Which names you can apply for
| The message you see | The link | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Reserved for a brand or a well known person | Apply for this name | Verify with an email on the brand domain, a code in the official Instagram bio, or a trademark certificate. |
| Short names are reserved | Apply for this name | Our team gives names of 3 characters or fewer to verified brands, established creators and sellers, case by case. |
| Words like official, verified, support, admin, team and care | Get verified | Verified pages can use these words at once. You can also apply for review. |
| Taken, by a page with no activity for 12 months | Request this name | We email the holder. The name is released to you only if they do not come back within 30 days. |
| Freed recently, opens again on a date | Notify me | We email you on the day it opens. The first person to take it gets it. |
Names you cannot apply for
- Names of banks, payment apps, government bodies and names that look like a scam. These protect buyers, so there are no exceptions.
- Offensive names.
- Names we use for our own pages, like login, checkout, pricing, guides and help.
- A name that another active page holds. Ask the holder, or send a trademark request from the grievance page if you own the trademark.
How to apply
- Type the name when you sign up, or under Your link in Settings. If it is reserved, choose the link under the message.
- Log in if you are not logged in yet. The name you typed stays filled in.
- Say who you are: a brand or business, a creator, a seller or a person.
- Add at least one proof: your official website, an email at that website (we email it a code), your Instagram or YouTube handle (we give you a code to put in your bio for a moment), or a trademark certificate.
- Add a short note if it helps, and choose Send application.
Example
Aditi Verma runs aditiverma.in and asks for the short name adv. The application adds the website, confirms aditi@aditiverma.in with the emailed code and puts the bio code on the Instagram bio for a minute. That gives our team three proofs to check.
After you apply
Our team reviews every application by hand, usually within three working days. We email you when we approve it, turn it down with a reason, or need more from you.
- You keep using your current name while your request is open. Nothing on your page changes.
- When we approve it, your page moves to the new name at once and your old link keeps working for 90 days.
- If several people ask for the same name, we compare them side by side and give it to one person. The others get an email.
- You can have up to three open requests at a time. See them, reply to our questions or withdraw one under Your name requests in Settings.