Verify supported languages

Language translations are defined by a locale value, also known as a "language tag". For example, the locale value for English (American) is en.

For any type of Verify template used, the locale will automatically resolve based on the country code of the phone number provided for Verifications sent using the SMS, Voice, or WhatsApp channels, with en or a custom template's default language as the fallback locale if a translation is not available. See a list of phone number country code to language mappings here. Using this automatic resolution is highly recommended. If a language override is desired, you can specify the locale parameter when creating a Verification.

The locale values follow country-region format as described in IETF's BPC 47 for the languages listed below. If an unsupported override locale is given, a 404 error will be returned. In that case, we recommend that you retry the request without the locale parameter to implement a fallback to the country code's default language or English.

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Warning

SMS messages sent with Programmable Messaging or Verify are priced per message segment.

Messages sent in certain language locales, including pt, pt_BR, cs, and el or in non-GSM characters may be split into multiple message segments. You can check how many message segments your message will use with the Messaging Segment Calculator tool.

Learn more about how to limit message segments in our developer best practices.

Language support and template types

Language support depends on the type of Verify template used (Verify Default, pre-approved, custom, WhatsApp copy code authentication) and the channel (SMS, Voice, RCS, or WhatsApp) through which the message is sent. Learn more about template types.

Note: Verify Email and SNA channels don't support language translations.

Verify Default templates

The Verify Default template is used automatically if no pre-approved or custom template is specified in your Verification request or set as the service default.

Pre-approved templates

Pre-approved templates support only a subset of the languages available in Verify. Twilio continues to add more translations and expand language support over time.

To check the available languages per-template via API:
1. View available templates using the Get a List of Available Templates endpoint.
2. Check the translations property of the template to see supported languages.
To check the available languages per-template via Twilio Console:
1. Navigate to Twilio Console > Verify > Services page and select your Verify Service.
2. On the Settings page under the General tab, select a Message body under the Template configuration heading.
3. Check the Message preview section for Locale Preview dropdown for a list of supported languages.

Custom templates

The template requester must provide translations when making a request to create a custom template.

Each translation must be mapped to a locale value. The template requester can define the locale value, but it must follow these rules:

The locale value must be in XX (e.g. pt) or XX-XX (e.g. pt-br) format.
The locale value must use locale "component" values as defined by IETF's BPC 47.

WhatsApp copy code authentication templates

WhatsApp OTP messages are sent via WhatsApp copy code authentication templates that are pre-defined by Meta.

Verify language support

Channel

Template type

Language

Language tag/Verify locale

Channel	Template type	Language	Language tag/Verify locale
RCS	Custom	Abkhaz	ab
SMS	Custom	Abkhaz	ab
Voice	Custom	Abkhaz	ab
RCS	Custom	Afar	aa
SMS	Custom	Afar	aa
Voice	Custom	Afar	aa
RCS	Default	Afrikaans	af
SMS	Default	Afrikaans	af
RCS	Custom	Akan	ak
SMS	Custom	Akan	ak
Voice	Custom	Akan	ak
RCS	Custom	Albanian	sq
SMS	Custom	Albanian	sq
Voice	Custom	Albanian	sq

Example: Send an SMS OTP in Spanish

The following example sends an SMS OTP in Spanish by specifying the es locale in the request.

Send an SMS OTP in Spanish

1// Download the helper library from https://www.twilio.com/docs/node/install
2const twilio = require("twilio"); // Or, for ESM: import twilio from "twilio";
3
4// Find your Account SID and Auth Token at twilio.com/console
5// and set the environment variables. See http://twil.io/secure
6const accountSid = process.env.TWILIO_ACCOUNT_SID;
7const authToken = process.env.TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN;
8const client = twilio(accountSid, authToken);
9
10async function createVerification() {
11  const verification = await client.verify.v2
12    .services("VAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa")
13    .verifications.create({
14      channel: "sms",
15      locale: "es",
16      to: "14155552345",
17    });
18
19  console.log(verification.status);
20}
21
22createVerification();

Response

1{
2  "sid": "VEaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
3  "service_sid": "VAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
4  "account_sid": "ACaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa",
5  "to": "14155552345",
6  "channel": "sms",
7  "status": "pending",
8  "valid": false,
9  "date_created": "2015-07-30T20:00:00Z",
10  "date_updated": "2015-07-30T20:00:00Z",
11  "lookup": {},
12  "amount": null,
13  "payee": null,
14  "send_code_attempts": [
15    {
16      "time": "2015-07-30T20:00:00Z",
17      "channel": "SMS",
18      "attempt_sid": "VLaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
19    }
20  ],
21  "sna": null,
22  "url": "https://verify.twilio.com/v2/Services/VAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa/Verifications/VEaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"
23}