How to Send SMS in Laravel (Step-by-Step Guide)
How to Send SMS in Laravel (Step-by-Step Guide)
This tutorial walks you through sending SMS messages from a Laravel 10 or 11 application. By the end, you’ll be able to send SMS via Twilio, Vonage, or any provider using Laravel’s notification system.
Prerequisites
- Laravel 10 or 11 installed
- Composer dependencies manager
- An SMS provider account (Twilio, Vonage, etc.)
Step 1: Install the SMS Provider SDK
Install the SDK for your chosen provider:
composer require twilio/sdk
---
For Vonage:
```bash
composer require vonage/client
---
## Step 2: Configure Environment Variables
Add your provider credentials to `.env`:
```env
# Twilio
TWILIO_SID=ACxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
TWILIO_AUTH_TOKEN=your_auth_token
TWILIO_FROM=+15551234567
# Vonage (optional, for multi-provider setup)
VONAGE_KEY=your_api_key
VONAGE_SECRET=your_api_secret
VONAGE_FROM=15551234567
---
## Step 3: Create an SMS Service Class
Encapsulate the SMS sending logic in a dedicated service class:
```php
<?php
namespace App\Services;
use Twilio\Rest\Client;
class SmsService
{
protected Client $twilio;
public function __construct()
{
$this->twilio = new Client(
config('sms.drivers.twilio.sid'),
config('sms.drivers.twilio.token')
);
}
public function send(string $to, string $message): string
{
$message = $this->twilio->messages->create(
$to,
[
'from' => config('sms.drivers.twilio.from'),
'body' => $message,
]
);
return $message->sid;
}
}
---
## Step 4: Create a Notification
Laravel's notification system is the idiomatic way to send SMS:
```bash
php artisan make:notification WelcomeSms
---
Define the delivery channel:
```php
<?php
namespace App\Notifications;
use App\Services\SmsService;
use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notification;
class WelcomeSms extends Notification implements ShouldQueue
{
use Queueable;
public function __construct(
public string $message
) {
$this->onQueue('sms');
}
public function via(object $notifiable): array
{
return ['sms'];
}
public function toSms(object $notifiable): SmsMessage
{
return new SmsMessage($this->message);
}
}
---
Create a custom `SmsMessage` class:
```php
<?php
namespace App\Notifications;
class SmsMessage
{
public function __construct(
public string $content
) {}
}
---
## Step 5: Register a Custom SMS Channel
Register the channel in `AppServiceProvider`:
```php
<?php
namespace App\Providers;
use App\Notifications\Channels\SmsChannel;
use App\Services\SmsService;
use Illuminate\Support\ServiceProvider;
class AppServiceProvider extends ServiceProvider
{
public function register(): void
{
$this->app->singleton(SmsChannel::class, function ($app) {
return new SmsChannel($app->make(SmsService::class));
});
}
}
---
## Step 6: Send the Notification
Add a `routeNotificationForSms` method to your notifiable model:
```php
<?php
namespace App\Models;
use Illuminate\Foundation\Auth\User as Authenticatable;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notifiable;
class User extends Authenticatable
{
use Notifiable;
public function routeNotificationForSms(): ?string
{
return $this->phone_number;
}
}
---
Send the notification:
```php
use App\Notifications\WelcomeSms;
$user = User::find(1);
$user->notify(new WelcomeSms('Welcome to our platform! We're excited to have you.'));
---
## Using Laravel's Built-in Vonage Channel
Laravel ships with first-class Vonage support:
```php
public function via(object $notifiable): array
{
return ['vonage'];
}
public function toVonage(object $notifiable): VonageMessage
{
return (new VonageMessage)
->content("Your verification code is: {$this->code}");
}
---
## Queueing SMS for Better Performance
Always queue SMS sending to avoid blocking HTTP responses. The `ShouldQueue` interface handles this automatically:
```php
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
class WelcomeSms extends Notification implements ShouldQueue
{
use Queueable;
}
---
Dispatch with the `sms` queue:
```php
$user->notify((new WelcomeSms('Hello!'))->onQueue('sms'));
---
For a deep dive, see our guide on [Laravel SMS notifications using queues](/blog/laravel-sms-notifications-queues).
## Testing SMS in Development
Use Laravel's `Notification::fake()` for deterministic tests:
```php
<?php
namespace Tests\Feature;
use App\Notifications\WelcomeSms;
use Illuminate\Notifications\AnonymousNotifiable;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Notification;
use Tests\TestCase;
class SmsNotificationTest extends TestCase
{
public function test_user_receives_welcome_sms(): void
{
Notification::fake();
$user = User::factory()->create();
$user->notify(new WelcomeSms('Welcome!'));
Notification::assertSentTo(
$user,
WelcomeSms::class,
function ($notification, $channels) {
return $notification->message === 'Welcome!';
}
);
}
}
---
### Using the `log` Driver for Development
Set a log-based SMS driver in your `.env` for local development:
```php
// config/sms.php
'drivers' => [
'log' => [
'channel' => env('SMS_LOG_CHANNEL', 'stack'),
],
],
---
```php
// SmsChannel for log driver
public function send(object $notifiable, Notification $notification): void
{
$message = $notification->toSms($notifiable);
Log::info('SMS would be sent', [
'to' => $notifiable->routeNotificationForSms(),
'message' => $message->content,
]);
}
---
## Full Example: Sending an Order Confirmation SMS
```php
<?php
namespace App\Notifications;
use Illuminate\Bus\Queueable;
use Illuminate\Contracts\Queue\ShouldQueue;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Messages\VonageMessage;
use Illuminate\Notifications\Notification;
class OrderConfirmation extends Notification implements ShouldQueue
{
use Queueable;
public function __construct(
protected string $orderId,
protected string $total
) {}
public function via(object $notifiable): array
{
return ['vonage'];
}
public function toVonage(object $notifiable): VonageMessage
{
return (new VonageMessage)
->content("Order #{$this->orderId} confirmed for \${$this->total}. Thank you!")
->unicode();
}
public function toArray(object $notifiable): array
{
return [
'order_id' => $this->orderId,
'total' => $this->total,
];
}
}
---
Trigger it:
```php
$order = Order::find(1234);
$order->user->notify(new OrderConfirmation($order->id, $order->total));
---
## Next Steps
Now that you can send SMS, consider implementing:
- **OTP verification** — see our [Laravel OTP verification guide](/blog/laravel-otp-verification-sms)
- **Bulk campaigns** — chunk users and use job batching (covered in the [ultimate guide](/blog/ultimate-guide-laravel-sms-integration))
- **Two-way SMS** — handle incoming replies via webhooks
## Related Articles
- [Ultimate Guide to Laravel SMS Integration (2026)](/blog/ultimate-guide-laravel-sms-integration)
- [Laravel SMS Notifications Using Queues (Performance Guide)](/blog/laravel-sms-notifications-queues)
- [Laravel OTP Verification via SMS (Complete Guide)](/blog/laravel-otp-verification-sms)
- [Best SMS APIs for Laravel in 2026](/blog/best-sms-apis-for-laravel)
