Short codes

What is a short code?

A short code is a 5–6 digit phone number (like 12345) used by brands to send and receive high-volume text messages.

Short codes are designed for:

• Fast, reliable delivery
• Large customer lists
• Marketing and loyalty campaigns
• Order updates and notifications at scale

Because short codes are closely regulated by mobile carriers, they require approval before use and must follow strict rules around customer consent, opt-outs, and disclosures. Our SMS marketing program is already designed to help you meet these requirements

Why use a short code instead of a regular phone number?

Compared to long phone numbers (10-digit numbers), short codes offer:

• Higher throughput (send many messages quickly)
• Better deliverability (less filtering and blocking)
• Stronger brand recognition
• Improved customer trust

For growing or national brands, short codes are the most reliable option for SMS at scale.

How much does it cost?

Short codes start at $1000/month. These rates are subject to change if carriers increase cost.

You can also apply for a vanity short code for $1500/month and a $1000 one time setup fee. All vanity short codes are 5-6 digits. Vanity short codes are subject to availability, provide at least two options for your Vanity Short code separated by a comma. You can check availability of vanity short codes here.

How to apply for a short code

In order to start using a short code, you’ll need to provide us with a Letter of Authorization and updated Terms of Service. You may provide a draft terms of service as a pdf document, but it is simpler if you update your hosted terms of service.

Letter of Authorization (LOA)

Carriers require a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to be provided and signed by a representative from the brand that will be appearing in your SMS campaign.

{BRAND LETTERHEAD}
{DATE}
Short Code Letter of Authorization

To whom it may concern,

This letter confirms that we, {BRAND NAME}, are granting Twilio permission to apply for
a short code under {SMS PROGRAM NAME} on our behalf.

If additional information is needed, please contact shortcodes@twilio.com

Regards,
{NAME AND TITLE OF BRAND REPRESENTATIVE}
{DATE}
{SIGNATURE OF BRAND REPRESENTATIVE}

Keep in mind that {BRAND NAME} should be replaced with your DBA name, and {SMS PROGRAM NAME} should be replaced with a branded version of your SMS marketing program (for example: Crisp Coffee Insiders Club}

SMS Campaign Terms of Service (ToS) Draft

SMS campaigns must have a set of publicly available Terms of Services specific to your short code. These terms do not need to be live at the time of submission, and you can provide a draft. However, it is simpler if you update your terms of use before submitting. You should add these to your terms of use which is hosted on your website. You can have a combined terms of use and privacy policy if they are clearly labeled.

Here is a copy of the boilerplate terms of service that cover minimum requirements from the carriers, please be sure to replace all information in {brackets} :

—

SMS Communication

{Program name} (use the same SMS Program name from your letter of authorization)

1. Subscribers may receive recurring automated text messages related to the Brand’s products, services, promotions, loyalty programs, order notifications, account updates, or other transactional or marketing communications, depending on the program
2. You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text "STOP" to the short code. After you send the SMS message "STOP" to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, reply START will start sending SMS messages to you again.
3. If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at {support email address or toll-free number}.
4. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages
5. As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. Message frequency varies. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider.
6. If you have any questions regarding privacy, please read our privacy policy: {link to privacy policy - if your terms of service and privacy policy are combined then you can skip this}

—

Submit your LoA and ToS to us

Once you have these documents, send your LoA and a link to your terms of use to product@crispnow.com. If you do not have your terms of use updated you can also send us a .pdf of your draft terms of use in full (not just the SMS portion).

Final point

Just because we have to, please review unsupported use cases and confirm that your program doesn’t include and unsupported use case (unlikely)