A +261 Number for Verification Codes, From QA Scripts to One-Off Sign-Ups

Building for Malagasy users? Start with a real +261 test

If your product is heading into Madagascar, or into French-speaking markets around the Indian Ocean more broadly, the phone verification step deserves a proper test. Emulators and hard-coded test numbers will not tell you whether your SMS provider routes to +261, whether a French or Malagasy template survives the trip, or whether your form chokes on the local number format.

With an API key from OTP Bolt, your test suite can request a Madagascar number for a given service, submit it in your sign-up form, poll for the SMS body, and cancel the order if the message never arrives. A cancelled or empty order costs nothing, because the price goes back to the wallet. The full reference sits on our developer page.

One rule we hold to: test your own product, with accounts you control.

How Madagascar mobile numbers are written

Locally, a mobile number is usually written with a leading 0, for example in the shape 03X XX XXX XX. That 0 is a domestic trunk prefix. In any international form you remove it and add the country code, so the number becomes +261 3X XX XXX XX: nine digits after +261.

If your validator demands exactly ten digits because it was built for the local style, it will reject correctly formatted international input. That is one of the first bugs a live test tends to surface.

Malagasy and French are the official languages, and verification texts from global apps often arrive in English or French, depending on the account language you chose.

Apps with Instant OTP coverage in Madagascar

More than 1,000 apps can currently send codes to an OTP Bolt number in Madagascar. Examples include Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, Telegram, Viber, imo, Signal, Google (Gmail & YouTube), Microsoft & Outlook, LinkedIn, X (Twitter), Netflix and AliExpress.

That list moves. Apps tighten or relax their phone rules, and some refuse numbers that are not on a physical SIM. Check the dashboard for what is live today before you plan around a specific service.

Steps to receive one code on a +261 number

For a person who just needs a Madagascar phone number for verification, the dashboard is quicker than the API:

1. Create an account at signup using email plus a 6-digit code, or Google.
2. Add funds to your wallet. Ordering and exact Madagascar prices become visible once that first payment lands.
3. Select the app, then Madagascar, and place an Instant OTP order.
4. Paste the +261 number into the app, leaving out the domestic 0.
5. Wait for the code in the live inbox, typically a minute or two.

Pricing starts from $0.20 per code and varies by app; pricing has the details.

When the SMS doesn't show up

Every order has a 20-minute window. No code in that time means an automatic refund of the full price to your wallet, and the same applies if you cancel before a code arrives. Once a code reaches your inbox, that order counts as used and stays paid.

Before giving up, confirm the app actually said it sent the message and that you entered nine digits after +261. Some apps offer a resend button, and you can sometimes ask for another SMS on the same number. If the window still expires, your money is already back, so you can retry later.

Keeping a Madagascar number for the long run

A one-off code is fine for a sign-up you will never revisit. It is the wrong tool for an account that will text you at the next login, or for a business line that family and clients in Madagascar need to reach. For that, a Dedicated Number starts from $1.95/month.

It comes with an SMS inbox for repeat verification texts, browser calling from Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari with no SIM or app, incoming calls that ring in the browser, and a call log. You prepay terms from the wallet, get an email before renewal, and can release the number at any time.

Madagascar is an on-request country. Open "Request a country" in the dashboard, and the OTP Bolt team will check whether a number is available, what it costs, and whether local rules require an address or ID check before it goes live. How long that takes depends on the country; self-serve, instant activation is limited to the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Wallet, card and crypto

Payment goes through a prepaid OTP Bolt wallet held in US dollars. You can fund it by card on Stripe checkout or with the stablecoins USDT and USDC. That second option tends to matter for people in the diaspora who would rather not use a card abroad. Each payment produces a PDF invoice by email.

App names are trademarks of their owners. OTP Bolt is not affiliated with them. Follow each app's terms.