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SIM registration laws around the world

Last updated 14 August 2026

Where you have to prove who you are to get a phone number. Of the 190 countries and territories below, 166 want ID before a SIM will activate and 23 still allow anonymous prepaid.

Biometric registration	Fingerprint, face or voice capture, usually matched against a national identity database.
ID document required	Passport or national ID recorded before activation, but no biometric capture.
No registration required	No statutory duty to identify the buyer; anonymous prepaid is legal.
No data	Unclassifiable rather than unresearched.

All Biometric registration ID document required No registration required

Data table, all 190 countries and territories

Country	Code	Requirement	What applies
Afghanistan	AF	ID document required	ID-card verification, tightened under the Taliban administration.
Albania	AL	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID or passport recorded before activation.
Algeria	DZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID recorded before activation.
Andorra	AD	ID document required	Andorra Telecom is the only operator and identifies the buyer at the point of sale. Its eSIM route asks for a passport photograph and a selfie.
Angola	AO	ID document required	Mandatory registration; identity document recorded by the operator.
Argentina	AR	ID document required	Since 17 March 2025 operators record the DNI number, trámite number and sex, checked against the RENAPER population register.
Armenia	AM	ID document required	Mandatory registration against a national ID document.
Australia	AU	ID document required	Identity check required before activation; driver's licence, passport or Medicare card are the usual documents.
Austria	AT	ID document required	Anonymous prepaid banned from 1 January 2019; unregistered legacy SIMs were blocked after 1 September 2019. Identity must be verified against an official document.
Azerbaijan	AZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration; SIMs are tied to an identity document and to device IMEI.
Bahamas	BS	ID document required	Identity is recorded at the counter on both networks. BTC and Aliv each run their own registration step before the SIM is usable.
Bahrain	BH	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document. A one-line survey entry called this biometric. Nothing corroborates it.
Bangladesh	BD	Biometric registration	Fingerprint verification against the national ID system since 2015. Sale of SIMs to Rohingya refugees has been banned since 2017.
Belarus	BY	ID document required	Mandatory registration; SIMs are tied to identified subscribers.
Belgium	BE	ID document required	Prepaid registration mandatory since 2016; unregistered SIMs were deactivated on 7 June 2017. Numbers are linked to the buyer's national registration number.
Belize	BZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Benin	BJ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Bhutan	BT	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Bolivia	BO	ID document required	Mandatory registration against a national identity document.
Bosnia and Herzegovina	BA	ID document required	A passport or national ID is recorded at the point of sale, reported since around 2021, with a photograph taken in some stores.
Botswana	BW	ID document required	Registration mandatory since 2008; from 1 January 2010 activation has been conditional on registration.
Brazil	BR	ID document required	Registration since 2003, expanded by Anatel Regulation 477/07: name, identity card number and CPF taxpayer number are recorded.
Brunei	BN	ID document required	Mandatory registration, recently tightened with a compulsory re-registration exercise.
Bulgaria	BG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Burkina Faso	BF	ID document required	Registration mandatory since 2008 and recently tightened with a two-SIM cap per subscriber.
Burundi	BI	ID document required	Registration required with a cap of five SIMs per subscriber. No data-protection framework and no specified retention period.
Cabo Verde	CV	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Cambodia	KH	ID document required	Mandatory registration; government ID or passport recorded. An IMEI database was added recently.
Cameroon	CM	ID document required	Mandatory registration. Operators require a 'localisation map' confirming the subscriber's country of residence.
Canada	CA	No registration required	No federal registration requirement. Proposals to introduce one have been rejected.
Central African Republic	CF	ID document required	Registration required since 2014. Buyers without documents may register accompanied by someone holding official ID.
Chad	TD	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Chile	CL	ID document required	Law 21.729, published 13 February 2025, ends anonymous prepaid. Operators keep a five-year register of name, address, ID or passport number, IMEI, MSISDN and IMSI.
China	CN	Biometric registration	Facial recognition for every new number since December 2019, on top of real-name ID registration.
Colombia	CO	ID document required	Every line must be tied to a valid identity document under CRC rules. Prepaid activation is done from the handset with the document type and number.
Comoros	KM	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Costa Rica	CR	ID document required	Mandatory registration; government-issued ID recorded before activation.
Croatia	HR	ID document required	An ID document plus a local address is recorded at A1 and Hrvatski Telekom stores. A hotel address is accepted.
Cuba	CU	ID document required	Mandatory registration on the state operator ETECSA; identity document recorded.
Cyprus	CY	ID document required	Prepaid SIM and eSIM users must be identified under Law 63(I)/2024. Deadline 10 December 2025, extended from 10 November. Unregistered numbers are disconnected.
Czechia	CZ	No registration required	No registration requirement. Proposals to introduce one have been rejected.
Côte d'Ivoire	CI	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
DR Congo	CD	ID document required	Registration since 2012. Accepted documents include passport, licence, voter, student or service card; refugees may register with a UNHCR refugee ID.
Denmark	DK	No registration required	No duty to identify the buyer. The number-information rules let a prepaid subscription be registered as anonymous instead of carrying a name and address. Retsplejeloven 786 h lets the minister impose registration, and the government has proposed ending anonymous prepaid, but that has not been enacted.
Djibouti	DJ	ID document required	Identity document copied at the counter on Djibouti Telecom, the state monopoly.
Dominican Republic	DO	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Ecuador	EC	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID (cédula) or passport recorded.
Egypt	EG	ID document required	ID card copies and numbers recorded since 2014; operators are obliged to keep customer records current.
El Salvador	SV	ID document required	Operators activate a line against the buyer's DUI, the national identity document.
Equatorial Guinea	GQ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Eritrea	ER	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Estonia	EE	No registration required	No registration requirement. The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications has proposed phasing out anonymous prepaid, verified by ID card, Mobile-ID or Smart-ID, but it has not been enacted. Around 150,000 anonymous prepaid SIMs are in use.
Eswatini	SZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Ethiopia	ET	ID document required	Mandatory ID registration.
Falkland Islands	FK	ID document required	Identity checked at the point of sale by Sure South Atlantic, the sole operator.
Fiji	FJ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Finland	FI	No registration required	No registration requirement. Prepaid starter packs are sold anonymously in kiosks and supermarkets.
France	FR	ID document required	All SIM owners must be identified and registered; an identity document is recorded at activation.
French Southern Territories	TF	No data	No permanent civilian population and no consumer mobile market, just research stations and satellite links.
Gabon	GA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Gambia	GM	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Georgia	GE	ID document required	Mandatory registration; driver's licence, passport or other government ID accepted.
Germany	DE	ID document required	Since July 2017 every prepaid SIM has to be linked to a verified identity before it activates. Full name and address, matched against an official ID.
Ghana	GH	Biometric registration	Biometric registration tied to the Ghana Card national ID; a large re-registration exercise deactivated non-compliant SIMs.
Greece	GR	ID document required	Prepaid registration mandatory since 2009; unregistered SIMs were blocked from July 2010.
Greenland	GL	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Guatemala	GT	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Guinea	GN	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Guinea-Bissau	GW	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Guyana	GY	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Haiti	HT	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Honduras	HN	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Hong Kong	HK	ID document required	Real-name registration since 1 March 2022; unregistered prepaid was deactivated after 23 February 2023. HKID number and a copy required, and HKID holders must use it. Capped at 10 prepaid SIMs per operator.
Hungary	HU	ID document required	Mandatory registration; identity document recorded before activation.
Iceland	IS	No registration required	No registration requirement.
India	IN	Biometric registration	Full KYC before activation, enforced by DoT/TRAI, including a live photograph. Aadhaar eKYC dates from 2017; the Supreme Court barred compulsory Aadhaar linkage in 2018.
Indonesia	ID	ID document required	Registration against the KTP national ID and family card number since 2017; unregistered prepaid was progressively blocked from 2018. A 2022 breach exposed roughly 1.3 billion registration records.
Iran	IR	ID document required	Mandatory registration and a device registration regime.
Iraq	IQ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Ireland	IE	No registration required	No registration requirement. A mandatory scheme was debated in 2017 and not adopted. Operators offer voluntary registration only.
Israel	IL	No registration required	No registration requirement. Prepaid SIMs are sold without registration, ID check or activation.
Italy	IT	ID document required	All SIM owners must be identified; photo ID plus a codice fiscale tax code are recorded and a copy of the document is retained.
Jamaica	JM	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Japan	JP	ID document required	Voice SIMs were registered under the Telecommunications Business Act while data-only SIMs could be bought anonymously. On 1 April 2026 the MIC extended identity verification to data-only SIMs and eSIMs.
Jordan	JO	Biometric registration	Fingerprints required from new SIM owners since 2018.
Kazakhstan	KZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration; SIMs are tied to an identity document and to device IMEI.
Kenya	KE	ID document required	Government ID required. Non-compliance has been a criminal offence since 2013, with fines to KES 100,000 and up to six months' imprisonment.
Kosovo	XK	ID document required	Mandatory registration; operators record the subscriber's occupation alongside identity details.
Kuwait	KW	ID document required	Mandatory registration against a civil ID or passport.
Kyrgyzstan	KG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Laos	LA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Latvia	LV	No registration required	No registration requirement yet. On 3 March 2026 the government backed the Interior Ministry's amendments to the Electronic Communications Law requiring prepaid users to be registered from 1 October 2026. Around 400,000 unregistered SIMs are in use.
Lebanon	LB	ID document required	Mandatory ID registration.
Lesotho	LS	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Liberia	LR	ID document required	Mandatory registration. Operators record the subscriber's occupation.
Libya	LY	ID document required	Registration is mandatory on paper.
Liechtenstein	LI	ID document required	Prepaid is carried by Swiss operators, where registration against an identity document has been mandatory since 2003. FL1, the local incumbent, does not sell prepaid.
Lithuania	LT	ID document required	Registration of new prepaid SIMs required from 1 January 2025, under a December 2023 amendment to the Law on Electronic Communications. Name, personal ID number, address and document details recorded.
Luxembourg	LU	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Macao	MO	ID document required	Real-name registration mandatory; identity document recorded.
Madagascar	MG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Malawi	MW	ID document required	Communications Act 2016 requires full name, ID number and residential and business addresses. After the September 2018 deadline, reactivation required a national ID, licence, passport, refugee or asylum-seeker ID, or voter card.
Malaysia	MY	ID document required	Mandatory registration; MyKad national ID or passport recorded.
Maldives	MV	ID document required	Registration required, capped at 10 SIMs per subscriber.
Mali	ML	ID document required	Mandatory registration; operators record the subscriber's occupation.
Malta	MT	ID document required	An ID document is recorded at the point of sale. SL 399.45 provides for mandatory SIM registration but commences on a date the Minister appoints.
Mauritania	MR	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Mauritius	MU	ID document required	Identity document and proof of address required before activation, under ICTA Telecommunication Directive 1 of 2025. Pre-activated SIMs are prohibited.
Mexico	MX	ID document required	Every line must be linked to a CURP and a current official ID under the CRT, since 9 January 2026. Deadlines run 15 August to 31 December 2026 by last digit of the number; lines are suspended 72 hours after their date. Postpaid is exempt.
Moldova	MD	No registration required	No registration requirement. An Interior Ministry bill requiring ID for every SIM purchase, with five-year retention and a twelve-month transition, went to public consultation in February 2026.
Monaco	MC	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Mongolia	MN	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Montenegro	ME	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Morocco	MA	ID document required	Anonymous SIMs banned since 2014, enforced by the ANRT, prepaid included.
Mozambique	MZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Myanmar	MM	Biometric registration	Fingerprint and facial scans, two SIMs per person, and an IMEI database since May 2022 with a device tax. Unregistered SIMs were deactivated on 30 June 2020. No data-protection framework.
Namibia	NA	ID document required	SIM cards must be linked to an official identity document, mandated by CRAN from 1 January 2023. Warrant required for law-enforcement access. MTC, the largest operator, is reported to have kept collecting fingerprints and facial images after the biometric requirement was dropped.
Nepal	NP	ID document required	Mandatory registration; citizenship certificate or passport recorded.
Netherlands	NL	No registration required	No registration requirement. Proposals to introduce one have been rejected.
New Caledonia	NC	ID document required	Photo ID required to buy a SIM from OPT-NC, the monopoly operator, in store or by self-registration.
New Zealand	NZ	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Nicaragua	NI	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Niger	NE	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Nigeria	NG	Biometric registration	Registration against the biometric National Identity Number, including a facial biometric map held in a central government database. Three-year retention, warrant required for access.
North Korea	KP	ID document required	Subscribers are identified on a single state-run network. No data-protection law.
North Macedonia	MK	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Northern Cyprus	CYN	ID document required	Operators require identity documents. The documented mandate is device registration: MCKS, under Electronic Communications Law 6/2012, registers IMEIs and cuts off unregistered handsets.
Norway	NO	ID document required	Identity must be verified before a prepaid SIM is activated, strengthened from 1 January 2025. BankID or an equivalent electronic ID, or an original passport, national ID card or Norwegian driving licence.
Oman	OM	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document. One list calls Oman biometric. No regulator or operator page backs that up.
Pakistan	PK	Biometric registration	Biometric verification against the NADRA database since 2016, usually a fingerprint; failure means deactivation. IMEI database in force, one-year retention, warrant required.
Palestine	PS	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Panama	PA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Papua New Guinea	PG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Paraguay	PY	ID document required	Mandatory registration. A bill requiring fingerprints to activate a line was vetoed by the president in 2017, so registration stays document-based.
Peru	PE	Biometric registration	Biometric registration in force; fingerprint verification at point of sale.
Philippines	PH	Biometric registration	RA 11934, signed 10 October 2022, requires every SIM to be registered with a photo government ID before it will connect: prepaid, postpaid, broadband, pocket Wi-Fi. In practice a live selfie is matched against the ID.
Poland	PL	ID document required	The 2016 counter-terrorism law banned anonymous prepaid SIMs; existing users had until February 2017 to register.
Portugal	PT	No registration required	No registration requirement. Prepaid has been anonymous by design, with operators keeping communications records for a year. In May 2026 the government moved to require identification of prepaid users, following ANACOM recommendations, as part of a telephone-fraud package.
Puerto Rico	PR	No registration required	US territory, so no federal registration requirement applies.
Qatar	QA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against a QID or passport.
Republic of the Congo	CG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Romania	RO	No registration required	No registration requirement. The Constitutional Court struck mandatory registration down in September 2014 and again in February 2020, the second time unanimously.
Russia	RU	Biometric registration	Citizens register with a passport via Gosuslugi, capped at 20 numbers. Foreign nationals have needed face and voice enrolment in the Unified Biometric System since 1 January 2025, are bound to one handset IMEI, and are capped at 10 numbers.
Rwanda	RW	ID document required	Mandatory registration against a national ID.
San Marino	SM	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Saudi Arabia	SA	Biometric registration	National ID or iqama, with fingerprint verification at the operator counter. Expatriates capped at two SIMs per iqama.
Senegal	SN	ID document required	Registration required since 2006.
Serbia	RS	ID document required	Registration required under the Law on Electronic Communications, covering eSIM as well as physical SIM. First and last name and an identification number recorded.
Seychelles	SC	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Sierra Leone	SL	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Singapore	SG	ID document required	NRIC, passport or work pass recorded before activation, under IMDA rules. Capped at three prepaid SIMs per subscriber across all operators.
Slovakia	SK	ID document required	Mandatory registration; driver's licence, passport or other valid government ID accepted.
Slovenia	SI	No registration required	No registration requirement. The Information Commissioner states that Slovenian legislation does not require users to be identified or their personal data collected when buying a prepaid SIM.
Solomon Islands	SB	ID document required	Registration required under the Telecommunications (Subscriber Registration) Directives 2023. Providers record name, date of birth, address and a copy of a valid identification document in a national subscriber registry, and keep it for five years.
Somalia	SO	ID document required	Registration is mandatory on paper.
Somaliland	SOL	ID document required	A passport or approved identity document is required in practice by Telesom and Somtel, which carry almost the whole market.
South Africa	ZA	ID document required	RICA, in force since 2002: name, address and ID number for citizens, passport number for non-citizens, plus proof of residence.
South Korea	KR	ID document required	Real-name registration mandatory; national ID or passport recorded.
South Sudan	SS	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Spain	ES	ID document required	All SIM owners must be identified and registered; DNI, NIE or passport is recorded at purchase.
Sri Lanka	LK	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID or passport recorded.
Sudan	SD	ID document required	Registration mandatory since 2008; operators record the subscriber's mother's name as a verification field. Enforcement is disrupted by the conflict.
Suriname	SR	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Sweden	SE	ID document required	Registration required since 1 August 2022. The provider must record name, postal address and personal identity number and verify identity against an ID document or electronic ID before the service can be used. If the card is later used by someone other than the registered subscriber, service must stop.
Switzerland	CH	ID document required	Prepaid registration mandatory since 2003. Passport or national ID recorded at purchase.
Syria	SY	ID document required	Registration is mandatory on paper.
Taiwan	TW	ID document required	Real-name registration mandatory; national ID or passport recorded.
Tajikistan	TJ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document, with per-subscriber SIM caps and a mandatory IMEI database.
Tanzania	TZ	Biometric registration	The buyer's thumbprint is taken at the operator and checked against the NIDA identity database. A SIM that cannot be matched is deactivated. Enforced from January 2020.
Thailand	TH	Biometric registration	Registration against an identity document since 2014. The NBTC extended fingerprint or facial biometrics to prepaid from 15 December 2024, with liveness detection required of operators by 18 August 2025.
Timor-Leste	TL	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Togo	TG	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Trinidad and Tobago	TT	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Tunisia	TN	ID document required	Since 2014 operators record identity, date of birth, postal address and the CIN national identity number.
Turkmenistan	TM	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Türkiye	TR	ID document required	Registration against a national ID (or passport for foreigners) before activation, plus a separate device-registration regime run through the e-Devlet portal.
Uganda	UG	Biometric registration	Fingerprint registration matched to the National ID card, which since 2015 is the only accepted document. Ten SIMs per national ID, daily fines around UGX 100,000 and up to 12 months' imprisonment.
Ukraine	UA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
United Arab Emirates	AE	ID document required	Emirates ID recorded at the point of sale, through the TDRA. Cap on SIMs per person.
United Kingdom	GB	No registration required	No registration requirement. Repeated proposals have not been enacted.
United States	US	No registration required	No federal registration requirement, and no state-level mandate at retail.
Uruguay	UY	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID or passport recorded.
Uzbekistan	UZ	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Vanuatu	VU	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Venezuela	VE	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Vietnam	VN	ID document required	Mandatory registration against the national ID, enforced by large deactivation campaigns of numbers whose subscriber data does not match the national population database.
Western Sahara	EH	ID document required	Moroccan rules apply: anonymous SIMs banned by the ANRT since 2014. The three Moroccan networks operate here on the same terms.
Yemen	YE	ID document required	Registration is mandatory on paper.
Zambia	ZM	ID document required	Mandatory registration. Passport, national registration card, licence or voter card; foreigners use a passport or work permit.
Zimbabwe	ZW	ID document required	National ID or passport plus name, address, nationality and gender, held by POTRAZ in a Central Subscriber Information Database for five years after the contract ends. Over a million unregistered SIMs were disconnected in 2015.

Method

Each country is rated by the strictest rule that applies when you walk into a shop and buy a SIM. Enforcement is not rated. Compiled from Privacy International, the GSMA, Cullen International, national statutes, operator pages and customer reports. Not legal advice; check the national regulator before relying on any entry. Corrections to support@simsup.com.

Changelog

14 August 2026 First published. 190 countries and territories.