The SMS Sender ID Register is the ACMA's register of branded sender IDs, the business name that appears at the top of a text instead of a phone number. Since 1 July 2026, a branded sender ID has to be registered. If yours isn't, Australian phones show the message as coming from 'Unverified' and group it with other unverified texts, including scams. You register through your telco or message provider.
If your business only sends texts from a phone number and never uses a branded name, you don't need to do anything. The register only applies to messages that use a sender ID such as a business or organisation name.
What happens if you don't register
This is the part that costs businesses customers. The ACMA says an unregistered sender ID is replaced with the word 'Unverified', and all texts from 'Unverified' senders are grouped together in the same message thread on people's phones, which signals they may be a scam. So your appointment reminder can land in the same thread as scam texts.
How to register a sender ID if you have an ABN
- Update the ABR first. Your authorised contact or service of notice email address on the Australian Business Register must be current. The ACMA doesn't check Relationship Authorisation Manager (RAM) for this register.
- Contact your telco or message provider. Do this with each provider you use to send sender ID messages, and check they're on the ACMA's list of participating telcos and message providers.
- Give them the sender IDs you want. They register them on your behalf. You'll need a valid use case for each one: the ID must match your identity and be clearly linked to your organisation.
- Confirm the application. You'll get an email titled 'SMS Sender ID Register: request to confirm your application'. Open the link and sign in with myID.
- Check the status in ACMA Assist under the Sender ID tab. Complete means it's approved and registered.
The catch: the ABR email and your myID
Two checks decide whether your registration goes through. You need a myID with at least Standard identity strength, and access to an email address recorded on the ABR as an authorised contact or service of notice address. If your ABR email is an old one nobody reads, the confirmation link goes nowhere. Fix the ABR record before you ask your telco to start.
If your myID strength isn't high enough, you'll need to upgrade it by verifying more identity documents in the myID app. The ACMA notes that if you can't get a Standard-strength myID, you may be able to register through a certified telco provider as a non-ABN entity.
Sender ID naming rules
| Rule | What the ACMA requires |
|---|---|
| Length | At least 2 and no more than 11 characters |
| Characters | Letters, numbers and symbols from ASCII codes 32 to 126 |
| Numbers only? | Not allowed |
| Spaces or underscores | Not at the start or end |
| Banned content | The word 'Unverified', anything offensive, deceptive or misleading, or only restricted words |
| Upper or lower case | Not case sensitive: 'ABC' counts as the same as 'abc' |
Which sender IDs you can use
Your sender ID must be clearly linked to your organisation. The ACMA allows:
- Your organisation's name, or a shortened version, like Australia Post becoming AusPost
- An acronym or initialism, like ACMA
- Your name plus extra words about your role, location or the purpose of the message, like ACMA Alerts
If you have an ABN, the sender ID must match your registered business name, company name, trademark or domain name. If you don't have an ABN, it must match your trademark or your name on an official register in the country where your organisation is based. A sender ID can be used by more than one organisation if each one can prove a valid use case.
What the status messages mean
| Status in ACMA Assist | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Awaiting confirmation |
| Registered by (a date) | Approved and scheduled to become active on that date |
| Under review | Being reviewed by the ACMA |
| Complete | Approved and registered |
Who can register
Australian and international businesses and organisations can register. The ACMA's list includes individuals, companies, partnerships, trusts, superannuation funds, government entities and unincorporated associations. International organisations sending texts to Australia have their own guidance on the ACMA site, so branded messages aren't disrupted.
Why it matters for your marketing
The ACMA's point is that a registered sender ID makes it harder for scammers to impersonate you. Once customers know you only text from one registered name, they can treat messages from phone numbers, or anything marked Unverified, with caution. Tell your customers which sender ID you use, in your emails and on your website, so the register works for you.
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My advice
Do the boring step first: log in to the ABR and check the authorised contact email is one you read today. Then ask your SMS provider to register your sender ID and watch your inbox, including spam, for the confirmation email. Once it shows Complete in ACMA Assist, send yourself a test text to check it doesn't arrive as Unverified.
Frequently asked questions
What is the SMS Sender ID Register?
It's the ACMA's register of branded sender IDs. From 1 July 2026, texts sent with an organisation's name at the top of the message need the sender ID to be registered.
What happens if my sender ID isn't registered?
It's replaced with the word 'Unverified', and texts from Unverified senders are grouped together in one message thread on people's phones, which suggests they may be a scam.
How do I register a sender ID in Australia?
Contact each telco or message provider you use, give them the sender IDs you want, then confirm the application through the emailed link using myID. Your ABR contact email must be up to date.
Do I need to register if I send texts from a phone number?
No. You don't need to register if your organisation only sends SMS messages using a phone number and doesn't use a branded sender ID.
How long can a sender ID be?
A sender ID must be at least 2 and no more than 11 characters long, and it can't consist only of numbers.
