Austria

Austria SMS Sender ID registration

From 1 October 2026, companies sending SMS messages to Austria with an alphanumeric Sender ID must register the Sender ID before use under the new RTR SMS regulation. Unregistered alphanumeric Sender IDs will no longer be delivered to Austrian recipients.

This applies to businesses using text-based SMS Sender IDs / SMS aliases such as company names, brand names, service names, or other custom Sender IDs instead of a phone number.

The requirement is introduced by the Austrian telecom regulator RTR as part of new SMS regulation aimed at reducing misuse of fake or misleading SMS Sender IDs.

Austria Sender ID registration deadline

For existing alphanumeric SMS Sender IDs, LINK Mobility can include your Sender IDs in a one-time collective pre-registration submission to RTR.

To be included, you must submit your Austria Sender ID registration details to LINK Mobility by: 14 August 2026

After this deadline, Sender IDs can no longer be added to the collective pre-registration submission. Once registered, a Sender ID becomes usable only after a mandatory 14-day waiting period. Late submissions may therefore not become active before enforcement starts on 1 October 2026.

From 1 October 2026, unregistered alphanumeric Sender IDs will no longer be delivered to Austrian recipients.

Who needs to register an SMS Sender ID in Austria?

You need to register your Sender ID if you send any type of SMS traffic to Austria using an alphanumeric Sender ID.

This applies to all SMS message types, including but not limited to:

• OTP and authentication messages
• Customer notifications
• Delivery updates
• Appointment reminders
• Marketing messages
• Transactional messages
• Service alerts
• Information messages

The message type does not change the requirement. If the SMS is sent to Austria with an alphanumeric Sender ID, the Sender ID must be registered.

All alphanumeric Sender IDs used for SMS traffic to Austria must be identified, checked, and submitted for registration before the deadline.

Austria alphanumeric Sender ID rules

Alphanumeric Sender IDs for Austria must follow the RTR requirements for format, length, characters, and company connection. Sender IDs must be 1-11 characters long and contain at least one letter. Spaces are allowed inside the Sender ID, but not at the beginning or end. RTR provides further details in its RTR information presentation on alphanumeric SMS regulation.

Allowed characters for Austria Sender IDs are:

A–Z, a–z, 0–9, +, -, &, _, and spaces

The following characters and Sender ID types are not allowed:

• Umlauts
• “ß”
• Unsupported special characters
• Generic Sender IDs without a clear company or brand connection

The Sender ID must clearly relate to the company, brand, or service using it. Generic Sender IDs such as “Info”, “News”, or “Delivery” may be rejected if they do not clearly connect to the registered company, brand, or service.

Non-compliant Sender IDs should be updated before registration. If a Sender ID does not meet the Austrian Sender ID rules, it may be rejected by RTR.

A maximum of 40 alphanumeric Sender IDs per holder is allowed for Austria.

Austria Sender ID registration requirements

To register an alphanumeric SMS Sender ID for Austria, you must provide complete and accurate Sender ID, company, and ownership information.

The required information for Austria Sender ID registration includes:

1. Customer or company name
2. Legal entity name
3. Company address
4. Country code
5. Contact email
6. Sender ID
7. Reason or justification for using the Sender ID
8. Confirmation that the Sender ID is connected to the company, brand, or service
9. Austria SMS traffic use case

RTR requires a short justification for each alphanumeric Sender ID. The justification must explain why the Sender ID is used in connection with the registered company, brand, or service.

All information submitted for Austria SMS Sender ID registration must be correct and up to date. Registered Sender IDs and holder information are publicly visible in the RTR Open Data register.

How to register an SMS Sender ID for Austria

LINK Mobility will use the submitted information to prepare the required registration data for RTR where the Sender IDs are eligible and the Austria SMS traffic is handled through LINK Mobility.

Before submitting the form, make sure you have:

• Listed all alphanumeric Sender IDs used for SMS traffic to Austria
• Checked that each Sender ID follows the Austrian Sender ID length and character rules
• Confirmed that each Sender ID contains at least one letter
• Confirmed that each Sender ID clearly relates to your company, brand, or service
• Added a short justification for why each Sender ID is used
• Checked that all company and holder information is correct and up to date
• Submitted the form before 14 August 2026

All alphanumeric Sender IDs used for Austria SMS traffic through LINK Mobility must be submitted before the deadline to be included in the collective pre-registration process.

What happens if a Sender ID is not registered?

From 1 October 2026, unregistered alphanumeric Sender IDs will be blocked and SMS messages using them will no longer be delivered to Austrian recipients.

This applies to all SMS traffic types sent with an unregistered alphanumeric Sender ID, including authentication messages, alerts, notifications, reminders, marketing messages, and other customer or user SMS communication flows.

Businesses sending SMS to Austria should review and register their Sender IDs as soon as possible to avoid blocked messages and delivery issues after the enforcement date.