Canada SMS Features and Restrictions

Country Summary

Alphanumeric Sender ID	Alphanumeric sender IDs are not supported.
Numeric Sender ID	All SMS sent to Canada must originate from either a US or Canadian pre-approved long number, a CA short code, or a US or CA Toll Free number Any number used must be associated with your Vonage API account. Limited numeric sender only. In the “from” field you need to specify your pre-approved Canadian (or US) virtual number in international format, for example, 18479121345. Otherwise your message will get rejected with the API response code 15 Illegal Sender Address - rejected. You can purchase pre-approved long virtual numbers from the Numbers tab in your Vonage API account dashboard.
Generic Sender ID	Generic sender IDs such as INFO, SMS, NOTICE etc are prohibited.

All CAN Numbers traffic adheres to the CWTA guidelines. For more information, see the CWTA Handbook Guidelines.

Disallowed Content:

High-risk financial services
Payday/cash advance loans • Short term loans (unless from direct lender bank) • Auto loans • Stock alerts • Mortgage loans • Student loans • Debt collection (unless for company sending message) • Lead or commission generation • Tax relief programs • Cryptocurrency
Get rich quick schemes
Deceptive work from home programs • Secret shopper ad campaigns • Risk investment opportunities • Multi-level affiliate marketing • Gambling/sweepstakes
3rd party
Debt collection or consolidation • Debt relief or reduction • Debt forgiveness • Credit repair • Lead generation • Generic job alerts • Brokers
Controlled substances
Tobacco • Vaping • Cannabis/CBD • Illegal drugs
SHAFT
Sex • Hate speech • Alcohol • Firearms • Tobacco • Profanity
Scams
Phishing • Fraud • Spam • Deceptive marketing
Charity
Giving donations (case by case)

Messages directed through Canadian operators shall not:

Relate to narcotics, marijuana, steroids, or other controlled substances, drug paraphernalia, ammunition, firearms, adult oriented content or services;
Involve purchases of real property, annuities or lottery contracts, lay-away systems, off-shore banking or transactions to finance or refinance debts funded by a credit card;
Offer for sale items before the sender has control or possession of the item;
Offer for sale traveler’s checks or money orders, currency exchanges or check cashing;
Provide credit repair or debt settlement services;
Where the program includes “psychic service," specifically inform recipients that they will win a lottery or any games/contests, or become bankrupt/poor/destitute; or
Make specific health-related diagnosis or tell a message recipient that he/she or anyone they know will die or become terminally ill.

Canada SMS Sending Options	Long Code	Dedicated Short Code	Toll Free SMS (Purchase Under US)
Example	12013511943	12345	1-888-555-5555
Daily Send Limit	250 SMS / Day / Number	N/A	N/A
Throughput Limit	1 SMS / sec / Number	Up to 30mps	30 SMS / sec / Number
US Reach	Must register for 10 DLC	No (User must purchase a US short code)	Yes
Capabilities	SMS, MMS and Voice capable	SMS capable	SMS, MMS and Voice capable
Suggested Use Case	Non-Marketing 2FA, Alerts	Marketing, 2FA, Alerts, Customer Service	Marketing, 2FA, Alerts, Customer Service
Set Up Time	Available Immediately. Log in to your Vonage API account to get started.	6-8 Weeks. Contact Sales to get started.	Vonage Pre-Approved: Available Immediately. Log in to your Vonage API Dashboard to get started. Customer Owned: 3-7 business days. Contact Sales.

For Specific Features and Restrictions for each type of number see the following articles:

There are no additional content restrictions beyond those in our Acceptable Use Policy.