Vietnam Letter of Authorization (LOA) guidelines

The registration of SMS senders in Vietnam is primarily aimed at curbing spam and fraudulent messages. It helps ensure that legitimate organizations and businesses can send SMS messages to consumers while minimizing unwanted and malicious messages.

There are 7 networks in Vietnam that support local and international traffic:

• Viettel
• Vinaphone
• MobiFone
• Indochina (Itel)
• Vietnamobile
• Wintel (Reddi)
• GTel (Gmobile)

Registration requirements

This section provides information about the requirements for registering your senders in Vietnam, which vary based on whether they are local or international senders.

Additionally, if you need more information about the country's coverage, restrictions, and current regulations, click here.

The Letter of Authorization (LOA) is a crucial document in the SMS sender registration process in Vietnam which helps verify the legitimacy of the sender, ensures compliance with regulations, and establishes accountability.

To register your senders in Vietnam, adhere to and submit the following requirements, which may vary depending on the traffic origin of your senders.

Sender requirements:

• Generic senders are not allowed.
• Special characters in the sender's name are not accepted.
• Sender ID is case-sensitive. You must send traffic using registered senders only. If a client needs two different format senders (e.g., Google and GOOGLE), you need to declare or register them both.

The Letter of Authorization documents are separated based on the following customer types:

• Direct customers - This customer type is usually the direct owner of the sender or brand.
• Wholesales/partners - This customer type is generally not the owner of the sender and brand but rather engages in reselling or re-purposing them, depending on their business model and use case.

Local senders registration

Customers eligible to transmit local traffic should be located in Vietnam and intend to reach recipients located within the country as well. Besides this, any provided documents should be in Vietnamese.

Customer care and promotion campaigns

To understand the process of local registration in Vietnam, it is important to differentiate between a customer care campaign and a promotion campaign:

Description	Customer care campaign	Promotion campaign
Definition	Customer care campaign is a campaign that contains text messages that allow product providers and services to use mobile communication channels to send customer care information to mobile subscribers.	Promotion campaign is a campaign that contains advertising/marketing text messages that allow product providers and services to use mobile communication channels to promote their brands, products or services to mobile subscribers.
Content	Notification of internal information: work schedule, appropriate time, etc. Notification of relocation, opening time, new location. Bank information: account fluctuations, customer account balances. Security companies information: account fluctuations, customer account balances. Information from electricity and water companies: notification of monthly electricity bill, time to be paid, notification of electricity bill paid by customers. School information: school schedule announcements, tuition fee notices, electronic contact books. Sending thank you messages and gratitude to customers on special birthday occasions, holidays, etc. Other service content is not advertising.	Promotions, discounts, gifts. Preferential policies when using a product. Information on the voting program, lucky draw, etc. Sale information for products and services. Other advertising and marketing information.
How to send	API or Infobip portal	API or email

Transactional registration

In Vietnam, mobile network operators (MNOs) will categorize senders into specific sender types based on your business and the necessary documents listed below.

For local clients interested in sending transactional (customer care campaigns) related traffic in Vietnam, follow the information below.

Sender type	Required documents
Normal (Others)	- BM02 that represents the LOA from the client which is submitted to Infobip, signed and stamped by the client who was mentioned as the company owner on the business license (colored scanned version, affixed stamp). If the signature is not made by the company owner, provide the LOA of the company owner to the person signing BM02. - Business license (colored scanned version). - Brand certificate to demonstrate that the sender name belongs to the client's company in case the sender name is not similar to the company name or the domain contract in case the client uses a domain to register the sender name (colored scanned version).
Insurance	- BM02 that represents the LOA from the client which is submitted to Infobip, signed and stamped by the client who was mentioned as the company owner on the business license (colored scanned version, affixed stamp). If the signature is not made by the company owner, provide the LOA of the company owner to the person signing BM02. - Business license (colored scanned version). - Brand certificate to demonstrate that the sender name belongs to the client's company in case the sender name is not similar to the company name or the domain contract in case the client uses a domain to register the sender name (colored scanned version). - Insurance license issued by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance.
Finance, banking, security, finance, micro finance	- BM02 that represents the LOA from the client which is submitted to Infobip, signed and stamped by the client who was mentioned as the company owner on the business license (colored scanned version, affixed stamp). If the signature is not made by the company owner, provide the LOA of the company owner to the person signing BM02. - Business license (colored scanned version). - Brand Certificate to demonstrate that the sender name belongs to the client's company in case the sender name is not similar to the company name or the domain contract in case the client uses a domain to register the sender name (colored scanned version). - For security companies, the client needs to provide the security license issued by the State Securities Commission of Vietnam. - For enterprise of intermediary service or a financial company, the client must provide an Intermediary payment service license or other financial license issued by the Vietnam Ministry of Finance or the State Bank of Vietnam. - For banks, the client must provide the Banking license issued by the State Bank of Vietnam. - If the client provides the certificate of eligibility for security and order issued by the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam for a pawn shop company, Viettel will approve the sender as a financial sender type. Vinaphone will not approve the sender as a financial sender type. Mobifone will approve the sender as a financial sender type with the certificate of eligibility for security and order issued by the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam and contract between the client and partner who has a financial license issued by the Vietnam State Bank.
OTT	- BM02 that represents the LOA from the client which is submitted to Infobip, signed and stamped by the client who was mentioned as the company owner on the business license (colored scanned version, affixed stamp). If the signature is not made by the company owner, provide the LOA of the company owner to the person signing BM02. - Business license (colored scanned version). - Brand certificate to demonstrate that the sender name belongs to the client's company in case the sender name is not similar to the company name or the domain contract in case the client uses a domain to register the sender name (colored scanned version). - Social network license issued by the Vietnam Ministry of Information and Communications. - The client's website should display the communication activities of their subscribers and the Social network license number.
eCommerce	- BM02 that represents the LOA from the client which is submitted to Infobip, signed and stamped by the client (colored scanned version, affixed stamp, with the screenshot of the website showing the Ministry of Industry and Trade logo, or, if the logo is clicked, the link should lead to this website). If the signature is not made by the company owner, provide the LOA of the company owner to the person signing BM02. - Screenshot showing company's information that was registered with the e-commerce group with the Ministry of Industry and Trade. - Business license (colored scanned version). - Brand certificate to demonstrate that the sender name belongs to the client's company in case the sender name is not similar to the company name or the domain contract in case the client uses a domain to register the sender name (colored scanned version). - If the client uses a website, provide a screenshot of the website showing a completed journey of processing an order, including product list, ordering, online payment, etc., with the company stamp (color scanned version). - If the client uses an application, provide a screenshot of the application on the app store/CH Play showing the company name (color scanned version, stamped). If the application belongs to another person/company, provide the LOA and the identity card of the owner. Besides this, provide a screenshot of the application and the company on the Ministry of Industry and Trade's website and a screenshot showing a completed journey of processing an order, including product list, ordering, online payment, etc., with the company stamp, affixed stamp (color scanned version).

Template registration is required for Mobifone, Vinaphone, and Viettel, so you can list all sender templates in an Excel file to proceed with the registration.

SMS template registration

When filling out the Excel file, make sure to add the brand name/sender name and list all the message templates of the sender. If there is a variable in the content, indicating that specific words will change, make sure to highlight those variables in red.

For the OTP template, add the sender and the app/website in the content. Besides this, provide the OTP screenshot showing all the steps since the end user logged in the app/website until they can fulfill the OTP with a company stamp on it (color scanned version). For example, if the sender is "Lazada", the OTP template should be like this:

"Lazada: Ma OTP {{OTP}} su dung cho giao dich so {{Contract Reference Number}}. Quy Khach vui long bao mat va khong chia se OTP cho bat cu ai."

Download the SMS template here:

SMS Registration Template (opens in a new tab)

BM02 template

Follow the guide below for completing the BM02 form. Mobile network carriers have strict requirements for accurate details, so make sure to follow the provided steps carefully.

Download the template here:

BM02 LOA Bilingual (opens in a new tab)

Once you download the template, adhere to the following guidelines in the provided document:

1. Client's company name.

2. Date: day/month/year.

3. Client's company name.

4. Sender name (11 characters maximum).

5. Traffic type.

6. Registered business line from the business licence that matches the SMS template content. If you choose the Lĩnh vực khác/Others option, you will need to provide the business field mentioned in the client's business licence.

7. Fulfill the column depending on your traffic type:

8. For promotional SMS content sample, fill out the Marketing content column.

9. For transactional SMS content sample, fill out the Customer care column.

10. Company city and the date: day/month/year

11. Signature and stamp. The signature needs to be from the person on the business licence. If not, you will need to submit the LOA from the person on the business licence to the person who will sign the letter.

Character limit for transactional messages

Below are the Vietnamese character limit counts for transactional messages, depending if they are Unicode or non-Unicode.

1. Unicode character limit count

   SMS count	Unit	Viettel bank (sender type: bank, finance, e-wallet)	Viettel (sender type: Others)	Mobifone	Vinaphone/Itelecom/Vietnamobile	Gmobile
   1 SMS	Character	327	70	70	70	Not supported
   2 SMS	Character		134	134	134
   3 SMS	Character		201	201	201
   4 SMS	Character		268	268	268
   5 SMS	Character		335	335
   6 SMS	Character		402
   7 SMS	Character		469
   8 SMS	Character		536
   9 SMS	Character		603*
   * If the SMS content does not contain 603 characters but reaches 799 bytes, the SMS content can only be 799 bytes, which is the maximum byte limit for SMS content.

2. Non-Unicode character limit count

   SMS count	Unit	Viettel bank (sender type: bank, finance, e-wallet)	Viettel (sender type: Others)	Mobifone	Vinaphone/Vietnamobile/Gtel/Itelecom
   1 SMS	Character	480	160	160	160
   2 SMS	Character		306	306	306
   3 SMS	Character		459	459	459
   4 SMS	Character		612	612	612
   5 SMS	Character		765	765
   6 SMS	Character		799

Promotional registration

In contrast to transactional (customer care campaigns) in Vietnam, promotional campaigns are highly sensitive when it comes to MNOs.

Because of the prevalence of scams, MNOs have established strict rules for controlling and approving promotional brand name SMS content. This is the reason MNOs have implemented distinct regulations for promotional campaigns. Here are some of the regulations for promotional messages:

1. Forbidden time of promotion campaign (GMT+7):

   1. Vinaphone: from 11:30 to 13:00, from 18:30 to 20:00, from 22:00 to 08:00
   2. Mobiphone: from 11:30 to 13:30, from 19:45 to 8:00
   3. Viettel: from 11:30 to 13:45, from 21:00 to 07:00. On Saturday and Sunday: from 09:00 to 11:30 and from 14:30 to 21:00

2. Schedule of approval from MNOs (GMT+7):

   1. Vinaphone: Monday to Friday: from 8:00 to 12:00, from 13:00 to 17:00 (no approval on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays)
   2. Mobiphone: Monday to Friday: from 08:30 to 11:00, from 13:00 to 16:00 (no approval on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays)
   3. Viettel: Monday to Friday: from 08:30 to 11:00, from 13:00 to 16:00 (no approval on Saturday, Sunday, and holidays)
   4. Brand name fee: Vietnamobile is the only MNO requires, other networks do not charge any fees. If sending both customer care and promotion SMS towards Vietnamobile, the operator only charges once for both directions.

3. Other regulations:

   1. If there are phrases like "Happy birthday ...", "New notification ..", "Maintenance  ..." or promotional messages with periodic customer care purpose (aiming to closed customers/members) in a message content, they will be considered as customer care content, and MNO will refuse to approve.
   2. If there is a hotline (1900/1800) mentioned in a promotion SMS content, the calling fee must be mentioned in the content. For example: Hotline 18001899 (100VND/min).
   3. If there is a program of winning prizes mentioned in promotion SMS content, it is required to have a license that has been approved by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency/Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam.

Character limit for promotional messages

Below are the Vietnamese character limit counts for promotional messages, depending if they are Unicode or non-Unicode.

1. Unicode character limit count

   SMS count	Unit	Viettel	Vinaphone	MobiFone/Vietnamobile/Itel/Wintel
   1 SMS	Character	268	70	Not supported
   2 SMS	Character	335	134
   3 SMS	Character		201
   4 SMS	Character		268

2. Non-Unicode character limit count

   SMS count	Unit	Viettel	Mobifone	Vinaphone	Vietnamobile
   1 SMS	Character	459	160	160	126
   2 SMS	Character	612	306	306	272
   3 SMS	Character		459	459	425
   4 SMS	Character		612	612
   5 SMS	Character		765

Promotional sender registration steps

Sender declaration certificate with Vietnam AIS (Authority of Information Security)

The first step requires registering the Sender declaration certificate with Vietnam AIS (Authority of Information Security). You must complete this certificate with VNCert before registering the promo sender to Infobip.

Required documents include:

• Business license (color scanned version)
• BM 01 - Sender declaration form (opens in a new tab): Sender declaration form with signature and stamp of the person who is mentioned in the business license (color scanned version)
• BM03 - Sender declaration LOA (opens in a new tab): LOA with signature and stamp of the person who is mentioned in the business license (color scanned version)
• Service description form with signature and stamp of the person who is mentioned in the business license (color scanned version)
• Other documents in case the sender name is different from the company name (e.g. domain contract, screenshot of website, etc.)

Once the required documents are completed, proceed to this link (opens in a new tab) for further instructions.

The second step requires the registration of the promotional sender with MNOs via Infobip.

After receiving the Declaration certificate from VNCert, you must prepare another set of documents to register the promotional sender name.

Required documents include:

• Business license (color scanned version)
• BM02 Sender registration form (opens in a new tab) (follow the guide above for BM02)
• Marketing content commitment letter (opens in a new tab) with signature and stamp of the person who is mentioned in the business license (color scanned version)
• Sender declaration certificate which was completed in the first step
• Other documents in case the sender name is different from the company name (color scanned version) (e.g. domain contract, screenshot of website, etc.)

Once all requirements and documents are completed, you can:

• Direct customers (end customers) - reach out to your dedicated account manager, and provide the necessary documents and sender information.
• Wholesales/partner - contact [email protected] and your dedicated account manager, and provide the documents along with the required sender information.

International senders registration

Clients qualified to send international traffic should operate outside Vietnam but target recipients located within Vietnam.

Before proceeding to the requirements, make ensure you have the following details prepared, as they will be necessary during the registration process:

• Company website
• Company (entity) name
• Company headquarter
• Content sample
• Traffic type (transactional/OTP/promotional, etc.)

Note that the MobiFone, Vinaphone, and Viettel networks require template registration in DC.

To complete the sender registration process, provide the following documents, depending if you are a direct customer or wholesales/partner.

Direct customers

1. International Business License
2. Domain contract (if the client is using a sender different from their company name; Domain contract, Certificate of Brand Name that is approved by the Department of Intellectual Property or Copyright Offices).
3. BM02
4. BM04
5. Vinaphone registration form
6. Mobifone/Viettel template registration form

Wholesales/partners

1. International Business License
2. Domain contract (if the client is using a sender different from their company name; Domain contract, Certificate of Brand Name that is approved by Department of Intellectual Property or Copyright Offices).
3. BM02 from brand owner to reseller
4. BM02 from reseller to Infobip
5. BM04 from brand owner to reseller
6. BM04 from reseller to Infobip
7. Vinaphone registration form
8. MobiFone/Viettel template registration form

For the Brand Owner to Reseller LOA, you can remove the Infobip details and change it to your company information.

Registration form templates

Find the MobiFone/Viettel and Vinaphone registration forms below. After you download the templates, fill in each field with the required information.

MobiFone/Viettel registration form

Once you download the registration form, list the message templates for the sender. In the "Keyword Whitelist" column, specify a keyword that should be whitelisted within the message template. For example, if the message template is "Your verification code is 12345", you can set the keyword "verification code" so that traffic will be approved even if you use a message like "The verification code is 54321."

MobiFone Registration Form (opens in a new tab)

Vinaphone registration form

Once you download the registration form, fill in the yellow highlighted fields by completely replacing each field with your information.

Vinaphone Registration Form (opens in a new tab)

For the OTP template, add the sender and the app/website in the content. Besides this, provide the OTP screenshot showing all the steps since the end user logged in the app/website until they can fulfill the OTP with a company stamp on it (color scanned version). For example, if the sender is "Lazada", the OTP template should be like this:

"Lazada: Ma OTP {{OTP}} su dung cho giao dich so {{Contract Reference Number}}. Quy Khach vui long bao mat va khong chia se OTP cho bat cu ai."

BM02 template

Follow the guide below for completing the BM02 template. Mobile network carriers have strict requirements for accurate details, so make sure to follow the provided steps carefully.

Download the template here:

BM02 LOA Bilingual (opens in a new tab)

Once you download the template, adhere to the following guidelines in the provided document:

1. Client's company name.

2. Date: day/month/year.

3. Client's company name.

4. Sender name (11 characters maximum).

5. Traffic type.

6. Registered business line from the business licence that matches the SMS template content. If you choose the Lĩnh vực khác/Others option, you will need to provide the business field mentioned in the client's business licence.

7. Fulfill the column depending on your traffic type:

8. For promotional SMS content sample, fill out the Marketing content column.

9. For transactional SMS content sample, fill out the Customer care column.

10. Company city and the date: day/month/year

11. Signature and stamp. The signature needs to be from the person on the business licence. If not, you will need to submit the LOA from the person on the business licence to the person who will sign the letter.

BM04 template

Follow the guide below for completing the BM04 template. Mobile network carriers have strict requirements for accurate details, so make sure to follow the provided steps carefully.

Download the template here:

BM04 LOA (opens in a new tab)

Once you download the template, adhere to the following guidelines in the provided document:

1. Client's company name.
2. Date: day/month/year.
3. Client's company name.
4. Sender name (11 characters maximum).
5. Traffic type.
6. Registered business line from the business licence.
7. Select Vietel and if there is another network you want to register.
8. Sender sample contents (minimum 2 contents).
9. Signature and stamp. The signature needs to be from the person on the business licence. If not, you will need to submit the LOA from the person on the business licence to the person who will sign the letter.

Once all requirements and documents are completed, you can:

• Direct customers (end customers) - reach out to your dedicated account manager, and provide the necessary documents and sender information.
• Wholesales/partner - contact [email protected] and your dedicated account manager, and provide the documents along with the required sender information.