A2P SMS regulations in France.
Compliance with GDPR, the CNIL and 33700.
A2P SMS in France is overseen by ARCEP for telecoms and the CNIL for data protection under the GDPR. Marketing texts require consent and a mandatory "STOP" opt-out. France also runs the 33700 short code, a national facility for reporting spam SMS. Alphanumeric sender IDs are used.
Who regulates A2P SMS in France?
France divides oversight between ARCEP — the Autorité de régulation des communications électroniques, des postes et de la distribution de la presse — which regulates the telecoms networks and numbering, and the CNIL (Commission nationale de l'informatique et des libertés), the data-protection authority that enforces the GDPR and French data law over marketing. The 33700 anti-spam facility operates alongside them with the operators.
- Telecoms regulator: ARCEP (arcep.fr).
- Data-protection regulator: CNIL (cnil.fr).
- GDPR + French Data Protection Act apply to marketing data.
- Industry 33700 short code handles spam-SMS reporting.
Consent and the CNIL's marketing rules
Marketing SMS requires the recipient's prior consent, which the CNIL treats strictly: it must be free, specific, informed and unambiguous. A narrow exception allows marketing to existing customers about similar products where an opt-out was offered at collection. Consent must be provable, and the CNIL has published detailed guidance on commercial prospecting by SMS. Pre-ticked boxes and bundled consent do not qualify.
- Prior consent required for marketing SMS (CNIL guidance).
- Consent must be free, specific, informed and provable.
- Limited existing-customer / similar-products exception.
- Pre-ticked or bundled consent is not valid.
The 33700 anti-spam short code
France operates the 33700 facility, a national short code run with the operators through which subscribers report spam SMS and unwanted marketing (by forwarding the message to 33700). Reports feed enforcement against abusive senders and help operators block fraudulent traffic. Senders whose traffic generates spam reports risk investigation and blocking, so compliant consent and opt-out handling are essential.
- Subscribers forward spam SMS to the short code 33700.
- Reports feed operator blocking and enforcement.
- Run with the mobile operators as an industry facility.
- High spam-report volume risks investigation and blocking.
Sender IDs, opt-out and message categories
France uses alphanumeric sender IDs (and short codes) rather than a mandatory government registry; the sender ID should identify the brand. Every marketing message must carry a working "STOP" opt-out, honoured promptly. The rules bite on commercial/marketing texts; transactional and service messages — OTPs, delivery and appointment notifications, account alerts — fall outside the marketing-consent rules where genuinely service-related.
- Alphanumeric sender IDs identifying the brand.
- Mandatory "STOP" opt-out on every marketing message.
- Marketing: consent + opt-out apply.
- Transactional/service messages exempt from marketing rules.
Enforcement and penalties
The CNIL enforces the GDPR and French data law and can impose administrative fines up to €20 million or 4% of global annual turnover for the most serious breaches, and has sanctioned unlawful commercial prospecting. ARCEP and the operators act on numbering abuse and fraudulent traffic, and 33700 reporting supports blocking. Keep provable consent and honour STOP requests.
- CNIL fines up to €20M or 4% of global turnover.
- CNIL has sanctioned unlawful SMS prospecting.
- ARCEP + operators act on numbering/fraud abuse.
- 33700 reporting supports blocking of abusive senders.
- Submit your KYC packTrade licence, authorisation letter and sample messages
- BroadNet files the applicationWith the operators or the regulator, as the market requires
- Review and approvalTypical lead time5-10 business days (alphanumeric)
- Send under your brandYour approved sender ID on every message
Technical facts for France
Network codes, message lengths and sender-ID rules in one table. Segment lengths are the GSM standard values (3GPP TS 23.038).
| Mobile country code (MCC) | 208 |
|---|---|
| Dialling code | +33 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) |
|
| SMS length, GSM-7 (Latin alphabet) | 160 characters in a single SMS; 153 per part when concatenated |
| SMS length, UCS-2 (Arabic, Cyrillic and other scripts) | 70 characters in a single SMS; 67 per part when concatenated |
| Regulator | ARCEP (Autorité de Régulation des Communications Électroniques et des Postes) |
| Sender-ID rules | Alphanumeric sender IDs require registration with operator (and 33700 anti-spam). French STOP keyword mandatory for promotional. |
| Sender-ID lead time | 5-10 business days (alphanumeric) |
Last reviewed
More on France
Compare A2P SMS rules across the region.
Each market pairs a regulatory playbook with its live coverage and operator-direct routing detail.
France rules: promotional vs. transactional SMS
| Capability | Promotional / marketing | Transactional / service (OTP, alerts) |
|---|---|---|
| Prior consent required | — | |
| Mandatory "STOP" opt-out | — | |
| GDPR lawful basis for data | ||
| Reportable via 33700 short code | — | |
| Sender identifies the brand | Recommended |
Common questions
What is the 33700 short code?
Do I need consent for marketing SMS in France?
Which regulators oversee A2P SMS in France?
Is a "STOP" opt-out mandatory?
What are the penalties for non-compliant SMS marketing?
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