Monthly: 10,000 message segments	Console:Verification in progress API: IN_REVIEW, TWILIO_REJECTED (if resubmittable and <7 days since rejection)	Starting on January 31, 2024, ALL Pending traffic will be blocked in the US. To avoid this, we recommend submitting your number(s) for verification as soon as possible. Once we receive your verification submission, Twilio automatically moves your phone number(s) in a Pending Verification status, which allows for daily sending volumes in the US, but subjects your traffic to progressively tighter message filters while verification is processed.
Verified	3 SMS segments per second by default, but can be increased.	Console: Approved API: TWILIO_APPROVED	Upon a successful review of your verification submission and carrier approval, your number(s) will be moved to "Verified" status. Verified numbers have full access to A2P sending, and a greatly reduced risk for message filtering on Toll-Free traffic toward all major networks in the US and Canada, as long as you adhere to your stated use case and all applicable rules, such as Twilio's Messaging Policy.
Rejected	Blocked	Console: Rejected API: TWILIO_REJECTED (if not resubmittable)	A rejected verification request can occur for a number of reasons and can affect your ability to send messaging traffic. For full details, see Why was my toll-free verification rejected?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What happens if I don't complete Verification?

Starting on November 8, 2023, all unverified (Restricted) Toll-Free numbers will be blocked from sending messages to the US. Restricted Toll-free messaging traffic to Canada continues to remain blocked until verified.

Also, starting on January 31, 2024, all Pending Toll-Free numbers will be blocked from sending messages to the US.

See the table above for messaging sending limits until then.

All restricted and pending traffic filtered for these reasons will be blocked with error code 30032. Using additional Toll-Free numbers to exceed these limits or circumvent filtering isn’t allowed, and will result in the same block and error code. Verification is recommended for all customers regardless of volume.

How do I check the status of my verification?

You can check the status of your toll-free submission directly through the Twilio console by taking the following steps:

Access the Active numbers page in Console.
Click the Toll-Free phone number that you have submitted for verification.
Click the Regulatory Information tab.
The status will be displayed.

For more information on how to check the status of verification, please see step 3 of our onboarding guide here.
You can also check the verification status programmatically via API by using the "List Toll Free Verifications Records" endpoint as described here.

I’ve verified my Twilio Toll-Free number previously and my SMS traffic has been sending without issue, but the Console/API shows that I still need to submit a verification request. What should I do now?

If you are not experiencing 30032 or 30007 filtering errors in your messaging traffic sent from this number, and are certain you’ve previously had it verified, you likely do not need to submit a new verification request at this time. We do still recommend you submit a new request through the Twilio Console/API when possible in order to ensure we have the latest information on your business and use case, and so that you see the proper status on your account for the number going forward.

Please note that there have been numerous changes and improvements to Toll-Free verification and messaging compliance standards across the industry over the past few years, so the latest verifications Console/API experience we’ve introduced here in 2023 reflects most, but not all, historical verification submissions. If in doubt, you can always go through and submit a new verification request for your number so that everything is up to date.

For the time being, other reasons you may not see your Toll-Free number as ‘verified’ in the Console/API despite going through that process before are as follows:

If you’ve verified the number on one account but later transferred that number to a different account or subaccount (currently, verification records cannot transfer between accounts).
If you’ve verified the number through a different provider before porting or hosting the number’s SMS services through Twilio (verification records cannot transfer between providers).
If you’ve verified the number in a previous year when less information was collected in this process (the number(s) would still be treated as ‘verified’ at this time, and SMS traffic is not impacted, but there may not sufficient information to create the respective verification records for visibility in Console/API).

What can I do if my Verification request is rejected?

If your Toll-Free verification request is rejected, you may be able to re-submit a corrected request. Rejections for content, or Acceptable Use Policy / Messaging Policy violations are ineligible, and can't be re-submitted. For full details, see Why Was My Toll-Free Verification Rejected.

How can I check if my Toll-Free Number exceeds the sending limits?

To check your Toll-Free Number's message activity, please visit the Messaging Insights page in your Twilio Console.

If you do exceed the sending limits while your verification request is Pending, any additional messages sent that day will fail with error 30007 (if you have not exceeded the limit, that error also may indicate carrier blocks/filtering).

What are the Industry-wide thresholds for sending traffic over restricted (previously “unverified”) Toll-Free numbers?

See the table above for messaging sending limits until then.

Why are the sending limits changing?

With the introduction of US A2P 10DLC routes in 2020, the messaging industry began its shift towards a more compliant and transparent ecosystem for Application-to-Person (A2P) messaging. This April we communicated new industry requirements that made toll-free numbers the latest phone number types that required registration and vetting. These requirements are consistent with industry-wide, global moves to require registration for all A2P messaging traffic. For more information, see our Blog post.

Is an API available?

An API for Toll-Free Verification is now available as of July 11, 2023. Please refer to the onboarding guide that describes the step-by-step walkthrough of the various API calls you will make to register for Toll-Free Verification capabilities using Twilio APIs.

You can also submit your Toll-Free phone number for messaging verification directly from the Twilio Console and also review your verification status for any of the Toll-Free numbers in your account.

How can I get higher-throughput Toll-Free Messaging?

If you need higher throughput than the standard 3 messages per second (MPS) on a Toll-Free number, Twilio offers High-Throughput Toll-Free messaging. Traffic verification is included as part of the High-Throughput setup process.

For further information, see Toll-Free SMS and MMS messaging throughput (MPS).
If you are interested in High-Throughput Toll-Free messaging, please talk to our Sales team.

Do I need to go through the verification process again for toll-free numbers that I'm porting to Twilio?

Yes, as currently there is no way to transfer toll-free verifications between providers. In order to minimize any downtime, we highly recommend submitting your verification request as soon as the porting process completes for your number.

Please do not submit a new verification request through the Twilio Console/API before the port process completes, or your verification request may be rejected with error 30447. If this occurs, you can delete the failed record and submit a new request after the port completes.

Also, please note that your toll-free SMS traffic should remain treated as Verified until your new submission (via Twilio Console/API) is reviewed.

I see a new "Delete" option in Console or via API for my verification request, when might I want to use this?

There are two methods you can use to delete your Toll-Free Verification request; via Console or API. Before you start using this functionality, please review the different scenarios here to make sure you understand when to and not to use it.

NOTE: Twilio cannot restore a verification record once deleted, so it should only be used as a last resort option when necessary.