SMS and WhatsApp Marketing Rules India: TRAI, DLT, Consent

Under SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India treats the two channels differently. Promotional SMS and calls are governed by TRAI’s Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018 (TCCCPR): the business must register on an operator’s DLT platform with its headers and message templates, respect customer preferences set through 1909 or the DND app, include an opt-out, and make promotional calls only from the 140 series. WhatsApp marketing sits outside DLT but needs prior opt-in under WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy. For both, the DPDP Act’s consent rules apply from 13 May 2027.

SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India: the TRAI framework

The core of the SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India applies is TRAI’s TCCCPR, which classifies messages into three main types:

• Promotional: to sell or promote a product; sent only to customers who have not blocked that category, or who have given recorded consent.
• Service: about a product the customer already uses, subject to consent rules.
• Transactional: such as OTPs and bank alerts. Government messages are a separate category.

Telecom operators run the system on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform. Before sending bulk SMS, a business must:

1. Register itself as a principal entity on an operator’s DLT platform.
2. Register its headers (sender IDs), which carry a suffix showing whether the message is promotional, service, transactional or government.
3. Register content templates for each message, with fixed and variable parts, and consent templates where needed.
4. Bind its chosen telemarketers to its headers so messages travel only through authorised chains.

Messages that do not match a registered header and template are blocked by operator scrubbing.

What changed in 2025 and 2026

February 2025 amendment: customers can report spam within 7 days of receiving it; promotional messages must carry an opt-out; after an opt-out, the sender cannot seek consent again for 90 days; and senders who break the rules face suspension of telecom resources or blacklisting.

Third Amendment, issued 18 September 2026: per TRAI’s press release, key points for senders:

• Misused headers or content templates must be suspended within six hours of the operator becoming aware of the misuse.
• Automated calls (robocalls, pre-recorded or AI voice) must be declared in advance to the operator with the numbers used; undeclared automated calls are treated as spam.
• Action against a sender turns on three unique complaints within ten days, where the sender’s number is also flagged by AI-based detection (earlier, five complaints in ten days).
• A business may contact a customer who made a written or digital enquiry for up to seven days after the enquiry, if the enquiry is kept in verifiable form.
• The designated 140 and 1600 commercial series are not to be blanket-tagged as spam by call management apps.

The amendment comes into force in stages, 30, 60 and 90 days after official publication, so check the operator’s current notices before changing your flows.

WhatsApp and email marketing

WhatsApp Business messages do not travel on the SMS route that DLT covers, but they are not a free-for-all.

• Opt-in: WhatsApp’s Business Messaging Policy lets a business contact a person only if the person gave their number and the business received opt-in permission confirming they want to receive messages.
• Opt-out: all requests to block or opt out, on or off WhatsApp, must be respected.
• Content: a misleading offer on WhatsApp is still a misleading ad under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

India has no separate anti-spam statute for email. Good practice now, and the DPDP standard from 13 May 2027: get consent, identify the sender, include a working unsubscribe link, honour it promptly, and never buy email lists.

DPDP consent for marketing data

Under section 6 of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, consent must be free, specific, informed, unconditional and unambiguous, given by a clear affirmative action, and as easy to withdraw as to give. For marketers this means:

• No pre-ticked boxes and no “by continuing you agree to offers” lines.
• Marketing consent separate from what is needed to deliver the order.
• A phone number given for delivery is not consent for festive campaigns.
• Consent records kept with time, source and wording.
• No targeted advertising directed at children under 18 (s.9).

Example: Paisa Setu, a Mumbai loan marketplace, had its SMS header suspended after complaints spiked. Its lead-generation agency had bought a database and sent promotions through an unbound telemarketer on a “service” template. The fix: correct template categories, opt-out text, vetted telemarketers bound to its headers and a ban on purchased lists. The SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India enforces reward exactly this kind of discipline.

Frequently asked questions

What are the SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India businesses must follow?

For SMS and calls, follow TRAI’s TCCCPR: DLT registration of the business, headers and templates, respect for DND preferences, opt-out in every promotion and 140-series numbers for promotional calls. For WhatsApp, get prior opt-in and honour opt-outs under WhatsApp’s policy. From 13 May 2027, DPDP consent rules apply to both.

Is DLT registration mandatory for bulk SMS in India?

Yes. A business must register as a principal entity on an operator’s DLT platform and register its headers and content templates. Messages that do not match are blocked.

Can I send WhatsApp promotions to my customer list?

Only to people who gave you their number and opted in. Buying lists breaks WhatsApp’s policy and, from 13 May 2027, the DPDP consent rules.

Which number series is used for promotional calls in India?

Promotional calls must come from the 140 series. Service and transactional calls are moving to the 1600 series. Ordinary 10-digit mobile numbers must not be used for telemarketing.

Quick quiz

To set up campaigns within the SMS and WhatsApp marketing rules India enforces, see the Marketing and Advertising Law certificate course. For data duties in depth, see the DPDP data protection certificate course.

Sources

• Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations, 2018, as amended (including February 2025)
• TRAI press release on the Telecom Commercial Communication Customer Preference (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (18 September 2026)
• WhatsApp Business Messaging Policy
• Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023: ss.5, 6, 9; DPDP Rules, 2025
• Consumer Protection Act, 2019: s.2(28)

This page is for education and general information, not legal advice for a specific case. Law as on 31 October 2026.