# SMS to United Kingdom

Policy reference updated 2026-07-13T12:47:12.591341Z. Confirm current requirements, sender eligibility and your use case before launch.

[Contact sales](/demo?product=sms&source_page=%2Fsms-api%2Ffeatures%2Fdestinations%2Funited-kingdom)

- Country code: GB (dialing +44)
- Channels available: sms, whatsapp, voice
- Two-way messaging: yes

### Sender types

| Sender | Direction | Throughput (msg/s) | Registration | Sender ID | Timeline |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Short code | two-way | — | required (short_code) | preserved | 40 |
| Alphanumeric Sender ID | one-way | — | required (alpha) | preserved | 5 |
| Long code (phone number) | two-way | — | required (numeric) | preserved | 5 |

### Rules

- Consent model: opt-in
- Template pre-approval: yes
- Quiet hours: recorded; the sending window is not stated
- Sender IDs: one segment per sender ID, marketing or transactional
- Sender IDs: generic sender names are refused
- Sender IDs: the only special characters accepted are ., -, _, &, a space
- Sender IDs: a letter cannot be swapped for a digit that looks like it

- United Kingdom enforces strict segmentation between marketing and transactional messaging:
- Each Sender ID can only be registered for one segment—either marketing or transactional. If your content spans both, you must register separate Sender IDs for each.
- Generic senders (e.g. Verify), sub-variations of generic senders (verify), and senders which contain part of generic senders (VerifyCode), are not allowed. 
- Following special characters are allowed: "." (dot), "-" (dash), "_" (underscore), " " (space), "&" (ampersand). All other special characters are not supported. 
- Character replacement (e.g. A to 4, or B to 8, etc.) is not allowed. 
- If the company name and requested sender have different names, please make sure to specify what is the connection between them. 
- Sender IDs belonging to Russian companies can not be registered

#### What this market refuses

Gambling is legal and regulated in this market. All forms of online gambling require a license from the Commission. To register a Sender ID, you must include a copy of your gambling license with your request. Additionally, some senders are protected by UK operators, which may require an authorization letter for registration.

[How sender-ID registration works →](/sms-api/features/compliance/sender-id-registration)

## The rest of the SMS platform

One API, one set of keys. Explore the other capabilities.

- [Sender-ID registration](/sms-api/features/compliance/sender-id-registration): Pre-register alphanumeric and dedicated senders where countries require it.
- [Routing](/sms-api/features/routing): Destination controls, carrier connectivity and reported routing outcomes.
- [Numbers](/sms-api/features/numbers): Long codes, short codes, toll-free, and alphanumeric sender IDs.
- [Sending](/sms-api/features/sending): The send API: segments, Unicode safety, batch, and idempotency.
- [Two-way](/sms-api/features/two-way): Inbound SMS and conversational replies as HMAC-signed webhooks.
- [All destinations](/sms-api/features/destinations): Coverage, sender types, and rules for every country Bird reaches.



## Related resources

- [SMS overview](/docs/guides/sms/overview) (docs)
- [SMS destinations](/sms-api/features/destinations) (product)

[Get an implementation brief](/learn/workspace?topic=sms-destinations)