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Toll-free verification explained for Canadian teams that text alerts

Toll-free verification is a review of any business that sends texts from a North American toll-free number. An unverified toll-free number can't text Canadian or US phones, and US networks have blocked them since January 31, 2024. If you text alerts yourself, you file this review. With Welco, you verify your business once when you sign up, and Welco handles the number registration.

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The problem

Filing it yourself

  • Business details, a registration number and sample texts
  • Proof of how each person agreed to get texts
  • Days or weeks of review before the first alert

The fix

Sending with Welco

  • Verify your business once at sign-up
  • Welco handles the number registration
  • Point your alert email at your Welco address
Illustration: the problem, filing it yourself, next to the fix, sending with welco.
  • Toll-free numbers must be verified before they can text Canadian or US phones, and one review covers both.
  • Unverified and pending toll-free numbers have been blocked since January 31, 2024.
  • New requests have needed a business registration number since February 17, 2026.
  • With Welco, you verify your business once and don't file a number review yourself.

What is toll-free verification?

A toll-free number is a number that starts with a code like 800, 888, 877 or 833, shared across Canada and the US. Businesses use them for calls, and many also use them to send texts. Toll-free verification is the check that has to happen before those texts are allowed through.

The review asks who you are, what you send and how people agreed to get it. A reviewer reads the answers and approves or rejects the number. Until it is approved, texts from that number to Canadian and US phones are blocked. It is one of two number rules covered in our guides to alert texting.

Why do carriers require toll-free verification?

Carriers require it to keep scam and spam texts off their networks, and Canadian carriers filter business texts strictly as well. Before the rule, anyone could rent a toll-free number and start texting. Bad senders used that freedom, and real businesses paid the price in blocked texts.

Verification ties every number to a real, checked business. The networks know who is behind each text. A verified number is less likely to be filtered, which matters when the text is an alarm someone needs to see. Wording matters too, as why alert texts get blocked explains.

The US industry's own rulebook points the same way. CTIA's Messaging Principles and Best Practices (May 2023) says texts should go out only after a person opts in. It also asks for a confirmation text that names the program and explains how to opt out.

Toll-free texting rules and the dates they started

These are industry-wide rules for texts to US numbers. Messaging providers such as Twilio and Bandwidth publish them, and each row names its source. Twilio's onboarding guide (read October 6, 2026) says the same verification is needed before a toll-free number can text Canada.

Dates as published by the sources listed. Rules can change, so check the source before you file.

November 8, 2023

Rule
Deadline to file toll-free numbers for verification.

January 31, 2024

Rule
Texts from unverified or pending toll-free numbers to US numbers are blocked.

September 30, 2025

Rule
A Business Registration Number, such as a US EIN, can be added to a request. Optional.

February 17, 2026

Rule
A Business Registration Number is required for new requests, except sole proprietors. It must match the legal business name.

September 15, 2026

Rule
New requests must link to a live privacy policy and terms page. Requests missing either link are rejected.

Sources: Twilio blog: New industry-wide requirements for toll-free messaging (read October 6, 2026); Twilio changelog: Business registration numbers required for toll-free messaging (read October 6, 2026); Bandwidth: Toll-free verification BRN requirements from February 17, 2026 (read October 6, 2026); HighLevel changelog: Privacy policy and terms links on toll-free verification (read October 6, 2026)

What a toll-free verification request asks for

If you send alerts yourself through an SMS API, you fill in the request, whether your business is in Canada or the US. An SMS API is a service your own script or alarm module calls to send texts. Expect to provide the following.

  • Your legal business name, address and website.
  • A Business Registration Number that matches the legal name exactly. The sources use the US EIN as their example, so ask your provider which Canadian number it takes.
  • A contact person with an email address on your company's domain.
  • Links to a live privacy policy and a terms page that covers your texts.
  • What you send and why, in plain words, such as system alerts to staff.
  • Sample texts that show exactly what people will receive.
  • How each person agrees to get texts, with proof such as a screenshot of the sign-up step.
  • Roughly how many texts you expect to send each month.

Send alerts with Welco in 5 steps, no number review to file

With Welco, the business check happens once, at sign-up. You never fill in a toll-free request yourself.

  1. Sign up and verify your business

    Use a work email on your company's own domain and give your business details, including your Canadian business number, once when you sign up. After a short intro call, Welco checks the business before it can send. That keeps alert numbers clean for everyone.

  2. Let Welco handle the number registration

    Welco sends from its own verified toll-free numbers. You don't pick a number type, file sample texts or wait on a reviewer yourself. The numbers carry alerts only, and no marketing sender ever shares them.

  3. Invite the staff who should get alerts

    Each staff member joins from your invite, enters their own cellphone number and ticks an unchecked box. Then they reply YES. The person who agrees is the person who gets the texts, which reviewers want to see.

  4. Point your alert email at your Welco address

    Change one email address in your alarm system. Any system that can send an email works, with no software or hardware to install.

  5. Send a test alert

    Use test mode to check the text first, then send one live alert to a phone and confirm it arrived.

Text your alerts without filing a number review

Verify your business once and let Welco take care of the registration.

7-day free trial, 15 message creditsCard required for verificationNo charge for 7 daysEmail reminder before billing

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What reviewers want to see in an alert text

Reviewers look for texts that name the sender, say what happened and explain how to opt out. Every Welco alert does all three. This one comes from a Canadian town's water tower alarm email.

Alert email from scada-alarms@water.example.ca, subject “Alarm State: High Tank Level Alarm”. Welco trims it to one text of 95 characters: “Welco: [North Tank] High tank level alarm, unacknowledged, at 6:40 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.”

Text received: Welco: [North Tank] High tank level alarm, unacknowledged, at 6:40 AM. Reply STOP to opt out.

Characters216951 credit

Animation: the alert email "Alarm State: High Tank Level Alarm" is trimmed into one text: "Welco: [North Tank] High tank level alarm, unacknowledged, at 6:40 AM. Reply STOP to opt out."

The text starts with the sender's name, Welco, and ends with clear STOP wording. Staff can also reply HELP for help.

Toll-free verification or 10DLC: which one applies to you?

It depends on the kind of number you text from. Toll-free numbers need toll-free verification. Ordinary 10-digit local numbers need 10DLC registration, a separate process with its own rules.

Both exist for the same reason: networks want to know who sends each text. See 10DLC for alert texts for the local-number side. If you're weighing a do-it-yourself module, compare Ignition texts without your own Twilio account.

How long does toll-free verification take, and what does it cost?

Plan for a few days at best and up to about three weeks per number. Salesmsg's help center said in late 2025 that approval can take 2 to 5 days. The same page warns each number may take up to three weeks.

Texts from a pending number are blocked while you wait, on both sides of the border. A rejected request means fixing the details and waiting again, so a complete first filing saves the most time.

The review itself is often free. Salesmsg, for one, charges nothing for it. The real cost is the work around it: a live website, legal pages, consent screenshots and someone to answer rejections. Number rental and per-text prices depend on the provider you choose.

With Welco, that work doesn't land on your desk. You pay for alerts in message credits, with no per-user fees and no setup fee.

Mistakes that get toll-free verification rejected

Most rejections trace back to a few avoidable gaps. Bandwidth's top rejection reasons (September 2026) gives each one a code, shown in brackets below.

  • A free-mail contact address (1101). A Gmail or Yahoo address could belong to anyone. Reviewers want the same domain as your website.
  • Names that don't agree (1103, 1112). The legal name, the registration number and the website must all show the same business.
  • A vague use case (1303). A single word like notifications tells the reviewer nothing. Write that the texts are equipment and system alarms sent to your own on-call staff.
  • Samples that don't match real alerts (1306). Paste texts your alarm system really sends, not a tidy made-up version. Our alert text best practices show the shape reviewers like.
  • No opt-in description (1414). Say exactly how staff join, step by step, and attach a screenshot of the sign-up page.
  • A privacy policy without the sharing clause (1507). It must say phone numbers gathered for texts are never shared with third parties for marketing.
  • Alarms on a shared or mixed-use number. This isn't a rejection code, but it hurts later. Spam reports about other texts on that number can get your alarms filtered too.

Before you file toll-free verification yourself

If you still plan to run your own number, check these first. Most rejections come from a mismatch or a missing detail.

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Frequently asked questions

Does a Canadian business need an EIN to verify a toll-free number?

Since February 17, 2026, new requests need a Business Registration Number, except from sole proprietors. In the US that is usually the EIN, and the sources we cite use it as the example. A Canadian business should ask its provider which Canadian number it accepts. Whatever you file must match your legal business name.

What happens to texts from a toll-free number that isn't verified?

They are blocked before they reach US phones, and they can't text Canadian phones either. That has been the US rule since January 31, 2024, and it covers numbers still waiting for review too. For alerts, this means an alarm can leave your system and never reach the on-call person. Verify the number before you depend on it.

Do I have to verify a phone number myself to use Welco?

No. You verify your business once when you sign up, and Welco handles the number registration. You don't file sample texts, opt-in proof or volume estimates for a number. Your part is inviting staff, who each join and confirm with YES, and pointing your alert email at Welco.

Can I use a Gmail address to verify a toll-free number?

You can type one in, but expect a rejection. Bandwidth lists a free-mail business email among its top rejection reasons, under code 1101. Reviewers want a contact address on the same domain as your website. Set up a mailbox on your own domain before you file.

Do I need a privacy policy to verify a toll-free number?

Yes, for any new request filed on or after September 15, 2026. Requests without both a privacy policy link and a terms link are rejected, as HighLevel's changelog reports. The privacy policy should say phone numbers aren't shared for marketing. The terms should cover message frequency, data rates and how to opt out.

Does a toll-free number that is already verified need to be verified again?

Not because of the 2026 changes. Telgorithm's update (August 27, 2025) says numbers verified earlier don't need to resubmit. The new fields apply to new requests only. Each new number you add still needs its own review.

What should the opt-in description say for staff alerts?

It should walk through the exact steps a staff member takes to agree. For example, the person opens a join page, enters their own cellphone number, ticks an unchecked box and replies YES. Attach a screenshot, like this example join page. A request with no opt-in details at all is rejected.

Reviewed by Rakesh Patel, Founder, Welco

Let Welco handle the toll-free paperwork

Verify your business once, invite your team to join and start sending alerts as texts.

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