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Bulk SMS in Peru: Osiptel, Law 32323 and Sender ID

Bulk SMS Peru guide (SMS masivos): Osiptel, Law 32323 and Consumer Code consent rules, Law 29733 data protection, Claro, Movistar, Entel, Bitel and sender IDs.

Updated 10 min read

By OmniChannels.ai Editorial Team · Reviewed by BroadNet Messaging Solutions Team

SMS & OTP

Short answer

To send bulk SMS in Peru (SMS masivos), use a provider with routes to Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel, confirm your sender set-up with the operators, and send promotions only with the recipient's prior, free, express and unequivocal consent. Peru's Consumer Protection Code, as amended by Law 32323 of 2025, bars promotional text messages without it, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Accented Spanish uses Unicode at 70 characters.

On this page
  1. What rules apply to bulk SMS in Peru?
  2. What does the Consumer Protection Code require for promotional SMS?
  3. Why should you not rely on Law 28493?
  4. What does Law 29733 add for personal data?
  5. How do sender IDs and short codes work in Peru?
  6. Which operators carry SMS in Peru?
  7. How should you separate OTP and promotional traffic?
  8. How do Spanish accents affect SMS length?
  9. How do opt-outs work?
  10. When should you send?
  11. A worked example: a Lima clothing retailer
  12. What are the common mistakes?
  13. How OmniChannels.ai helps

Key takeaways

  • Osiptel is the telecom regulator in our regulation data; sender requirements are set by the operators, with a typical lead time of 5 to 10 business days, and formats are alphanumeric where supported or numeric long codes and short codes.
  • The Consumer Protection and Defense Code (Law 29571) bars promotional contact by text message, calls and email without the consumer's prior consent. Legislative Decree 1390 of 2018 added text messages to the ban, and Law 32323, published on 9 May 2025, broadened it to any promotional or advertising communication.
  • Law 32323 describes consent as prior, free, express and unequivocal, revocable at any time, and classes non-compliance as a serious offence. Indecopi, the consumer authority, handles spam complaints.
  • Law 28493 is about unsolicited commercial email, not SMS, so do not cite it for SMS; personal data is governed by Law 29733, whose article 5 requires the holder's consent for processing.
  • Four operators carry mobile traffic in our coverage data, all with direct routes: Claro Peru (716-10), Movistar Peru (716-06), Entel Peru (716-17) and Bitel (716-15).

This guide is for retail, fintech, education and service teams that want to send business SMS to mobile numbers in Peru: OTPs, delivery alerts, reminders and promotions. It explains which rules apply, what the Consumer Protection Code and Law 32323 require, how personal data law fits in, how sender IDs work and how Spanish accents change message length. It is a practical overview, not legal advice; confirm requirements with Peruvian counsel and the operators before you launch.

What rules apply to bulk SMS in Peru?

Three layers apply: telecom regulation and operator policy, the consumer protection code, and personal data law. None is a single "bulk SMS law", so you assemble the picture from each.

Layer What it covers Where to check
Osiptel and the operators (Claro, Movistar, Entel, Bitel) Telecom regulation, sender set-up, routes, filtering osiptel.gob.pe
Consumer Protection Code (Law 29571), amended by Legislative Decree 1390 and Law 32323 Prior consent for promotional calls, text messages and email El Peruano
Law 29733, personal data Consent for processing personal data; holder rights Law text

Our regulation data names Osiptel (Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones) as the regulator and records that sender requirements are set by the operators, so the rule that matters on launch day is the one your operator route enforces.

What does the Consumer Protection Code require for promotional SMS?

It bars promotional contact by text message without the consumer's prior consent, and consent can be withdrawn at any time. Legislative Decree 1390, published on 5 September 2018, amended the Code so that companies may not use call centres, automatic calling systems, text messages to mobile phones or mass email to promote products to consumers who have not given prior consent. Indecopi can suspend or cancel a company's special registry for up to two years for serious or repeated breaches.

Law 32323, published in El Peruano on 9 May 2025, tightened this. According to the press report, it bars promotional or advertising contact by calls, text messages, email or any other communication, allows contact only where the consumer first approached the provider and gave prior, free, express and unequivocal consent, lets consumers revoke consent, and classes non-compliance as a serious offence. The same report notes that complementary rules were still to be issued and that the interaction with the data protection regulation needed clarification, so check the current regulations and ask counsel how they apply to your campaigns.

Why should you not rely on Law 28493?

Law 28493 regulates unsolicited commercial email, not SMS. Some older guides cite it for text messages. The legal basis for SMS marketing is the Consumer Protection Code's consent rule and, for personal data, Law 29733. Using the wrong law in your policies or contracts is an easy way to look careless in a complaint.

What does Law 29733 add for personal data?

Law 29733 is Peru's data protection law, and its article 5 states the principle that processing personal data needs the holder's consent. The text also gives holders rights over their data, which in practice includes withdrawing consent. Our regulation data adds that opt-in must be verifiable with records retained.

A safe routine:

  1. Capture consent with a record: the exact wording shown, the date and time, the channel and the number.
  2. Say who is sending and why at sign-up, for example "Ofertas de Tienda Inti por SMS".
  3. Make consent specific: do not bundle it with terms of sale.
  4. Honour withdrawal immediately and keep one suppression list across campaigns and channels.
  5. Do not buy lists. Purchased numbers have no consent trail.

Our opt-in consent generator drafts wording, and the guide to opt-in consent across channels shows how to record it. Definitions: opt-in and opt-out.

How do sender IDs and short codes work in Peru?

Peru supports alphanumeric sender IDs where the operator supports them, plus numeric long codes and short codes. The operators set the requirements and the process is confirmed at onboarding. Our published lead time is 5 to 10 business days; treat it as typical, not guaranteed.

Step What to do
1. Classify Decide which traffic is transactional (OTP, alerts) and which is promotional, and plan one sender for each
2. Choose names Use your registered business or brand name; avoid names that imitate banks, operators or public bodies
3. Prepare documents Company registration papers and an authorisation letter naming the senders and your provider
4. Submit Your provider files with the operators; track each approval
5. Test Send an OTP and a promotion to Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel handsets, and check what each shows

Our sender ID letter generator drafts the letter, and you can check the position with the sender ID checker or the Peru sender ID page. If you want us to prepare and file the registration with you, see registrations; approval decisions stay with the operators and regulators. For formats, read SMS sender ID types explained, and see short code and long code.

Which operators carry SMS in Peru?

Four mobile networks appear in our coverage data, each with a direct route.

Operator MCC-MNC
Claro Peru 716-10
Movistar Peru 716-06
Entel Peru 716-17
Bitel 716-15

Read delivery reports per operator, not as one blended figure. A healthy total can hide a weak network, and our guide to improving SMS delivery rates shows how to diagnose it.

How should you separate OTP and promotional traffic?

Keep OTPs, order alerts and service messages on their own sender and route, and promotions on another. A promotion inside an OTP puts login codes at risk if the promotional route is filtered or a customer complains, and because promotional contact needs prior consent in Peru, an offer inside a service message can create a compliance problem.

Traffic Example Practice
Transactional OTP, payment confirmation, delivery alert No offer inside; own sender; any hour
Promotional Sale, new product, loyalty offer Consented numbers only; opt-out in the message; daytime schedule
Mixed "Tu pedido salió. Tienes 10% de descuento en el próximo" Avoid; the offer makes it promotional

For OTP design and security, read our OTP authentication messages guide.

How do Spanish accents affect SMS length?

Plain Spanish fits the 160-character GSM 7-bit alphabet only if every character is in it. The alphabet includes é, ñ, ü, ¿ and ¡, but not á, í, ó or ú, so a single "código" or "sábado" turns the whole message into Unicode with 70 characters (67 per part). See GSM-7, Unicode SMS and concatenated SMS.

Encoding Single message Per part when concatenated
GSM 7-bit 160 characters 153
Unicode (UCS-2) 70 characters 67

These examples were counted against the limits:

Message Encoding Characters Parts
Tienda Inti: tu codigo es 482913. No lo compartas con nadie. GSM-7 60 1
Tienda Inti: tu código es 482913. No lo compartas con nadie. Unicode 60 1
Tienda Inti: tu pedido 3051 llega mañana entre las 10 y las 12 h. GSM-7 65 1
Tienda Inti: 15% de descuento en polos hasta el domingo. Detalles: tiendainti.example/p Responde STOP para no recibir mas. GSM-7 122 1
Tienda Inti: 15% de descuento en polos hasta el domingo. Detalles: tiendainti.example/p Responde STOP para no recibir más. Unicode 122 2

Rows 1 and 2 differ by one accent, which is enough to change the encoding; "mañana" in row 3 costs nothing because ñ is in the alphabet. Many brands drop accents in OTPs and alerts and keep correct spelling in campaigns where a second part is acceptable. Check final copy in the SMS character counter; see SMS character limits and Unicode.

How do opt-outs work?

Our regulation data lists a STOP keyword as honoured network-wide and the opt-out as one step. It also lists "SAIR", a Portuguese word that does not fit a Peruvian audience, so write a clear Spanish instruction and test the keyword you choose before launch. Because Law 32323 says consent can be revoked at any time, apply every withdrawal to all channels and do not send a promotion to anyone who has asked to stop.

When should you send?

We have not found a regulator-published time-of-day window for promotional SMS in Peru, and our regulation data records none. Agree sending hours with your provider, send promotions in local daytime (Peru Time, UTC-5) and avoid late evenings. OTPs and alerts can go at any hour. The send time planner helps schedule campaigns, and SMS marketing rules by country compares hours across markets.

A worked example: a Lima clothing retailer

"Tienda Inti" (synthetic) has 20 stores and an online shop, and wants OTPs, delivery alerts and a weekly offer.

  • It sets up two senders, one for transactional and one for promotional traffic, and tests both on Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel.
  • It collects separate, specific consent at checkout and in store, storing the wording, timestamp and number, and shows "Ofertas por SMS" with a clear opt-out.
  • OTPs and alerts carry no offer and use short copy.
  • The weekly offer goes only to opted-in numbers, is scheduled for local daytime and includes an opt-out instruction.
  • Withdrawals from replies feed one list that also covers WhatsApp and email.

What are the common mistakes?

  • Citing Law 28493 for SMS. It is about email.
  • Bundled consent. Consent hidden in terms of sale is hard to defend as express.
  • No consent evidence. Without a timestamp and source you cannot answer an Indecopi complaint.
  • Look-alike sender names that imitate banks, operators or public bodies.
  • Ignoring encoding. One accented vowel turns a 160-character message into a 70-character one.
  • Mixing OTP and promotion on one sender.

How OmniChannels.ai helps

OmniChannels.ai is powered by BroadNet, which has direct routes to Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel in our coverage data. We prepare and file sender registration with you, support Spanish content, scheduled sends and WhatsApp with SMS fallback, and give you per-operator delivery reports, with SMPP 3.4 for high volume. For indicative list prices, see the Peru SMS pricing page, then book a demo. Small team? Our SMS marketing guide for small businesses covers the basics.

Frequently asked questions

Is bulk SMS legal in Peru?

Yes. Businesses send OTPs, alerts and marketing SMS, provided they use a legitimate route, hold the consent Peruvian law requires for promotional contact and honour withdrawals. The rules come from the Consumer Protection Code, Law 32323, the data protection law, Osiptel and the operators. Confirm the details with Peruvian counsel.

Do I need consent to send promotional SMS in Peru?

Yes, treat prior consent as required. The Consumer Protection Code, as amended by Legislative Decree 1390 and Law 32323, bars promotional text messages and calls without the consumer's consent, which Law 32323 describes as prior, free, express and unequivocal and revocable at any time. Keep the wording, timestamp, channel and number.

What did Law 32323 change?

Published on 9 May 2025, it amends the Consumer Protection Code to bar promotional or advertising contact by calls, text messages, email and any other channel without prior consent, treats non-compliance as a serious offence, and states that consent can be revoked. Complementary rules were still pending when the press covered it, so check the current regulations.

Does Law 28493 apply to SMS?

No. Law 28493 regulates unsolicited commercial email, so it is not the legal basis for SMS marketing. SMS promotion falls under the Consumer Protection Code's consent rule and, for personal data, Law 29733. Check with counsel if a guide tells you otherwise.

Can I use an alphanumeric sender ID in Peru?

Our regulation data says alphanumeric IDs are available where supported, with numeric long codes and short codes as alternatives, and that the operators set the requirements. Support can differ by operator, so test the sender on Claro, Movistar, Entel and Bitel handsets before a launch. We can prepare and file the registration with you.

How long does sender ID registration take in Peru?

Our published lead time for Peru is 5 to 10 business days. That is a typical range, not a promise. Operators review the application, and missing company documents can add time. Build it into your launch plan and use our team to prepare and file the registration.

Sources

  1. Ley 32323, prohíbe publicidad sin consentimiento expreso, El Peruano
  2. Ponen fin a llamadas y mensajes que acosaban a consumidores, Andina
  3. Ley 29733, Ley de Protección de Datos Personales
  4. Osiptel, Organismo Supervisor de Inversión Privada en Telecomunicaciones
  5. 3GPP TS 23.038: Alphabets and language-specific information

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