diff --git a/src/services/notifications/notifications-router.ts b/src/services/notifications/notifications-router.ts
index 9224c3f..9249e18 100644
--- a/src/services/notifications/notifications-router.ts
+++ b/src/services/notifications/notifications-router.ts
@@ -10,16 +10,18 @@ const notificationsRouter = Router();
 // Register user’s device identifier under their userId
 notificationsRouter.post(
     "/",
-    RoleChecker([Role.enum.USER], false),
+    RoleChecker([Role.enum.USER]),
     async (req, res, next) => {
         try {
             const notificationEnrollmentData = NotificationsValidator.parse(
                 req.body
             );
 
+            const payload = res.locals.payload;
+
             // Upsert the user-device mapping info
             await Database.NOTIFICATIONS.findOneAndUpdate(
-                { userId: notificationEnrollmentData.userId },
+                { userId: payload.userId },
                 { deviceId: notificationEnrollmentData.deviceId },
                 { upsert: true, new: true }
             );
diff --git a/src/services/notifications/notifications-schema.ts b/src/services/notifications/notifications-schema.ts
index 0bcea79..ab04c4f 100644
--- a/src/services/notifications/notifications-schema.ts
+++ b/src/services/notifications/notifications-schema.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import { z } from "zod";
 
 // Zod schema for notifications
 const NotificationsValidator = z.object({
-    userId: z.string(),
+    userId: z.coerce.string().regex(/user[0-9]*/),
     deviceId: z.string(),
 });