Important Update: TRAI Mandates New SMS Header Format

Important Update: TRAI Mandates New SMS Header Format

Hello everyone,
We have an announcement regarding a new regulation by the Telephone Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) that affects all application-to-person (A2P) SMS services. Starting on May 6, 2025, TRAI has mandated that telecom service providers in India append a suffix to the SMS sender header based on the type of message being delivered. Aimed at improving transparency, this change will impact how your SMS is displayed in the recipient's inbox.

What is the change?

According to TRAI's latest regulation, the sender header section of all A2P SMS messages must include a suffix that will convey the type of message being delivered. Below are the suffixes and their respective categories:
  • P: Promotional messages
  • S: Service messages
  • T: Transactional messages
  • G: Government-authorized messages
For example, if your SMS header read JD-ZYLKER previously, after the change it will read XY–ZYLKER–P, where XY is the operator and circle code, and P stands for promotional message.

Who does the regulation affect?

This change affects A2P SMS services. This means that if you're using bulk SMS to send promotional, transactional, or customer service alerts, this will affect the way your message header is displayed to your recipients.

What is the purpose of this regulation?

Through this regulation, TRAI aims to:
  • Improve transparency and user experience by displaying the SMS type.
  • Reduce spam and fraudulent messages.
  • Standardize SMS headers to monitor messages more effectively. 

How will it affect businesses?

This change will only affect the way message headers are displayed to your recipients. Businesses are not expected to add the suffix manually or change their existing SMS marketing practices. The suffix will be automatically included in the SMS header by the telecom service provider during the DLT scrubbing based on the type of SMS you're sending.
 
Best regards,
Team Zoho Campaigns


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