United States

IMPORTANT: The sale of new 10DLC numbers for the USA is currently paused, pending further notice.

All SMS messaging in the United States of America is governed by the CTIA – The Wireless Association. Strict rules are in place to regulate USA messaging, and it is important to work closely with your sales advisor to ensure your program complies with the latest regulations. Many of these regulations also affect Puerto Rico.

Short codes are ideal for marketing messages, any form of bulk messaging, or messages containing URLs as the throughput (messages sent per second) is very high. The regulations for US short codes will be provided to you once your application is approved. You can also view can be viewed in the CTIA Short Code Monitoring Handbook. Clickatell recommends using short codes for important and high-volume messaging.

Long numbers (also known as 10-Digit Long Codes or 10DLCs) are typically used for sending person-to-person communication like appointment reminders, alerts, and announcements. As of 2023, there are much stricter registration requirements in place overseen by The Campaign Registry (TCR), including a mandatory campaign vetting process. The main prerequisite is that end-users must willingly and visibly opt-in to receive text messages. More information is available here.

The restrictions below only apply to long numbers.

Our expert advisors are up to date with the latest US messaging regulations and can guide you as you set up and maintain your program. Please click here to get started.

Restriction	Description
DND exists	No
Time restrictions	No
International vs local split	No
Local traffic	N/A
International traffic	N/A
General content restrictions	SHAFT (Sex, Hate, Alcohol, Firearms, and Tobacco) content. Phishing messages that appear to come from reputable companies and trick consumers into revealing personal information. Depictions or endorsements of violence, hate speech, or otherwise engaging in threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libelous, deceptive, or fraudulent behavior. Pornographic and/or adult entertainment content. High-risk content that typically generates a high amount of end-user complaints, such as: Debt restructuring/refinancing offers Debt relief offers Payday loan offers Home loan offers Insurance quotes Earn-money-from-home job offers Gambling/betting-related content Recipients must consent to receive marketing communication in writing (i.e., email or other) before you start sending marketing messages to them. The symbol for Euro (€) is not supported. Here are some best practices for staying compliant and preventing messages from being suspended or blocked.
URL shorteners	Where a URL shortener is used, senders should use a shortener with a web address and IP address(es) dedicated to the exclusive use of the sender. Web addresses contained in messages and any websites where they redirect should unambiguously identify the website owner (i.e., a person or legally registered business entity) and include contact information such as postal mailing address.
Content registration required	No
Opt-out instructions required	Yes Each marketing SMS must contain an opt-out option.
Sender ID regulations	All messages must either be sent and delivered with a US short code or long code. The message limits are described here. Exceeding this limit could result in your messages being marked as spam and not being delivered.
Sender ID registration offered by Clickatell	Not supported
Sender ID documentation required	N/A
Country supports MNP	Yes