The Sinch US Short Code Onboarding Overview document describes the process for onboarding US short codes.
⚠️ Notice: Annual US Wireless Carrier Freezes ⚠️
Please make note of the following dates when major wireless carriers will freeze provisioning, migrating or certification of any US short codes. Carrier Freeze typically happens around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays and can vary from a couple days to weeks. Please work with your account managers ahead of these dates to avoid any interruptions:
AT&T: Nov. 26, 2024 – Dec. 2, 2024 Dec. 23, 2024 – Jan. 3, 2024
T-Mobile: Nov. 28, 2024 – Nov. 29, 2024 Dec. 23, 2024 – Jan. 3, 2024, ** ** Please note that it isn't a full freeze, campaigns will not be certified but they can still be onboarded.
Check back for more updates once other carriers have announced their 2024-2025 freeze dates. |
Effective October 15, 2024, CTIA and the US Short Code Registry introduced a new requirement for leasing new short codes or when manually renewing short code leases, necessitating all brands to undergo vetting. Aegis Mobile has partnered with CTIA to authenticate the identities of brands utilizing US short codes. This vetting process provides additional transparency for brands involved with each short code campaign, benefiting all stakeholders. It also offers greater protection for consumers and upholds the short code's reputation as a trusted messaging channel.
Brands will only need to be vetted once and short code leasing will be available only after a successful vetting result. In the event of a lease transfer, the brand will need to submit a new vetting request with the new lease holder. There is no additional charge to this new feature and it will not impact short code throughput.
The following Brand Client information will be required:
How about existing short codes?
Brand client details for existing short codes that is on auto-renewal will be required to undergo the new vetting process by Q1 2025. Brands will have sixty (60) days after the auto-renewal date of the short code to complete the required fields. Short codes that are not updated within that timeframe will be subject to non-compliance audit and may be suspended or terminated.
Sinch has started collecting this information. Please contact your account manager if you have any questions.
Vetting Process Overview
Upon submission of the Brand Client information, the vetting party will review the following triage criteria:
Once triaged criteria are met, the Brand’s Point of Contact (POC) will receive an email from CTIA’s vetting partner, Aegis Mobile (certify@aegismobile.com). This email will contain a PIN and instructions on how to complete the registration. Be sure to check your junk mail folder.
The PIN is valid for 7 days. A reminder email will be sent 48 hours before the PIN expires. If the initial PIN expires, Aegis Mobile will issue a second and final PIN.
While the Brand POC completes the PIN verification, the vetting party will continue to review the remaining brand client details at the same time.
Vetting Statuses:
Tips to a Successful Vetting Results
For entities with international presence, please specify the Tax ID and the country of registration. For entities in Canada, please provide the first 9 numeric digits of the Business Number (BN-9) when providing brand client details.
US Tax ID, company name and address can be validated using the following resources:
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District of Columbia |
District of Columbia Business Filings Search (login required) |
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Pennsylvania |
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Puerto Rico |
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South Carolina |
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Texas |
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Vermont |
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Virginia |
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Washington |
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Canadian Tax ID, company name and address can be validated using the following resources:
Europe, Eastern Europe, North Atlantic, Middle East, South America, and APAC Tax ID, company name and address can be validated using the following resources:
For more information, please check out CTIA and The Short Code Registry's FAQs page or their summary below: