# A2P SMS regulations in Iraq

> A2P SMS to Iraq is regulated by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). Sender IDs registered through CMC-licensed operators. Arabic + Latin both supported. Some operators require deposit per ID, with approval typically taking 7-14 business days. CMC enforces content rules around political and religious material. BroadNet carries this traffic over direct operator connections.

- Canonical URL: https://www.broadnet.me/regulations/iraq
- Language: en
- Last reviewed: 2026-10-20
- Publisher: BroadNet (https://www.broadnet.me)

## Key facts

- **CMC** — Communications and Media Commission regulates A2P messaging
- **7-14 days** — Typical sender-ID approval time
- **99.99%** — Platform uptime SLA

## Who regulates A2P SMS in Iraq?

Application-to-person messaging to Iraq is overseen by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), which licenses the operators that terminate A2P traffic and sets the conditions those routes run under. BroadNet delivers into Iraq over direct operator connections — Asiacell, Zain Iraq and Korek — 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: Communications and Media Commission (CMC).
- Direct operator routes: Asiacell, Zain Iraq and Korek.
- Sender-ID registration: Sender IDs registered through CMC-licensed operators. Arabic + Latin both supported. Some operators require deposit per ID.
- Typical lead time: 7-14 business days.

## Sender ID registration in Iraq

Sender IDs registered through CMC-licensed operators. Arabic + Latin both supported. Some operators require deposit per ID. Registration is not a formality — an unregistered or mismatched sender ID is the most common reason otherwise-valid traffic is filtered, and the failure is usually silent rather than a hard rejection. Plan 7-14 business days for approval and register before you need the route, not during a launch.

- Lead time: 7-14 business days.
- BroadNet files sender IDs on your behalf through the CMC-licensed operators.
- Arabic + Kurdish: UCS-2 routes carry Arabic and Kurdish content; same SLA as GSM-7.
- Time to production: Live in 8–19 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time).

## Consent, content and timing rules

CMC enforces content rules around political and religious material. Pre-paid market — DLR rates vary by region. Local Iraqi entity recommended for direct billing. 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.

- CMC-licensed routes: All A2P SMS terminates via CMC-licensed operators. BroadNet files sender IDs on your behalf.
- Arabic + Kurdish: UCS-2 routes carry Arabic and Kurdish content; same SLA as GSM-7.
- Content restrictions: Political and religious content reviewed by the regulator. Engine pre-flags.
- Operator firewall: Strict per-operator firewall on grey routes. Direct binds essential for delivery.

## What this means for your integration

Practically, three things decide whether traffic to Iraq performs: a registered sender ID on a CMC-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 Iraq 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: 42M subscribers.
- Data handling follows the applicable Iraq privacy regime.
- At the time of writing (October 2026), we know of no single comprehensive data-protection law in Iraq; check current obligations with local counsel.

## Iraq rules: promotional vs. transactional SMS

|  | Promotional / marketing | Transactional / service (OTP, alerts) |
|---|---|---|
| Registered sender ID required | Yes | Yes |
| 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 Iraq?

the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). It licenses the operators that terminate A2P traffic and sets the conditions those routes operate under. BroadNet delivers into Iraq over direct connections to Asiacell, Zain Iraq and Korek.

### Do I need to register a sender ID for Iraq?

Yes. Sender IDs registered through CMC-licensed operators. Arabic + Latin both supported. Some operators require deposit per ID. Allow 7-14 business days for approval. An unregistered sender ID is the most common cause of silently filtered traffic, so register before the campaign rather than during it.

### How long does it take to start sending to Iraq?

Live in 8–19 business days from test-access request to production (set by the sender-ID lead time). The sender-ID registration is usually the long pole at 7-14 business days; 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 Iraq?

CMC enforces content rules around political and religious material. 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 Iraq?

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 Iraq coverage page for the per-operator breakdown.

### What delivery rate should I expect in Iraq?

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

- [Iraq coverage](https://www.broadnet.me/coverage/iraq)
- [All regulations](https://www.broadnet.me/regulations)

## Technical facts for Iraq

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) | 418 |
| Dialling code | +964 |
| Operators (MCC-MNC) | Asiacell · 418-05; Zain Iraq · 418-30; Korek · 418-40 |
| 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 | CMC (Communications and Media Commission) |
| Sender-ID rules | Sender IDs registered through CMC-licensed operators. Arabic + Latin both supported. Some operators require deposit per ID. |
| Sender-ID lead time | 7-14 business days |

## How to register a sender ID in Iraq

What to prepare, who approves it and how long it takes. Send us the documents below and BroadNet coordinates the registration with the operators, the regulator or the registry, as the market requires.

- Who approves: The CMC-licensed operators Asiacell, Zain Iraq and Korek, under Communications and Media Commission (CMC) rules.
- Typical lead time: 7–14 business days once the paperwork is in

### Document checklist

- [ ] Trade licence
- [ ] Signed authorisation letter
- [ ] Sample message templates
- [ ] Traffic-type declaration

### Steps

1. Choose the sender ID: alphanumeric, Latin or Arabic, up to 11 characters.
2. Send the documents to BroadNet. BroadNet files the ID through the CMC-licensed operators; some operators require a deposit per sender ID.
3. Approval typically takes 7–14 business days, so register before the launch, not during it.
4. Keep content within the registered category. CMC enforces content rules on political and religious material, and promotional traffic needs a consent record you can produce on request and an opt-out honoured immediately.

### Common reasons for rejection

- Content that does not match the category the ID was registered under
- Political or religious content
- Generic IDs such as INFO or ALERT
- A brand that does not match the trade licence

### Official sources

- [CMC — Communications and Media Commission](https://cmc.iq/)

Requirements are set by the regulator and the operators and can change. Check the official sources, or ask our team, before you file.

## Sources

- [CMC — Communications and Media Commission](https://cmc.iq/)