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Guide for Sending SMS Messages to France
Review the guidelines and restrictions for sending SMS messages to recipients in France. This information is for general informational purposes only. This information doesn't, and isn't intended to, constitute legal advice. Consult your own independent legal counsel for guidance on use cases and applicable legal and industry requirements.
| Short Code | International Long Code | Local Long Code | Alphanumeric Code | |
| Supported | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| Two-way Support | Yes | -- | -- | No |
| Provisioning Time | 12 weeks | -- | -- | 1 week |
| Comments | Requires preregistration | -- | -- | -- |
SMS Code Provisioning Guidelines
Use a France custom alphanumeric code for one-way sending for marketing and transactional sends. You can also use a local short code for sending. Alphanumeric codes can't be generic and must be associated with the brand, enterprise, product, or service. These codes can only use alphanumeric characters and spaces. Register your alphanumeric code on the French Protected Sender ID list in advance to deploy your SMS code in this market. Confirm this registration via email or letter to ensure your sender is protected by using Marketing Cloud Next. All letters must be printed on corporate letterhead and signed, dated, and rubber-stamped. Incomplete or erroneous documentation causes delays in the registration process.
You can use a two-way short code services for marketing or transactional sending, but not both. Consider using a shared short code for marketing sends to improve time to send and cost savings. Marketing SMS messages must include an opt-out via short code, including a call-to-action at the end of the message such as "Nous avons recu votre demande. Vous ne devriez plus recevoir de message de notre part. SMS non surtaxé.". Private short codes must include a contact text response such as "Service éditée par [company name], [company address]. [company email] SMS non surtaxé opéré par [carrier]," All short codes usage must be initiated by an MT send.
Marketing sends are banned on Sundays and public holidays. France enforces these curfews on all other days (UTC+01:00 or +02:00, depending on the season):
- Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 8 PM
- Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM
Restricted Content
You’re responsible for complying with local rules and regulations. To ensure compliance, familiarize yourself with the legislation of the local market. Failure to comply can result in service suspension, cancellation, and potential fines.
