DLT Header Registration on Jio, Airtel, Vi and BSNL: Step by Step
You don't register your SMS header four times. Register your business once on any one operator's DLT portal, then register headers and templates against that Entity ID. Here is the process and the rules headers must follow.
To register an SMS header in India, first register your business as a Principal Entity on the DLT portal of any one telecom operator: Jio, Airtel, Vi or BSNL. Then register your header (sender ID) and your message templates against the Entity ID you receive. You only need to register the entity once. Vi and BSNL both state that a Principal Entity registers with one access provider and gets an Entity ID that is unique across all operators in India. Headers are six characters long: six digits for promotional messages, and six letters for transactional and service messages.
This guide covers the operator portals, each registration step, the rules your header name must follow, and the mistakes that cause headers or templates to be rejected. For background on why DLT exists and how message categories work, see our DLT registration guide.
Where to register: the operator DLT portals
Every operator runs its own DLT platform under TRAI's Telecom Commercial Communications Customer Preference Regulations (TCCCPR). The process is the same framework on each one, so choose whichever portal you find easiest to use. You don't need an account on all four.
| Operator | DLT portal | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Jio | trueconnect.jio.com (TrueConnect) | Jio's DLT platform for entities, headers and templates |
| Airtel | airtel.in/business/commercial-communication | Airtel's commercial communication platform (dlt.airtel.in redirects here) |
| Vi (Vodafone Idea) | vilpower.in (VILPOWER) | Publishes FAQs and user manuals; support Mon–Fri, 10 AM–6 PM |
| BSNL | ucc-bsnl.co.in | Publishes FAQs, user manuals and circle-wise support contacts |
Step-by-step: from entity to working header
Step 1: Register your business as a Principal Entity
Sign up on the portal as a Principal Entity (sometimes shown as Enterprise) and submit your business details. The Vi and BSNL FAQs list the documents: a valid business PAN, the authorised person's mobile number and email address, and proof of the business. Government bodies also need a Letter of Intent or agreement issued by the central or state government, and SEBI-registered entities need their SEBI registration certificate. Both FAQs also mention proof of identity of the authorised person and a Letter of Authorisation addressed to the telemarketer, which is the provider that will send messages on your behalf.
Vi and BSNL both list the Principal Entity registration fee as ₹5,000, one-time and non-refundable, payable online or by NEFT. They also say verification takes about 72 hours from payment, and that the account is deleted if you don't answer the registrar's queries or send the requested documents within 15 working days. Check the Jio and Airtel portals for their current fees before you sign up.
Step 2: Choose and register your header
Once your Entity ID is active, register one or more headers. TRAI's regulations allow headers of up to 11 alphanumeric characters, but the Vi and BSNL platforms issue six-character headers in two formats:
- Promotional: six digits, for example 565690. Promotional headers carry marketing content and are subject to customers' preferences and consent.
- Transactional and service (implicit or explicit): six letters, for example a short form of your brand name. Use these for OTPs, alerts, confirmations and other non-promotional messages.
Step 3: Register content templates against the header
A header on its own doesn't let you send anything. Every message must match a registered content template. On the portal you choose the template type (promotional, transactional or service), select the content category and the registered header, then enter the fixed text and mark the variable parts with the portal's Insert Variable option. Most portals show these as {#var#}. Once a template is registered, only the variable parts can change, so any change to the fixed wording needs a new template.
Vi's FAQ states that content templates must contain your brand name (your complete business name, brand name or trademark) and may be rejected without it. Templates can be in any language that supports Unicode, while consent templates are English only. One content template can be used with several headers.
Step 4: Whitelist links and call-back numbers
Since 1 October 2024, under TRAI's directions, every URL, APK link, OTT link and call-back number used in a commercial SMS must be whitelisted on the DLT platform before you send. Operators block messages containing links that aren't whitelisted. Register these call-to-action items on the portal before you go live, and again whenever you add a new link or number to a template.
Step 5: Link your SMS provider
Your SMS provider sends messages on your behalf using your registered headers and templates. The Letter of Authorisation from Step 1 is part of this. Once the header and templates are approved, give your provider your Entity ID, header and template IDs so it can map each message to the right template.
Header naming rules: what gets rejected
Header validation is quick. Vi and BSNL both say headers and templates are verified within about 60 minutes, but only if the header follows these rules from their FAQs:
- Exactly six characters: digits for promotional headers, letters for transactional and service headers.
- No special characters such as @, $, %, & and no spaces.
- Related to your business. The header should be connected to your entity's business category.
- Not on the restricted list, which includes celebrity and politician names, trademarks or registered brands that aren't yours, obscene words, and government- or SEBI-related names unless you are that body.
- Unique and not transferable. A header belongs to the entity that registered it. You can surrender it, but you can't hand it to another business.
After registration: what recipients see, and how headers lapse
Since TRAI's 2025 amendment to the TCCCPR, the header recipients see ends in a suffix showing the type of message: -P for promotional, -S for service, -T for transactional and -G for government. So customers can tell an OTP or alert from an advert before they open the message.
There is no limit on the number of headers an entity can register, and BSNL describes newly registered headers as having lifetime validity. However, both Vi and BSNL say a header that has been inactive for more than 90 days is returned to the header pool. If you register a header for a seasonal campaign, expect to register it again if it goes unused.
Common mistakes that delay going live
- Registering a promotional header and then trying to send OTPs from it. OTPs and alerts need a transactional or service header and matching templates.
- Leaving the brand name out of templates.
- Adding a new link to a live template without whitelisting it first, which gets the messages blocked.
- Editing the fixed text of a template in your code without registering a new template, so messages stop matching what's on the DLT record.
- Missing the registrar's queries during entity verification and losing the account after 15 working days.
Need help with DLT?
Messagify's SMS gateway onboarding includes DLT guidance: choosing header types, drafting templates that match how you actually send, and mapping template IDs in your integration. If you are setting up OTPs or alerts for a bank, NBFC or fintech, our banking and finance page shows how SMS and WhatsApp work together. Talk to our team before you register, and we'll help you get the header and template structure right the first time.
Authoritative sources
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Vi and BSNL state that a Principal Entity registers once with any one access provider and receives an Entity ID that is unique across all operators. Headers and templates are registered against that entity.
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