How to port a number to CenturyLink

In this article:

You are looking to port your number to CenturyLink and we are committed to walking you through the entire process. Good news! Our team has experience successfully porting many, many telephone numbers to CenturyLink.

In this article, we aim to assist you with:

• Understanding how the port away process works.
• Gathering the information required to port your number from NumberBarn to CenturyLink.
• Providing you with practical advice on porting to CenturyLink. 
• Equipping you with the tools to overcome common porting errors and issues.

With this information, you should be well on your way to a successful number porting experience. Let’s dive in.

How porting works

In general with porting, CenturyLink and their underlying carrier will initiate a port request for your phone number and send it to the current/losing carrier (NumberBarn). Learn about each step in the port out process here:

Step by Step Guide: How to port a number away

It’s important to remember that CenturyLink must submit the port request with the exact porting credentials that are listed in your NumberBarn account. Once approved, it’s the responsibility of CenturyLink and their underlying carrier to complete the porting request. 

Gathering your port out information

The following article guides you to your porting information including your Account Number, PIN, End User Name, Billing Telephone Number (BTN), and Service Address:

Find my port away information including account number and PIN

Be sure to provide this information to CenturyLink and instruct them to use it to submit the port order. If we receive a port order that contains different information or no information, it may be rejected.

3 Tips for porting to CenturyLink

1. Check with CenturyLink to make sure they can support your NumberBarn number

Since CenturyLink service is a landline service installed in a physical location, it means there are restrictions on which numbers will work for your specific service address. CenturyLink can determine if they can offer service to your NumberBarn number in your service location. 

It’s important that the number you purchase from NumberBarn resides in the same rate center as your service address and it’s not a bad idea to determine this before you purchase a number. Learn more about rate centers here:

Why rate centers are important

2. Ask CenturyLink to submit the port right away and list the “install date” as the requested port date or FOC

FOC stands for “Firm Order Commitment” and that is synonymous with the date we expect number porting to complete. Sometimes CenturyLink will delay submitting the port until the date they plan to install service at your location, which often causes problems. As long as they submit the port in advance and have the approval, they can port it on the date they schedule to install the service

3. Bypass CenturyLink support and contact their porting department directly

You can reach the CenturyLink (also called Lumen) Porting Department at 866-204-0061, then press option 2. This is a great way to ensure that porting occurs as smoothly as possible.

We’re here to help

If there’s an issue with the request we receive from CenturyLink, we will contact you by email. For more information on overcoming common port out rejections, the following article will help:

How to fix a port out rejection

If you continue to run into issues porting your number(s) to CenturyLink, we are here to help in any way we can. Contact customer support for more assistance.