SMS Brandname

SMS Brandname is an SMS that shows a brand name in the sender line instead of a phone number, for example “SHOPABC” rather than a string of digits. Vietnamese law calls this name a sender identifier (tên định danh), and promotional text messages may only be sent once one has been issued.

What is SMS Brandname?

Under Decree 91/2020/ND-CP on combating spam messages, spam emails and spam calls (Decree 91/2020/ND-CP, Vietnam Government Portal, August 2020):

• A sender identifier is at most 11 consecutive characters: Latin letters, digits, (-), (_), (.) and spaces. It cannot consist of digits only (Article 23).
• There is no limit on how many names you can register. Each name is unique, first come first served, valid for 3 years and renewable for 3 years at a time (Articles 23 and 28).
• Phone numbers may not be used to send promotional messages (Article 13.8).

Brands also use their sender name for OTPs and order confirmations. The advertising rules below apply to messages that introduce products or services (Article 3.1).

Where do you register an SMS Brandname?

Decree 91 names the Ministry of Information and Communications as the issuing body. From March 1, 2025, the Ministry of Public Security took over state management of network information security under Decree 02/2025/ND-CP (VnEconomy, February 2025). The Ministry of Public Security has confirmed that its Department of Cybersecurity and High-Tech Crime Prevention now issues sender identifier certificates under Decree 91, with applications filed through the ministry’s online public service portal (Ministry of Public Security portal, April 2026). On September 15, 2026, the department was renamed the Department of Cybersecurity (Nhan Dan, September 2026).

A company’s application includes a certified copy of its business registration certificate, the declaration in Form 01 and any trademark documents (Article 24). The ministry’s guidance asks applicants to name the products to be advertised and attach stamped product descriptions. Applications are reviewed within 1 working day (Article 26).

Rules for promotional SMS in Vietnam

• Recipients must opt in first: by replying to a single first registration message, filling in a form, calling or texting a hotline, or using registration software (Article 11).
• If a person declines or does not reply to that first message, stop completely. Never message numbers on the Do Not Call list (Article 13).
• No more than 3 promotional messages to one number within 24 hours, sent only between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m., unless otherwise agreed with the recipient (Article 13).
• Start the message with a [QC] or [AD] label (Article 15). End it with opt-out instructions that work by text and by phone (Article 16).
• Keep opt-in and opt-out records for at least 1 year (Article 11).

Phone numbers are personal data. A customer who left a number to get a quote has not agreed to promotional SMS (see Vietnam’s Personal Data Protection Law and marketing).

Example (hypothetical): a shop has 20,000 numbers in its CRM, and 6,000 customers have opted in to promotional SMS. Assume a price of VND 800 per message. Sending a flash sale to exactly those 6,000 people costs 6,000 x 800 = VND 4,800,000. Messaging the other 14,000 numbers would count as spam (Article 3.3).

SMS Brandname vs ZNS

ZNS details come from Zalo Business Solutions (template rules, October 2026; sending hours, October 2026; pricing, October 2026). Choosing the channel for each customer can be handled by marketing automation.

FAQ

Can a sender identifier use Vietnamese diacritics?

No. Only Latin letters are allowed, and names must avoid confusion caused by Vietnamese words that read differently without diacritics (Article 23.4).

Can I send SMS Brandname messages to a purchased list?

You shouldn’t. Advertisers must be able to verify each recipient’s clear prior consent (Article 11.4), and purchased lists almost never come with that proof.

If you need SMS Brandname, ZNS and email set up around each customer’s consent, contact Adtek.