# A2P SMS regulations in Hong Kong

> A2P SMS to Hong Kong is regulated by the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). OFCA's SMS Sender Registration Scheme is voluntary: registered senders' IDs carry a "#" prefix, and unregistered IDs are delivered without it. PDPO (Personal Data Privacy Ordinance) enforced by PCPD. BroadNet carries this traffic over direct operator connections.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/regulations/hong-kong
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-02
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Key facts

- **OFCA** — Office of the Communications Authority regulates A2P messaging
- **#** — Prefix on sender IDs registered with OFCA
- **99.99%** — Platform uptime SLA

## Who regulates A2P SMS in Hong Kong?

Application-to-person messaging to Hong Kong is overseen by the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA), which licenses the operators that terminate A2P traffic and sets the conditions those routes run under. BroadNet delivers into Hong Kong over direct operator connections — CSL Mobile, China Mobile HK, 3HK and SmarTone — rather than through resold or grey routes, so the sender ID, the delivery receipt and the audit trail all come back from the licensed path.

- Telecoms regulator: Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA).
- Direct operator routes: CSL Mobile, China Mobile HK, 3HK and SmarTone.
- Sender-ID registration: voluntary, through OFCA's SMS Sender Registration Scheme ("#" prefix).
- Unregistered sender IDs are still delivered, without the "#" prefix.

## Sender ID registration in Hong Kong

OFCA's SMS Sender Registration Scheme has run since 28 December 2023 and is open to all sectors. It is voluntary: a company or organisation applies to OFCA to become a Registered Sender, and its registered sender IDs then reach local subscribers with a "#" prefix and are listed in OFCA's public SMS Sender Registry. Senders outside the scheme are still delivered, without the prefix, and recipients are told to treat such messages with more caution — so registering is worth it for brands that send to the public.

- Scheme: OFCA SMS Sender Registration Scheme, since 28 December 2023.
- Voluntary: organisations apply to OFCA directly.
- Registered IDs carry a "#" prefix; unregistered IDs are delivered without it.
- Traditional Chinese: UCS-2 routes native for Chinese.

## Consent, content and timing rules

PDPO (Personal Data Privacy Ordinance) enforced by PCPD. SMS Sender Registration Scheme means registered alphanumeric IDs get '#' prefix to distinguish from scams. Promotional traffic requires a consent record you can produce on request, and an opt-out that is honoured immediately and permanently. Transactional messages — one-time passcodes, delivery and account alerts — are treated differently from marketing, but the distinction is decided by the content of the message rather than by how the campaign is labelled.

- Sender Registration Scheme: voluntary; registered senders' IDs carry a "#" prefix, unregistered IDs are delivered without it.
- PDPO: Hong Kong PDPO enforced by PCPD.
- Opt-out language: Promotional SMS must include opt-out.
- Traditional Chinese: UCS-2 routes native for Chinese.

## What this means for your integration

Practically, three things decide whether traffic to Hong Kong performs: a registered sender ID on an OFCA-licensed route, a consent and opt-out record you can evidence, and message content that matches the category it was registered under. BroadNet's compliance engine checks each submission against the Hong Kong ruleset before it reaches the operator, so a non-compliant send is rejected back to you rather than filtered silently downstream — which is the difference between a fixable error and traffic that quietly disappears.

- Every message returns a delivery receipt (DLR); BroadNet does not publish per-country delivery percentages.
- Indicative list pricing: USD 0.035 – 0.06 per message.
- Addressable mobile base: 23M subscribers.
- Data handling follows the applicable Hong Kong privacy regime.

## Hong Kong rules: promotional vs. transactional SMS

|  | Promotional / marketing | Transactional / service (OTP, alerts) |
|---|---|---|
| Registered sender ID required | Voluntary | Voluntary |
| Prior consent required | Yes | No |
| Opt-out instruction required | Yes | No |
| Timing restrictions apply | Yes | No |
| Delivery receipts available | Yes | Yes |

## Frequently asked questions

### Who regulates SMS in Hong Kong?

the Office of the Communications Authority (OFCA). It licenses the operators that terminate A2P traffic and sets the conditions those routes operate under. BroadNet delivers into Hong Kong over direct connections to CSL Mobile, China Mobile HK, 3HK and SmarTone.

### Do I need to register a sender ID for Hong Kong?

No, it is voluntary. Under OFCA's SMS Sender Registration Scheme, organisations apply to OFCA directly, and their registered sender IDs then carry a "#" prefix. Unregistered sender IDs are still delivered, without the prefix, so registration mainly helps recipients trust your messages.

### How long does it take to start sending to Hong Kong?

Live in 5–15 business days from test-access request to production. OFCA's sender registration is voluntary, so it does not hold up the launch; the technical integration itself is the same REST or SMPP interface you would use for any other market.

### What content and consent rules apply in Hong Kong?

PDPO (Personal Data Privacy Ordinance) enforced by PCPD. Promotional traffic needs a consent record you can produce on request and an opt-out honoured immediately; transactional messages such as passcodes are treated separately, judged on content rather than campaign label.

### What does A2P SMS cost in Hong Kong?

Indicative list pricing is USD 0.035 – 0.06 per message, with volume tiers below that. The rate depends on the operator, the message category and committed volume — see the Hong Kong coverage page for the per-operator breakdown.

### What delivery rate should I expect in Hong Kong?

BroadNet does not publish per-country delivery percentages. Every message on these direct operator routes returns a delivery receipt (DLR), so you can measure delivery on your own traffic, and the platform carries a 99.99% uptime SLA. Grey routes deliver until they do not, and give you no receipt when they fail.

## Related

- [Hong Kong coverage](https://www.broadnet.me/coverage/hong-kong)
- [All regulations](https://www.broadnet.me/regulations)

## Technical facts for Hong Kong

Network codes, message lengths and sender-ID rules in one table. Segment lengths are the GSM standard values (3GPP TS 23.038).

| Technical facts | |
|---|---|
| Mobile country code (MCC) | 454 |
| Dialling code | +852 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) | CSL Mobile · 454-00; China Mobile HK · 454-12; 3HK · 454-04; SmarTone · 454-06 |
| 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 | OFCA (Office of the Communications Authority) |
| Sender-ID rules | OFCA's SMS Sender Registration Scheme (since 28 December 2023) is voluntary: registered senders' IDs carry a "#" prefix, and unregistered IDs are still delivered without it. Chinese (Traditional) and English supported. |
| Sender-ID lead time | Free-form (OFCA scheme voluntary) |

## Sources

- [OFCA — Office of the Communications Authority](https://www.ofca.gov.hk/)
- [OFCA SSRS — OFCA: SMS Sender Registration Scheme](https://www.ofca.gov.hk/en/consumer_focus/guide/hot_topics/ssrs/index.html)