SMS marketing regulations in New CaledoniaTexts people welcome, not texts they dread. The law, in plain English.

Which laws apply in New Caledonia?

Two sets of rules. For contact lists, France's data protection act (loi Informatique et Libertés) and the GDPR through that act, overseen by the CNIL. For telecommunications, New Caledonian law, with New Caledonia's Post and Telecommunications Code.

The loi Informatique et Libertés applies in New Caledonia, and the GDPR takes effect there through a cross-reference in that act since 1 June 2019. The CNIL, France's data protection authority, is the competent regulator.^{1 2} Since that date, an organisation based in Nouméa, out in the Bush or in the Islands falls under the same regime as one in mainland France for its contact lists: legal basis, informing people, rights of access and objection, data security. The old prior formalities with the CNIL have been abolished.¹

Post and telecommunications, on the other hand, are a matter for New Caledonia itself.⁶ The reference text is the Code des postes et télécommunications de la Nouvelle-Calédonie. Its article 223-4 gives everyone the right to forbid the use of their data for direct marketing, by post or by telecommunications. Its article 261-6 imposes a fine, for each message sent, for using the data of a user who has objected for marketing purposes.⁵

These articles are aimed first at lists drawn from the operator's directories. They show that the New Caledonian approach rests at least on the right to object, enforced message by message. The version we consulted is the one updated on 21 January 2015; a reform of New Caledonia's telecommunications framework has been examined since⁶, and we have not checked whether it changes these provisions.

You will often read that the law requires prior consent for every marketing text. That rule is in article L. 34-5 of the French Post and Electronic Communications Code, a mainland France text. The sources we consulted do not establish that it applies in New Caledonia, and we found neither an equivalent New Caledonian text nor a published CNIL position specific to the territory. That does not leave a gap with no rules: a legal basis, informing people and the right to object all apply under the loi Informatique et Libertés.

Marketing text or service text: what's the difference?

A service text supports a relationship that already exists; a marketing text is out to sell. A service message that contains a promotion becomes marketing.

Appointment reminders, order confirmations, a pupil's absence, a water cut or a council alert are service messages. They rest on an existing relationship, or on a duty to inform, and do not count as marketing as long as they contain no promotion.³

Private sales, a new collection, a birthday gift or an invitation to come back to the shop are marketing messages. They follow the rules for marketing: a legal basis, an identifiable sender, a simple way to stop receiving them.

The tricky case is the mix. A reminder or an "order ready" notice with an offer added changes its nature: according to the CNIL, a service message carrying significant promotional content is treated as marketing.³ When in doubt, split it into two messages, or treat the whole message as marketing.

To get your eye in, six fictitious examples are waiting for you in the message sort, further up this page.

In SMS PRO: our marketing templates open with the organisation's name and carry an opt-out link. SMS templates, service and marketing

Do you need the recipient's consent?

You need a legal basis to text them. For a promotion sent to an individual, the safest approach is to get their prior consent.

The GDPR allows several legal bases. A service message usually relies on the contract or the ongoing relationship: the patient booked an appointment, the customer placed an order. For marketing, the two possible bases are consent and legitimate interest, the latter being closely framed by the CNIL.^{3 4}

Prior consent remains the safest route for a promotional text sent to an individual. In practice:

• a tick box that is not pre-ticked on a form, or a voluntary sign-up, for example with a QR code displayed at the counter;
• clear information at the point of collection: who is sending, what for, how to opt out, how long the data is kept;
• a record of that consent: the date, the source and the wording shown to the person.

A list bought in, or built without people knowing, does the opposite: it puts the organisation at risk and undermines trust in every other message it sends.

In SMS PRO: a voluntary sign-up by QR code is confirmed by text, and an opt-out is confirmed with a code. QR code sign-up and STOP

What about existing customers and businesses?

For mainland France, the CNIL publishes more flexible guidelines for existing customers and businesses. In New Caledonia, they make a prudent working basis.

Existing customers. A customer can receive offers for products or services similar to those they have already bought from the same organisation, provided they could object when their number was collected, and can do so in every message. Simply creating an account, without buying anything, does not make someone a customer.^{3 4}

Businesses. A message sent to a professional can rely on legitimate interest if it relates to their role, with a simple way to object. Note that a mobile number in a person's name remains personal data, even when it is a work number.⁴

Offers from other companies. Passing your customers' numbers on to other companies, or sending them offers on behalf of other companies, requires their consent.⁴

How do you identify the sender and offer STOP?

A marketing text must make it clear which organisation is sending it, and offer a simple way to stop receiving them.

Identification happens in two places: the sender ID shown at the top of the text, and the organisation's name at the start of the message itself. The sender ID is registered with the local operator and is 10 characters at most. Use a name you hold the rights to, your brand or your trading name, and never one that could be mistaken for a public service or the operator.

Nobody can reply to a sender ID. Opting out must therefore go through another channel, stated in the message itself. Every recipient can object at any time, at no cost to them and without having to give a reason, and that objection must be respected every time.^{3 7}

The point most often missed: an opt-out applies to the whole organisation. A customer who asked to stop receiving promotions from the Nouméa store should not receive them from the Koné store either. Hence the value of a single opt-out list, applied to every campaign and every sender ID. Requests to exercise data rights, for their part, call for a reply within one month.³

In SMS PRO: the opt-out link applies to your whole organisation; an opted-out number is removed from all your accounts, including from a send that's already scheduled or being spread out. Managing opt-outs

How long should you keep numbers, and how do you protect them?

The CNIL recommends keeping a prospect's data for no more than 3 years after their last contact, and a customer's data for the length of the business relationship, then 3 years after it ends.⁷

The "last contact" is one that comes from the person: an enquiry, a purchase, a click on a link. After 3 years without hearing from them, you ask for their consent again; failing that, you delete or archive their data.⁷ This period is a recommendation, not a binding rule: it is the most widely used benchmark.

Protecting numbers means limiting who can access them, keeping track of who does what, and choosing tools that take it seriously. Your organisation is responsible for its contact lists; the platform that sends your texts acts on your behalf, and the GDPR requires a contract to govern that relationship between data controller and processor.

In SMS PRO: your data is stored in New Caledonia, in the Stratos sovereign cloud; retention periods are set by your organisation, and IP addresses are never kept in plain text in the logs. Security and data

What good sending practice should you follow?

We have not found any New Caledonian text that sets sending hours. The points below are common practice, not obligations.

• Think in Nouméa time. UTC+11, all year round, with no daylight saving. Nouméa is 9 or 10 hours ahead of mainland France, and the gap with Sydney or Auckland shifts when they change their clocks.
• No marketing at night. Professional guidelines in mainland France favour daytime, Monday to Saturday; Sundays and public holidays are best kept for useful messages.
• Limit how often you write. Set yourself a ceiling of messages per person per period: a simple safeguard against opt-outs.
• One message, one intention. Don't mix useful information with a promotion.
• Get a second pair of eyes. Someone else will spot the wrong date, the missing link or the tone that doesn't fit.

In SMS PRO: a campaign can be scheduled or spread over several days, within a time window, leaving out chosen dates; a manager can approve, edit or reject it before it goes. Planning your SMS campaigns

Cite this guide

Journalists, teachers, organisations: you are welcome to reuse this guide, citing it as follows.

SMS PRO (Pacific Consulting), Business SMS in New Caledonia: what the regulations say, updated on 11 November 2026, https://www.smspro.nc/en/sms-regulations-new-caledonia/