---
title: "AD prefix (UAE promotional SMS)"
description: "In the UAE, the AD prefix is a mandatory \"AD-\" at the start of the sender ID of every promotional SMS, for example AD-ACME. It marks the message as advertising; transactional senders for OTPs and alerts do not use it."
canonical: "https://omnichannels.ai/glossary/ad-prefix/"
language: "en"
updated: "2026-10-11"
publisher: "BroadNet Technologies"
brand: "OmniChannels.ai"
---

# AD prefix (UAE promotional SMS)

Canonical: https://omnichannels.ai/glossary/ad-prefix/
Language: en
Publisher: OmniChannels.ai by BroadNet Technologies

**Definition:** In the UAE, the AD prefix is a mandatory "AD-" at the start of the sender ID of every promotional SMS, for example AD-ACME. It marks the message as advertising; transactional senders for OTPs and alerts do not use it.

The rule comes from the UAE regulatory framework set by TDRA and is enforced by the operators etisalat and du. A business that sends both marketing and service messages therefore registers two sender IDs: a promotional one with the AD- prefix and a transactional one without it.

Promotional messages from an AD- sender also have to follow the rest of the UAE marketing rules: verifiable opt-in, an opt-out keyword such as STOP or ايقاف in every message, and no sending between 21:00 and 07:00 UAE time under TDRA's spam policy.

Never send OTPs or account alerts from an AD- sender. They can be delayed by quiet-hour rules, filtered by recipients who block advertising, and they confuse customers about what is important.

Common mistakes: sending promotions from a transactional sender to avoid the prefix (operators can block the sender), and assuming a sender registered for one UAE operator is automatically live on the other. Confirm both during registration.

## Example

```
Sender: AD-ACME — "Weekend sale: 30% off selected items at acme.ae. Reply STOP to opt out."
```

## Sources

- [Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA)](https://www.tdra.gov.ae/)