Migrate Platform Notification SMS from Email-to-Text to ServiceNow Notify (Twilio Direct)Issue <!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Platform Notification SMS has traditionally been delivered using carrier email-to-text gateways, where ServiceNow sends an email to an address such as 8175551212@txt.att.net and the carrier converts it to a text message. Carriers are now deprecating these gateways — AT&T discontinued its email-to-text service on June 17, 2025 (AT&T article), and other carriers are expected to follow. As gateways are retired, Platform Notification SMS that relies on them will stop being delivered. This article describes how to migrate existing Platform Notification SMS to ServiceNow Notify using Twilio Direct, so the same notifications continue to be delivered through Twilio instead of a carrier gateway. The migration does not require changes to your existing notification definitions. You add a new SMS service provider for Notify and point each recipient’s SMS device to it, then ensure the phone number is in E.164 format. Symptoms<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } SMS notifications that previously relied on a carrier email-to-text gateway stop arriving once the carrier retires that gateway. The notification still triggers normally, but the recipient does not receive a text message, because the carrier gateway that converted the message to SMS is no longer in service. Facts<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } ServiceNow offers two ways to deliver SMS: the legacy carrier email-to-text gateway method, and ServiceNow Notify integrated with Twilio. Notify is the recommended, more reliable path for SMS delivery, and is not affected by the deprecation of carrier email-to-text gateways. With Notify using Twilio Direct, outbound messages are recorded in the notify_message table, and each record’s state is updated to reflect delivery status as Twilio reports it back. This differs from the legacy method, where SMS was sent as an email and recorded in sys_email. After migrating, outbound SMS is recorded in notify_message rather than sys_email. Twilio constraints to be aware of: Only one Twilio account (or sub-account) can be used per ServiceNow instance with Twilio Direct, across production, sub-production, and test instances.Rate and regulatory limits apply. See Understanding Twilio Rate Limits and Message Queues and SMS regulatory guidelines. If using a trial Twilio account, additional trial limitations also apply. Release<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Applicable to supported releases where ServiceNow Notify with Twilio Direct is available. Cause<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } The legacy delivery method depends on carrier email-to-text gateways, which are outside ServiceNow’s control. As carriers deprecate these gateways, messages sent to gateway addresses are no longer converted to SMS, so notifications relying on this method stop reaching recipients. Resolution<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } Redirect SMS delivery to ServiceNow Notify (Twilio Direct). Your existing notification definitions and users’ notification preferences do not change — you add a new SMS service provider for Notify, point each recipient’s SMS device to it, and confirm the phone number is in E.164 format. Prerequisite — Set up Notify with Twilio Direct Before migrating, set up Notify with a Twilio Direct number that has SMS-out enabled. See the ServiceNow documentation for Notify and the Notify Twilio Direct driver. The Twilio setup guide also walks through the end-to-end steps: Create a Notification System in ServiceNow using Twilio SMS and Voice. Step 1 — Add the Notify Twilio service provider Import the attached service provider record to add the new provider. After import, confirm the cmn_notif_service_provider record named Notify Twilio is present and active on your instance. Step 2 — Confirm a usable Twilio Direct number exists Navigate to the notify_number list and confirm there is a record matching all of the following: Active is true, SMS out is enabled, and Owner is Twilio Direct. Notify uses this number as the sender for outbound SMS. Step 3 — Point each recipient SMS device to the new provider For each user who should receive SMS through Notify, update their SMS device (cmn_notif_device): Set the Service provider to the imported Notify Twilio record.Confirm the Phone number is in E.164 format (for example, +14155552671). The legacy method did not strictly enforce this format, so existing numbers may need to be corrected. Step 4 — Verify delivery Trigger the notification for a user configured as above and confirm the SMS is received. The outbound message appears in the notify_message table with its delivery state. Troubleshooting If a notification does not deliver after migration, check the system log for entries with the prefix Platform SMS Notify Bridge. Each message identifies the cause and how to address it: Notify / Twilio Direct is not set up on the instance — shown when the Notify Twilio integration is not available. Complete the prerequisite setup above.No active Twilio Direct number with SMS-out enabled was found — shown when no usable sender number is configured. Confirm a matching notify_number record exists, as described in Step 2.Recipient number is missing or not valid E.164 — shown when the device’s phone number is empty or not in E.164 format. Correct the phone number on the recipient’s SMS device.Message body is empty — shown when the notification produced no SMS content. Confirm the notification has content in its SMS alternate or subject. Related Links<!-- /*NS Branding Styles*/ --> .ns-kb-css-body-editor-container { p { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } span { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, #000000); } h2 { font-size: 24pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h3 { font-size: 18pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } h4 { font-size: 14pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--text-primary, black); } a { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718F); } a:hover { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #024F69); } a:target { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #032D42); } a:visited { font-size: 12pt; color: var(--now-color--link-primary, #00718f); } ul { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } li { font-size: 12pt; font-family: Lato; } img { display: ; max-width: ; width: ; height: ; } } How to set up an SMS Email Notification in ServiceNow (legacy email-to-text method): KB0712569SMS via Email-to-Text Being Deprecated by Service Providers – Migrate to ServiceNow Notify: KB2088811Notify (ServiceNow documentation)Notify Twilio Direct driverUsing Notify with SMSCreate a Notification System in ServiceNow using Twilio SMS and Voice