Your Sender ID is the first thing a recipient sees when your SMS arrives- a 6-character alphabetic header shown in the "From" field, like AMAZON or ICICIB. Here's how to register one correctly on India's DLT platform.
DLT-aware onboarding · 10,000+ Indian Businesses · Noida, India
6-char
Alphabetic Header Format
3
Header Categories
1-3 days
Typical Approval Time
2-4
Headers Most Businesses Register
Trusted by 10,000+ businesses across India
A Sender ID- referred to as a "Header" on DLT platforms- is the 6-character alphabetic label that appears as the sender name on a commercial SMS. Unlike personal messages that show a phone number, regulated commercial SMS in India shows a brand name instead. This 6-character constraint is a TRAI design decision- long enough to convey brand identity, short enough to display without truncation on any phone screen.
AMAZON
Order & delivery alerts
ICICIB
ICICI Bank alerts
HDFCBK
HDFC Bank communications
GETCLK
Get Click Media campaigns
Headers are not just identifiers- they are categorised by the type of communication they carry, and that category decides who can receive them and when.
| Category | Reaches DND Numbers? | Time Restrictions | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transactional | Yes- all numbers | None | OTPs, payment confirmations, order and booking updates |
| Promotional | No- blocked on DND numbers | 9 AM - 9 PM only | Marketing messages and offers |
| Service (Implicit) | Yes- all numbers | None | Appointment reminders, account updates, usage alerts |
Transactional
Promotional
Service (Implicit)
Map your message types to categories first- most businesses need at least a transactional and a promotional header. Avoid registering a header for every campaign; headers represent your brand, not individual sends.
Sender IDs are unique across the entire DLT platform- no two businesses can hold the same header. Search for your preferred name before you submit so you are not caught out by a rejection.
Your Principal Entity registration should already be complete and approved- header registration happens under that entity, so incomplete or mismatched entity documentation will hold things up.
Log in to your DLT platform (Airtel DLT, Vilpower, JioTrueConnect, or similar), enter your 6-character alphabetic header name, select its category, and add a brief description of how it will be used.
Header approval typically takes 1-3 business days. You'll receive a notification when the status changes- approved, rejected, or pending further information.
Once approved, send only the kind of content the header's category permits- Transactional and Service headers reach all numbers, Promotional headers are DND-blocked and time-restricted to 9 AM-9 PM.
Get Click Media helps you map message types to the correct category before you submit, so approval isn't held up by a mismatch.
Most rejections trace back to a small set of avoidable issues- checking for these before you submit saves a resubmission cycle.
Sender IDs are unique across the entire DLT platform. If another entity already holds the header you requested, your application is rejected outright- check availability before you submit.
Commercial bulk SMS headers must be 6-character alphabetic strings. A numeric or alphanumeric header submitted for commercial use does not meet the format and gets rejected.
Registering a header under one category (say, Service) while intending to send a different kind of content through it (say, promotional offers) is flagged during review or causes delivery issues later.
Headers like ALERTS or OFFERS are generic, unlikely to be available, and do not build brand recognition even when approved- reviewers and DLT platforms favour names that clearly represent a specific entity.
Get Click Media guides Sender ID naming, category selection, and availability checking as part of onboarding for 10,000+ Indian businesses- so your headers are registered correctly the first time and coordinated with your SMS platform from day one.
Sender ID registration guidance is part of onboarding- naming conventions, submission steps, and what reviewers look for.
We help you map each header to the correct category- Transactional, Promotional, or Service- based on what you'll actually send through it.
Before you submit, we help you check whether your preferred header name is already taken on the DLT platform, so you avoid an easy rejection.
As you add new message types or product lines, we help you decide whether a new header is warranted or an existing one covers it.
Get Click Media helps you choose the right category, check name availability, and coordinate registration with your SMS platform.
Big or small, we power communication for all- talk to us today.
A Sender ID (also called a Header) is the 6-character alphabetic name that appears in the 'From' field of a commercial SMS. For example, AMAZON, ICICIB, HDFCBK. It identifies your brand to the recipient before they even open the message.
No. Sender IDs are unique on the DLT platform. If the header you want is already registered by another entity, you will need to choose an alternative. This is why registering your preferred headers early matters.
There is no fixed limit on the number of headers a Principal Entity can register. Most businesses register 2-4 headers- one for transactional messages, one for promotional, and optionally brand-specific ones for different product lines.
No. Under TRAI's DLT framework, all commercial SMS headers must be 6-character alphabetic strings. Numeric Sender IDs are used only for P2P (person-to-person) messaging, not commercial bulk SMS.
Messages sent from unregistered or non-DLT-compliant Sender IDs are blocked by the telecom operators at the network level and never reach recipients.
Match the category to what the header will actually send. OTPs, payment confirmations, and order updates belong under Transactional so they reach DND-registered numbers too. Marketing and offers belong under Promotional, which is DND-blocked and time-restricted. Appointment reminders and account updates for existing customers typically fit Service (Implicit). Registering a header under one category and then sending a different kind of content through it is a common cause of delivery issues.
You register separate headers per category- for example, a transactional header and a differently-purposed promotional header for the same brand- rather than one header serving multiple categories at once. Each header is registered against a specific category on the DLT platform. See our full Sender ID registration guide.
Get Click Media guides you through header naming, category selection, and availability checking, and coordinates with your DLT platform for submission- but this is not a substitute for reviewing TRAI's DLT requirements as applicable to your entity. Talk to our team.
Get Click Media guides your DLT Sender ID registration- naming, category selection, and availability checking- alongside your bulk SMS setup.
