SMS Basics
US carrier registration
Why a United States number cannot send until it is registered, what you need to hand, and how long it takes.
Last updated September 16, 2026
United States carriers require every business to register before it can send text messages to American phones. It is a one-off process and Gorilla Dash makes the submission for you, but you have to supply the details and then wait.
Who needs it
- Yes — a Gorilla Dash managed number in the United States.
- No — Australian and New Zealand numbers. They are not subject to it.
- No — your own Twilio account. Registration is on your account and is yours to handle.
Nothing sends until it is approved
A test send from the settings page still works while you wait, so you can check the number is alive.
What you need to hand
| Section | What is asked |
|---|---|
| Your business | Legal business name, business type, tax number (your EIN for a US business), industry, website, regions you operate in. |
| Registered business address | The address as registered. State is a two-letter code. |
| Authorised representative | Somebody who can commit the business — carriers may contact them to verify. |
| What you will send | What your messages are about, how people opt in, and two to five real example messages. |
| Your policy pages | A Privacy Policy URL and a Terms and Conditions URL. Both must be public https pages that open without a login. |
The "How people opt in" field is where most rejections are decided, because carriers want to see the exact consent wording your customers agreed to. The hint under the field lists everything they check for, and Insert a template that carriers accept fills the field with a compliant description built from your business name, website and the two policy URLs. Edit it so it describes what you actually do, rather than submitting it unchanged.
Check it before you submit
A rejected registration costs days, so it is worth using Check before submitting first. Gorilla Dash opens both of your policy pages, reads them alongside your opt-in description and example messages, and reviews the lot against the reasons carriers actually reject registrations for. It takes a short while, and the panel tells you what it is doing while it runs.
You get a verdict and a list of findings, each with wording you can use to fix it. Where the problem is the opt-in description, Use this wording writes the suggested version straight into the form. A page that will not open at all is always reported as a blocker, because carriers will not be able to open it either.
The check is advice, not a decision. Nothing is saved, passing it does not guarantee approval, and changing any of the fields it looked at clears the verdict so you are never acting on a stale result. It costs you nothing.
How long it takes
Typically a few days, and up to a couple of weeks. You do not need to sit on the page — Gorilla Dash checks automatically and emails you the moment it completes. The status chip moves through Checking your business details, Registering your brand and Registering with carriers to Approved.
If it is rejected
The status shows Action needed with the reason. Where the carriers gave a reason, it is shown to you in their own words rather than as a code, so you can see exactly what they objected to. Correct the details and use Review and resubmit. The usual causes are a legal name that does not match the tax number, an address that is not the registered one, example messages that do not match what you described, and policy pages that do not mention texting.
A rejection at the carrier stage is corrected in place — your existing registration is updated and re-examined, rather than being thrown away and started again. Run Check before submitting on the corrected version before you resubmit; a second rejection for the same reason costs another wait.
Plan for it
Start registration well before the campaign you are planning. A promotion that depends on texting United States customers next week will not go out if you begin registering today.