Country code +966

Sending SMS to Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia routes commercial SMS through a centralised framework overseen by the CST, and sender IDs are tied to a registered commercial entity. For international senders the practical hurdle is documentation: a CR number and local sponsorship are usually needed before a sender ID is approved at all.

Networks

Mobile operators in Saudi Arabia

We deliver to every network below. Route quality is measured per operator, not averaged across the country.

3Networks

STCLive route

MobilyLive route

Zain KSALive route

Traffic

What businesses send in Saudi Arabia

Banking and payment alerts

Sent the instant the triggering event happens — trusted for anything time-sensitive tied to money.

Government (Absher) notifications

Typically exempt from marketing consent rules, but still expected to identify the sender clearly.

Retail campaigns

Needs clear consent and a working opt-out — the requirements above apply directly to this traffic.

Dialling

How to dial Saudi Arabia

Every part of the number, laid out separately, then the same thing written the way an API expects it.

+Exit

966Country code

5X XXX XXXXNational number

+966 — +966 5X XXX XXXX — mobile numbers begin 05 nationally.

From abroad, replace your exit code with +, then 966, then the national number — dropping the national trunk prefix if the country uses one (a leading 0 in most, though not in the +1 numbering plan). Store numbers in E.164 (+966…) and they work from any country and any API.

At a glance

Saudi Arabia by the numbers

The figures below come from public country data and set the context for how much SMS traffic Saudi Arabia actually carries.

+966

Saudi Arabia country code

ISOSA / SAU

25,731,776

People

1,960,582

Area km²

718.5 Billion

GDP (USD)

Sender ID

How your name appears in Saudi Arabia

What shows up in the recipient’s inbox, and what has to be true before it can.

9:41

SMSLOCAL

Text Message

Your verification code is 4172. Valid for 10 minutes.

now

Delivered on +966

Sender ID rules for +966

Registered alphanumeric sender IDs only, bound to a verified commercial registration. Generic or unregistered IDs are rejected.

Number format+966 5X XXX XXXX — mobile numbers begin 05 nationally.

Delivers across every major network in Saudi Arabia: STC, Mobily, Zain KSA.

What people send most: Banking and payment alerts · Government (Absher) notifications · Retail campaigns.

Message length: under the standard SMS encoding, a segment typically holds 160 GSM-7 characters, or 70 once a message uses Unicode — Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, emoji. Longer messages split into several segments automatically and are billed per segment; exact limits are confirmed for Saudi Arabia as part of onboarding.

Before you send