Toll-free numbers

A toll-free number is a 10-digit telephone number. They are characterized by a preassigned 3-digit prefix, like 877, in place of an area code and are free of charge for the calling party.

Historically, toll-free numbers were used by businesses that wanted to assume the full cost of having a customer reach out to them.

But today’s toll-free numbers function a lot differently than the 1-800 numbers businesses used 10 years ago. They aren’t limited to hotlines for placing orders. In the US and Canada, they are enabled  for both calling and texting, so they serve as dynamic customer communications channels.

Yes, toll-free numbers in the US and Canada are text-enabled so they can send and receive text messages just like a short code or long code. 

You can have an existing toll-free number text-enabled so you can keep the same number your customers already know.

Toll-free texting works just like business messaging to any other number type, like short codes or long codes. 

Customers can receive and reply to toll-free messages about appointment reminders, offers, and customer support.

It’s easy to verify a toll-free number with Twilio. After buying a toll-free number or porting in an existing toll-free number, you can choose to verify your number through the Messaging Compliance API or Console. 

This requires you to create a Customer Profile with business, contact, and location information along with your messaging use case and submit it for review. 

All toll-free numbers in the US and Canada need to be verified for transparency with the carriers, compliance, and optimal delivery.

Toll-free numbers differ from A2P 10DLC numbers in a few ways:

1. Twilio can verify toll-free numbers in house. 10DLC numbers require secondary vetting from an external registration group, which can increase time-to-market 

2. 10DLC numbers have a local prefix for the area code, while toll-free numbers have a preassigned prefix like 833,888,855, etc. 

Toll-free messaging shows delivery receipts at the customer handset level, while 10DLC shows delivery receipts at the carrier level, giving businesses more transparency into their messaging performance and optimization.