How to Port Your Business Phone Number Without Missing Calls
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How we wrote this: A guide based on Federal Communications Commission (FCC) consumer guidance and the FCC's 2023 order on SIM-swap and port-out fraud (linked below). We have not ported numbers with any specific provider. Ask your providers about their exact process and timelines.
Your business number is on your website, your Google listing, your invoices and your customers' phones. Changing providers shouldn't mean changing it. In most cases it doesn't have to.
The basics: porting is your right
The FCC's porting guide says that if you switch providers and stay in the same geographic area, you can keep your existing number. Porting works between landline, internet (IP) and wireless providers. Key points from the guide:
- Start with the new provider. You contact the new company to begin the port and give it your 10-digit number and any details it asks for.
- Don't cancel the old service first. Cancelling before the port can lose the number.
- Your old provider can't refuse to port, even if you owe it a balance or an early termination fee. You may still owe those charges, so check your contract.
- Fees. Companies may charge to port, but you can ask whether fees can be waived or negotiated.
- Timing. FCC rules require simple ports (generally a single line without complex switching changes) to be processed in one business day. Wireless-to-wireless can take a few hours. Landline-to-wireless may take a few days.
- Limits. If you're moving to a new area, you may not be able to keep the number, and some rural landline providers have waivers.
Toll-free numbers are portable too. The FCC's toll-free guide explains that you can move a toll-free number to a new "RespOrg" when you change service providers.
A plan that keeps calls flowing
- Gather your details. Find the account number, the account PIN or passcode, and the exact name and service address on your current bill. Mismatched details are a common reason ports get rejected.
- List every number. Include main lines, fax lines, direct-dial numbers and any toll-free numbers. Multi-line ports can take longer than the one-day simple port.
- Set up the new service first. Configure call routing, voicemail greetings and business hours on the new system before the port date. Then calls work the moment the number moves.
- Pick a quiet day. Schedule the port for your slowest business day, not the day before a big promotion.
- Check 911. The FCC warns that wireless 911 callback may be affected during a landline-to-wireless transition. For VoIP, register the new service's 911 address right away (see our phone system options guide).
- Test after the port. Call the number from a mobile, a landline and a different carrier. Check that voicemail, forwarding and any answering service or AI receptionist pick up as expected.
- Then cancel. Confirm the old account closes once the port finishes, so you aren't billed twice.
If you're adding an answering service or AI receptionist at the same time, many forward from your existing number rather than requiring a port. Autonomous Receptionist's guide on how to test an AI receptionist suggests what to check before you commit.
Protect your number from port-out fraud
The FCC's cell phone fraud page explains how scammers with enough personal information can trick a mobile carrier into porting a victim's number to a device they control. Then they receive the victim's texts and calls, including login codes. For a business, that can mean taken-over bank, email and social accounts.
In 2023 the FCC adopted rules on SIM-swap and port-out fraud. They require wireless providers to use secure authentication before a port, notify customers immediately of port-out requests, and offer account locks (at no cost for SIM-change locks). Practical steps:
- Ask your carrier to add a PIN or passcode to the account, and ask about a port-out or number lock.
- Turn on email and text alerts for account changes.
- If your phone suddenly loses service, contact your carrier and bank right away.
- Where you can, use an authenticator app or security key rather than text codes for important logins (see our passwords and MFA guide).
Remember to remove the lock before a port you actually want.