Step 4 - Select & Register Twilio Number Types

Purchase and register the number types that meet your SMS needs.

Regulatory Bundles

Before you can purchase most numbers, you must submit regulatory bundles. A regulatory bundle is a compliance package with documents to verify your business identity with local carriers and enforcement agencies.

Regulatory bundle requirements vary by country and region, and some countries have stricter regulations than others. Most countries require the following:

• A local business address
• Proof of a locally-registered business
• A government-issued ID or driver's license of authorized persons, such as directors of the local business

Short codes generally have the strictest requirements and are the most expensive, but they also have the highest throughput of any number type. Toll-free and mobile numbers typically have the fewest requirements.

Many countries also require a pre-registration process for alphanumeric senders. See Twilio’s article on international support for alphanumeric sender ID for more information.

Port Existing Numbers to Twilio

You can transfer an existing phone number from one provider to another without changing the number. This is called porting. Porting is an optional step in setting up your Twilio account.

Before submitting a port request, make sure you have the following:

• The authorized Twilio user or owner's first and last name.
• The corresponding service address. This must be a physical address and cannot be a PO box.
• A Letter of Authorization (LOA) signed by the authorized Twilio user and/or owner of the number.
• A Customer Service Record (CSR).
• A scanned or electronic copy of the most recent phone bill from within the last 30 days. The bill must include the account, authorized user or owner’s name, and address information for all numbers you want to port.

Note: The information on the LOA must match the authorized user's name and the service address provided by your current carrier.

We also recommend reviewing the most common reasons for port rejection so you can better avoid them.

Porting a US telephone number can take up to four weeks, depending on the type of number and the country where the number is located. You must coordinate between a Twilio upstream provider and your service provider to transfer the number to Twilio.

Remember: For local US numbers, you must have an approved A2P 10DLC campaign and brand registration to enable messaging on your ported number. You can set up the A2P campaign in the Twilio Messaging Service and get the campaign to Verified status while your port request is in progress. However, you must wait until your port request is fully completed before adding the phone number to the Messaging Service.

Allow one to two days for SMS services to route to Twilio. Otherwise, the A2P provisioning process might fail.

Note: There are different processes for US and international numbers.

1. In Twilio, go to Phone Numbers > Port & Host > Port a number.
2. Complete the form. Be sure to attach the required documents so your request is not rejected.
3. Click Submit.

Once you submit your request, the following steps occur:

1. Twilio reviews and approves your number. If your port request was submitted correctly, Twilio may approve it within 24 hours, depending on the type of number. Approval time may vary.
2. Your request is submitted to your current carrier as a port request. This can take up to 24 hours. Do not close your account with your current carrier, so your numbers stay active.
3. Twilio contacts your current carrier. This can take up to one week to complete.
4. You will receive a response from the carrier. If approved, you will receive a porting date. If denied, contact your current carrier to find out what is needed to move forward.
5. Twilio contacts you by email with your porting date. Once the date passes and you receive email confirmation that the port is completed, you can use your number for calls.
6. For SMS messages, complete A2P registration. Once your A2P campaign is verified, it may take up to 48 hours to update SMS routing before you add the number to the Twilio Messaging Service. Once the number moves from Verified to Registered, you can send SMS messages.

Purchase & Configure Phone Numbers

1. Go to Phone Numbers > Manage > Buy a number.

   Note: If this section is not pinned in your Develop tab, go to Account Dashboard > All Products > Messaging > Phone Numbers > Buy a new Twilio number.

2. Enter your criteria for a phone number.
   • Country: Select the country you want to send messages from.
   • Capabilities: Select your service needs for this number.
   • Search Criteria: Search by digits, area code, prefix, phrases, or characters you want in your phone number.
   • Advanced: Select options for number type, address requirements, emergency calling, and beta number results.

3. Note: All capabilities are selected by default. Clear any capabilities you do not need for more accurate search results.

4. Click Search.
5. Review the search results, including the phone number, location, type, capabilities, and price.
6. To purchase a number, click Buy in the same row as the number you want.
7. Review that the selected number meets your needs, then select the Emergency calling terms and conditions checkbox.
8. Click Buy [phone number].
9. Click Configure [phone number].
10. Review the information needed to configure your new phone number, then click Next.
11. Complete your business contact information, then click Continue to Business location.
12. Complete your business location information, then click Continue to Messaging use case.
13. Complete your messaging use case information, select the I agree to the Terms of Service checkbox, then click Send information for verification.
14. Click Send.

After you successfully provision the phone number, Twilio will charge your project for the full monthly price of the phone number.

Complete Short Code Application

Apply for a short code in Twilio through a short code link or in the short code area of Twilio.

You can view and process short code applications from the Twilio parent account, even when you submit them from a Twilio subaccount. Once the short code is provisioned, you can move it to a subaccount.

Answer application questions carefully and review your answers for accuracy and completeness. Inaccurate or incomplete information can slow down the provisioning process and may cause carriers to reject your application. After you submit your application, approval may take up to eight weeks.

Short Code Link

1. Log in to your Twilio account and open the short code application link.
2. Click Apply for a Short Code.
3. Complete your application. If you need to step away, click Save to save your progress.
4. Click Submit.

Short Code Area of Twilio

1. Go to Messaging > Senders > Short codes.
2. Click Apply for a short code.
3. Complete your application. If you need to step away, click Save to save your progress.
4. Click Submit.