What is a toll-free number?

Which numbers are toll-free

The FCC's consumer guide lists seven toll-free codes. People still say "an 800 number" for all of them, because 800 was the first, but every code below is toll-free.

Two things the table implies are worth stating. First, the codes are separate number ranges, so 1-844-555-0100 and 1-877-555-0100 belong to different subscribers. Second, a number that merely starts with 8, such as 801 or 850, is an ordinary area code, not a toll-free one.

Who pays for a toll-free call

The subscriber, meaning the business that holds the number, pays the toll for calls placed to it, which is why a customer can dial a support line from a landline at no charge. The FCC notes one exception: a mobile caller still uses airtime minutes on the call unless the plan is unlimited. The same logic runs the other way for texting: when a toll-free number is text-enabled, the customer's message is a normal text on their plan and the business pays for the reply.

How toll-free numbers are assigned

Toll-free numbering is regulated by the FCC under 47 CFR Part 52, Subpart D, and most numbers are assigned first come, first served. A business does not deal with the FCC directly. It chooses a Responsible Organization, a RespOrg, which reserves numbers on its behalf in the toll-free database administered by Somos and manages the number's routing records. Many RespOrgs are also telecom providers, so in practice the number arrives with the service. The FCC requires toll-free numbers to be portable, so a business can move its number to a new RespOrg when it changes providers, and it prohibits RespOrgs from warehousing numbers and subscribers from hoarding or reselling them. A vanity number, 1-800-FLOWERS for instance, is an ordinary toll-free number whose digits spell a word.

Can a toll-free number send and receive text messages?

Yes, once it is text-enabled and verified. Toll-free texting sends SMS and MMS from the same 8XX number customers already call, which is why it suits support desks and national brands that want one number for both. Instead of 10DLC brand and campaign registration, a toll-free number goes through toll-free verification: the business, its use case, sample messages and opt-in evidence are submitted to the toll-free messaging aggregator, and once approved the number carries application-to-person traffic. Verification is not optional in practice, because unverified toll-free traffic is filtered or blocked on US networks. Verified toll-free numbers offer higher default throughput than an entry-level 10DLC number and one nationwide identity, at the cost of reading as a national company rather than a local one.

Toll-free, 10DLC or short code

What is a short code? and what is 10DLC? cover the other two, and the 10DLC vs toll-free vs short codes guide walks through choosing between them. Whichever sender type you pick, the per-message rate on SimplyRCS is the same, $0.0039 for SMS and $0.0150 for MMS, with the carriers' own surcharges passed through at cost; see the pricing page.

Toll-free numbers and RCS

RCS is not sent from a phone number at all. It comes from a verified RCS agent, which carries the brand's name, logo and checkmark. A toll-free number's job in an RCS programme is the layer underneath: the SMS fallback for phones that cannot receive RCS, and the two-way line customers can call. SimplyRCS runs both from one company profile, so the toll-free verification and the RCS agent approval are filed together rather than in separate portals; the channels page shows how the sender types sit side by side.