diff --git a/src/osx/carbon/dataobj.cpp b/src/osx/carbon/dataobj.cpp
index 7be8a9b864..133804edc6 100644
--- a/src/osx/carbon/dataobj.cpp
+++ b/src/osx/carbon/dataobj.cpp
@@ -228,15 +228,27 @@ void wxDataFormat::SetId( NativeFormat format )
 void wxDataFormat::SetId( const wxString& zId )
 {
     m_type = wxDF_PRIVATE;
-    m_id = zId;
-
     // in newer macOS version this must conform to a UTI
     // https://developer.apple.com/library/archive/documentation/General/Conceptual/DevPedia-CocoaCore/UniformTypeIdentifier.html
 
-    if ( zId.Find('.') != wxNOT_FOUND )
-        m_format = wxCFStringRef(zId);
+    // first filter characters
+    wxString utiString = zId;
+    wxString::iterator it;
+    for (it = utiString.begin(); it != utiString.end(); ++it)
+    {
+        wxUniChar c = *it;
+        if ( !( c >= 'A' && c <='Z') && !( c >= 'a' && c <='z') && !( c >= '0' && c <='9') &&
+            c != '.' && c !='-' )
+            *it= '-';
+    }
+
+    m_id = utiString;
+
+    // make sure it follows a reverse DNS notation
+    if ( utiString.Find('.') != wxNOT_FOUND )
+        m_format = wxCFStringRef(utiString);
     else
-        m_format = wxCFStringRef(privateUTIPrefix+zId);
+        m_format = wxCFStringRef(privateUTIPrefix+utiString);
 }
 
 bool wxDataFormat::operator==(const wxDataFormat& format) const