Register your phone in Azerbaijan (IMEI)
Registering a foreign phone: rules, steps at the airport or later, fees and what happens if you do not.
Important: Brought a phone and want a local SIM in it? Declare the phone at customs when you arrive and register its IMEI within 30 days. After that an unregistered phone is blocked on every local network, and a phone not declared at customs can be confiscated or fined 40 to 60 percent of its value.
The rules
- 30 days to register
- The IMEI of every phone brought into the country for personal use must be registered within 30 days at the latest. An unregistered phone goes on the black list, and operators must cut off its service within 24 hours. Bakcell says an unregistered phone of a foreigner is locked after 30 days. Official source
- A foreign SIM in roaming is not affected
- The rules do not apply to people who use roaming with a SIM card of a foreign operator. Registration matters once you put a local Azercell, Bakcell or Nar SIM in the phone. Official source
- Every phone is declared at customs
- Mobile phones and other wireless devices brought from abroad must be declared to customs in writing, whatever their value. This also covers phones sent by post. Since 15 February 2023 a phone can be registered online only if it is in the customs system. Official source
- Staying temporarily with a local contract
- If you are temporarily in Azerbaijan and sign a contract with a local operator, a phone bought abroad can be put on an adapted white list together with your local number. Such a phone then works only with that number. Official source
- Registered once
- A registered phone does not need a new registration when it gets a new user. Official source
At the airport
- 1
Declare the phone at customs
A phone must be declared in writing, so do not walk through the green channel, which is for oral declaration only. Use the red channel, or fill in the simplified declaration in advance on e.customs.gov.az, in the Smart Customs app or at an electronic kiosk at the border. Phones go in column 2.12 of the declaration.
Documents
- Passport (the original)
- The phone and its IMEI
- Where
- Customs at the airport or border crossing
- Fee
- No customs payment while your goods stay within the duty free allowance (USD 800, at most 2 goods of the same kind)
Open the service: e.customs.gov.azOfficial source: customs.gov.az
- 2
Register the IMEI on arrival
At Heydar Aliyev International Airport you can register the IMEI right when you bring the phone in. Bakcell describes this as voluntary, so you can also do it later, within the 30 days.
Documents
- Passport (the original)
- The phone itself; its brand, model and IMEI are written down
- Where
- Heydar Aliyev International Airport, Baku
- Fee
- State fee of AZN 15 to 100 by the model’s market price (see fees)
- Time
- Checked within 2 working days, then an SMS confirms it
Later
- 3
Register online on my.gov.az
The rules allow registration through the electronic government portal. All services of imei.az have moved to my.gov.az. The phone must already be in the customs system, which is why you declare it on arrival.
Documents
- The IMEI: dial *#06# to see it
- Where
- my.gov.az
- Fee
- State fee of AZN 15 to 100 by the model’s market price (see fees)
- Time
- Checked within 2 working days, then an SMS confirms it
- 4
Or register in person
You, or someone you authorise, can apply at the registration centre, at a customer service office of a mobile operator or at a post office. Show the original of your identity document, give the brand, model and IMEI, and fill in the registration form. The office sends the papers on electronically to the registration centre.
Documents
- Passport (the original)
- The phone itself; its brand, model and IMEI are written down
- The registration form, filled in on the spot
- Where
- Registration centre, Azercell, Bakcell or Nar customer service, or a post office
- Fee
- State fee of AZN 15 to 100 by the model’s market price (see fees)
- Time
- Checked within 2 working days, then an SMS confirms it
- 5
If you did not declare the phone
Online registration needs the phone to be in the customs system. Not declaring goods at the border is an administrative offence: the goods can be confiscated, or a fine of 40 to 60 percent of their value is imposed. Call the customs hotline 195 before you try to register.
- Where
- State Customs Committee, hotline 195
- Fee
- Fine of 40 to 60 percent of the value, or confiscation
Fees
One state fee per phone, set by the market price of a new phone of the same model.
| Phone | State fee |
|---|---|
| Simple phone up to USD 100 with no camera, video or internet | AZN 15 |
| Up to USD 100 | AZN 20 |
| USD 101 to 200 | AZN 30 |
| USD 201 to 400 | AZN 40 |
| USD 401 to 700 | AZN 50 |
| USD 701 to 1,000 | AZN 70 |
| Over USD 1,000 | AZN 100 |
| Model without a published market price | AZN 15 |
| Each phone beyond the first in the same calendar year | AZN 100 each |
- The price is not what you paid: it is the market price of a new phone of that brand and model, as published by the registration authority. Official source
- A dual SIM phone has two IMEI numbers but is charged once. Official source
- Customs: personal goods brought in are free of customs payments up to a total customs value of USD 800 once a month (for air passengers the once a month limit does not apply), with at most 2 goods of the same kind. Above that, duty is charged on the part over the limit. Official source
How to check
Check the status of a phone
Dial *#06# to see the IMEI. Enter it on the official check service to see whether the phone is on the white list (registered) or the black list. The Bakcell information centre answers on 157 from a landline or 012157 from a mobile, every day from 09:00 to 21:00.
If you do not register
- The phone stops working with local SIMs
- Operators may not serve a phone on the black list. Once its IMEI is there, any service through the phone is made technically impossible within 24 hours. Official source
- How to get it working again
- To move a blacklisted phone to the white list, complete the standard registration and pay the state fee. Official source
- Not declaring the phone at customs
- Not declaring goods carried across the border is fined 40 to 60 percent of their value, or the goods are confiscated (Code of Administrative Offences, Article 482.1). Official source
- Never change the IMEI
- Changing or copying an IMEI to avoid registration is fined AZN 300 to 400 for a person, and AZN 600 to 800 if repeated within a year. Official source
- Lost or stolen phone
- The subscriber can ask the registration centre to block a registered phone; a foreigner shows a passport and gives the number or the IMEI. Bakcell disables it within 24 hours, free of charge, on a police reference and your ID. Official source
Checked October 28, 2026 · Official source
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Sroky is a private service and is not part of the government of Azerbaijan. This page is general information, not legal advice. Rules change: the official source always applies.