Saudi Arabia SMS Gateway: Sender ID Rules and Routes

Whatever SMS gateway you use, Saudi Arabia only delivers A2P SMS from pre-registered alphanumeric sender IDs. Numeric senders are blocked, promotional sender IDs must end in -AD, and registration needs company documents that tie the brand to the sender ID. As of 2026, plan on roughly two weeks for an international registration.

Rules last checked: October 2026.

Sender ID registration

Sender names in Saudi Arabia are governed by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST), whose sender name governance guide sets the rules that operators and local providers apply. Registration goes through your SMS provider, and the documents depend on whether the sender is local or international. Providers commonly ask for:

• a delegation or authorization letter on company letterhead, signed and stamped, naming an authorized person;
• the company's commercial registration (for local companies) and other company certificates the provider lists;
• the traffic type (transactional or promotional), sample messages and the company website;
• proof of the right to use the brand (for example a trademark certificate) when the sender ID is not the company name.

Very short sender IDs are restricted: local providers report that two-letter IDs are reserved for government entities and three-letter IDs need extra trademark and company documents. Some international providers cannot register sender IDs on behalf of Saudi domestic brands, so a local company may need a local provider. See how sender ID registration works for the general process.

Sender ID types and replacement

A sender ID registered as transactional cannot be used for marketing. If you also send promotions, register a separate -AD sender. Mobily stopped accepting promotional (-AD) sender IDs in 2024, so promotional traffic to Mobily subscribers fails, while the other networks still accept it. More on the formats in SMS sender ID types.

Content filters and opt-in

Saudi networks filter content aggressively. Expect blocking for:

• URLs that were not declared and allowlisted, and any shortened URL;
• WhatsApp or LINE chat links and phone numbers in the message body;
• the same content sent repeatedly in a short period;
• gambling, adult content, loans, political or religious content, alcohol and controlled substances.

Get opt-in consent before marketing and include a way to opt out. Numbers on the do-not-disturb list do not receive promotional traffic. Arabic text is supported with Unicode (UCS-2), which shortens each segment; see GSM-7 vs Unicode encoding.

Sending hours

Promotional messages may only be sent during the day. Providers publish slightly different windows (one cites 09:00 to 20:00, another 09:00 to 21:45 Saudi time, with different hours during Ramadan), so confirm the current window with your route provider. The window applies to promotional traffic; transactional and OTP messages are normally sent around the clock, but check this with your provider too.

Mobile networks and OTP traffic

The mobile operators are stc, Mobily and Zain. For OTP, use a registered transactional sender ID with the brand name in the text, keep the message free of links and phone numbers, and keep the wording strictly transactional. Because filtering is strict, measure real delivery per operator before you scale, as described in how to test an SMS route, and read our OTP SMS best practices. Routes that promise delivery without registration are usually grey routes that get blocked.

VoIPMatcher sources A2P SMS routes from its carriers and manages them, and buyers and sellers never see each other. Tell us your sender ID, traffic type and whether you are a local or international company. See the Saudi Arabia SMS destination page or request a Saudi Arabia SMS route.

Frequently asked questions