What is a Certified SMS message and what is it for?

A Certified SMS has all the features of a standard SMS adding the certainty that the SMS communication has been carried out and the confirmation of all its elements.

Certified SMS allow communications to be sent with full legal guarantee and legal certainty, making them binding and valid evidence in any administrative, legal or judicial process.

In other words, a certified SMS equivalent to a bureaufax with the same validity but with capacity restrictions and at a much lower cost.

The main uses of a certified SMS are:

• Claims for non-payment.
• Communications to employees or workers.
• Notifications during any administrative or legal process.

How does a Certified SMS work?

A certified SMS is sent over the GSM network, just like a traditional or standard SMS. However, the mobile operator that manages the delivery of the SMS has been validated as a communications certification authority.

The telephone operator acts as a trusted third party (like a notary) and has the power to issue binding documents that confirm and validate the SMS communication.

A certified SMS has the same capacity as a standard SMS (160 characters). In addition, it is possible to send certified concatenated and/or unicode messages. Due to the regulations of this service, the certifying operator adds at the end of the message the text "(CERTIFIED SMS)".

When the operator confirms the delivery (or error) in sending the message, a document in PDF format is generated with the following content and functions:

• Identifies the certifying telephony operator.
• Confirms that the communication has been carried out, specifying the specific time of sending and the final status of the message (delivered or error).
• Certifies the content (text) and other elements of the message (recipient, sender, etc.).

This digitally signed and unalterable document is the proof that certifies the communication and is valid in any legal or administrative process.

It is possible to send certified SMS from our Web Application (by enabling the functionality in the Account Preferences) or through the API SMS. See more information on how to integrate and automate sending certified SMS in our API documentation.

In which countries is a Certified SMS valid?

This service is available in the following countries:

- European Union: Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Netherlands, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Finland and Sweden.
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- Peru
- Mexico
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Uruguay
- Venezuela
- Guatemala
- Panama
- Costa Rica

We are working to expand this coverage. Ask us if you are interested and your country is not listed.

How much does a Certified SMS cost?

The activation or maintenance of the certified SMS service is free of charge. Only certified messages sent are charged.

The credits corresponding to the length of the SMS will be deducted:

More information on How much does an SMS cost?.

How to activate the Certified SMS delivery service?

These are the steps to activate and send Certified SMS in the LabsMobile platform: