Send messages from the console

• Before using Short Message Service, read the Usage notes.

• Real-name registration with carriers typically takes 5 to 7 business days, but can extend to 10 business days for some carriers. Carriers do not guarantee a timeline, so the process may take longer. Plan your business operations accordingly. Apply for qualifications and signatures in advance, and leave enough time to send tests. This ensures the real-name registration is completed before your service goes live.

Step 1: Activate Short Message Service

This guide uses the Mainland China Messages page as an example. For Global Messages, the actual steps may vary depending on the console UI.

1. Complete Alibaba Cloud account registration and real-name verification.

   Note

   • Real-name verification is categorized into individual verification for personal use and enterprise verification for businesses or government entities.

   • Individual and enterprise accounts offer different features. To send promotional messages or Global Messages, you must complete enterprise verification. For more information, see Usage notes.

2. Log in to the Short Message Service console to activate the service.

Step 2: Apply for a qualification

Carriers require real-name message sending to prevent illegal content. To comply, you must apply for a qualification by submitting documents that verify the signature owner.

1. Prepare your qualification materials based on your account type by referring to Qualification material requirements.

   • Enterprise-verified users need to prepare enterprise documents (such as a business license with a Unified Social Credit Code), legal representative information (name and ID), and SMS administrator details (ID and mobile number).

     Important

     Under current real-name verification requirements for SMS signatures, an individual account's self-use qualification cannot pass signature real-name filing. Individual users must use the SMS Authentication product or upgrade to an enterprise-verified account.

2. Go to the Add Qualification page and select the qualification purpose.

   • qualification for personal use: Select this option if the enterprise or individual information for the qualification matches the verified information of your current Alibaba Cloud account.

     Apply for a qualification for personal use if the entity using Short Message Service is the same as the verified entity of the current Alibaba Cloud account.

   • qualification for third-party use: Select this option if the enterprise or individual information that you provide for the qualification application is different from the verified information of the Alibaba Cloud account that you are logged in to. You must provide the relevant certificate information of the qualification owner. A qualification for third-party use requires a third-party signature, and you must provide a power of attorney when you apply for the signature.

     For example, if User A applies for a qualification on behalf of Company B, the qualification owner is Company B. In this case, User A must apply for a "qualification for third-party use" and provide the enterprise information and legal representative (or person in charge of the public institution) information for Company B.

3. Enter the Qualification Name and Certificate Information.

4. Click Submit Application to begin the review process. You need an approved qualification before you can apply for a signature.

5. Wait for the review. You can view the application record and review status on the Qualification Management page.

   • Due to a high volume of applications related to real-name registration for signatures, the review process may take longer than usual. Please wait patiently. The review is expected to be completed within 2 business days.

     Review hours are from 9:00 to 21:00, Monday to Sunday. The review process is paused during public holidays.

   • If the application is rejected, click View Details and Modify in the Actions column on the Qualification Management page to see the reason for rejection. Refer to Common reasons for failed applications and recommended actions to make corrections and resubmit.

For detailed instructions, see Apply for a qualification.

Step 3: Apply for a signature

A signature identifies the sender of a message. A complete message consists of a signature and message content. Before sending messages, you must apply for a signature and wait for it to be approved.

1. Go to the Add Signature page.

2. Fill in the signature information according to the Signature specifications.

   • We recommend using the full name or abbreviation of your company or organization. Vague, neutral signatures are not allowed.

   • Enter the signature name directly without adding any symbols.

3. Select the Signature Purpose and the qualification to associate with the signature.

4. Select the Signature Source and enter the scenario URL or name and the Scenario Description.

   • The signature must identify the sender's company or its associated product or app. To increase the chances of approval, ensure the selected signature source is relevant to the signature.

   • In the scenario description, you can describe use cases for your live services and provide links to your website, app store download page, or other relevant resources.

5. If you select For other users as the Signature Purpose, you must provide a letter of authorization from the third party.

6. In the More Information section, you can upload materials such as post-login screenshots of your website to help reviewers understand your business. For more details, see Signature sources and application requirements.

7. Click Submit. Your signature enters the review process. After a signature is approved, you can select it when applying for a template. If you do not have any approved signatures, you cannot apply for a template.

8. Wait for the signature review. You can view the application record and review status on the Signature Management page.

   • The review is expected to be completed within 2 hours. Review hours are from 9:00 to 21:00, Monday to Sunday. The process is postponed during public holidays.

   • If the application is rejected, click View Details and Modify in the Actions column on the Signature Management page to see the reason for rejection. Refer to Common reasons for failed applications and recommended actions to make corrections and resubmit.

9. Real-name registration for signatures: New signatures are automatically submitted for registration after approval. For existing signatures, review them on the Signature Management page and submit them for registration manually. Messages sent with unregistered signatures will be blocked by carriers.

   • Carrier registration takes 7 to 10 business days or longer.

   • If the registration fails, follow the instructions in the registration result details in the console. For more information, see Real-name registration for signatures.

For detailed instructions, see Apply for a signature.

Step 4: Apply for a template

A template defines the actual message content, including variables and static text. Before sending messages, you must apply for a template and wait for it to be approved.

1. Go to the Add Template page.

2. Select the appropriate Template Type based on your use case.

   • Verification code: For sending messages that contain a verification code.

   • Notification message: For sending general notifications to registered users, such as order information or logistics updates.

   • Promotional message: For sending promotional information to registered users, such as special offers, business promotions, or member care messages.

3. Select an Associated Signature. This selection is for review purposes only. The actual signature used in the message is determined when you send it.

4. Fill in the Template Content and Scenario Description according to the Template specifications. If your template includes variables, select the correct Variable Attribute.

   • You can click Recommended Templates to view examples of template content.

   • Templates for Mainland China Messages and Global Messages are not interchangeable.

5. Click Add. Your template enters the review process.

6. Wait for the template review. You can view the application record and review status on the Template Management page.

   • The review is expected to be completed within 2 hours. Review hours are from 9:00 to 21:00, Monday to Sunday. The process is postponed during public holidays.

   • If the application is rejected, click View Details and Modify in the Actions column on the Template Management page to see the reason for rejection. Refer to Common reasons for failed applications and recommended actions to make corrections and resubmit.

For detailed instructions, see Apply for a template.

Step 5: Send messages

After your qualification, signature, and template are approved, you can start sending messages.

1. Go to the Campaigns page and click Create Sending Task.

2. Select the signature and template you want to use.

   Test signatures must be used with test templates and can only be used to send messages to pre-bound test mobile numbers.

   You can also use the complimentary signature and template. Simply select the complimentary signature from the list. When calling the SendSms API, specify the name of the complimentary signature in the SignName parameter to send messages.

3. Follow the on-screen instructions to enter or import recipient numbers and choose whether to schedule the sending task.

   If you select a template with variables, you must import the phone numbers from a file. The system generates a corresponding file template for you.

4. Click Submit to send the messages.

For detailed instructions, see Send group messages.

Step 6: View sending results

You can log in to the Short Message Service console and check message sending details in the following two ways:

• Method 1: On the Mainland China Messages - Campaigns page, find the sending task you created to view details, including creation time, task status, number of recipients, and number of failed deliveries.

• Method 2: On the Analytics - Sending Records page, query sending records by dimensions such as time, template type, and message content.

Step 7: Set up alerts

1. Set up contacts: Go to the General Settings - Mainland China Messages - Contact Management page in the console. Add contact information and enable the types of alerts they should receive. You can set up multiple contacts to receive alerts.

2. Set up verification code abuse prevention: Go to the General Settings - Mainland China Messages - Security Management page in the console. Enable the verification code abuse prevention option and set a threshold based on your business needs. This feature helps prevent abuse, such as an attacker using a program to request many verification codes. If the number of sent messages exceeds the threshold you set, the platform alerts your designated contacts.

   Note

   We recommend reading Verification code abuse prevention to learn more about how to defend against this type of abuse.

3. Set up message volume alerts: Go to the General Settings - Mainland China Messages - Security Management page in the console. Set a total sending threshold on a daily or monthly basis according to your business needs. When the total volume of sent messages reaches your configured alert or limit threshold, the platform sends an alert to your designated contacts.

4. Set up resource plan alerts: To prevent service disruption from an expired or depleted resource plan, go to the General Settings - Mainland China Messages - Security Management page in the console. Configure the Total Remaining Resource Plan Alert based on your business needs. You can also enable auto-renewal for resource plans. The platform notifies your designated contacts when the remaining resources in your plan reach the alert threshold or when an auto-renewal is performed.

5. Set up sending frequency alerts: Go to the General Settings - Mainland China Messages - Sending Frequency Settings page in the console. Configure the sending frequency for verification codes and the sending frequency for notification and promotional messages on a per-minute, per-hour, or per-day basis according to your business needs. When the sending frequency reaches the configured limit, the platform sends an alert to your designated contacts.

Related topics

• For qualification material requirements and detailed instructions, see Qualification material requirements and Apply for a qualification.

• For signature specifications and detailed instructions, see Signature specifications and Apply for a signature.

• For template specifications and detailed instructions, see Template specifications and Apply for a template.

• For operations related to Global Messages, go to the Global Messages page.

FAQ

• What are the limits on sending group messages with Short Message Service?

• What are the supported phone number segments for Short Message Service?

• What are the possible reasons for message delivery failure?

• Can the sender ID always be the same number?

• How does the sending mechanism handle a few incorrect phone numbers in a batch?

• What are the sender ID display rules for Short Message Service? Can the sender ID be fixed?

• What are the sending and import limits for Campaigns?

• Why does the message status remain "Sending"? Does this indicate a failure?

• How do I handle message sending failures caused by throttling?

• How can I cancel a message that is currently being sent?

• Is it possible to send messages automatically?

• Can a message be recalled after it is sent?

• The received verification code is incomplete because the leading zero was omitted. What should I do?

• If I have multiple signatures and templates, how do I confirm which one to use? How do I bind a signature to a template?

• Can I recover a deleted template or signature?

• Why is there a discrepancy between the sending records and the actual number of messages sent?

• What should I do if my promotional messages are blocked?

• Does the service support automatic redelivery for failed messages?

• If a user's phone is off when a message is sent, will they receive it when they turn it back on?