Voice Fraud & Compliance Wiki

    SIP & Network

    SIP 603 Decline

    The SIP response code indicating the call was declined outright, commonly returned when a carrier blocks a call rather than failing to connect it.

    603 Decline means the far end explicitly refused the call, as opposed to 486 Busy Here or 404 Not Found. Carriers frequently use 603 — sometimes with a reason header — to signal an intentional block.

    Because 603 is a global failure response, it terminates the fork rather than allowing the call to be tried on another route.

    Why it matters to carriers

    A rising 603 rate on a customer's traffic is usually the first machine-readable sign that downstream carriers have started blocking them.

    Handling sip 603 decline on your own switch

    SipShield scores live SIP traffic with patented AI so the controls behind this term run automatically — and leave the audit trail regulators expect.