Choose the right sender : Availability and restrictions by country
Choosing the Right senders
MessageBird offers you the option to send messages via different types of senders the most common worldwide being alphanumeric. However, due to local restrictions in certain countries, different types of originators may work best for different use cases, Below you can find additional information on a country-per-country basis.
if you only send 1-way traffic (either transactional or promotional) you can, in most cases, obtain world cover by just using 2 senders:
one Toll Free Number for both USA and Canada
one Alphanumeric for the rest of the world
if you intend to send 2 ways traffic you may need up to one sender per country
Alphanumeric senders
Alphanumeric senders are words your user receives in the form field of SMS. They only work 1 way but are a great option for both branding (you can use your company name) and coverage (the same Alphanumeric can be used to send traffic to multiple countries).
OPT-OUT and Subscriptions
In most countries of the world you can fulfill your OPT OUT obligation by including an OPT link in your messages, this allows to utilize Alphanumeric.
In few other countries (notably in both USA and Canada) you are mandated to accept user OPT OUT requests by SMS (for example recognize and act on your user texting you STOP) Because of this you must use 2 ways numbers even when sending 1 way or promotional traffic.
Sending messages containing URL
In certain countries, local operators will block URLs if they are not registered and ore are not clearly recognizable as belonging to a brand. Below you can find additional information on a country-by-country basis; if a country supports generic URL you can use any domain including shared shorteners (for example brd.to/xxxx if a country does not support Generic URL shortener you can only use branded shorteners.
In most country a branded subdomain is considered enough to identify an url exampel {brand}.brd.to/xxxx
Blocked message and error code
Whenever possible MessageBird provides a dedicated error code and status reason to indicate the SMS failed to deliver due to lack of registration and/or forbidden content. You can find more information on Failed SMS Troubleshooting in this article, or you can directly check our detailed Status List on our Developer Page.
Sender ID Registration Information
In most countries, a quick check performed by bird will be enough to enable you to send traffic however in other countries in pre-registration of the sender ID is conducted externally by a carrier or regulatory-controlled entity. In such cases, registration may take longer and require to provide additional information You can recognize those countries are marked with the icon "✓".
If a country is not explicitly listed below, please refer to the rest of the World entry
Quiet Hours
in many countries, you are requested or mandated not to send promotional messages on certain days or during certain hours. You can however send transactional messages at any time needed.
Countries & restrictions
Rest of the World
For Transactional Traffic
SMS - Alphanumeric
For Promotional Traffic
SMS - Alphanumeric
For Conversational Traffic
Whatsapp - bring your own number
You can check what other types of sender are available and their cost in the Number section of our pricing page
3rd Party Registration required
❌
URL shortening allowed
✅
Quiet Hours / Do not Disturb
20:00 -> 09:00
SMS
Numeric senders (as numbers or shortcodes) are NOT supported
SMS
When delivering to one or more networks in the country, your sender name may be overwritten to a local shared short or long code or a generic alphanumeric (ex infoSMS)
A
Afghanistan
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Partial
Manipulation will happen on 41201 AWCC - due to operator limitation in supporting this kind of senders.
Short code
No
International numbers
Partial
Manipulation will happen on 41201 AWCC - due to operator limitation in supporting this kind of senders.
Generic sender
No
41240 MTN: Sender registration is mandatory. Both local and international numeric formats are allowed.”
Restrictions
Operator registration required
Yes
Generic URL shortening allowed
No
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Albania
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Partial
Only branded allowed.
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Financial organizations
Sender IDs that are linked to financial organizations must provide a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to avoid issues with traffic delivery.
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Algeria
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Yes
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Angola
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Yes
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
American Samoa
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Yes
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Andorra
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Partial
For some networks overwrite can happen - due to operator limitation in supporting this kind of sender.
Short code
Partial
For some networks overwrite can happen - due to operator limitation in supporting this kind of sender.
International numbers
Partial
For some networks overwrite can happen - due to operator limitation in supporting this kind of sender.
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Partial
Only branded allowed.
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Financial organizations
Sender IDs that are linked to financial organizations must provide a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to avoid issues with traffic delivery.
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Anguilla
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
For Conversational Traffic: WhatsApp - bring your own number
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Partial
Only branded allowed.
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Antigua and Barbuda
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
For Conversational Traffic: WhatsApp - bring your own number
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
Yes
Generic sender
No
Full Dynamic sender is supported.
Restrictions
Operator registration required
No
Generic URL shortening allowed
Yes
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Argentina
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Short Code
Promotional traffic
SMS: Short Code
For Conversational Traffic: SMS - 2-way Short Code
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
No
Local number
Yes
Short code
Yes
International numbers
No
Generic sender
No
Messages containing bank and mobile operator names will be identified as spam, so please avoid using those names.
Restrictions
Operator registration required
Yes
Mandatory registration - Generic Sender ID's are not allowed.
Generic URL shortening allowed
Partial
Only branded allowed.
Quiet hours/Do Not Disturb
No
Gambling and political traffic, as well as messages containing adult content, are forbidden.
Mobile operators do not allow promotional messages from other operators to be delivered to their subscribers.
Messages with operator names are identified as spam.
Opt out rules
There are no specific opt out regulations.
Armenia
Use cases and recommended senders
Transactional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Promotional traffic
SMS: Alphanumeric
Sender support
Alpha and Alphanumeric
Yes
Local number
No
Short code
No
International numbers
No
Generic sender
No
Restrictions
Operator registration required
Yes