Turkey enforces strict content control for A2P (Application-to-Person) SMS. Gambling, political, religious and P2P personal communications are explicitly prohibited categories. Commercial marketing SMS is subject to dedicated compliance thresholds. Public service guidelines from multiple international communications providers confirm these rules, which constitute fundamental requirements for cross-border SMS operations into Turkey.
1. Four categories of explicitly banned SMS content
Gambling, political and religious content
Gambling content includes keywords related to gambling, betting and casinos. Political content covers all forms of political promotion and issue debates. Religious content involves religious preaching and faith-related materials. Documentation from providers including Twilio, Direct7 Networks, ClickSend and Suresms blacklists such content; messages containing these materials will trigger automatic interception.
P2P person-to-person traffic
Regulations forbid using enterprise A2P SMS channels to carry ordinary person-to-person messages. A2P channels are reserved for transactional alerts, verification codes and compliant marketing sent by enterprises to end-users. They cannot be lent or repurposed for personal messaging. This restriction is confirmed by multiple overseas API providers.
2. Special controls for promotional marketing SMS
Marketing and advertising SMS are not fully banned outright, but access requirements are stringent. Twilio restricted submission of Turkish promotional traffic on its platform starting 15 Feb 2021. Suresms categorises marketing and advertising content as high-risk. Marketing SMS can only be sent after registration and validation on the İYS platform and obtaining separate, explicit opt-in consent from users. Marketing messages without valid consent are treated as illegal spam.
3. Consequences of non-compliance
Non-compliant SMS will be automatically blocked by operators. The sender’s alphanumeric Sender-ID may be suspended. Enterprises can also face administrative fines. Operators deploy keyword recognition systems for automated risk screening.
Additional note: Beyond content restrictions, under BTK Resolution 399, inbound cross-border A2P SMS have been fully prohibited from carrying any URLs or short links since 1 April 2026. All A2P services require pre-registration of alphanumeric Sender‑IDs. Generic Sender‑IDs such as INFO, SMS and NOTICE are forbidden. Each SMS must reserve 5 characters at the end for the aggregator’s B-code identifier.
