Legal Requirements for SMS in Saudi Arabia

Mobile country code (MCC)

• 420

International dialing prefix:

• 966

Major carriers:

• Mobily
• Zain
• STC

CLiX supported:

• Long Code - No
• Short Code - No
• Sender ID - Fixed Alpha. Preregistration is required.

One-way communication - Yes

Two-way communication - No

Opt-in requirements - Subscribers should opt-in to receive messages.

Opt-out requirements - A mandatory opt-out must be included (Keyword = STOP)

Message content:

• Messages which contain URLs and objectionable content will be blocked due to strong filtering policies. No religious, betting, political or adult content is allowed.
• Messages with numeric Sender IDs will also be blocked. Promotional messages may be sent only between 9 am - 9 pm.

Message format supported:

• Unicode - Yes
• Concatenated messages - Yes

Delivery receipts (DLR) supported - Yes

Useful regulatory links:

• Saudi Arabia SMS Messaging Regulator - www.citc.gov.sa