Plan requirement
| Subscription | Any plan |
Getting a new number or moving an existing one to us, what we need from you, and how long each one takes.
Both routes go through us
There is no self-service screen for numbers. Send us a request and we handle the carrier and the regulator. What you can do is send the right information first time, which is most of what determines how fast it goes.
A new number
Tell us the country, the city or area if it should be geographic, and how many numbers you need. Number types that are usually available:
- Geographic, tied to a city or region
- National, not tied to a place
- Freephone, availability varies by country
- Service numbers
Mobile numbers are available too, in a set list of countries rather than everywhere. In the Netherlands there is a catch:
- You get an 097 number by default.
- 06 numbers are not issued for machine-to-machine use at all. You can request one, but only for a clear person-to-person case, and you have to describe that use in detail.
Most Dutch mobile numbers need a VAT number and no local address. If an 06 matters to you, say why in the request rather than asking for one and waiting.
Porting an existing number
Porting moves a number you already have to us, keeping the number itself.
- Write out the exact numbers, in full international format.
- Note your current provider.
- Find a recent invoice from them showing the numbers and the account holder.
- Copy the account holder's name and address from that invoice, character for character, rather than typing them from memory.
- Say whether you are moving all the numbers on the account or only some of them.
- Send us all five, and leave your current contract alone until the port completes.
Moving only part of a range? Your current operator has to break the group first, or the port takes numbers you meant to keep with it, or fails. Ask them for that at the same time you tell us, because it happens on their side and not ours.
Most ports fail on the name and address. The details must match the losing provider's records character for character. A moved office or a company name change that was never passed on will cause a rejection, and you start again.
How long it takes
Porting timing depends on your contract with the current provider, so it is not something we can promise. Notice periods and contract end dates are the usual constraint.
Never cancel your current contract before the port completes. Cancelling releases the number and it may be gone for good.
Netherlands: special numbers
088, 0800 and 090x numbers work differently: they are bought from the regulator rather than ordered through a provider, and you end up owning them. The route, the lead times and the one thing you cannot do with a 090x number are in Dutch 088, 0800 and 090x numbers.
Before any of this
Your company profile has to be approved before numbers can be issued or ported. It is a legitimacy check, and a request stalls at the start until that approval is in place. We will tell you if anything is missing.
What may be asked for, depending on the country and the number:
- Passport or national ID of the person who signs for the company
- Company registration certificate, or an extract from the commercial register
- Articles of association
- Proof of the business address: a utility bill, a lease or a bank statement
- VAT certificate
- A power of attorney, where somebody signs on the company's behalf
Not all of it every time. Having it to hand is what turns a two-week start into a two-day one.
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