Country Compliance Requirements

Messaging and voice rules are set country by country. Before you send to a new market you need to know four things: which sender types that country accepts (a long code? an alphanumeric Sender ID? a short code?), whether registration is required, what documents you must supply, and which content is restricted. Getting this wrong is the most common reason first sends to a new country silently fail to deliver. Orbit maintains a curated, per-country regulatory reference so you do not have to assemble this yourself. This page explains how to read it.

This reference is guidance to help you plan, not a delivery guarantee or legal advice. Final approval of a Sender ID or registration is granted by the regulator or carrier in each country, not by Orbit. Coverage is enabled per tenant — a country appearing here does not mean it is enabled on your account.

Look up a country’s rules

GET /compliance/country-rules is the read-only regulatory reference behind Orbit’s send-time gates. Any authenticated user can call it. Filter by channel (defaults to sms) and optionally by region:

curl "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/compliance/country-rules?channel=sms&region=EU" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ORBIT_API_KEY"

Each row describes one country × channel:

{
  "data": {
    "rows": [
      {
        "country_code": "FR",
        "channel": "sms",
        "country_name": "France",
        "calling_code": "33",
        "region": "EU",
        "sender_types": ["alphanumeric", "long_code"],
        "registration": "recommended",
        "sender_rules": "Alphanumeric sender IDs are dynamic; no pre-registration required but recommended for consistency.",
        "content_restrictions": "Marketing SMS requires prior opt-in (GDPR). No sends 20:00–08:00 or Sundays/holidays.",
        "stop_requirement": "STOP keyword mandatory in French (STOP au 36111).",
        "two_way": true,
        "dlr_support": "full",
        "default_tps": "10",
        "notes": ""
      }
    ],
    "channel": "sms",
    "last_synced_at": "2026-06-20T00:00:00.000Z",
    "total": 1
  },
  "meta": { "request_id": "…", "timestamp": "2026-06-20T12:00:00.000Z" }
}

The channel filter accepts sms, whatsapp, rcs, voice, email, and viber. The same country has separate rows per channel because different channels answer to different regulators — for example Meta’s WABA rules govern WhatsApp in Brazil while Anatel’s rules govern SMS.

Reading each field

Field	What it tells you
`sender_types`	Which “from” identities the country accepts — see the table below.
`registration`	`none`, `recommended`, or `required` — whether you must register a Sender ID before sending.
`sender_rules`	Plain-language notes on how sender IDs behave in that country (dynamic vs. pre-registered, number format, etc.).
`content_restrictions`	Category and consent restrictions — e.g. “marketing requires opt-in”, promotional-content bans. See Restricted & Prohibited Industries.
`stop_requirement`	Whether an opt-out keyword is mandatory and in what language.
`two_way`	Whether inbound replies are supported.
`dlr_support`	Delivery-receipt fidelity: `full`, `partial`, `submitted_only`, or `none`.
`default_tps`	The default throughput ceiling (messages per second).

Sender types

Value	Meaning
`alphanumeric`	A branded text Sender ID (e.g. `MyBrand`).
`numeric`	A numeric sender that is not a routable long code.
`long_code`	A standard local/mobile long number.
`short_code`	A dedicated 4–6 digit short code.
`ten_dlc`	A US 10-digit long code registered through 10DLC.
`waba`	A WhatsApp Business Account sender.
`rcs_agent`	A verified RCS Business Messaging agent.
`from_address`	An email `from` address (email channel).

The `registration` levels

The registration field is the single most important value to read before launching. It drives Orbit’s send-time gate:

none — send freely

No Sender-ID registration is required. You can start sending once the channel and country are enabled on your account.

recommended — send now, register for reliability

Sending is allowed without registration, but unregistered traffic is more likely to be filtered or relabelled. Register the Sender ID to keep delivery stable.

required — register before you send

Traffic is blocked until you have an approved Sender-ID registration for the country. A2P SMS to a required country with no approved entry is held by the send-time gate. Register and get approved before launch — see Sender-ID Registration.

Documentation each country expects

Where a country requires (or recommends) registration, you submit supporting documents once, then reference them by their doc_… IDs when you register a Sender ID. The exact set varies by market, but most regulators ask for some combination of:

Proof of business registration — certificate of incorporation, business license, or equivalent.
A use-case description — what you send (transactional, OTP, marketing) and to whom.
Brand ownership / authorization — proof you are entitled to the Sender ID / brand name you are registering.
Local tax or regulator ID — for markets that key registration to a national identifier.

Read the target country’s sender_rules and content_restrictions in the country-rules response for the specifics, then attach the matching documents when you submit the registration. Some markets run their own dedicated registration regime rather than the generic Sender-ID flow:

India — Sender IDs (“Headers”), content templates, and consent templates register through the TRAI DLT portal. See DLT-India Onboarding.
United States — A2P SMS senders register a brand and campaign via 10DLC. See the 10DLC Registration guide.

A launch checklist for a new country

Look up the rules

Call GET /compliance/country-rules?channel=<channel> for the destination and read sender_types, registration, and content_restrictions.

Pick an accepted sender type

Choose a sender identity from that country’s sender_types — an alphanumeric Sender ID, a long code, a short code, or a channel-native sender (WABA / RCS agent).

If registration is required (or recommended), upload your documents and submit the Sender ID for approval. Plan lead time — some markets take days to weeks.

Check content restrictions

Confirm your use case is allowed against content_restrictions and Restricted & Prohibited Industries, and add the required opt-out keyword if stop_requirement calls for one.

Launch

Once the country is enabled, the sender type is accepted, and any required registration is approved, start sending.

Restricted & Prohibited Industries — which industries and content are restricted or banned.
Sender-ID Registration — submit and track Sender-ID registrations per country.
DLT-India Onboarding — India’s TRAI DLT regime.
10DLC Registration — US A2P brand and campaign vetting.
Send Gates — the gates that enforce these rules at send time.
API Reference → Compliance — full request/response schemas.

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Changelog

Country Compliance Requirements

Country Compliance Requirements

Look up a country’s rules

Reading each field

Sender types

The `registration` levels

Documentation each country expects

A launch checklist for a new country

​Country Compliance Requirements

​Look up a country’s rules

​Reading each field

​Sender types

​The registration levels

​Documentation each country expects

​A launch checklist for a new country

​Related references

Country Compliance Requirements

Look up a country’s rules

Reading each field

Sender types

The `registration` levels

Documentation each country expects

A launch checklist for a new country

Related references