How to get an SMS sender ID in Kenya

Satas Communications, Nairobi. Updated 30 October 2026.

A sender ID is the name your SMS comes from. Instead of a number, customers see your business name at the top of the message. It tells them who is writing before they open the message, and makes it harder for fraudsters to pretend to be you.

In Kenya each mobile network approves sender IDs separately, so a name approved on Safaricom must also be registered with Airtel and Telkom if you want it to show there.

Rules for the name

• Up to 11 characters.
• Letters, numbers and spaces only. No symbols or punctuation.
• It should clearly belong to your business: your company name, brand or an obvious short form.
• It cannot copy another company's brand, a bank, a government body or a generic word that could mislead customers.

If your business name is longer than 11 characters, use a short form people will recognise, for example SATAS instead of SATAS COMMUNICATIONS.

Documents you need

The networks check that the business asking for a name is the business it belongs to. Have these ready as clear scans or photos:

• The national ID or passport of the person applying.
• Your certificate of incorporation or business registration certificate.
• Your company's KRA PIN certificate.
• If the name differs from your registered business name, something showing the brand is yours, such as a trademark or a letter on your letterhead.

What it costs

With Satas, registration is KES 6,500 per network, paid once. There is no monthly fee for keeping the name. Safaricom alone is KES 6,500; Safaricom, Airtel and Telkom together are KES 19,500.

Step by step

1. Open an account on Satas SMS Pro and go to Sender IDs.
2. Enter the name you want and choose the networks.
3. Fill in your details and upload the documents.
4. Pay the fee with M-Pesa.
5. We check the request within 1 to 3 business days and submit it to each network.
6. You get an email when each network approves or rejects the name. Once approved, choose it as the sender when you send.

Network approval times vary. While you wait, you can send messages from a shared number so your campaigns are not held up.

Why requests are rejected

• The name does not match the business documents, with nothing to show the brand is yours.
• The name looks like another company's brand or a bank.
• Documents are unreadable, expired or belong to someone else.
• The name is a generic word such as SALE or INFO.

If a name is rejected you get the reason, and you can apply again with a different name or extra documents.

After approval

Use the name only for your own business. Promotional messages must go out between 8 am and 6 pm and give customers a way to opt out. Repeated complaints can lead a network to suspend a sender ID. See bulk SMS prices in Kenya for what each message costs.

Common questions