Every Toll-Free Verification request submitted through Bandwidth must include business registration number (BRN) details for the message sender. This is an industry-wide Know Your Customer (KYC) initiative to build trust and prevent abuse. It brings Toll-Free in line with short code, 10DLC, and RCS for Business, so it isn’t specific to Bandwidth.
Required BRN fields
Include all four fields in your request:
Message Sender Entity Type: The type of business (for example, Private Profit). This is a new field, separate from the use case field, similar to 10DLC.
Message Sender Business Registration Type: The type of BRN the sender will use (for example, EIN).
Business Registration Issuing Country: The ISO 3166-1 Alpha-2 (for example, US) or Alpha-3 (for example, USA) country code.*
Business Registration Number: A valid BRN, as issued by the issuing country.
*To look up a code, visit the ISO Online Browsing Platform, select Country codes, and click Search.
BRN requirements by entity type
Message Sender Entity Type | US entities | Non-US entities |
Sole Proprietor | If you have an EIN, select PRIVATE_PROFIT as your entity type and enter your EIN in the Business Registration Number field. If you don’t have an EIN, select SOLE_PROPRIETOR to skip the BRN field. | Not supported |
Private Profit, Public Profit, Non-Profit, Government | Provide an EIN. Bandwidth doesn’t accept W-9s or other self-generated documentation. | Varies by country* |
*See Supported BRN types.
Sole proprietor guidance
Sole proprietor registration is available only to US entities.
Any entity with an EIN must not register as a sole proprietor.
During verification, the toll-free partner validates that your business meets the messaging industry’s definition of a sole proprietor. This definition may not match the IRS designation.
Sole proprietor requests don’t have extra vetting timelines or special reporting requirements.
How BRN validation works
The toll-free partner validates your BRN automatically against official records through an industry partner. Validation takes a few seconds and doesn’t add time to verification. The verification flow itself hasn’t changed:
If your BRN validates, your request moves through verification as usual.
If your BRN doesn’t validate, you receive a denial shortly after you submit.
Match your BRN to your submission
The BRN must match your legal entity name. Your website, opt-in form, and email domain must clearly match either your legal entity name or your DBA (doing business as) name.
Supported BRN types
Business Registration Issuing Country | Message Sender Business Registration Type | Description |
US | EIN | Employer Identification Number |
CA | CBN* | Canadian Business Number |
CA | NEQ | Numéro d’entreprise du Québec |
CA | PROVINCIAL_NUMBER | Provincial Number |
UK, HK | CRN | Company Registration Number |
GB, IE, BR, NL | VAT | Value-added tax identification number |
AU | ACN | Australian Company Number |
AU | ABN | Australian Business Number |
HK | BRN | Business Registration Number |
FR | SIREN | For INSEE |
FR | SIRET | For establishments |
NZ | NZBN | New Zealand Business Number |
DE | UST-IDNR | Umsatzsteuer-Identifikationsnummer for VAT |
ES | CIF | Código de Identificación Fiscal |
ES | NIF | For individuals and some companies |
BR | CNPJ | Cadastro Nacional Da Pessoa Jurídica |
CH | UID | Unternehmens-Identifikationsnummer |
Varies | OTHER | Varies |
*If you use a CBN, enter only the core 9-digit identifier, without the suffix.
US and Canada
US and Canadian requirements are the same. Only the issuing authority differs. US brands use an EIN, and Canadian brands use a CBN, NEQ, or provincial number. Sole proprietor registration isn’t available to Canadian or other non-US brands.
If your BRN is rejected
If you don’t provide a BRN, or Bandwidth can’t validate it, your submission is rejected with error code 1112.
To appeal, open a ticket with the Messaging Registration Support team and attach official documentation issued by the relevant government entity, such as:
The EIN Confirmation Letter (CP 575)
The EIN Verification Letter (147C)
Government-issued documentation for your BRN type
You can’t create this documentation yourself. Snippets or screenshots of registry searches may not be accepted.