Short Code Programs: Process, Timeline, and Costs

Dedicated short codes (5–6 digit numbers) offer the highest throughput and strongest consumer recognition of any messaging channel — and the most involved setup. Here's the full path.

Costs and leasing

• Short codes are leased through the industry short code registry: $1,000/month for a vanity code (you choose the digits — e.g., a keypad-spelled word) or $500/month for a random assignment, prepaid in 3, 6, or 12-month terms.
• The lease clock starts the day the code is secured, and the lease must remain active through approval and operation — carriers deactivate codes whose leases lapse. Because approval takes 8–12 weeks, we recommend an initial 6- or 12-month term.
• A short code displays its digits, not a name — no US SMS product can display an alphanumeric sender name (carrier limitation on all channels).

The process

1. Secure the code — availability check, lease order (SMS and/or MMS capability, country), lease receipt, and a W-9 from the brand/content provider. A current, paid lease receipt is required before final carrier approval.
2. Program brief — the full program on paper: brand identity, use case, opt-in flow with evidence, keywords (opt-in, STOP, HELP) and their exact responses, sample messages, volumes, and live Privacy Policy / SMS Terms pages.
3. Vetting and carrier review — CTIA vetting, then approval carrier by carrier (AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, then regional carriers). Each carrier approves on its own clock.
4. Testing and launch — cross-carrier send/receive, every keyword and flow, long-message handling, then live launch with monitoring.

Timeline

Plan on roughly 8–12 weeks from lease to full carrier activation for a new program. Migrations of existing codes are faster but still require the brief and carrier coordination.

Ongoing obligations

• Lease renewals before expiry; CTIA reassessment at renewal.
• Short code programs are audited by CTIA on an ongoing basis — complaint spikes trigger audits requiring a root-cause analysis, so consent records (who opted in, when, from where) must be retained and retrievable.
• Content changes require a brief update before sending new message types.

Last updated July 2026. Questions: TSG Global support.