SMS compliance in Nigeria

The rules that apply to business SMS sent to numbers in Nigeria, with the source for each.

Quiet hours

Promotional SMS 08:00-20:00 WAT only; transactional and OTP 24/7.

Source: NCC Compliance Monitoring & Enforcement / DND directive

Consent

Explicit opt-in required for promotional SMS; DND-registered numbers (2442) cannot receive promotions.

Source: Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA)

Opt-out

Recipients can send STOP to 2442 (full DND) or choose partial DND categories; each promotion must include a working opt-out.

Source: Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA) / regulator rules

Prohibited content

Blocked: phishing/fraud, illegal or unlicensed gambling, adult content, hate/political content (most operators), counterfeit/illegal goods, unlicensed financial offers; URL shorteners often blocked.

Source: Operator content policies / national advertising law

Data protection law

Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA). Supervisory authority: NDPC.

Source: Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023 (NDPA)

Sender ID rule

SID must be pre-registered on MTN, Airtel, Glo and 9mobile; max 11 chars; generic and bank/government names restricted.

Source: Operator/regulator registration rules

Other

DND short code 2442 registry; transactional/OTP delivered 24/7 via DND route; NCC Value Added Services & Aggregator Framework; international A2P licence framework.

Source: Regulator/operator rules

This summary is guidance, not legal advice. Last verified 23 October 2026.