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SIM registration laws around the world

Last updated 9 November 2026

Where you have to prove who you are to get a phone number. Of the 190 countries and territories below, 162 want ID before a SIM will activate and 27 ask for no document.

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	The Prepaid Mobile Identity Checks Determination 2017 requires identity verification before activation: a government document checked online, an existing account or payment card, or since December 2025 an accredited Digital ID.
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	Biometric registration	ID card or passport plus a fingerprint scan at an operator outlet, under the TRA SIM registration regulation in force since 12 July 2017. Prepaid capped at 10 lines per operator.
Bangladesh	BD	Biometric registration	Fingerprint verification against the national ID system since 2015, capped at 10 SIMs per national ID since 2025. 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	Original ID document plus the personal identification number (NPI), verified in real time with ANIP, under Decree 2020-249 of 22 April 2020. Foreign visitors register in person with a travel document. Lines not updated by 30 March 2025 were deactivated from 30 April 2025.
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 are recorded. Anatel adopted facial biometrics with liveness on 28 October 2026 (technical norm GT-SEG.2026.11): required for new prepaid lines from 30 September 2027 and for all existing lines by 31 December 2028.
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. A decree adopted 18 October 2023 cut the cap from five to two SIMs per subscriber per operator; compliance deadline 16 May 2024.
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	National ID card required under a prime ministerial decree of 3 September 2015, with a cap of three SIMs per person per network. Street sales banned.
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. Under Subtel's technical norm (Exempt Resolution 1.383), registration has applied since 20 August 2026: name, address, ID or passport number, IMEI, MSISDN and IMSI, kept five years. Existing lines must register within 10 days of being asked or lose top-ups.
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	CRC Resolution 7684 of 2025 requires operators to collect and verify the buyer's identity document in real time before a prepaid line is activated.
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, added in 2022 so that anonymous prepaid could be ended, lets the minister require registration and verification, but no rules have been issued. A motion to force it (B 94) was rejected on 27 May 2025.
Djibouti	DJ	ID document required	Identity document copied at the counter on Djibouti Telecom, the state monopoly.
Dominican Republic	DO	ID document required	INDOTEL Resolution 064-2025 requires a cedula, passport or ID card for every prepaid line; unvalidated lines are suspended, then cancelled.
Ecuador	EC	ID document required	Mandatory registration; national ID (cédula) or passport recorded.
Egypt	EG	ID document required	National ID or passport recorded at activation. Since August 2026 operator apps offer face matching against the national ID photo to buy a line; the NTRA calls it optional for now and plans to make it compulsory. Corporate lines were suspended pending re-verification, and all four operators were referred to prosecutors over lines registered without their owners' knowledge.
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 Interior Ministry dropped its plan to end anonymous prepaid in December 2023. Communications data bill 1007 SE, before the Riigikogu since September 2026, keeps anonymous prepaid and adds only retention of activation and top-up data.
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	No registration required	No identity document is required. Operators must register and keep the buyer's civil identity for five years, but nothing in force obliges them to verify it, and prepaid lines are sold on the details the buyer supplies. A June 2025 law adds a verification duty; it waits on its decree.
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	Ghana Card required. The 2021-2023 re-registration captured biometrics and deactivated SIMs that did not complete it. A replacement for LI 2006 with real-time biometric verification against the NIA database is pending.
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	Biometric registration	Since 2026, citizens register new numbers with their NIK plus a live face scan matched against the population registry; the NIK and family-card route closed in mid-2026. Capped at three prepaid numbers per identity per operator. 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	No registration required	Voice SIMs require identity verification under the 2005 Mobile Phone Improper Use Prevention Act; data-only SIMs can be bought anonymously. An amendment promulgated on 29 May 2026 extends verification to data-only SIMs from a date to be set by cabinet order, no later than May 2027.
Jordan	JO	Biometric registration	Every new mobile line is registered through the operator's e-KYC system, which scans the ID or passport and captures a face biometric (TRC instructions of February 2024; prepaid since August 2024, postpaid since August 2025). Up to 30 lines per operator for Jordanians, 3 for foreigners.
Kazakhstan	KZ	Biometric registration	Since January 2026 a mobile contract is concluded only after biometric identification, a live face image matched against the state database, at an operator office or in its app; this covers foreigners too. Capped at 10 numbers per person unless the need is documented.
Kenya	KE	ID document required	Original national ID, passport or foreign national certificate, authenticated against government databases, under the Registration of Telecommunications Service Subscribers Regulations 2025 (Legal Notice 90, 30 May 2025), which replaced the 2015 rules. Proxy registration and false details are offences; existing subscribers had six months to comply.
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 a passport. Under rules in force since March 2024, SIMs sold from 1 April 2024 get limited service until registered to the buyer's passport in the operator's app or at an office.
Laos	LA	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Latvia	LV	No registration required	No registration requirement yet. On 29 October 2026 the Saeima adopted amendments to the Electronic Communications Law requiring prepaid users to be registered from 1 September 2027. 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	Biometric registration	Since 26 February 2026, an MCMC Mandatory Standard requires biometric verification for prepaid SIMs: a MyKad fingerprint read at the counter or MyDigital ID face verification online for citizens, passport facial recognition for foreigners. Capped at five prepaid SIMs per operator for citizens and residents, two for non-citizens.
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	No registration required	No registration duty in force. SL 399.45 makes registration voluntary, with the subscriber's consent; the mandatory duty applies only from a date the Minister appoints, and none has been set. Operators ask for an ID document at the point of sale anyway.
Mauritania	MR	Biometric registration	SIMs sold only at operator outlets after biometric identification of the buyer with an ID document, under regulator decision No. 0038 of 6 April 2023 and Law 2024-011 on subscriber identification. ARE put all three operators on formal notice for non-compliance in January 2026.
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 prepaid line must be linked to a CURP and a current official ID under CRT guidelines published 9 December 2025 and live 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 lines count as already linked.
Moldova	MD	No registration required	No registration requirement yet. Parliament adopted amendments to the Electronic Communications Law on 17 September 2026: from 1 March 2027 new prepaid SIMs activate only after the user is identified (name and IDNP for citizens, a home-country identity document for foreigners). Cards already in use must be identified by 31 August 2027.
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	Operators must record each subscriber's name, national ID (CNI) number and subscription date, prepaid included. Under an ANRT decision announced in 2023, lines still unidentified after a three-month deadline are cut off.
Mozambique	MZ	Biometric registration	Fingerprints and a facial image captured at registration with a valid ID document, under Decree 13/2023 of 11 April 2023. Each subscriber gets a cross-operator NUTEL number from INCM. Existing subscribers had to re-register from January 2024.
Myanmar	MM	ID document required	Registration against the National Registration Card (passport for foreigners), at most two SIMs per ID. A 2022 to 2023 re-registration required photos of the card, with prison terms for unregistered or fraudulent use. Unregistered SIMs were deactivated on 30 June 2020. Since March 2026 a CEIR register links each handset IMEI to its SIM and the owner's ID, and unlisted phones are cut off after 30 days unless tax is paid. 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	NIN mandatory for every activation under the Registration of Communications Subscribers Regulations 2022; the buyer's face or fingerprints are captured and verified against the NIMC database. Business rules last amended July 2025.
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	Fingerprint verification against NADRA records has been required for every new SIM since 1 August 2014, and about 103 million existing prepaid SIMs were re-verified in early 2015. Since July 2026 biometrics also gate duplicate SIMs, ownership transfers and number porting. IMEI database (DIRBS) in force.
Palestine	PS	ID document required	Mandatory registration.
Panama	PA	Biometric registration	ASEP Resolution 18397-Telco (26 April 2023, under Law 51 of 2009) requires a photo of the cédula or passport and a face photo checked by a biometric liveness engine before a prepaid line is activated.
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. Government bill PPL 88/XVII, before Parliament since June 2026 and not yet voted, would make activation of physical prepaid SIMs conditional on verified identification, following ANACOM recommendations, as part of an anti-spoofing 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	Biometric registration	National ID, in person, with a live fingerprint or face matched against NIDA and a live photo taken, under RURA Regulation 18/2024. Three SIMs per citizen per network.
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. Since 6 July 2026 every new line, in store or online, needs an extra check: PASS-app face recognition, a mobile ID, or a same-day resident registration abstract.
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 2004. New buyers must show a passport, national ID or foreigner's permit from 1 August 2004; cards activated since 1 November 2002 had to be registered by 31 October 2004 or were switched off.
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	Decree 2024-071 of 26 December 2024 (gazetted 23 April 2025): in-person registration with an original ID, a photo taken by the operator and checked against the ID, and the ANID unique ID number (NIU) for residents. Five SIMs per operator for residents, two for non-residents; pre-activated SIMs banned; data kept five years.
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	National ID (passport for foreigners) verified before activation. BTK rules in force since 25 June 2026 accept a chip ID, face or fingerprint biometrics or an e-Devlet password, cap lines per person, recheck every subscriber against the identity system every three months and close lines that fail after 90 days. Foreigners without a Turkish e-ID verify by live face match in the migration authority's app. Separate IMEI device registration through e-Devlet.
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	No registration required	No registration requirement. Prepaid SIMs are sold anonymously. Passport-registration bills have been proposed repeatedly, most recently in 2025 over Russian drones using Ukrainian SIMs, but none has been enacted.
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	Decree 274/2014 requires name, national ID or passport, and address to be recorded for every prepaid line.
Uzbekistan	UZ	ID document required	Contracts are concluded in person with an ID document, through a representative, or remotely by Face-ID, under telecom service rules in force since 28 April 2026. Foreigners register with a passport; tourists can sign up at airports and stations under a simplified procedure, at most three numbers per passport.
Vanuatu	VU	No registration required	No registration requirement.
Venezuela	VE	ID document required	Mandatory registration against an identity document.
Vietnam	VN	Biometric registration	Since 15 April 2026 every new subscription needs a live facial biometric check matched against the national population database; since 15 June 2026 a SIM moved to a new phone must repeat it. Enforced by large deactivation campaigns of numbers whose data does not match.
Western Sahara	EH	ID document required	Moroccan rules apply: the ANRT requires every line, prepaid included, to be tied to the subscriber's identity. 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

9 November 2026 Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Kazakhstan now require a face or fingerprint check for new SIMs. Chile's prepaid registration took effect in August. Other entries corrected.
26 August 2026 France moved to no registration required, on a reader's report. Identity is recorded, no document is checked.
14 August 2026 First published. 190 countries and territories.