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Germany SMS Guidelines: Best Practices, Message Length, and Compliance

Understanding the SMS guidelines in Germany is essential for businesses aiming to communicate effectively while adhering to local regulations. This guide covers key aspects such as message length, two-way SMS support, and compliance considerations to help you optimize your SMS campaigns.

Two-Way SMS Support in Germany

Germany enables two-way SMS, facilitating direct interaction between businesses and customers. This is crucial for customer service, feedback, and interactive marketing. Whether confirming appointments or gathering responses, two-way SMS enhances engagement.

Number Portability

Germany supports number portability, allowing users to retain their phone numbers when switching mobile operators. This ensures consistent reach to customers, even if they change service providers.

Message Length and Concatenation

SMS messages in Germany follow standard character limits:

  • GSM 3.38 encoding: 160 characters per message
  • Unicode encoding: 70 characters per message

For messages exceeding these limits, concatenation is available, splitting messages into segments that are reassembled on the recipient’s device. Note that concatenation may not be supported for certain sender ID types, affecting message delivery.

MMS Support

Germany does not support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS). Instead, MMS messages are converted to SMS with an embedded URL, allowing recipients to access multimedia content via a web link.

Sending SMS to Landline Numbers

Sending SMS to landline numbers in Germany is not possible. Attempts will result in a 400 response with error code 21614, and such messages are not logged or charged.

Compliance Considerations

To comply with German regulations, businesses should adhere to these best practices:

  1. Opt-in Consent: Obtain explicit user consent before sending communications, particularly for marketing.
  2. Timing: Send SMS during the recipient’s daytime hours unless urgent.
  3. HELP/STOP Support: Ensure SMS campaigns support keywords like HELP and STOP in the local language, allowing users to manage their subscriptions.
  4. Do-Not-Call Registries: Avoid messaging users on do-not-call or do-not-disturb lists.

Germany strictly regulates SMS content. For instance, cannabis-related content is prohibited. Messages to machine-to-machine (M2M) numbers are delivered on a best-effort basis.

Conclusion

By following these guidelines, businesses can effectively communicate with customers in Germany while remaining compliant with local laws. Whether for transactional messages or marketing campaigns, understanding the technical and legal landscape is crucial.

For legal advice on SMS campaigns, consult with qualified legal counsel to ensure compliance with local regulations. For more information, refer to the German Federal Network Agency's website.