---
name: azure-communication-sms-java
description: "Send SMS messages with Azure Communication Services SMS Java SDK. Use when implementing SMS notifications, alerts, OTP delivery, bulk messaging, or delivery reports."
risk: critical
source: community
date_added: "2026-02-27"
---

# Azure Communication SMS (Java)

Send SMS messages to single or multiple recipients with delivery reporting.

## Installation

```xml
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.azure</groupId>
    <artifactId>azure-communication-sms</artifactId>
    <version>1.2.0</version>
</dependency>
```

## Client Creation

```java
import com.azure.communication.sms.SmsClient;
import com.azure.communication.sms.SmsClientBuilder;
import com.azure.identity.DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder;

// With DefaultAzureCredential (recommended)
SmsClient smsClient = new SmsClientBuilder()
    .endpoint("https://<resource>.communication.azure.com")
    .credential(new DefaultAzureCredentialBuilder().build())
    .buildClient();

// With connection string
SmsClient smsClient = new SmsClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .buildClient();

// With AzureKeyCredential
import com.azure.core.credential.AzureKeyCredential;

SmsClient smsClient = new SmsClientBuilder()
    .endpoint("https://<resource>.communication.azure.com")
    .credential(new AzureKeyCredential("<access-key>"))
    .buildClient();

// Async client
SmsAsyncClient smsAsyncClient = new SmsClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .buildAsyncClient();
```

## Send SMS to Single Recipient

```java
import com.azure.communication.sms.models.SmsSendResult;

// Simple send
SmsSendResult result = smsClient.send(
    "+14255550100",      // From (your ACS phone number)
    "+14255551234",      // To
    "Your verification code is 123456");

System.out.println("Message ID: " + result.getMessageId());
System.out.println("To: " + result.getTo());
System.out.println("Success: " + result.isSuccessful());

if (!result.isSuccessful()) {
    System.out.println("Error: " + result.getErrorMessage());
    System.out.println("Status: " + result.getHttpStatusCode());
}
```

## Send SMS to Multiple Recipients

```java
import com.azure.communication.sms.models.SmsSendOptions;
import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.List;

List<String> recipients = Arrays.asList(
    "+14255551111",
    "+14255552222",
    "+14255553333"
);

// With options
SmsSendOptions options = new SmsSendOptions()
    .setDeliveryReportEnabled(true)
    .setTag("marketing-campaign-001");

Iterable<SmsSendResult> results = smsClient.sendWithResponse(
    "+14255550100",      // From
    recipients,          // To list
    "Flash sale! 50% off today only.",
    options,
    Context.NONE
).getValue();

for (SmsSendResult result : results) {
    if (result.isSuccessful()) {
        System.out.println("Sent to " + result.getTo() + ": " + result.getMessageId());
    } else {
        System.out.println("Failed to " + result.getTo() + ": " + result.getErrorMessage());
    }
}
```

## Send Options

```java
SmsSendOptions options = new SmsSendOptions();

// Enable delivery reports (sent via Event Grid)
options.setDeliveryReportEnabled(true);

// Add custom tag for tracking
options.setTag("order-confirmation-12345");
```

## Response Handling

```java
import com.azure.core.http.rest.Response;

Response<Iterable<SmsSendResult>> response = smsClient.sendWithResponse(
    "+14255550100",
    Arrays.asList("+14255551234"),
    "Hello!",
    new SmsSendOptions().setDeliveryReportEnabled(true),
    Context.NONE
);

// Check HTTP response
System.out.println("Status code: " + response.getStatusCode());
System.out.println("Headers: " + response.getHeaders());

// Process results
for (SmsSendResult result : response.getValue()) {
    System.out.println("Message ID: " + result.getMessageId());
    System.out.println("Successful: " + result.isSuccessful());
    
    if (!result.isSuccessful()) {
        System.out.println("HTTP Status: " + result.getHttpStatusCode());
        System.out.println("Error: " + result.getErrorMessage());
    }
}
```

## Async Operations

```java
import reactor.core.publisher.Mono;

SmsAsyncClient asyncClient = new SmsClientBuilder()
    .connectionString("<connection-string>")
    .buildAsyncClient();

// Send single message
asyncClient.send("+14255550100", "+14255551234", "Async message!")
    .subscribe(
        result -> System.out.println("Sent: " + result.getMessageId()),
        error -> System.out.println("Error: " + error.getMessage())
    );

// Send to multiple with options
SmsSendOptions options = new SmsSendOptions()
    .setDeliveryReportEnabled(true);

asyncClient.sendWithResponse(
    "+14255550100",
    Arrays.asList("+14255551111", "+14255552222"),
    "Bulk async message",
    options)
    .subscribe(response -> {
        for (SmsSendResult result : response.getValue()) {
            System.out.println("Result: " + result.getTo() + " - " + result.isSuccessful());
        }
    });
```

## Error Handling

```java
import com.azure.core.exception.HttpResponseException;

try {
    SmsSendResult result = smsClient.send(
        "+14255550100",
        "+14255551234",
        "Test message"
    );
    
    // Individual message errors don't throw exceptions
    if (!result.isSuccessful()) {
        handleMessageError(result);
    }
    
} catch (HttpResponseException e) {
    // Request-level failures (auth, network, etc.)
    System.out.println("Request failed: " + e.getMessage());
    System.out.println("Status: " + e.getResponse().getStatusCode());
} catch (RuntimeException e) {
    System.out.println("Unexpected error: " + e.getMessage());
}

private void handleMessageError(SmsSendResult result) {
    int status = result.getHttpStatusCode();
    String error = result.getErrorMessage();
    
    if (status == 400) {
        System.out.println("Invalid phone number: " + result.getTo());
    } else if (status == 429) {
        System.out.println("Rate limited - retry later");
    } else {
        System.out.println("Error " + status + ": " + error);
    }
}
```

## Delivery Reports

Delivery reports are sent via Azure Event Grid. Configure an Event Grid subscription for your ACS resource.

```java
// Event Grid webhook handler (in your endpoint)
public void handleDeliveryReport(String eventJson) {
    // Parse Event Grid event
    // Event type: Microsoft.Communication.SMSDeliveryReportReceived
    
    // Event data contains:
    // - messageId: correlates to SmsSendResult.getMessageId()
    // - from: sender number
    // - to: recipient number
    // - deliveryStatus: "Delivered", "Failed", etc.
    // - deliveryStatusDetails: detailed status
    // - receivedTimestamp: when status was received
    // - tag: your custom tag from SmsSendOptions
}
```

## SmsSendResult Properties

| Property | Type | Description |
|----------|------|-------------|
| `getMessageId()` | String | Unique message identifier |
| `getTo()` | String | Recipient phone number |
| `isSuccessful()` | boolean | Whether send succeeded |
| `getHttpStatusCode()` | int | HTTP status for this recipient |
| `getErrorMessage()` | String | Error details if failed |
| `getRepeatabilityResult()` | RepeatabilityResult | Idempotency result |

## Environment Variables

```bash
AZURE_COMMUNICATION_ENDPOINT=https://<resource>.communication.azure.com
AZURE_COMMUNICATION_CONNECTION_STRING=endpoint=https://...;accesskey=...
SMS_FROM_NUMBER=+14255550100
```

## Best Practices

1. **Phone Number Format** - Use E.164 format: `+[country code][number]`
2. **Delivery Reports** - Enable for critical messages (OTP, alerts)
3. **Tagging** - Use tags to correlate messages with business context
4. **Error Handling** - Check `isSuccessful()` for each recipient individually
5. **Rate Limiting** - Implement retry with backoff for 429 responses
6. **Bulk Sending** - Use batch send for multiple recipients (more efficient)

## Trigger Phrases

- "send SMS Java", "text message Java"
- "SMS notification", "OTP SMS", "bulk SMS"
- "delivery report SMS", "Azure Communication Services SMS"

## When to Use
This skill is applicable to execute the workflow or actions described in the overview.

## Limitations
- Use this skill only when the task clearly matches the scope described above.
- Do not treat the output as a substitute for environment-specific validation, testing, or expert review.
- Stop and ask for clarification if required inputs, permissions, safety boundaries, or success criteria are missing.

SMS sends contact real recipients and can incur charges. Confirm sender, recipient list, content, consent/opt-outs and budget before sending; use test numbers for examples. The literal OTP above is illustrative only: generate a secure expiring single-use code server-side. Per-recipient acceptance is not delivery; correlate verified Event Grid reports, deduplicate and reconcile unknown send outcomes before retrying. Await async completion and avoid logging phone numbers, bodies, tokens or full response headers.