The following topics are discussed in this guide:
- United Kingdom porting requirements
- United Kingdom porting restrictions
- United Kingdom porting process
- United Kingdom porting timelines
- United Kingdom common rejections
- United Kingdom additional information
In United Kingdom we offer porting for the following number types:
| Number type | Number type prefix | Capabilities |
| Local | +44-1 +44-2 |
Voice |
| National |
+44-3 +44-870 +44-845 |
Voice |
| Toll-Free | +44-800 +44-808 |
Voice |
| Mobile | +44-7 | Voice + SMS |
United Kingdom porting requirements
*per number type
LOCAL |
Requirements |
Description |
LOA |
Should be filled in digitally Add the current provider (which is billing you for the service) as the “Current Retailer” Enter email contact of your current provider The site address must be in the United Kingdom |
|
Billing document |
Not older than 3 months | |
Account SID |
☑️ | |
UK phone number regulations |
To upload your documents please select “Phone Numbers” > “Regulatory Compliance“ > “Bundles” in your console menu or just follow the link: https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/regulatory-compliance/bundles. Choose the country, phone number type and follow the instructions. Processing of the compliance documents may take up to several business days. Once your documents have been accepted, please share the associated links that start with "BU" and "AD" along with the porting request. |
NATIONAL |
Requirements |
Description |
LOA |
Should be filled in digitally Add the current provider (which is billing you for the service) as the “Current Retailer” Enter email contact of your current provider The billing account number must be on the LOA The site address must be in the United Kingdom |
|
Billing document |
Not older than 3 months | |
Account SID |
☑️ | |
UK phone number regulations |
To upload your documents please select “Phone Numbers” > “Regulatory Compliance“ > “Bundles” in your console menu or just follow the link: https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/regulatory-compliance/bundles. Choose the country, phone number type and follow the instructions. Processing of the compliance documents may take up to several business days. Once your documents have been accepted, please share the associated links that start with "BU" and "AD" along with the porting request. |
TOLL-FREE |
Requirements |
Description |
LOA |
Should be filled in digitally Add the current provider (which is billing you for the service) as the “Current Retailer” Enter email contact of your current provider The billing account number must be on the LOA The site address must be in the United Kingdom |
|
Billing document |
Not older than 3 months | |
Account SID |
☑️ | |
UK phone number regulations |
To upload your documents please select “Phone Numbers” > “Regulatory Compliance“ > “Bundles” in your console menu or just follow the link: https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/regulatory-compliance/bundles. Choose the country, phone number type and follow the instructions. Processing of the compliance documents may take up to several business days. Once your documents have been accepted, please share the associated links that start with "BU" and "AD" along with the porting request. |
MOBILE |
Requirements |
Description |
||||
Account SID |
☑️ | |||||
| PAC (Porting Authorisation Code) or STAC (Service Termination Authorisation Code) |
PAC or STAC should be provided by your current carrier. Examples of PAC and STAC:
|
|||||
UK phone number regulations |
To upload your documents please select “Phone Numbers” > “Regulatory Compliance“ > “Bundles” in your console menu or just follow the link: https://www.twilio.com/console/phone-numbers/regulatory-compliance/bundles. Choose the country, phone number type and follow the instructions. Processing of the compliance documents may take up to several business days. Once your documents have been accepted, please share the associated links that start with "BU" and "AD" along with the porting request. |
United Kingdom porting restrictions
In rare cases, some numbers are not portable, either because of how some service providers assign phone numbers, or because some providers do not have porting agreements with the major network operators.
Find below the known list of providers from which we cannot port from:
| Dial 9 |
| Telecoms World |
| Intelligent Telecoms routing ltd Trading |
| Core Telecom |
| Suretec Systems |
| WAVECREST NETWORKS LIMITED |
If one of those carriers is your current provider, or is a range holder of the numbers, unfortunately, we will not be able to process the port.
*Range holder is the provider who has been allocated a range of numbers originally by the UK regulatory body (the The Office of Communications or OFCOM).
United Kingdom porting process
- Submit your porting request with all the requirements in place via this submission form.
- Twilio validates the port request. If everything in Step 1 is correct, you can expect Twilio to approve your port request within 24 business hours.
- Twilio submits the number to the Carrier Partner. This can take up to 24 business hours.
- Twilio’s Carrier Partner reaches out to the current provider. Your request is submitted to your soon-to-be former service provider as a port request. During this time, do not close your account with your service provider and keep your numbers active. This can take around one week to complete.
-
Response from the carrier. At this point, your request is either approved or rejected:
- Approved: If approved, Twilio will notify you about a porting date.
- Rejected: Rejections can occur due to various reasons. For example, invalid VAT Number or invalid/incomplete range of numbers. Read more about common reasons for port request rejections below. Rejections may add an undetermined amount of time to your porting request.
- Twilio reaches out to you with a porting date. Twilio emails you with a porting date and time slot if known. Your number is on your Account and can be visible in the Twilio Console.
- Configure your number. It is critical to configure your number prior to the porting date. This will minimise the service downtime. You can configure the numbers from the Twilio Console.
Your phone number is with Twilio. Once your number is routed to Twilio and everything works as expected, you can remove the number from your former provider.
United Kingdom porting timelines
Depending on complexity of the port, we can complete your port request within the approximate time frames listed below:
| Local |
+44-1 +44-2 |
4-6+ weeks |
| National | +44-3 | 4-6+ weeks |
| Toll-Free |
+44-808 +44-800 |
4-6+ weeks |
| Mobile | +44-7 | 5-7 business days |
In case you wish to expedite your request please reach out to your current provider to confirm you are porting your number away from their service and to Twilio.
If the current provider rejects your port during the porting process, an additional time may be added from the time that the rejection is resolved.
United Kingdom porting rejections
There are a number of factors that can delay port orders. Below is a list of the most common rejection reasons and how to address them. In each case, we would need to resolve the rejection to be able to proceed with the port.
| Rejection | Explanation | How to solve the rejection |
| Incorrect Site Address | Site address on the LOA (Letter of Authorisation) is not matching current provider’s records |
|
| Invalid/incomplete range of numbers | Number you wish to port is part of a bigger numbering range (continuous sequence of phone numbers) |
|
| Inactive number | Numbers are not currently in service with your current provider and/or you have outstanding charges on the account |
|
Unfortunately, we cannot contact your current service provider on your behalf. For security reasons, your current service provider will naturally refuse to provide us with your private and confidential information.
United Kingdom porting definitions
The Office of Communications (OFCOM): is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Communications Provider Identity Code (CUPID): A 3 digit code assigned by OFCOM to all Network Communications Providers.