> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.orbit.devotel.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Nigeria NCC Sender & Marketing Rules

> Plan Nigerian A2P messaging around the NDPA 2023, NCC sender-ID pre-registration, the operator DND register, the lawful-interception posture under the NLCA 2019, and the tenant-owned controls that carry each obligation.

# Nigeria NCC Sender & Marketing Rules

Nigeria regulates commercial messaging through the **Nigerian
Communications Commission (NCC)** under the NCC Act 2003, and personal
data through the **Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA)**, enforced by
the Nigeria Data Protection Commission (NDPC). The **Nigeria
Communications (Lawful Interception of Communications) Act 2019 (NLCA)**
sets the interception posture on licensed networks. Together they shape
three lanes of your pre-launch work: who may originate traffic under
which sender identity (NCC operator pre-registration), whether you may
use a recipient's number for marketing (NDPA consent), and what a
lawful request can reach on Nigerian routes (NLCA).

**Scope.** Your organization owns the lawful basis for each market.
Orbit ships tenant-owned controls only — the consent ledger,
suppression, keyword aliases, quiet hours, sender-registration
tracking, retention and legal-hold surfaces, and the send-gate —
defaults-open; you configure them for Nigeria. This page is
documentation, not legal advice.

<Note>
  Enforcement exposure is three-track: the NDPC administers
  administrative fines under the NDPA 2023, the NCC and the operators
  filter unregistered sender traffic at the edge, and the NLCA places
  interception capability obligations on Nigerian licensees. Confirm
  the current position with Nigerian counsel before you launch.
</Note>

***

## 1. Sender IDs: NCC pre-registration at the operator

Read the live `NG` row of `GET /compliance/country-rules?channel=sms` on
[Country Compliance Requirements](/compliance/country-requirements)
before you provision. Nigeria pre-registers alphanumeric sender IDs at
the operators: an identity that is not whitelisted for your route is
replaced or filtered at the operator edge, and the NCC's consumer-
protection rules hold licensees responsible for unsolicited-message
abuse on their networks.

```bash theme={null}
curl "https://api.orbit.devotel.io/api/v1/compliance/country-rules?channel=sms&country=NG" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $ORBIT_API_KEY"
```

File the alphanumeric sender through
[Sender-ID Registration](/compliance/sender-id-registration) with a
brand identity your KYC documents support, and keep `NG` traffic in
rehearsal until the entry reports `approved`. Where the live row
reports `registration: required` without an approved entry, the
[send-gate](/compliance/send-gates) holds `NG` traffic — intended
behavior, not a fault.

***

## 2. NDPA 2023: consent before marketing

The NDPA 2023 requires a lawful basis for processing personal data and
grounds electronic marketing in consent — treat `NG` promotional
traffic as **opt-in** with a standing opt-out path. Record the consent
entry with `sms` scope, the purpose, and the consent-text version on
the [consent ledger](/compliance/consent-management) before the first
send; a number collected to complete an order does not carry marketing
rights with it. The tenant-owned
[unknown-marketing policy](/compliance/consent-default-policy) at its
`refuse` default is the correct posture for Nigeria-bound promotional
traffic.

The NDPA also gives data subjects rights to information, correction
and deletion; keep withdrawal outcomes effective across imports and
campaigns via [Opt-Out & Suppression Lists](/compliance/opt-out-suppression),
and route requests through your
[DSAR](/compliance/dsar) process.

***

## 3. The operator DND register

Nigerian subscribers can register a network-level do-not-disturb
preference (the `*244#` DND service), and operators suppress
promotional traffic to registered numbers at the edge. The register
constrains what operators deliver; it does not replace your
obligations. Scrub your own lists against any applicable
do-not-disturb source, keep your tenant suppression ledger current,
and remember the directory rule: absence from a registry does not
establish consent. See [DNC Scrub](/compliance/dnc-scrub) for the
scrub surface.

***

## 4. Lawful-interception posture (NLCA 2019)

The NLCA 2019 obliges Nigerian licensees to maintain lawful-
interception capability and to assist security agencies on lawful
authority. The capability sits at the operator level on Nigerian
routes; it is not a tenant configuration and Orbit does not intercept
on your behalf. Your side of the posture is records: retain the
communication records your legal process requires, and answer lawful
requests through your own procedure with the audit trail intact —
[Legal Hold](/compliance/legal-hold) preserves the records a request
will ask about, and the export surfaces produce them without hand-
editing. This is posture documentation, not advice on any specific
request.

***

## 5. STOP vocabulary and marketing window

English is the working language of Nigerian A2P traffic and `STOP` is
the keyword operators and subscribers expect; publish it in consent
text and footers, and honor replies at scope `all` via
[Opt-Out & Suppression Lists](/compliance/opt-out-suppression).

Nigeria has no codified national no-send window; the operator-honored
convention keeps marketing out of the overnight hours
(21:00–08:00 recipient-local is the conservative window). Set tenant
quiet hours to cover it on
[Quiet-Hours Configuration](/guides/quiet-hours-configuration) and
validate the `+234` resolution with
[Quiet-Hours Preview](/compliance/quiet-hours-preview). Nigeria runs
fixed **UTC+1** with no daylight saving, so the window applies the
same offset all year.

***

## 6. Obligations → Orbit surface table

| NCC / statutory obligation | Orbit surface that carries it |
| - | - |
| Alphanumeric sender-ID pre-registration | [Sender-ID Registration](/compliance/sender-id-registration); the [send-gate](/compliance/send-gates) holds `NG` traffic until the entry is `approved` |
| Consent before marketing (NDPA 2023) | [Consent Management](/compliance/consent-management); [unknown-marketing policy](/compliance/consent-default-policy) at `refuse` |
| Operator DND register + own scrub | [DNC Scrub](/compliance/dnc-scrub) plus a current tenant suppression ledger at [Opt-Out & Suppression Lists](/compliance/opt-out-suppression) |
| Data-subject rights | [DSAR](/compliance/dsar) process over the consent and suppression ledgers |
| Lawful-interception records posture (NLCA 2019) | Operator-level capability; tenant-side retention via [Legal Hold](/compliance/legal-hold) and export surfaces |
| Overnight marketing convention | [Quiet-Hours Configuration](/guides/quiet-hours-configuration), validated with [Quiet-Hours Preview](/compliance/quiet-hours-preview) |
| Restricted content | [Restricted & Prohibited Industries](/compliance/restricted-industries) |

***

## 7. Launch checklist

1. Distinguish promotional from service traffic; treat `NG` marketing as opt-in.
2. Read the live `NG` row per channel: sender types, registration level, stop requirement.
3. File the alphanumeric sender with KYC-backed brand identity and wait for `approved`.
4. Record consent with `sms` scope and a pinned consent-text version before any send.
5. Scrub against the operator DND expectation and your own suppression ledger; publish `STOP`.
6. Set tenant quiet hours over the overnight recipient-local window.
7. Confirm your records-retention and legal-hold procedure covers Nigerian lawful-request practice.
8. Test sender rendering, opt-out handling and delivery reporting with a small audience first.

***

## Frequently asked questions

**Does Orbit register my sender with the NCC?**
No — registration is filed through your aggregator and the Nigerian
operators, as in every market. Orbit tracks the `NG` entry and gates
send-time traffic on it.

**Does the `*244#` DND register replace my suppression list?**
No. The register suppresses at the operator edge; your ledger and
scrub duties are separate, and absence from the register does not
establish consent.

**Does the NLCA require anything of my tenant?**
The interception capability obligation sits with Nigerian licensees.
Your side is records hygiene: retention, legal hold, and a lawful-
request procedure — surfaces, not interception.

***

## Related references

* [Country Compliance Requirements](/compliance/country-requirements) — the live `NG` row this page expands.
* [Sender-ID Registration](/compliance/sender-id-registration) — the submit-and-track flow.
* [Consent Management](/compliance/consent-management) — the consent record contract.
* [DNC Scrub](/compliance/dnc-scrub) — the registry-scrub surface.
* [Legal Hold](/compliance/legal-hold) — preserving records a lawful request will ask about.
* [Regional Posture Hub](/compliance/country-rules-directory) — the index this page is listed in.


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