Here is how to get a business phone number: decide what the number has to do, choose local, toll-free or both, pick an area code (or move the number you already have), put it on a phone system in your business's name, then set up caller ID, texting registration and a 911 address. Getting a number can take minutes. Setting it up so customers recognize, answer and text it is where the work is.
How to get a business phone number in six steps
- Decide what the number is for. A main line, direct numbers for staff, a number for an ad campaign, one that sends texts? The answer shapes everything below.
- Choose local, toll-free, or both. The table below compares them.
- Pick the area code or vanity number. Choose the code your customers think of as local, or a toll-free number that spells something.
- Keep your current number if you have one. Business numbers are portable.
- Put it on a phone system, in your name. With a hosted business phone system the numbers come with the service and ring desk phones, mobile apps and call queues. If you keep your own phone system, SIP trunking supplies the numbers instead.
- Register it. Set the caller ID name, register for texting if you will send texts, and give every location a 911 address.
Local vs toll-free number: which one?
Toll-free numbers use the codes 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 and 833. A local number carries an area code customers recognize, which tells them you are nearby.
| Local number | Toll-free number | |
|---|---|---|
| What callers see | An area code they know | An 8XX code that signals a national business |
| Cost to the caller | The same as any local call | Free from landlines; mobile callers use plan minutes |
| Tied to a region | Yes | No |
| Texting | Requires 10DLC registration | Requires toll-free verification |
| Can be ported | Yes | Yes, under FCC rules |
| Best for | Businesses that serve a city or region | National sales, customer service, advertising |
If you serve one region, make a local number your main line. Add a toll-free number when you sell outside that region or advertise nationally. Both can ring the same phone system.
Vanity numbers
A vanity number is a toll-free number that spells a word, name or acronym, such as 1-800-FLOWERS. It makes a radio spot or billboard memorable. Three FCC rules are worth knowing first:
- Toll-free codes are not interchangeable. The same seven digits after 800 and after 888 are two different numbers with two different owners, so always print the prefix.
- Numbers are assigned first come, first served through companies called RespOrgs, which reserve and manage numbers in the national toll-free database administered by Somos.
- Nobody may sell you a toll-free number. Selling or offering to sell one ("brokering") is prohibited, and so is collecting more numbers than you intend to use. The exception is numbers assigned by auction, such as the FCC's 833 auction.
How to keep your current number (porting)
If customers already know your number, keep it. The FCC lets you keep your number when you change providers and stay in the same area, and toll-free numbers are portable too. Your old provider cannot refuse the port because you owe a balance or a termination fee, though you still owe it. Moving to a new area can prevent a port, and some rural carriers have waivers.
A port is mostly paperwork, and it fails on paperwork. Expect to provide:
- A letter of authorization (LOA), signed by the person authorized on the account with your current carrier. It lists every number being moved and the business name and service address.
- A recent bill from your current carrier showing the numbers.
- A customer service record (CSR) if you can get one. It is the carrier's own record of your account, and the LOA has to match it exactly. A mismatched address or business name is a typical reason a port gets rejected.
- Any account PIN the current carrier requires.
The most important rule: do not cancel your old service before the port completes. The FCC's advice is to start the new service first. FCC rules require simple ports, which generally involve a single line, to finish in one business day; allow more lead time for many lines.
When you move to Telnamix, we run the whole process: the paperwork, the carrier coordination and the cutover timing, so your published numbers keep working through the switch.
Make sure the number is actually yours to move
Whoever signs the LOA must be the authorized person on the account, so a number on someone else's account is hard to move. A marketing agency's call tracking number, a line a former contractor set up on their own account, or an employee's personal number all belong to someone else on paper. Get every number you advertise onto an account in the business's name. It is on your website, listings, vehicles and print, and losing it means changing all of that.
Choosing an area code
Pick the code your customers think of as local: a 216 number for Cleveland, a 614 for Columbus. If you serve more than one region, you can hold a local number in each one and ring them all into the same system, even where you have no office.
Most Ohio area codes now have an overlay: a second code covering the same area. According to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA), the newer code goes into use only once all of the original code's blocks of numbers have been assigned. The overlay number is just as local as the original, so a newer code is no reason to pass on a good number.
How many phone numbers does a business need?
A typical setup:
- One main number that goes everywhere and never changes. It rings an auto attendant or a group.
- Direct numbers for people whose customers call them by name, such as sales staff and managers. Everyone else can use an extension.
- A local number for each location. Each office keeps its own numbers and its own 911 address, which matters because a 911 call has to report where the caller actually is. Our post on how we get 911 caller location right explains the rules.
- A separate number per campaign if you want to measure which ad drives calls.
On a Telnamix system, adding users and desk phones carries no per-seat licensing, so decide numbers by what customers need to dial, not by headcount.
Texting from your business number (10DLC)
Hosted phone systems can send and receive texts from your business number, but carriers require registration before a local number (a 10-digit long code, or 10DLC) sends texts from a business platform. Registration has two parts: your business (the "brand") and what you will send (the "campaign"), such as appointment reminders or customer care. The Campaign Registry, which runs the 10DLC registry, does not register businesses directly. Your messaging provider submits it for you. Unregistered traffic is filtered more heavily.
Telnamix handles the registration. Our 10DLC registration questionnaire collects what the carriers need: have your EIN, business address and example messages ready. Toll-free numbers go through a separate toll-free verification instead of 10DLC.
Caller ID name and branded caller ID
Your caller ID name (CNAM) is not sent with your call. The called person's carrier looks up the name for your number in a database, so whether it displays depends on that carrier and the phone. The name is limited to 15 characters, including spaces, so plan an abbreviation that still reads as your business.
Branded caller ID goes further: it shows your business name, logo and the reason for the call on the phones you call, after your organization has been vetted. We run the vetting and carrier submission through our branded caller ID registration. See branded calling: get your calls answered for how it works. If your outbound calls are already being labeled as spam, start with our guide to business calls marked as spam.
Business phone number FAQ
Can I get a business phone number without a new phone line?
Yes. A hosted phone system or SIP trunking delivers the number over your internet connection, with no copper line to your building.
Should I use my personal cell number for my business?
It is better not to. A personal number sits on one person's account, so the business does not control it, and it is hard to separate from the business if that person leaves. A business number on a business account can ring a whole team and stays with the company.
Can I keep my number if I switch providers?
Usually, yes, if you stay in the same geographic area. Keep the old service active until the port completes.
Is a toll-free number worth it for a small business?
It is worth it if you sell or support customers outside your local area, or if a memorable vanity number would help your advertising. If your customers are all in one region, a local number usually serves them better.
Get your business number set up with Telnamix
Numbers come with our hosted phone systems and our SIP trunking. We will check availability for the area codes or vanity number you want, port the numbers you already have, and set up the routing, caller ID and texting registration. Contact us or call (833) 835-6269 and tell us what the number needs to do.