SMS Country regulations and restrictions

United Kingdom

Available countries

Before you start sending SMS messages to the United Kingdom, please ensure that you understand the regulations around messaging in the country. All programs are required to be compliant with the applicable laws. Please contact our support team if you are unsure about any of these regulations.

Restriction Description
DND exists No
Time restrictions No
International vs local split No
Local traffic N/A
International traffic N/A
General content restrictions ---
Content registration required

Restrictions:

  • All URLs must be whitelisted.
  • URL shorteners cannot be whitelisted. This rule is in force as spammers tend to use shorteners heavily.
  • No URL redirects - URL should link directly to a fully visible page.
  • Service legitimacy check: A check of the website is performed to conclude if the service is legitimate - all URLs to misleading pages will be rejected.

Service related to loans/financial services:

  • We need the exact sender ID that will be used, and it must be related to the website/company name.
  • Operators consider it spam if there is a mismatch between the sender ID and the service.
Opt-out instructions required ---
Sender ID regulations

Dynamic alpha is supported, however, please be aware that certain sender ID registration will become mandatory in the near future.

Changes to Sender IDs effective 3 July 2023:
    Numeric Sender IDs
    Long numbers: Anything other than “+44xxxxx” will be blocked Select and purchase a United Kingdom long number
    Short Codes: Five digits starting with 6/7/8 will be permitted. All other short codes will be blocked Apply for a United Kingdom short code

    AlphaNumeric Sender IDs

    Alpha sender IDs with certain special characters will be blocked Examples:  @, $,#
    Permitted special characters for an alpha/alphanumeric sender (max length of 11 digits)
    • A to Z (uppercase)
    • a to z (lowercase)
    • 0-9 (numeric)

    Special Characters

    • ' ' (space)
    • '.' (full stop)
    • '&' (ampersand)
    • '_' (underscore)
    • '-' (dash/hyphen)
    Brand Names are Permitted; however Generic Sender IDs will be blocked

    Generic Sender ID examples:   “SMS”, “INFO”, or “Alert”

    See table below for generic terms that will be blocked.

    Sender ID documentation required ---
    Country supports MNP Yes

    Including these generic terms as part of your sender ID is likely to block messages.

    2FA Accept Access Active Alert
    App Appointment Approved Auth Aware
    Bank Banking Call Card Caution
    Code Confirm Contact Control Delivery
    Energy Fraud Help Info Loan
    Login Logistics Message Mobile MSG
    Network Notify Order OTP Parcel
    Pay Payment Pin Rebate Receipt
    Reminder Reply Schedule Secure Shipping
    SMS Support Text Trace TXT
    Update Verify Winner

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