How to port your business phone number in Canada

What porting means

Porting moves a phone number from one carrier to another. In Canada, local number portability is required by the CRTC, so your current provider must let it go. You keep the number; only the company behind it changes.

What you need

• A recent bill from your current provider (all pages).
• The account number and the exact business name and service address on that bill.
• A list of every number to move, including fax lines and alarm lines.
• A signed letter of authorization (we prepare it).

Step by step

1. Inventory your numbers. Old fax lines, alarm panels and elevator phones are easy to forget.
2. Build the new system first. We set it up on a temporary number so your team can test.
3. Submit the port. We send the request and the letter of authorization.
4. Get a date. The losing carrier confirms a firm order date.
5. Cut over. Early in the morning, numbers move; we test each one.
6. Cancel the old service only after everything is confirmed working.

Why ports get rejected

• The business name does not match the bill exactly.
• The service address is different from the one on file.
• A number is part of a hunt group and the main billing number is not included.
• The account was cancelled before the port. Never cancel first.

Special cases

Toll-free numbers move between "RespOrgs" and take longer. Wireless numbers can be ported to VoIP too. Partial ports (moving some numbers and leaving others) are fine, but tell us which number is the main billing number.

Porting is included free with our setup. Read about our porting service.

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