Sending Limits

Every account can send from the first minute. Two things change as an account proves who it is: which phone numbers it may reach on the carrier channels, and how much it may send per day.

Account levels

Level	How it is reached	What it can do
Unverified	A new account that has proven nothing yet	Sends on every channel, but `sms`, `sms_oneway` and `voice` reach only the phone numbers the project has verified
Verified	Any one of: identity verification, a saved payment method, a settled deposit, a paid plan	Sends to any destination, within the daily ceilings below
Business	Business verification (KYB)	Everything above, plus 10DLC brand and campaign registration for US SMS

Business verification is never required to send. It gates 10DLC registration only, because carriers register a brand against a vetted legal entity. Accounts created before 24 August 2026 start at Verified.

Verifying a phone number

An unverified account can text and call the numbers it has verified. A number is verified from the phone itself, which is what makes the check mean something:

In the dashboard, go to Sandbox and click Generate Verification Code.
Scan the QR code or click Open WhatsApp on the phone you want to verify.
Send the pre-filled VERIFY- message to Zavu’s sandbox number.

The number is marked verified automatically. One verification covers WhatsApp, SMS and calls. Up to 5 numbers per project; a code expires after 10 minutes. There is nothing to type into the dashboard, no API call, and no support ticket.

Sending to any number

Do any one of these in the dashboard. Each is self-serve:

Verify your identity under Identity verification (/kyc): an ID document and a selfie, a few minutes.
Add a payment method under Billing: about half a minute. Nothing is charged.
Settle a deposit under Billing.
Subscribe to a paid plan.

Any one of them moves the account to Verified. From then on sms, sms_oneway and voice reach any destination.

Daily ceilings

Channels that share a budget share one counter. Counts reset at 00:00 UTC.

Budget	Channels	Unverified	Verified
SMS	`sms`, `sms_oneway`	25/day	200/day, or 10,000/day once identity or business verification is approved
Voice	`voice`	5/day	50/day on Free, no ceiling on paid plans
Conversational	`whatsapp`, `telegram`, `instagram`, `messenger`	100/day	250/day on Free, no ceiling on paid plans
Email	`email`	Plan quota	Plan quota

The SMS ceiling above Sandbox keys on identity, not on the level: an account that reached Verified by saving a card sends 200 a day until its identity or business verification is approved. A higher limit can be agreed for an account.
Email has no verification gate on single sends. A sender with a verified domain sends from day one, within the plan’s quota: 100 a day and 3,000 a month on Free.
A daily ceiling never reduces a monthly allowance: 100 a day on the conversational group still reaches the 2,000 messages a month Free includes.
Broadcasts count each recipient against the same ceiling. Recipients beyond it are marked failed with errorCode DAILY_LIMIT_EXCEEDED and are not retried the next day.

Errors

`destination_not_verified` (403)

Returned by POST /v1/messages on sms, sms_oneway and voice, and by POST /v1/calls, when an unverified account targets a number it has not verified.

{
  "code": "destination_not_verified",
  "message": "This account can only send to numbers it has verified. Verify your identity or add a payment method to send anywhere.",
  "details": {
    "verifiedNumbers": ["+56912345678"],
    "dashboardUrl": "/kyc"
  }
}

Send to one of details.verifiedNumbers, verify the number you meant to reach, or move the account to Verified.

`daily_limit_exceeded` (429)

Returned by POST /v1/messages and POST /v1/calls when the channel group’s ceiling for today is spent.

{
  "code": "daily_limit_exceeded",
  "message": "Daily SMS limit reached (25/day). Verify your identity or add a payment method to raise it.",
  "details": {
    "limit": 25,
    "remaining": 0,
    "dashboardUrl": "/kyc"
  }
}

details.limit is the ceiling that applied. Wait for 00:00 UTC, or raise it: identity verification or a payment method for the SMS, voice and conversational groups, a plan upgrade for email.

`kyc_required` (403) on broadcasts

POST /v1/broadcasts/{broadcastId}/send refuses an unverified account on every channel except whatsapp, where Meta’s approval of the template is the review. Any one of the four routes to Verified lifts it. Drafts can be created and edited without it.

{
  "code": "kyc_required",
  "message": "Verify your identity, add a payment method, or upgrade before sending broadcasts. You can keep editing this draft in the meantime.",
  "details": {
    "dashboardUrl": "/kyc"
  }
}

See Broadcasts.

Test-mode keys

A zv_test_ key is separate from the levels above. Whatever the account has proven, it sends WhatsApp, Telegram, Instagram and Messenger only to verified numbers, and it cannot place calls.

Getting Started

Build agents

Send & receive

Operate

Developer tools

Integrations

Sending Limits

Account levels

Verifying a phone number

Sending to any number

Daily ceilings

Errors

`destination_not_verified` (403)

`daily_limit_exceeded` (429)

`kyc_required` (403) on broadcasts

Test-mode keys

Next Steps

Quickstart

Rate Limiting

​Account levels

​Verifying a phone number

​Sending to any number

​Daily ceilings

​Errors

​destination_not_verified (403)

​daily_limit_exceeded (429)

​kyc_required (403) on broadcasts

​Test-mode keys

​Next Steps

Quickstart

Rate Limiting

Account levels

Verifying a phone number

Sending to any number

Daily ceilings

Errors

`destination_not_verified` (403)

`daily_limit_exceeded` (429)

`kyc_required` (403) on broadcasts

Test-mode keys

Next Steps