DMR ID: how to get and register one (RadioID and DMRhub)

You bought a digital radio, flashed it — but it won't transmit, or it transmits and somehow gets nowhere. Most likely it has no DMR ID set. This is your digital callsign: without it, the network simply doesn't know who is talking. Let's break it down in plain terms — why you need it, how to get a worldwide ID on RadioID.net, how to read its format, and how it differs from an internal ID on the private DMRhub network.

What a DMR ID is and why it's unique

In digital radio your voice doesn't go on the air "as is" — it travels as data packets, and each packet has the sender's number "baked in": the DMR ID. It's a number the network uses to know who is on the air right now, and it shows this to everyone in the Last Heard list. The same number powers private calls: you don't call a "frequency", you call a specific person's specific ID.

That's why an ID must be unique across the entire network. If two operators went on the air under the same number, the system would mix up where to route a private call or SMS, and Last Heard would show a "twin". To prevent exactly that, worldwide IDs are issued centrally — one per operator.

RadioID.net — the worldwide registry

The global DMR ID database that BrandMeister, DMR-MARC, and most amateur networks rely on lives at radioid.net. Registration there is free, but there's a strict condition: you need a confirmed amateur radio callsign. The registry is for amateurs — IDs are only issued to people with a valid license/callsign, and that's verified when you apply.

How to apply

1. Prepare a scan/photo of an official document that clearly shows your callsign (for the licensing authority in your country — the regulator's license). This is the only way for the registry to confirm the callsign is really yours.
2. Go to radioid.net → Log In / Sign Up and create an account.
3. Open the ID registration form, enter your callsign and personal details, and attach the document file.
4. Submit the application and wait for the email. Moderation is manual — usually from a few hours to a couple of business days.

Once approved, the number arrives by e-mail and appears in the public database. After that, all that's left is to enter it into the radio (see the codeplug section).

Format: country prefix + number

A DMR ID isn't a random number. The first digits are the country code (per the MCC scheme, ITU-T E.212), and the rest is the operator's sequential number. A personal (subscriber) ID is 7 digits; repeaters use 6 digits. From the first digit you can roughly tell the region of the world:

For Russia the prefix is 250, so a Russian personal ID looks like 250 XXXX (for example, 2501234). It immediately reads as "an operator from Russia".

One ID per operator + extra IDs for devices

You're issued one personal ID — it's yours for all your radios. But there are devices that connect to the network on their own and also have to identify themselves somehow: hotspots and standalone modems. For these, the worldwide registry lets you get additional IDs. The classic scheme is your personal ID plus a two-digit suffix:

Personal ID : 2501234     (radios)
Hotspot #1  : 250123401   (same ID + 01)
Hotspot #2  : 250123402   (same ID + 02)

This way the numbers of your different devices don't conflict with each other, while still "reading" as belonging to one operator. There's no need to get a separate ID for every radio — only for devices that are themselves a point of entry into the network.

Internal DMR ID on the DMRhub network

DMRhub is a private DMR network, and it has its own subscriber registry, independent of the worldwide one. Two scenarios are possible here:

• Get an internal ID at registration. You create an account in your dashboard, and the network issues you an ID from its own number space. Handy if you don't have a worldwide ID yet or want to operate only inside DMRhub.
• Bring your own ID. Already have a worldwide ID from RadioID.net? You can use it as-is — specify it at registration so that on the air and in the app you appear under your familiar number.

In both cases the ID is automatically linked to your account, hotspot, and app — there's no separate "flashing on the server" to do. And the DMR basics (timeslots, talkgroup, color code) will help you understand what you're actually configuring.

Where the ID goes in the radio

The number you obtained does nothing on its own until it's written into the radio. A DMR ID is entered into the codeplug (the radio's settings file in the manufacturer's CPS software), in the general settings section — the field is usually called Radio ID / DMR ID. Your personal 7-digit ID goes there; a hotspot, on the other hand, gets its extra ID with a suffix.

1. Open the codeplug in your radio's CPS (AnyTone, TYT, Retevis, etc.).
2. Find the Radio ID / DMR ID field in the general settings.
3. Enter your personal DMR ID, save, and upload the codeplug to the radio.

How to build the codeplug itself with zones, talkgroups, and RX groups is a big separate topic, covered in our codeplug guide.