Canada SMS Features and Restrictions Canada SMS Features and Restrictions

Canada SMS Features and Restrictions

Behnood Baghbanian

Country Summary

Country Name Canada
ISO CA
Country Code 1
Region North America
MCC (Mobile country code) 302

 

Sender ID Guidelines

Alphanumeric Sender ID

Alphanumeric sender IDs are not supported. 

Numeric Sender ID
  • All SMS sent to Canada must originate from either a Canadian long virtual number, a registered 10DLC, a CA short code, or a verified Toll Free number
  • Any number used must be associated with your Vonage API account.
  • Limited to numeric sender only.
  • In the "from" field you need to specify your Canadian long virtual number in international format.
    • Otherwise your message will get rejected with the API response code 15 Illegal Sender Address - rejected.
  • You can purchase Canadian 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. 

 

Restricted Content

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)

The CWTA imposes several restrictions on the content of CSC messaging. These include:

  1. Sexual or adult content
  2. Short Codes sending messages on behalf of more than one brand
  3. Cannabis or cannabis-related messaging, including CBD. Wireless service providers and the CWTA will assess applications related to cannabis or CBD on a case-by-case basis.
  4. Campaigns dealing with age-restricted content, such as alcohol and gambling, are allowed but will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis by the CWTA. All CSC programs related to age-restricted content must also include an age verification mechanism. For example, the programs must ask consumers to verify whether they are of legal age.
  5. CSC programs should not be used to encourage people to access content that promotes illegal activities such as copyright infringement or piracy.
  6. Messages sent to consumers must be at most 320 characters, equivalent to two SMS messages, unless otherwise agreed to by the CWTA.

Other Features or Restrictions

  • Majority of the main carriers support handset DLRs. 

Canada SMS Delivery Options

Canada SMS Sending Options

Long Code

Dedicated Short Code

Toll Free SMS (Purchase Under US)

Example

12015555555

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.

 

Additional Information

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.