All purchased Toll-Free Numbers (TFN) should be "verified" to ensure SMS and MMS reliable message delivery. 

Single Submission Form - To request verification of a TFN if you have an email account provided by Gmail, please complete and submit this Google form, which allows you to upload a file to review your request's opt-in requirement.

Otherwise, please use this Google form, which asks you to provide a hyper-link to a file or URL we can download or browse to review your request’s opt-in requirement.

After your request has been processed, you will be contacted with a status update at the email address provided.

Bulk Submission Sheet - If you have 5 or more toll-free numbers, download the Bulk Verification Sheet and email it to verified.toll.free@vonage.com.  Include your business or organization's name in the Subject line when submitting.

  - All submissions of more than one number must include a "valid business reason" to justify why more than one number is required.   Include the reason to verify multiple numbers in column "S" on the sheet.

  - All submissions must include the content provider's business name, address, contact name, email and phone.  For Vonage to only contact a reseller, include a contact email address in column “V” on the sheet.

Purpose

TFN verification by the wireless carriers (operators) enables reliable SMS and MMS mobile messaging across the US and Canada. 

Verification is a lightweight on-boarding process that privately submits content provider business information and messaging use cases to be approved to route messages over nationwide wireless networks.

What Does Verified and Unverified Mean?

A Verified TFN means the message content has been reviewed and does not fall under the Disallowed Content Policy.  Also, it means the number does not send Spam (unsolicited messages) to users and the traffic type is known, documented and the number is only associated with the business submitted on the verification request.

An Unverified TFN has not successfully completed the verification process.  It's messages are subject to higher levels of message filtering, as well as messages that contain hyper-links are blocked.

Unverified Toll-Free Numbers

It is recommended to verify all TFNs regardless of messaging traffic volume.  

Canada - Only Verified TFNs will be able to route messaging traffic to Canada.  

• If an unverified TFN sends a message to terminate on a Canadian carrier, the message will be blocked.

US - Unverified TFNs may route messaging traffic to the US, but under volume threshold limits.

• SMS text message (one segment up to 160-characters) and a MMS image/clip count as one message.

• All unverified number messages exceeding the limits below may be blocked.
  • Daily Limit:         500 messages per day.  A day resets at 12:00 AM Pacific.
  • Weekly Limit:   1,000 messages per week.  A week resets on Sunday at 12:00 AM Pacific.
  • Monthly Limit: 2,000 messages per month.  A month refers to a calendar month.
• All unverified number messages, regardless of being successfully sent or not, count toward the daily, weekly and monthly volume limits if they are processed through the network.
  • For example, if a content provider sends 12,000 messages on the first day of the month, the first 2,000 are delivered, the remaining 10,000 will be blocked and the monthly maximum has been met.
• Message thresholds are subject to change.

Provisionally Verified Numbers - US

1. Customer submits a verification request form to Vonage (via single or bulk form).

2. Vonage reviews the request to pre-approve and submit to the wireless carriers for verification.

• Vonage may contact the submitter at the email address provided to request further information to complete the form. 

3. After Vonage submits a verification request to the carriers to review, the number is immediately provisionally verified.

• Each provisionally verified number is activated to send and receive messages immediately upon submission to the carriers.

4. After Vonage submits a verification request to the carriers, the submitter will be contacted by email with a status update that the number is provisionally verified to route messages with limits.

• Provisionally verified numbers have message sending limits during the verification process:
  • 2,000 messages/day, a day resets at 12:00AM Pacific
  • 6,000 messages/week, a week resets on Sunday at 12:00 AM Pacific.
  • 10,000 messages/month, a month refers to a calendar month.
• All unverified number messages, regardless of being successfully sent or not, count toward the daily, weekly and monthly volume limits if they are processed through the network.

5. Submitter will receive another email with a status update indicating whether verification is approved, or not approved.

• We expect for it to take up to 2 weeks for full verification of requests larger than 10,000 messages per month once submitted to the carriers, and up to a month for full verification of requests under 10,000 messages per month once submitted to carriers.
  • During the provisional time period, Vonage recommends to Wait To Send commercial message traffic until the submitter has received confirmation the TFN is fully verified. 
  • If a content provider wishes to send commercial messages when the TFN is provisionally verified, they should keep in mind the new daily and weekly limits.

For verifications that are not approved, the submitter will be notified by email that we have seven days to re-submit the required information requested, or the number will no longer be able to route messages. 

Who Can Request a Toll-Free Number to be Verified

A business (or organization) that wants to send and receive mobile messaging traffic must first purchase a TFN.

Then, the number must successfully complete the Toll-Free verification process. 

• The verification form consists of standard business information and a short description of the messaging program.
• Each TFN must be verified for the company (brand) who wishes to route message content over that number.  Example, if Company X is sending messages on behalf of Brand Y, then Brand Y is the company who will need to be verified.
• One TFN per one company (brand) is the guideline.  If a company wishes to activate more than one number, they must submit a 'valid business reason' to verify up to five numbers.  Example, two numbers needed for staging vs. production, or 3 numbers needed for three sales regions.  If specific reasons (or locations) are provided there's a better chance at verification.
• Opt-in consent from the end-user to receive messages from the sender is required before a user receives a first message.  A hyper-link to a URL or screenshot to visually show opt-in consent disclosure must be provided to be verified.  Opt-in may not be obscured within a Terms of Service or Privacy Policy.
• TFNs are verified simultaneously for both SMS text messaging and MMS picture messaging (images, audio/video clips, vcards).  If a TFN is already verified for SMS, no further action is required to add MMS assuming the submitted use case has not significantly changed. 
• TFNs are verified simultaneously for both US and Canada messaging coverage. 
• TFNs follow similar program guidelines to the CTIA and CWTA messaging handbooks for common short codes.

Service Benefits

Connect with customers, employees and systems - quietly, quickly and efficiently.

TFNs enable fast, reliable, interactive, nationwide, multi-carrier mobile message delivery.

SMS alerts get the message out, may include hyper-links to launch a portal or application and may turn into 2-way conversations.  MMS add pictures and clips.

Messages received on mobile handsets are sent from a TFN (not from a short code, or 10-digit local number).

Each verified TFN comes with up to 30 SMS and 25 MMS messages per second throughput.  With a valid business need, throughput may be increased by contacting your account manager, or customer support.  Example message volume:

SMS messages are routed 160-characters at a time.  For example, a 300-character message would be concatenated and arrive as two segments on the recipient's handset (first segment 160, second segment 140-characters).  The Big 3 carriers may reassemble segmented messages and present them as one message to the user.  The sender would be billed two increments.

MMS messages route images (jpg, jpeg, png, gif), audio clips (mp3 recommended), video clips (mp4 recommended for best device and network support) and vcards.  Up to 750Kb maximum file size per message.

Best Practice Guidelines

All campaigns in the US and Canada should provide the program name or brand name in the message header for every message that is sent to a mobile handset for recognition and consistency purposes.

• Opt-In, Consent
  The message sender must obtain explicit opt-in consent from the recipient for messages sent to a 10-digit number.  Example opt-in disclosure should contain, underneath where the user enters their number to sign-up to receive messages, something like the first and last lines below at a minimum.  A hyper-link to a URL or screenshot is required for verification.

         Opt-in may also include Text-To-Join (Keyword), Point-Of-Sale (verbal) and Employee agreements (paper form).  Verbal and paper form opt-in disclosure should be written on company letterhead and explain how the end user is notified and accepts they will be receiving messages.

• Opt-Out, No Consent
  The end-user can revoke consent at any time.  Opt-out requests must be honored, wherein the end-user sends a message from their mobile device with the word “STOP”.  A STOP request blocks all subsequent text message exchanges between an individual mobile number and a text-enabled Toll-Free number.  A user may reply "UNSTOP" or "START" to start receiving messages again.
• Age Gating
  Certain alcohol content is allowed to be sent with user age-gating (double opt-in), however any content sent to Canadian destinations is not allowed, even with age-gating.
• Disallowed Sending Practices
  If a message sender is observed performing any of the disallowed sending practices (continuing to send to opt-out customer; opt-out avoidance; or any type of multiple content providers sending from a single number) then a review may be performed of the business and number.  The review may result in the suspension of sending rights for a provisioned phone number.
• Disallowed Content Policy
  All Toll-Free number traffic should adhere to the CTIA guidelines. For more information please see the CTIA Handbook.  Specific content is prohibited from being routed over the Verified Toll-Free messaging network.  Content filtering includes, but is not limited to, gambling, vaping, illegal drugs and SHAFT (sex, hate, alcohol, firearms, tobacco).
• Restricted Campaign Types
  The following content categories have been identified as potentially harmful or deceitful to the end-user and will not be supported on the Verified Toll-Free messaging network.  These categories are subject to change and traffic in other categories that are not listed may also be blocked without notice.  Message senders are expected to enforce restrictions on their systems to prevent messages containing the content types described below.  If messages are sent into the network containing disallowed content, we reserve the right to place restrictions on the number and block these messages.

• • High-Risk Financial Services • Payday Loans • Short Term-High Interest Loans • Auto Loans • Mortgage Loans • Student Loans • Debt Collection • Affiliate Lead or Commission Generation • Gambling/Sweepstakes • Tax Relief Programs • Stock Alerts • Cryptocurrency 
  • Get Rich Quick Schemes • Deceptive Work from Home Programs • Risk Investment Opportunities • Multi-Level Marketing 
  • 3rd Party • Debt Collection, Consolidation, Reduction, Relief • Debt Forgiveness • Credit Repair • Brokers • Lead Generation
  • Controlled Substances • Tobacco • Vaping/Vapes/Vape • Illegal Drugs • Cannabis/CBD
  • SHAFT • Sex, Hate Speech, Alcohol, Firearms, Tobacco • Profanity
  • Scams • Phishing • Fraud • Spam • Deceptive Marketing