Charity Short codes are a new range of short codes in the 70000 to 70999 range. Service providers and Charities should use this range to make their donation facility distinguishable from other short code services.

Charity short codes get different VAT treatment by Network Operators. Provided that the use of the short code fulfils certain conditions, the donation is VAT exempt. Other commercial terms such as short code rental and commission rates are agreed separately between the MNO and the Service Provider or Charity.

The full details of the Framework for Charitable Donations, authored by the MDA can be found here: http://www.charitytext.org/documents/MDA/MDA_Framework_for_Charity_Donations_using_Mobile_Networks-ReleaseJuly09.PDF

As the Charity range is limited, it is being allocated by MNO's on a first come, first served basis and also under quantity controls.

Service Providers will need one short code per price point for charitable donations and are encouraged to use these as shared short codes across all charities that they support. We understand that some charities may prefer to use a dedicated short code and this may be accommodated on a case by case basis.

To apply for a Charity short code, use the search facility on www.short-codes.com to look for the short code you would like to reserve or browse all short codes in the special Charity range.

You will need to login before you can reserve a short code or register on the web site if this is your first use of short-codes.com Once you can see a short code that you would like and if it is not reserved (red block), press the "Enquiry" button. This will trigger an email to the Lead Operator for that short code (shown against the code).

The Lead Operator will allocate the short code to you and you can now enable the short code on the relevant networks.
There may be occasions where you are unsuccessful in reserving a short code. These may be;

• You have asked for a short code after someone else asked for the same short code.
• You have requested too many short codes from this range
• You are a charity and are not registered with HMRC

In all cases, the Lead Operator will advise you of the reason for the rejection.