Prohibited message content

Some messages can’t be sent over SignalWire even when every recipient opted in to receive them. US and Canadian carriers ban whole categories of content, and some businesses can’t send any SMS or MMS at all, whatever the message says. These rules apply to every number type, whether 10-digit long code (10DLC), toll-free, or short code. They’re enforced when your campaign or toll-free number is reviewed and again on live traffic.

Not legal advice

This page summarizes the carrier rules that apply to messaging traffic in the United States and Canada. It isn’t legal advice. Consult your own counsel to confirm that your messaging program and content comply with the laws that apply to you and your recipients. Carrier rules change, and a carrier can still reject or filter traffic that this page doesn’t list.

Business-level bans

Most rules on this page are about what a message says. A few are about who sends it: carriers bar these businesses from messaging regardless of content.

Cannabis, CBD, kratom, and drug paraphernalia businesses can’t send SMS or MMS in the United States or Canada. This includes two-factor authentication (2FA) and other messages unrelated to their products, and it applies whether or not the business is legal under state or federal law.
Businesses focused exclusively on stocks, investing, or cryptocurrency can send only 2FA messages.

Prohibited content

Carriers prohibit these categories on all US and Canadian number types: 10DLC, toll-free, and short code. Where a category has a legitimate first-party use, the Notes column says what carriers allow. SignalWire’s own messaging requirements can be stricter, so a use that carriers allow can still be disallowed on SignalWire.

In the tables below, “first-party” means the business the recipient has a direct relationship with: the lender providing the loan, the business that’s owed a debt, or the company doing the hiring. “Third-party” means anyone else.

High-risk financial services

Content	Examples	Notes
High-interest lending	Payday loans, short-term high-interest loans, student loans	Prohibited.
Loan advertising	Promotional messages about loans and refinancing options	Prohibited. Direct lenders of secured loans may be approved case by case.
Lender account messages	Payment reminders and account notices from the lender	Allowed from a direct lender with the recipient’s express consent. Promotional content and messages from third-party lenders aren’t allowed.
Investment and crypto	Stock alerts, cryptocurrency offers, investment tips	Prohibited. Businesses focused exclusively on stocks, investing, or cryptocurrency can send only 2FA messages.
Affiliate lending	Loan offers sent on behalf of another lender	Prohibited.

Debt collection and relief

Content	Examples	Notes
Third-party debt collection	A collection agency messaging on behalf of the business owed the debt	Prohibited unless the collector has consent directly from the recipient. The business that’s owed the debt can message its own customers who opted in, such as a hospital sending bill reminders to its patients.
Debt relief	Debt consolidation, debt reduction, debt forgiveness, credit repair programs	Prohibited, even with first-party consent.

Get-rich-quick schemes

Content	Examples	Notes
Easy-money offers	Deceptive work-from-home programs, risky investment opportunities, “build your wealth” and “financial independence” offers	Prohibited. These offers promise substantial or guaranteed returns for minimal effort and draw high complaint rates.
Multi-level marketing	Network marketing, pyramid schemes, commission programs	Prohibited.

Job postings

Content	Examples	Notes
Third-party job boards	Job listings sent by a board or recruiter on behalf of employers	Prohibited. Only the business doing the hiring can register and send messages about its own openings.

Consent must come directly from the recipient, given to the business that sends the messages. These practices violate that rule:

Content	Examples	Notes
Third-party lead generation	Buying, selling, or sharing consumer data or opt-ins	Prohibited. A business whose terms of service or privacy policy says it shares or sells consumer data or opt-in information is noncompliant.
Cold outreach	Messaging people who’ve had no prior contact with the business	Prohibited.
Personally identifiable information (PII) farming	Collecting recipients’ personal information through services advertised or subscribed to over SMS or MMS	Prohibited.
Affiliate marketing	Offers sent on behalf of partner brands	Requires carrier approval. Consent is one-to-one for the campaign on record and can’t be shared across brands.
Political outreach from voter rolls	Using a voter registration database as the source of consent	Prohibited. Political senders must collect consent directly.

Illegal and controlled substances

Content	Examples	Notes
Cannabis and related products	Cannabis, CBD, THC, synthetic cannabinoids, kratom, drug paraphernalia	Prohibited, and businesses in these categories can’t send any messages. See business-level bans.
Controlled and prescription drugs	Schedule I–IV drugs, prescription drugs that can’t be sold over the counter	Prohibited. Prescription-related messages may be approved case by case.
Tobacco and vaping	Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, vape products	Restricted. Allowed only on short code, with carrier approval and an age gate. See age-restricted content.

Phishing and fraud

Content	Examples	Notes
Phishing	Messages that impersonate a legitimate business to collect passwords, card numbers, or other personal information; social-engineering scams	Prohibited.
Fraud or scams	Fake or fraudulent offers, deception intended to produce financial or personal gain	Prohibited.

SHAFT content

SHAFT is the carrier shorthand for five content categories that are either banned or allowed only under strict conditions:

Letter	Covers	Rule
Sex	Sexually explicit or inappropriate content, pornography	Prohibited.
Hate	Hate speech, harassment, profanity, and communications from groups whose primary purpose is spreading hate	Prohibited.
Alcohol	Alcohol sales and promotions	Restricted. Allowed only with carrier approval and an age gate. See age-restricted content.
Firearms	Firearms, and depictions or endorsements of violence	Prohibited on every number type, even with an age gate. Messages about firearm parts are allowed on 10DLC.
Tobacco	Tobacco and vaping, and endorsement of illegal drugs	Tobacco and vaping are restricted, allowed only on short code with carrier approval and an age gate. Drug endorsement is prohibited.

Gambling

Gambling content is prohibited on every number type in both the United States and Canada. Carriers treat raffles as gambling.

Content	Examples	Notes
Gambling and games of chance	Casino apps, gambling websites, links to sites that promote games of chance	Prohibited.
Betting picks	Sports or team “picks” and betting tips	Prohibited.
Raffles	Raffle campaigns	Prohibited.
Bingo	Community or local bingo announcements	Allowed on an approved short code or 10DLC campaign if the messages aren’t promotional. Carrier approval may still be required.

Age-restricted content

Alcohol and tobacco messaging, including vaping, isn’t banned outright in the United States, but carriers accept it only with their approval and an age gate. Which number types accept it depends on the content:

Content	10DLC	Short code	Toll-free
Alcohol	Age gate required	Age gate required	Age gate required
Tobacco and vaping	Not allowed	Age gate required	Not allowed
Firearms	Not allowed (firearm parts allowed)	Not allowed	Not allowed
Gambling	Not allowed	Not allowed	Not allowed

Firearms and gambling appear for comparison: an age gate doesn’t make either of them allowed.

An age gate must ask the recipient to enter their date of birth. A yes-or-no prompt such as “Are you over 21?” doesn’t qualify.

When you register a 10DLC campaign, both the Dashboard and the Create campaign endpoint (age_gated_content) ask whether the campaign includes age-gated content. Answer yes for an alcohol or tobacco campaign.

SignalWire’s Messaging Requirements and Code of Conduct adds its own requirements for age-restricted content, such as keeping consent records and verifying each recipient’s age.

Canada

Canadian carriers block all age-restricted content on every number type, even with an age gate. Sending age-restricted content to Canadian recipients requires a special exemption from the carrier. Canadian carriers do allow a short list of age-restricted items without an exemption, including pocketknives, lighters, and non-alcoholic beverages.

SignalWire messaging requirements

SignalWire’s Messaging Requirements and Code of Conduct applies in addition to the carrier rules on this page. It has its own list of disallowed content, which is stricter than the carrier rules in places, and it sets rules for sending practices and opt-out rates. Read it before you register a campaign or verify a toll-free number. Sending content or using practices it disallows triggers an account review, which can lead to suspension of a campaign, a phone number, or all SignalWire services.

Approval doesn’t exempt you from these rules. A registered 10DLC campaign or a verified toll-free number can still be filtered or suspended if its traffic includes prohibited content. For consent, opt-out handling, and other sending practices, see Optimize delivery rates. For the industry guidelines these rules build on, see the CTIA Messaging Principles and Best Practices.