Create an SMS batch Live

Send a text batch with the same draft-preview-approve flow as email, with eligibility exclusions shown before anything goes out.

Updated 2 min readMaintained by Landing Zone

Open this screen in Landing Zone →

SMS batches run on the same engine as email batches — draft, preview, approve, send — with one big difference: before anything goes out, every recipient passes through an eligibility check, and the preview shows you exactly who was excluded and why.

Before you start

  • A provisioned sending phone number — see Settings → Phone numbers and Configure SMS.
  • An approved A2P 10DLC registration. Trust Center tracks your registration status, and SMS sending gates on approved status — see the A2P 10DLC setup guide.
  • Verified SMS consent for your recipients. Batch SMS only sends to contacts whose consent is verified — see SMS consent.

Steps

  1. Confirm your registration is approved. Open Settings → Trust Center and check that your A2P 10DLC registration shows approved status. SMS sending is gated until it is.
  2. Open Batches and create a new SMS batch. It stays a draft until you approve it.
  3. Pick your audience. Choose a list, or select contacts by tags.
  4. Choose a template. SMS templates support merge fields and spin syntax for per-contact variants — see Create templates.
  5. Preview the batch. The preview shows recipient counts and an exclusion tally with the reason for each: consent not verified, a send inside the 30-day cooldown, a suppression-list match, line type, or quiet hours.
  6. Resolve the unverified-numbers confirmation if it appears. If the batch includes numbers whose line type has not been verified, Landing Zone shows a "Send to unverified numbers?" confirmation explaining the cost and delivery risk. If you proceed, your acceptance is recorded with a timestamp. To shrink that group, run phone verification first.
  7. Approve and start the send. The first outbound SMS to a contact automatically appends "Reply STOP to opt out."
  8. Track results and replies. Replies arrive in the per-number inbox, and an inbound reply lifts the 30-day cooldown for that contact — see Review replies in the unified inbox.

Limitations

  • Batch SMS requires verified consent. Skip-traced and imported contacts default to unverified until an opt-in is recorded, so they are excluded until then.
  • The 30-day cooldown is fixed and not configurable. A contact already texted within the same campaign is excluded regardless of the 30-day window.
  • Quiet hours are enforced — by default 9 PM to 8 AM in the contact's local time. See Quiet hours.
  • Exclusions happen before the send and appear in the preview; excluded contacts are not queued for later.
  • These controls reduce repeat-contact risk, but they are not a legal determination. You remain responsible for consent, audience selection, and message content.

Frequently asked questions

Do SMS batches support personalization?

Yes. SMS templates support merge fields and spin syntax, so each contact can receive a personalized variant.

Can I pause an SMS batch after it starts?

Yes. A running batch can be paused, resumed, or stopped from Batches, and a draft can be discarded. Messages already sent cannot be recalled.