China does not show custom sender IDs: every A2P message arrives from an operator number, and your brand appears as a signature in Chinese brackets 【】 at the start of the text. As of 2026 both the signature and every message template must be registered and approved in advance, which in practice requires a business entity in mainland China. Unregistered traffic is blocked.
Rules last checked: October 2026.
How the system works
SMS in China is supervised by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), and the operators enforce its notices on content and sender identity. Instead of a sender ID you register two things:
- A signature: the brand or company name in 【】 brackets, placed at the beginning of each message, for example 【BrandName】 followed by the text.
- Templates: the exact wording of every message you will send, with the variable parts (such as an OTP code) marked. The message sent must match an approved template exactly; anything else is rejected.
Since 5 December 2025 providers no longer offer a shared "generic" signature for brands that have not completed registration, and that traffic is now blocked. For the general process see how sender ID registration works.
Signature and template registration
| Item | Typical requirement as of 2026 |
|---|---|
| Signature text | Must match a registered trademark, company name or ICP filing; usually 2 to 8 Chinese characters, no spaces or symbols |
| Brackets | Only 【】; messages using [ ] can be blocked by operators |
| Company documents | Chinese business license; trademark certificate if the signature is a trademark |
| Foreign trademark owner | Letter of Authorization to the Chinese entity |
| Contact details | Chinese ID number of a representative and a Chinese mobile number |
| Templates | Every template submitted, variables highlighted; new wording means a new registration |
Approval time depends on the provider and the operator: published figures range from about a week for signature filing to several weeks for templates. Some providers also limit variables in notification and marketing templates, and China Telecom limits the number of contact methods and links that can be tied to one signature. Plan your templates before launch rather than adding them one by one.
Content and marketing rules
- Prohibited content: political, illegal, pornographic, gambling and fraudulent content, plus anything that conflicts with MIIT and public security rules.
- Financial marketing: messages about loans, credit cards, securities, futures, gold and cryptocurrency are blocked by major routes.
- Links and emails: many routes do not accept URLs or email addresses in content at all.
- Language: write in Simplified Chinese. Some routes reject English versions of templates that are also registered in Chinese.
- Marketing opt-out: promotional messages must carry an opt-out instruction in Chinese, such as 拒收请回复R ("reply R to refuse"). The exact wording differs between providers, so use the one your route requires.
Marketing also has sending windows, but providers publish different ones (for example no promotional sending after 19:00 on one route, a 08:00 to 21:00 window on another), so confirm the window with your provider. Read SMS content restrictions and transactional vs promotional SMS for the general split.
Mobile networks and encoding
The networks are China Mobile, China Unicom and China Telecom, plus China Broadnet, the fourth operator, which launched in 2022 with 192 numbers and shares China Mobile's network. Two-way SMS is not available on international A2P routes, and delivery to China is generally best effort with no guarantee from international providers.
Chinese text is sent in UCS-2, so each part holds 70 characters (67 when concatenated), and the signature counts toward the length. One major provider recommends staying under 500 characters or 8 parts. See long (concatenated) SMS.
OTP traffic
Verification codes are not exempt: OTP still needs a registered signature and template. Keep the template minimal, for example 【Brand】 followed by the code and its validity, in Chinese, with the code as the only variable. Expect occasional blocking without notice when operators tighten filters, and plan a fallback for users who do not receive the code: see OTP fallback: SMS, voice and WhatsApp. Offers of cheap China routes "without registration" are usually grey routes and can stop working overnight. More in OTP SMS best practices.
See coverage on the China SMS destination page and our A2P SMS service. VoIPMatcher sources the route from its carriers and manages it; buyers and sellers never see each other. Request a China SMS route.
Frequently asked questions
Can I send SMS to China without a Chinese company?
In practice it is very difficult. As of 2026 every signature and template must be registered, which requires a Chinese business licence, a representative's Chinese ID number and a Chinese mobile number. A foreign trademark owner can authorise a Chinese entity with a letter of authorization. Offers to send without registration are usually grey routes.
Can I use a custom sender ID in China?
No. China does not display custom sender IDs: A2P messages arrive from an operator number, and the brand appears only as the signature in Chinese brackets at the start of the text. The signature must match a registered trademark, company name or ICP filing and is usually 2 to 8 Chinese characters.
How long does China SMS template approval take?
It depends on the provider and the operator. Published figures range from about a week for signature filing to several weeks for templates. Every new wording needs a new registration, so plan all your templates before launch rather than adding them one at a time, and leave margin for rejections.
Can I send OTP SMS to China in English?
Write in Simplified Chinese. Some routes reject English versions of templates that are also registered in Chinese, and OTP needs a registered signature and template like any other traffic. Keep the template minimal, with the code as the only variable, and plan a fallback channel for users who do not receive it.
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