Where Your SMS Sender Name Is Shown (and Where It Isn't)

You set a sender name, you send an SMS, and a customer in Milan sees your name while a customer in New York sees a random number. Nothing is broken. That's how SMS works across countries.

The message travels through the mobile operators of the recipient's country, and each country has its own rules about who an SMS is allowed to say it comes from. This guide explains those rules in plain words: where your name is shown, where it has to be registered first, and where a number is shown instead.

Updated 28 October 2026. These rules change often and can differ from one operator to another, so treat this as a map, not as legal advice.

Two kinds of sender: a name or a number

Every SMS shows a sender at the top of the conversation. It can be one of two things:

• A name (an "alphanumeric sender ID"), like minimo or DAMARIO. Up to 11 characters.
• A phone number: a normal mobile or landline number, a toll-free number, or a short code (a 4 to 6 digit number used for business messages).

A name is easier to recognise, and it builds trust: people open messages from a brand they know. But it comes with one hard limit: nobody can reply to a name. A name is a one-way sender.

That matters for marketing messages. If people can't reply, "reply STOP to unsubscribe" doesn't work. Give them another way to opt out, for example a link.

The short version

Before the full table, here's the picture in three groups.

1. Your name is shown as you send it. Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Estonia, Poland, Greece, the United Kingdom and France. Some of them reject generic names (more on that below), but there's no registry to sign up to.

2. Your name is shown only after it's registered. Italy, Spain, Austria, Ireland, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and India, plus one operator in Romania. A national regulator (or the operators) keeps a list of approved names. An unregistered name is blocked, rewritten or, in Ireland, labelled as a likely scam.

3. A number is shown instead. The United States, Canada, Belgium, China and, in practice, Brazil. Operators there don't show names to recipients: they use numbers or short codes, or overwrite the name before the message reaches the phone.

Why countries are tightening the rules

Fake texts that pretend to be a bank, a courier or a government office ("smishing") are one of the most common scams in Europe. A name in the sender line is exactly what makes those texts look real, because anyone could type "MyBank" as a sender.

Registries are the answer most regulators chose: only the business that owns a name can use it, and operators block or flag everything else. For honest senders this adds a step, but it also means your name can't be used by someone pretending to be you.

How to pick a name that works almost everywhere

These rules come from the strictest countries, so a name that follows them works in all the countries that show names at all.

• Up to 11 characters.
• Only Latin letters and digits: A to Z, a to z, 0 to 9. No spaces, no accents, no symbols. France enforces this strictly since 1 March 2026. The UK is more tolerant (it accepts spaces and a few symbols like ., -, _ and &), but don't rely on it.
• At least one letter. A name made only of digits looks like a phone number, and several countries (Italy, France) forbid it.
• Your brand, not a category. Generic words like Info, Promo, Shop, Alert, Bank or Sale get rejected or replaced in Italy, France, the UK, Greece and Poland, because they don't say who is sending. Use your company or brand name.
• Don't use names you don't own. Banks, public bodies and well-known brands are protected in many countries.

DAMARIO, Freedhome and BeautyGo are good names. PROMO, Info 24 and 123456 are not.

Country by country

Italy in detail

Most of our customers send to Italy, and Italy has one of the most complete systems in Europe, so it's worth a closer look.

The rule. AGCOM, the Italian communications authority, set up a registry of SMS sender names with Delibera 12/23/CIR (2023). The registry is in force: operators must block any name that isn't in it.

Who registers. You can't register a name yourself. Registration is done by an authorised Italian SMS provider (a company with a general authorisation, listed in the Italian communications operators register, the ROC), on behalf of the business it sends for.

What the business provides. The provider needs your official details and checks them against public registers:

• exact company name, legal address, tax code and VAT number;
• your own PEC address (certified email), as listed in INI-PEC;
• a public phone number, email address and website where recipients can reach you;
• consent to publish these details, because the registry is public: anyone who receives your SMS can look up who is behind the name.

The provider also checks that the person signing is the company's legal representative.

What the name must look like. It has to clearly identify you. No generic names, no names made only of digits, nothing that looks like a phone number, no names of public bodies. Upper and lower case count as the same name: Damario and DAMARIO are one name.

How long it takes. AGCOM doesn't publish a standard approval time. Ask your provider, and don't plan a launch for the day you submit.

How it works in Minimo

Minimo gives you two ways to send SMS, both in Settings → Channels → SMS.

1. Minimo's built-in SMS (the default). Nothing to set up: messages go out through Minimo's own SMS account, with minimo as the sender name. In countries that show numbers instead of names (like the US), recipients see a number.

2. Your own Infobip account. If you want your own name in the sender line, connect your Infobip account on the same page, then add your sender name and number. The name is registered on your Infobip account, following Infobip's process for each country, including the national registries where they apply (Italy, Spain, Austria, Ireland and the others above).

Whichever you choose, the country table above still applies: if most of your recipients are in a country that shows numbers, a custom name won't change what they see. If you're not sure which setup fits your audience, write to us and we'll look at it with you.

FAQ

Why do my customers in the US see a number instead of my name? Because US operators don't display names. Every business SMS in the US comes from a number: a registered local number (10DLC), a verified toll-free number or a short code. The same is true in Canada.

Can my customers reply to my SMS? Not if it's sent from a name: names are one-way. If you need replies, you need a number as the sender. For marketing, give people an opt-out link rather than asking them to reply STOP.

How long does registration take? It depends on the country. Austria's regulator takes about 14 days, Romania about 4 weeks, and Italy doesn't publish a standard time. Spain and Ireland also review each name. Start well before you need it.

What data is needed, and why is it published? Usually your legal company name, VAT number, address, a contact for recipients and, in Italy, a PEC address. Registries are public on purpose: anyone who receives an SMS can check who is behind the name, which is what makes fake senders easy to spot.

Can I use a generic name like PROMO or INFO? No. Generic names are rejected or replaced in many countries (Italy, France, the UK, Greece, Poland) because they don't identify the sender. Use your brand name.

My name isn't registered in Italy yet. What happens? Italian operators are required to block unregistered names, so the message may not arrive. Register the name before you send campaigns to Italian numbers.

Sources

• AGCOM, Delibera 12/23/CIR, Annex A and the alias registration guide
• CNMC (Spain), alias registry against fraudulent messages
• ComReg (Ireland), "Likely Scam" labelling from 3 July 2025 and the SMS Sender ID Registry
• LINK Mobility, France sender ID update, March 2026 and sender ID guidelines by country
• Telnyx, France SMS guidelines
• Twilio, SMS guidelines by country and alphanumeric sender IDs
• Sinch, Italy sending requirements