CSF Corporation

SMS/800 RespOrgs

Responsible Organizations access the national SMS/800 database to reserve toll free numbers for their customer and to route the numbers on the appropriate long distance carriers.

Most RespOrgs are telephone carriers or companies. Other companies that apply for RespOrg status are enhanced voice mail providers, VoIP carriers, call tracking and marketing analytics firms, or vanity number firms. Keep in mind that any company or organization that can demonstrate the required skills and financial responsibility can apply to be a Resp Org.

There is a special classification of RespOrgs called Independent RespOrgs. These are firms that manage toll free numbers for a set of clients – some of these clients may themselves be RespOrgs, and and some may be companies in the telephony industry who are not RespOrg’s themselves.

Becoming a RespOrg is a relatively easy process. As it states on the SMS/800 website you must:

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The following proposal is being sent to the FCC by the industry.  It is not in place yet, but the recommendation will probably be accepted by the FCC soon.

“ATIS SNAC urges the Commission to instead limit toll free reservations by any one Resp Org to one-half of one percent (0.5%) of that Resp Org’s numbers in Working Status for the previous week, or 500 numbers, whichever is greater.  This Toll Free Number Conservation Plan should remain in place until the release of the 855 SAC.”

We don’t have any more information than this at this time. More to come!

This is a tricky question. Everybody knows who owns 1-800-Flowers. But what if a company wants to acquire a specific toll free number that is not currently in the SMS/800 spare pool? How can they find the current owner to start a possible conversation?

The first option is research. Start with Google or another search engine, and see if you can find the company via their advertising. Sometimes you can find the number because it is listed with a directory listing service. Another way to go is call the number directly and see what you can find.

Active toll free numbers are stored in SMS/800 and associated with a RespOrg. One way to see the current RespOrg for a specific toll number is to visit our http://800forall.com site. As part of 800forall we have provided a free service called “Who Owns This Number”. Enter the number at the top of the screen, hit the “Who Owns This Number” button, and we will return the RespOrg and contact number for the RespOrg.