If you would like to move from a local texting number to a toll-free one, follow these steps. Read the note about verification first, because a new toll-free number cannot send until it is verified.
Switch to a toll-free number
- Log in, click your name at the top right, and choose Account & Billing. You are on Phone Numbers.
- Click the menu button next to your number and choose Change phone number…
- Choose Yes to keep your current number as a free alternate, so people can still text it. Click Continue.
- Choose Toll-free number and click Search.
- Pick a number and click Confirm.
- Go to Carrier Registration and click Verify and your new number. Fill in the form and submit it.
A number that already has an alternate cannot keep another one. Remove the existing alternate first, or choose No to release the old number. Trial accounts need to upgrade before they can change a number.
Plan around verification
Your new number becomes your main number right away, but it is not cleared to send until verification is approved. Until then, your messages will not go out from it. That includes scheduled messages, automations and automatic replies. If a send is attempted, the Message Log shows the reason Number Not Registered.
Carrier review usually takes a few business days, and sometimes up to two weeks. Pick a time when you can pause your texting, and check that no scheduled messages are due. See Carrier Registration Information.
Questions and answers
What happens if someone texts my old local number?
Their message comes in as normal. The reply comes from your new toll-free number, with your organization's name at the start so they know who it is.
Can I send picture messages from a toll-free number?
Yes.
Will call forwarding still work?
Yes. Calls to your new number and to the old number, now an alternate, both follow your Call forwarding setting. With no forwarding number set, the caller hears a recording saying the number is for text messages only.
Are there extra fees for a toll-free number?
No. Toll-free verification is free, and credits work the same way as on a local number.
Do I pay for both numbers?
No. The alternate is free. We bill only for your main number.