Using an alphanumeric sender ID
MessageBird offers you the option to send SMS with an alphanumeric originator. However, due to local restrictions in certain countries, SMS with alphanumeric originator may not arrive, or may need to be pre-registered before use.
In the table below, countries in which pre-registration of the sender ID is needed are marked with 'Registration required'. Note that in some countries registration is only needed for some operators. You can also see where alphanumeric sender IDs are not supported, and what will happen to the SMS if you do send with such a sender.
If a country is not listed below, as far as we are aware there are no local restrictions related to the sender ID and you should be able to send using an alphanumeric ID without any issues.
If you need to register your sender ID, please reach out to our Support Team via this page with the following information:
- Originator
- Sample text
- Company website
- A short summary of your use case
Sending a URL
In certain countries, URLs will be blocked by local operators if these are not registered. Below these countries will be indicated in the 'URLs supported' column. If you require registration for your URL, please reach out to our Support Team via this page with the following information:
- Originator
- Sample text
- URL to be whitelisted. Note that we cannot register shortened URLs (such as bit.ly). Please provide the full URL.
- A short summary of your use case
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 in our Developer Page.
| Country | Alpha ID supported | URLs supported | Info |
| Afghanistan | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (41240). | |
| Albania | Registration required | ||
| Argentina | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Armenia | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator VivaCell (28305).
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| Australia |
For further restrictions when sending to Australia please click here.
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| Belarus | Registration required | ||
| Belgium | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten unless you are using a local Number.
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| Benin | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (61603). | |
| Brazil | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Bulgaria* | Registration required | ||
| Cameroon | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (62401). | |
| Canada | No, requires local Number to send | No |
The message will be blocked by the network if sent with an alpha sender or with URL in the body. For further restrictions on sending to Canada, please click here.
|
| Chad | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator Tawali (62202).
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| Chile | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| China | Registration required | No | For further restrictions when sending to China please click here. |
| Colombia | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Congo Democratic Republic | Registration required |
Registration is needed for operators Vodacom (63001) and MTN (62910).
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| Cuba | Registration required | ||
| Czech Republic | Registration required | Registration is required for alpha sender IDs. | |
| Denmark | Yes | Registration required | |
| Ecuador | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Egypt | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator Etisalat only (60203).
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| Finland | Yes | Registration required | |
| France | Yes |
For further restrictions when sending to France please click here.
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| Germany | Yes |
For further restrictions when sending to Germany please click here.
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| Ghana | Registration required | Registration is needed for operator MTN (62001) and for local traffic. Registration is not required for international traffic. | |
| Guinea | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (61104). | |
| Guinea-Bissau | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (63202). | |
| Hungary | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| India* | Registration required |
Registration is needed for local traffic. Customers can register their sender ID with local operators for an additional cost. For further restrictions when sending to India please click here. Registration not possible for international traffic. Sender ID will be overwritten. |
|
| Indonesia | Registration required | ||
| Iran | Registration required |
Registration is only available for operator MCI (43211). SMS sent to the operator RighTel will deliver without issues (43220). All other networks will overwrite your sender ID.
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| Ivory Coast | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (61205). | |
| Japan | Yes | No |
For further restrictions when sending to Japan please click here.
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| Jordan | Registration required | Registration is needed for local traffic for all operators.
Registration is needed for international traffic for operators Zain (41601) and Orange (41677). |
|
| Kazakhstan* | Registration required | ||
| Kenya* | Registration required |
Registration is needed for operator Safaricom (63901, 63902).
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| Kuwait | Registration required | ||
| Liberia | Registration required | Registration is needed for operator MTN (61801). | |
| Macao | No | The sender ID will be overwritten. | |
| Macedonia | Registration required | ||
| Malawi | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator TMN (65001).
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| Malaysia | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten. For further restrictions when sending to Malaysia please click here. |
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| Mali | Registration required | ||
| Mexico | No | The sender ID will be overwritten. | |
| Moldova | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Montenegro | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator Telenor (29701).
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| Morocco | Registration required | ||
| Mozambique* | Registration required | ||
| Nepal | Registration required | ||
| New Zealand | Yes, best effort delivery |
Dedicated short codes are available to improve deliverability. For more information on this option please click here. |
|
| Nicaragua | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Nigeria | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operators Airtel (62120) and MTN (62130). For further restrictions when sending to Nigeria please click here. |
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| Norway | Yes | Registration required |
For further restrictions when sending to Norway please click here.
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| Oman | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operator Ooredoo (42203).
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| Pakistan | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operators Mobilink (41001) and Warid (41007) only. Operators Telenor (41006) and Ufone (41003) will overwrite the sender ID.
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| Palestine | Registration required |
Alpha sender registration required on Al Jawwal (42505). Required information: sender name, message template, client website. Supported Language Content on Jawwal: English or Arabic only. |
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| Paraguay | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Philippines | Registration required | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operators Smart (51503) and Sun (51505) only. If you are sending a URL in your SMS, we can whitelist this to avoid running into any issues with delivery.
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| Qatar | Registration required | ||
| Romania* | Registration required | Registration required | Registration is only needed for operators DigiMobil (22605), Orange (22610), and Vodafone. For further restrictions when sending to Romania please click here. |
| Russia* | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operators MTS (25001) and Megafon (25002) only. For further restrictions when sending to Russia please click here. |
|
| Rwanda | Registration required |
Registration is required for operator MTN (63510). |
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| Saudi Arabia | Registration required | Registration is only possible for international traffic. | |
| Senegal | Registration required | ||
| Serbia* | Registration required | ||
| Singapore | Yes | For further restrictions when sending to Singapore please click here. | |
| South Africa | Registration required |
Registration is required for operator MTN (65510). For information on restrictions when sending to South Africa, please click here.
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| South Korea | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Sri Lanka | Registration required |
Registration is only needed for operators Dialog (41302) and Etisalat (41303) only. |
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| Sudan | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (63402). | |
| Sweden | Yes | Registration required | |
| Taiwan | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Tanzania | Registration required | ||
| Thailand | Registration required |
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| Togo | Registration required | ||
| Turkey | Registration required | For further restrictions when sending to Turkey please click here. | |
| Uganda | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (64110). | |
| Ukraine | Registration required | Registration is only needed for operator Life (25506). | |
| United Arab Emirates | Registration required | For further restrictions when sending to UAE, please click here. | |
| United Kingdom |
Registration required | Registration required | For further restrictions when sending to the UK, please click here. |
| United States | No, requires local 10DLC (Number) to send | Registration required | Note: The message will be blocked by the network if not registered. For further restrictions when sending to the US please click here. |
| US Virgin Islands | No |
The sender ID will be overwritten.
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| Uzbekistan | Registration required | Registration is only needed for operators Beeline (43404), Ucell (43405) and MTS (43407). | |
| Vietnam | Registration required | ||
| Zambia | Registration required | Registration is required for operator MTN (64502). |
* There are additional costs for registering here. Please check with our Support Team what the costs are.