How to port a phone number: steps and timing
Moving a number to another carrier means handing over your account number, the transfer PIN, plus the account name and address, while the old service stays on until the transfer ends.
How to port a phone number
Sign up with a new carrier to move a number, hand over the account number, the transfer PIN and the name and address listed on your current account, and the new carrier then asks your old carrier to hand the number over. Leave the old service running until the move is finished. FCC rule 47 CFR 52.35 requires a simple port to finish in one working day and a non-simple port in four working days, unless you or the new provider request a later date.
What you need to move a phone number to a new carrier
Collect these from your current carrier before you begin. Sellers who hand over numbers they have bought send that same list.
- Your current carrier's name
- The number of your account
- The transfer PIN, also called an account PIN or a port-out PIN
- The service address and the account holder's name, written the way the carrier has them on file.
- An active line: to port it, the number must still be in service.
Porting a number, step by step
- Make sure the new provider can take the number. Mobile and VoIP services accept any number, but landlines must use one from their own region, tied to a rate center. If the number is headed to Google Voice, port it to a cell carrier first: Google Voice accepts only numbers ported from a mobile carrier.
- Do not end your old service. A number can be ported only while it is active, and a line you have cancelled may not move. NumberBarn advises that you cancel only after the number has transferred safely.
- From your current carrier, collect your account number and your transfer PIN.
- Open an account with the new provider, then submit the port. Online is how most providers do it: Vonage asks you to fill out a Letter of Authorization through its Admin Portal, and 800.com offers a Port Number option inside its dashboard. Phone.com takes care of the paperwork with the carrier for you.
- Hold off until you get the confirmation. Your old carrier reviews the details. The FCC clock begins only once the old carrier holds an accurate and complete request, so review every detail before you submit.
- Try calling and texting, then close out the old account.
How long the port takes
Carriers required to port numbers follow the clock that FCC rule 52.35 sets:
- A simple port, whether between two landlines or among landline, wireless and interconnected VoIP service, must finish within one working day.
- Ports that are not simple must finish within four working days.
- For working days, count weekdays, and set the minimum hours at 8 a.m. through 5 p.m. A request that is complete and accurate and arrives from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. local time may go live at midnight the same day. Anything that arrives later is treated as received the following working day.
The times that get quoted often run longer than the FCC interval. Only after the old carrier holds an accurate, complete request does the clock under the rule begin, and the customer or the new provider may ask for a later date:
| Who | Quoted time |
|---|---|
| NumberBarn (porting in) | Most wireless numbers move in 3 working days; landlines take 7 working days from major carriers and 10 to 20 from smaller ones |
| 212areacode.com (porting out) | A mobile carrier takes 3 to 5 working days; VoIP or a landline takes 7 to 14 |
| RingBoost (porting out) | 7 to 10 business days |
| 800.com (porting in) | About 2 weeks on average |
What a port costs
Plenty of providers move your number in at no charge. Phone.com says porting in costs nothing, and Ooma, Grasshopper, KrispCall and Quo say the same; UniTel Voice includes porting on all plans. Porting in for parking costs $5 per number at NumberBarn, while porting away costs nothing; NumberBarn does note that the new provider may charge a port-in fee of its own. Ports are accepted by Vonage and 800.com, but their pricing pages list no fee.
| Provider | Cheapest plan | First year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
 Free app | Basic (Just for me), free | $0 | Open Google Voice |
 Free app | Free plan, free | $0 | Open TextNow |
 Developer API | Pay-as-you-go local number, $1.15 a month | $13.80 | Open Twilio |
 Second-number app | Standard, $3.99 a month billed yearly | $47.99 | Open Burner |
 Toll-free specialist | Solo, $6.99 a month billed yearly | $84 | Open UniTel Voice |
 Second-number app | Deluxe (local number), $6.99 a month billed yearly | $102.88 | Open GoDaddy Conversations (formerly Smartline) |
 Business phone system | $10.50 a month billed yearly, US & CA Metered | $126 | Open Zoom Phone |
 Business phone system | Starter, $12 a month billed yearly | $144 | Open KrispCall |
 Second-number app | Elite, $12 a month billed yearly | $144 | Open eVoice |
 Business phone system | VBC Mobile, $19.99 a month | $167.88 | Open Vonage Business |
 Second-number app | True Solo, $14 a month billed yearly | $168 | Open Grasshopper |
 Business phone system | Connect Standard, $15 a month billed yearly | $180 | Open Dialpad |
 Business phone system | NEXT Core, $15 a month billed yearly | $180 | Open Nextiva |
 Business phone system | Basic, $15 a month billed yearly | $180 | Open Phone.com |
 Business phone system | Starter, $15 a month billed yearly | $180 | Open Quo (formerly OpenPhone) |
 Toll-free specialist | Startup, $19 a month billed yearly | $228 | Open 800.com |
 Business phone system | RingEX Core, $20 a month billed yearly | $240 | Open RingCentral |
 Business phone system | Essentials, $19.95 a month | $269.35 | Open Ooma Office |
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Buying a number to transfer
Many people look for a number they can buy and port, for example a local number that is easy to remember. Sellers post local numbers at a one-time price, and once you pay they send you the port details:
- Exclusive Digits emails these details: the current carrier, the account number, the transfer PIN, the account name and the service address.
- Your account details sit under My Numbers at 212areacode.com.
- Account information arrives by email from PhoneNumberGuy in under 24 hours.
- With the Port Away plan, NumberBarn lets you port a new number out free for 30 days. After that, parking costs $2.99 a month until the number ports.
Compare the sellers listed on vanity number sellers, or run a search on buy a phone number. If you want a word number, read how to get a vanity number.
Moving a toll-free number
A toll-free number can move when you are the subscriber: 800.com, Ooma and KrispCall each port toll-free numbers in. Licensing a toll-free number from a broker makes it a different case. RingBoost states that its licensed toll-free numbers have to remain on its carrier and cannot be ported. Read about toll-free number providers and vanity toll-free numbers.
Questions
How long does porting a phone number take?
47 CFR 52.35 requires a simple port to finish in one working day and a non-simple port in four. Quoted times begin at 3 working days for most wireless numbers and stretch to 10 to 20 working days for landlines handled by smaller carriers.
Am I supposed to cancel my old service before porting?
No. Porting only works with an active number. Do not cancel until the number is working with the new provider.
Is there a fee to port a number?
Often there is no charge. Porting a number in is free at Phone.com, Ooma, Grasshopper, KrispCall and Quo. For each number you port in, NumberBarn charges $5.
Can I move my number to Google Voice?
Only numbers on a mobile carrier qualify. A number on a landline, on VoIP service or on a seller's account must go to a cell carrier first.
Can a number I bought from a seller be ported?
You can. Sellers like Exclusive Digits, 212areacode.com and PhoneNumberGuy pass along the account details that your new carrier requires for a port.