Can Microsoft Bookings send SMS text reminders?

Which countries are supported#

Microsoft's documents don't agree, so here is exactly what each one says as of September 2026:

Safe assumption: US, Canadian and UK numbers work. If your customers are in Australia or the Netherlands, test with a real number before you rely on it. In a 2024 Q&A thread where Enable text message notifications was greyed out, a Microsoft support engineer confirmed SMS wasn't available outside the US, Canada and the UK, so the option may not be usable at all elsewhere.

How to turn SMS on#

1. Tenant setting (admin). In the Microsoft 365 admin center, go to Settings → Org settings → Bookings and make sure SMS is allowed. The Bookings admin doc calls it "Allow Microsoft to send SMS messages". The Teams admin doc calls it "Allow Microsoft to send SMS text message notifications". It's on by default.
2. Licence. Assign Teams Premium. Microsoft's service description lists Teams Premium as a requirement for SMS. A 2026 licensing change moved some Teams Premium features into Teams Enterprise, but the licensing page still lists Bookings SMS under Teams Premium.
3. Per service. Open your shared booking page → Services → select the service → Notifications, then tick Enable text message notifications for your customer. Save.
4. Customer opt-in. The booking form shows an opt-in box. Customers who don't tick it get email only, and anyone can reply STOP to opt out.

In the Bookings app in Teams, the same option sits under Settings → Appointment type → Add appointment type → Send them text messages.

When SMS options are missing or texts don't arrive#

• Option greyed out or not shown: no Teams Premium licence, SMS turned off in the tenant, or a tenant region outside the supported list.
• Government cloud: not available in GCC, GCC High or DoD, per the service description.
• Customer didn't opt in: check the booking. SMS only goes to customers who ticked the box.
• Wrong country code: numbers outside the supported countries won't receive texts.
• Staff selection: one Q&A user found texts only went out when Allow customers to choose a particular staff for booking was on. That's a community report, not documented behaviour, but it's a quick thing to test.
• Group services: Microsoft's current Bookings docs don't say whether SMS works for services with more than one attendee. Test before you depend on it.

Admins can see what was sent in the Teams admin center under Analytics & reports → Usage reports → SMS notifications usage, which shows delivery status per message.

What Bookings SMS can't do#

As of September 2026, SMS can't run a two-way exchange such as "reply Y to confirm", and Microsoft doesn't document any way to edit the text of the messages or choose the sending number. Timing and content of email reminders are far more flexible. See Bookings email reminders, and the no-show reduction guide for combining the two.