Saudi Arabia: SMS delivery facts
SMS to Saudi Arabia uses calling code +966. Alphanumeric sender IDs require pre-registration under the GCC-prereg regime; unregistered senders are commonly blocked or overridden. Arabic content employs the UCS-2 charset, yielding 70-character single segments or 67 when concatenated.
| Country calling code | +966 (ITU-T E.164 assigned country codes, retrieved 2026-07-27) |
|---|---|
| E.164 format | +966 followed by the national subscriber number, no leading trunk zero, 15 digits maximum overall (ITU-T E.164) |
| Alphanumeric sender ID | pre registration (per CITC Saudi Arabia sender ID registration requirement, retrieved 2026-07-26) |
| Registration regime | GCC-prereg |
| Dominant language(s) | Arabic |
| Native-text charset | UCS-2 — 70 characters per single SMS, 67 per concatenated segment (GSM 03.38 default alphabet vs script analysis, retrieved 2026-07-27) |
| Published smsroute rate | USD 0.055 per message, dated snapshot (source, retrieved 2026-07-27). Current rate and send path: rate card for Saudi Arabia |
Sender-ID rules
Alphanumeric sender IDs require pre-registration with local operators; unregistered senders are commonly blocked or overridden. (per CITC Saudi Arabia sender ID registration requirement, verified 2026-07-26)
Alphanumeric sender IDs fall under the GCC-prereg regime and must be pre-registered with local operators. Unregistered senders are commonly blocked or overridden. With Arabic as the primary language, UCS-2 encoding applies and constrains messages to 70 characters single or 67 concatenated.
Character set and message length
Native Arabic text is classed as UCS-2 here: 70 characters fit a single SMS and 67 per segment once a message is concatenated.
To count segments for a concrete message, use the UDH segment surgeon; to compare all 40 countries side by side, the country requirements explorer reads the same open dataset (CC-BY 4.0).
Frequently asked
- What is the calling code and published SMS rate for Saudi Arabia?
- The calling code is +966. The published rate is 0.055 USD (retrieved 2026-07-27).
- Are alphanumeric sender IDs allowed for SMS to Saudi Arabia?
- Alphanumeric sender IDs require pre-registration with local operators under the GCC-prereg regime; unregistered senders are commonly blocked or overridden.
- What charset and segment lengths apply to SMS in Saudi Arabia?
- The charset class is UCS-2, supporting 70 characters in a single segment and 67 characters per segment when concatenated.
Related
- Singapore: SMS delivery facts
- South Africa: SMS delivery facts
- South Korea: SMS delivery facts
- Sender ID (glossary)
- GSM-7 (glossary) · UCS-2 (glossary)
- All 40 country fact sheets
Facts on this page are dated snapshots with named sources; rates change — the linked rate card is authoritative. Corrections: ops@smsroute.cc. Last verified 2026-07-27.