Legal Requirements for SMS in United Kingdom

Mobile country code (MCC)

• 234

International dialing prefix:

• 44

Major carriers:

• O2
• T-Mobile
• Vodafone
• Orange

CLiX supported:

• Long Code - Yes
• Short Code - No
• Sender ID - Fully dynamic. No pre-registration is required.

One-way communication - Yes

Two-way communication - Yes (via long code or CLiX shared numbers).

Opt-in requirements:

• Subscribers should opt-in to receive messages.

Opt-out requirements:

• Promotional messages must include STOP & HELP options for the recipient to opt out.

Message content:

• Commercial messages should not be sent between 9 pm, and 8 am Monday to Friday. Or between 9 pm and 9 am on weekends, unless the recipient has given prior express consent.
• Please note that recipients might regard commercial messages sent on a Sunday, or a national or religious holiday, as unwelcome.

Message format supported:

• Unicode - Yes
• Concatenated messages - Yes

Delivery receipts (DLR) supported - Yes

Useful regulatory links:

• Telecom Regulatory - www.ofcom.org.uk
• Direct Marketing Association Code of Practice - dma.org.uk/content/dm-code-practice
• Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) - www.asa.org.uk