diff --git a/.env.example b/.env.example
index 63df700..9e31fbd 100644
--- a/.env.example
+++ b/.env.example
@@ -77,3 +77,7 @@ SERVALA_ODOO_HELPDESK_TEAM_ID='5'
 # OSB API authentication settings
 SERVALA_OSB_USERNAME=''
 SERVALA_OSB_PASSWORD=''
+
+# Prefix for auto-generated Kubernetes resource names for service instances.
+# Format: {prefix}-{hash}. Defaults to 'si' (service instance).
+SERVALA_INSTANCE_NAME_PREFIX='si'
diff --git a/src/servala/settings.py b/src/servala/settings.py
index f57ac0d..1319394 100644
--- a/src/servala/settings.py
+++ b/src/servala/settings.py
@@ -270,6 +270,9 @@ SESSION_COOKIE_SECURE = not DEBUG
 DEFAULT_LABEL_KEY = "appcat.vshn.io/provider-config"
 DEFAULT_AUTO_FIELD = "django.db.models.BigAutoField"
 
+# Prefix for auto-generated Kubernetes resource names for service instances
+SERVALA_INSTANCE_NAME_PREFIX = os.environ.get("SERVALA_INSTANCE_NAME_PREFIX", "si")
+
 # TODO
 TIME_ZONE = "UTC"