Number porting

Your business phone numbers show up on your website, invoices, signage, and directory listings, and customers often save them. Changing numbers when you change providers can mean missed calls and extra work updating every place they appear.

Number porting lets you move to a new phone system without giving those numbers up. Customers keep reaching you the way they always have, and your team picks up the calls in Dialpad.

What is number porting?

Number porting is the process of moving an existing phone number from one service provider to another so you can keep using it. It's also called local number portability (LNP).

In a port, your current provider is the "losing" carrier and your new provider is the "winning" carrier. The request always starts with the winning carrier, so when you move to Dialpad, Dialpad submits the port on your behalf.

Porting is how businesses keep their numbers when they move from a landline or on-premises phone system to a cloud phone system. If you only need calls to reach you somewhere else for a while, you can forward a landline to a cell phone instead.

How long does it take to port a number?

Local US ports can take as little as 3 to 5 business days when the details on your request match what your current carrier has on file. On average, local ports take about 7 days. If there's a mismatch, a port can take 2 weeks or longer. Toll-free ports typically take 5 to 10 business days.

Your number keeps working with your current provider while the port is in progress. If you need the port to complete on a specific date, submit your request at least 7 to 10 business days ahead. The date is confirmed once your current carrier issues a Firm Order Commitment (FOC), and changing it after that requires at least 24 business hours' notice.

What you need before you port a phone number

Port requests can be delayed or rejected when the details you submit don't match your current carrier's records. Before you start, gather:

• The account owner's name and the authorized name on the account

• The service address associated with the numbers

• Your account number with the current carrier

• Every phone number on the account that you want to port

• A PIN or passcode, which is typically only needed for mobile numbers

• Any special features on the lines, such as PRI or hunting

The simplest way to get these details is to ask your current carrier for a Customer Service Record (CSR). A CSR lists the billing telephone number, subscriber name, service address, authorized name, and billing provider. If your numbers are spread across several carriers, request a CSR from each one.

Don't cancel your current service before you request the port. Wait until the port is complete, then contact your old carrier to close the account.

How to port your numbers to Dialpad

Company and Office Admins can port local US numbers directly from the Dialpad Admin portal:

1. In Admin Settings, go to Office > Number Porting.

2. Select Start a new port request.

3. Enter the number or numbers you want to port, then select Create Request.

4. Enter the account and number details. You can also request a port date and time.

5. Assign each number to a user, shared line, or device, then select Done.

6. Verify the request. Dialpad places an automated call to the number being ported, and you enter the verification code shown on the porting page.

You'll also sign a letter of authorization (LOA), which authorizes Dialpad to port the numbers on your behalf.

Porting many numbers at once. Admins can batch up to 5,000 local numbers in one request by entering them separated by commas. Only one number from the batch needs to complete verification.

Tracking your port. Submitted requests appear under Pending Port Requests with their status: approved, submitted and pending, or rejected. If a request needs a correction, Dialpad alerts the Admin with what to fix, and rejected requests can be edited and resubmitted from the Admin portal. When the port completes, the Admin who requested it gets an email confirmation, and so does the team member the number was assigned to.

Porting toll-free numbers. Toll-free ports are requested by contacting Dialpad tech support with a completed LOA. Once ported, toll-free numbers can be assigned to your main line, departments, or contact centers. Inbound calls to toll-free numbers use call credits, so add credits to your account before the port completes.

Porting Google Voice and mobile numbers. Google Voice numbers can be ported after you unlock them in your Google account. If you port a mobile number, deregister it from iMessage or turn off RCS chats after the port completes so incoming text messages reach Dialpad instead of your old phone.

Why do port requests get rejected?

Most rejections come down to information that doesn't match the losing carrier's records. Common reasons include a missing or invalid PIN, a name or address mismatch, an invalid account number, a billing telephone number mismatch, a number not found on the account, a pending order, or a carrier freeze. The porting rejection code and resolution guide explains each code and how to fix it.

If the portal says a number is ineligible, it may not be. Some numbers, including international, toll-free, Canadian, and Hawaiian numbers, need Dialpad's porting team to submit the request manually.

A small number of numbers can't be ported at all because carriers don't have LNP coverage in that area, which is most common in very rural locations. In that case, Dialpad can often assign a new local number with the same area code.

Does porting a phone number cost anything?

There's no charge to port US and Canadian local numbers to Dialpad. Porting international numbers involves a fee, and eligibility depends on the country, so contact Dialpad's sales team to check yours.

You'll need a paid Dialpad subscription before you can port numbers in. Once a number is ported and assigned, it's billed based on where it's assigned, such as a user line or a department. You don't have to keep the Dialpad-assigned number you started with. After the port completes, ask Dialpad tech support to remove it so you aren't billed for both numbers.

It's also worth checking your current contract for any early termination terms before you switch.

Bring your numbers into Dialpad's AI platform for customer experience

Porting keeps your numbers, but where those numbers land shapes the customer experience. With Dialpad, you can assign ported local numbers to team members, your main line, departments, call queues, and room phones. Customers reach the right team at the number they already know, including your contact center through Dialpad Support for contact centers.

Dialpad developed its UCaaS and CCaaS products natively on a shared foundation, so calling, messaging, meetings, and contact center work share one app and one set of customer data rather than being packaged from separate products. Calls on your ported numbers run on the same AI platform for customer experience as capabilities like AI transcription and conversation intelligence, depending on your plan. Over time, those conversations can help your teams develop a deeper understanding of their customers and turn interactions into operational insight.