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| Subscription | Any plan |
| Access | WMS administrator |
Most countries only hand out a number to a company that can prove it belongs there. What you need, and where it bites.
What is asked everywhere
- The name and email of whoever is requesting the number.
- The name and phone number of someone who represents the company.
- The company name and its registration number.
That much is the floor. Nearly every country then asks for more.
Proof of address
The most common extra requirement, and the one that delays orders. Usually an invoice or contract from a utility or telecoms provider showing the company at that address, plus registration with a chamber of commerce.
An address on your own letterhead is not proof. It has to come from a third party.
Local presence
Several countries will only issue a number for an area where the company is established. Spain asks for an address in the area you are requesting, and our country table lists nine more where the company address has to sit in the region the number belongs to: the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Hungary, Malta, Norway and Turkey.
So an Amsterdam company cannot take a Rotterdam number to look local. Where you need a presence you do not have, that is a company matter before it is a telephony one.
Tax and registration numbers
Some countries want a national identifier alongside the registration: a VAT number in the Netherlands, a BTW number in Belgium, CIF or NIF in Spain, SIRET in France, an organisation number in Norway, UEN in Singapore.
Restrictions that come with the number
| No outbound calls presenting that number | Austria, Estonia, China and Indonesia, among others. The number receives calls only. |
| No private use | Business only: Austria, Angola, Italy, Kenya, Malta and Norway. |
| No calling-card services | Denmark, Mexico, Pakistan and Thailand. |
These are conditions of holding the number, not settings we can switch off.
Where there is nothing extra
A good third of the countries on our list ask for no more than an address in the area and your registration documents, Australia and Brazil among them. The country-specific extras cluster in Europe.
The United States and Canada are not on that easy list. Both need an address registered for the emergency service, 911, for each end user located there. That is a safety requirement rather than paperwork, and it is separate from anything else the order asks for.
Send it once, properly
A rejected application starts again rather than continues, so the fastest route is a complete set the first time. Tell us which country you need a number in and we will send you the exact list before you gather anything.
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