Step by Step Guide: How to port a number away

In this article:

There are three simple steps to porting your number away. Let's look at each of them.

Step 1: Get your Porting Away Information

Click here for detail on how and where to find your porting away information including your account number, PIN, BTN, and service address.

Step 2: Contact your desired service provider

Contact your desired service provider and tell them you'd like to port to their system, and provide them with the porting away details. They will then submit a port order via their carrier who will send the request to NumberBarn for approval. Once approved, it will be the responsibility of your service provider and their carrier to complete the porting request.
It takes 3-7 business days, up to 10 business days, to port your number away.

Looking for advice on how porting to a particular service provider? Click here for a collection of guides for porting to some of the most popular providers.

Step 3: Watch for Notifications

We will email porting away notifications to the administrative email address on file in your account.

• Rejections: If your number port is rejected, we'll email you.
• Approvals: When your number has been approved for porting, we'll let you know.
• Completed: When your number port completes to your desired service provider, we will notify you and remove the number from your account. 
• Action Required: In the case of toll-free numbers and some Canadian numbers, you may receive an email or text message requiring approval for your port away to complete. Be on the lookout for these messages with specific actions.
  • Canadian Numbers: You may need to approve a Canadian port within 90 minutes via text message.
  • Toll-Free Numbers: Toll-free number ports must be approved by email within 24 hours or the port will be rejected and require resubmission.

Remember to keep your number active in your NumberBarn account for the duration of the port. 

Important! If you haven't received an email about your port out and it's been longer than 3 business days, contact your gaining service provider to see if they have received any error or rejection messages. Our support team is here to help so contact us with this information and we'll work with you until the port out is successful.