Reddit has specific, non-negotiable rules about what your username can contain. These rules are enforced automatically when you create your account — so knowing them upfront saves you from frustration. Here's everything Reddit officially allows and prohibits.
| Rule | Detail | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum length | At least 3 characters | Required ✅ |
| Maximum length | No more than 20 characters | Required ✅ |
| Letters (a–z, A–Z) | Uppercase and lowercase letters | Allowed ✅ |
| Numbers (0–9) | Any digit | Allowed ✅ |
| Underscores (_) | Can appear in middle | Allowed ✅ |
| Hyphens (-) | Can appear in middle | Allowed ✅ |
| Spaces | Not permitted in any position | Forbidden ❌ |
| Special characters | @, #, !, ., etc. | Forbidden ❌ |
| Case sensitivity | Reddit treats all usernames as lowercase | Case-insensitive |
| Change after creation | Locked after 30 days | Not allowed ❌ |
This is the most consequential Reddit username rule: after your account is 30 days old, you cannot change your username. Ever. Your options at that point are to create a new account (losing all karma and history) or live with the username you chose.
This is different from almost every other major platform. Twitter, Instagram, and Discord all allow username changes. Reddit does not. Take your time choosing — it's literally permanent.
⚠️ One exception: Reddit occasionally allows username changes in specific circumstances (e.g., after certain account recovery situations). But this is rare, at Reddit's discretion, and cannot be relied upon.
Reddit treats all usernames as lowercase. This means "CosmicPanda" and "cosmicpanda" are the same account — you cannot register both. When checking availability on Reddit, always search in lowercase for accurate results. Our tool normalizes all usernames to lowercase automatically.
Some usernames are reserved by Reddit regardless of availability — words like "admin," "moderator," "reddit," "anonymous," "deleted," and similar terms. Even if you try to register these, Reddit's system will block them. Our availability checker cross-references a curated blocklist of known reserved terms to give you accurate results.
When a Reddit account is deleted, the username is not immediately released for re-registration. Reddit permanently retires usernames of deleted accounts to prevent impersonation and confusion in archived threads. If a username shows as "taken" but the account appears deleted, it may never become available again.
Now that you know the rules, find a handle that follows them — and that's actually available.
Check Username Availability →