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United States

<p>Restricted country
The United States has SMS restrictions in place. Before you can send messages to this country, you must request approval from MessageBird. More info: Requesting Access for Restricted Countries.
</p>

In order to send SMS to the United States, customers are required to:
1) Order a local US number from the Options below. Ordering and registration procedures vary.
2) Request access to be able to send SMS to this Restricted Country.
3) Use your local US number as the originator.

MessageBird offers 3 types of numbers for sending SMS messages to the United States. Here you can compare the various features of each number type and determine which number is the best fit for your use case.
Short CodeToll-Free Number10DLC - FAQ
How to ordervia Account Managervia Support or Account Managervia Dashboard
Type of NumberFive/Six digit Short CodeToll-Free NumberGeographical Number
Example123451888555555513458674329
SMS enabledYesYesYes
Voice-enabledNoYesYes
MMS enabledNoYesYes
2-Way PossibleYesYesYes
Suggested Use CasesHigh volumes, Marketing, 2FA, AlertsLow - Medium volumes, 2FA, Non-Marketing & Marketing, Customer Service, Alert NotificationsLow - Medium volumes, All Use Cases
Mixed Use CasesYesYesNot advised
UnicodeYesYesYes
ConcatenatedYesYesYes
Carrier DLR'sYesYesNo
Service RestrictionsContent pre-approved by CTIA. Content must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulationsContent pre-approved via Use Case Verification form. Content must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulationsContent must follow CTIA Guidelines* and local regulations
Daily Send LimitN/AN/AYes. TBC by operators on case by case basis after 10DLC registration
Throughput LimitHigh. TBC by operators on case by case basisMedium/High (increase after Use Case Verification)TBC by operators on case by case basis after 10DLC registration
Pass-through fee**Yes, depending on the recipient's operatorsYes, depending on the recipient's operatorsYes, depending on the use case and recipient's operators
Inbound ChargeYesYesNo. Only carrier pass-through fees
Setup Time8-12 weeks<p>1 business day
Use case verification can take up to 1 week</p>		1 week
Minimum Subscription Period3 monthsN/A12 months
*Find here the current CTIA Guidelines
**Passthrough fees are determined by the operators and are subject to change. This is out of MessageBird's control.

Additional Carrier Pass-through Fees


There are additional Carrier Pass-through fees per message on top of MessageBird message rates. These are determined by the operators and are subject to change.

*Note: These additional costs will be added to current MessageBird message rates. Message charges will continue to be: Base MessageBird message rate + Surcharge to destination carrier = Total message cost.
AT&TT-Mobile (inc Sprint)VerizonUS CellularTextNowClaro _Puerto Rico_Message Direction
SMS Short Code / Carrier Fee in USD$.0025$.0025$.0030$.0035$.0020freeOutbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob
SMS Toll-free Number / Carrier Fee in USD$.0025$.0030$.0030$.0025$.0015$.0045Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob and US Cellular
MMS Toll-free Number / Carrier Fee in USD$.0030$.0100$.0050$.0050$.0020freeOutbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mob and US Cellular
<p>SMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD - Registered
</p>		$.0020$.0030$.0030$.0050$.0020$.0045Outbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile
MMS 10DLC / Carrier Fee in USD$.0035$.0100$.0050$.0100$.0020freeOutbound only for most. Outbound & Inbound for T-Mobile

OPT-IN and OPT-OUT Compliance


MessageBird will monitor standard OPT-IN and OPT-OUT keywords (see list below) to ensure compliance with the applicable regulations. If an opt-out request is received, MessageBird will process it and block future communications between the Sender and the Recipient (opted-out number) until this same Recipient (the end-user) OPT-IN again by sending the appropriate keyword. Personalised opt-out acknowledgement, non-standard opt-out words - for example, in different languages - as well opted-out number tracking can be set up by customers using Flow Builder or, if you use Contacts, activating the Automatic SMS Subscriptions (Opt-in/Opt-out).
Standard OPT-OUT keywords used by MessageBird are (all case insensitive) are
  • stop *
* No personalised opt-out confirmation is allowed for Toll-Free Numbers. For those keywords, the carriers will send a standard opt-out message as acknowledgement and block traffic immediately. This restriction does not apply to Long codes and Short codes.
Standard OPT-IN keywords used by MessageBird are (all case insensitive) are
  • unstop
  • start
  • yes

Support to HELP keyword for Opted-Out end-users

Each MessageBird customer must support the HELP keyword and send required HELP messages to end-users. HELP requests should be supported at all times, even when it is requested by opted-out end-users.

To prevent abuse and unsolicited content delivery, Messagebird will allow only pre-approved HELP templates to be sent to OPTED-OUT end-users. Customized messages remain available for OPTED-IN end-users.

To avoid blocking, please ensure your HELP answer to OPTED-OUT end-users matches the following template:
Manage your preferences. Reply STOP to opt-out or START to opt-in. Msg&Data rates may apply.