Getting a Business Phone Number: How to Set Up a Phone Number for Your Business, Step by Step

How do you get a business phone number? Decide what the number has to do, choose a local or toll-free number and a provider, pick a number (or port the one you already have), register its emergency address, register it for texting if you will text customers, then set up greetings and routing and publish it everywhere. A calling number can be live within the hour. Texting from it takes a few business days longer, because US carriers must approve your registration first.

Getting a business phone number: what to decide first

Getting a business phone number is quick. Getting the right one takes five minutes of thinking first, because a number printed on your sign, website and Google listing is hard to change later. Answer these before you shop:

• Calls, texts or both? A business that mostly confirms appointments by text needs different tools from one that takes orders by phone.
• Who answers? One person on a mobile, or a team that shares the line?
• Local or national? Customers in one area, or across the country?
• Do you already have a number customers know? Then you will want to port it rather than start over.
• Where will you answer? On a mobile, a computer, a desk phone, or all three?

How to set up a business phone number, step by step

Here is the whole process in order. Each step is explained below.

Step 1: Decide what the number must do

Write down the main job in one line, such as "customers text us to book, and we call them back", and let it decide the rest. It sounds obvious, but most people who end up with the wrong setup chose a calling app for a texting business, or the other way round.

Step 2: Choose local, toll-free or vanity

There are three kinds of phone number for business:

• Local numbers carry an area code, so they read as a business nearby. People are more likely to answer or reply to a number that looks local, and they are the best fit for two-way texting.
• Toll-free numbers (800, 888, 877 and similar) cost the caller nothing and suit a business that sells nationally. They can text, after toll-free verification.
• Vanity numbers spell a word or follow a memorable pattern. Many providers let you search for numbers that start with, contain or end with particular digits.

Step 3: Choose a provider

Your options, briefly:

• A second line from your mobile carrier, through a second SIM or eSIM. Works like a normal mobile line, but is tied to one phone.
• A business phone system (RingCentral, Dialpad, Nextiva and similar) for menus, queues and extensions, priced per user.
• Google Voice for Google Workspace, if your business already runs on Google.
• A number provider such as Twilio or Telnyx, if you or your software will build on it.
• A texting platform that buys and registers the number for you, if texting is the main job.

Our guides to second phone number apps and to business phone numbers on Google compare these in detail.

Step 4: Getting a phone number for business: pick a new one, or port yours

To pick a new number, search by area code. Choose one that matches where your business actually is: it looks local to the people you serve.

To keep a number you already have, port it. In the US you generally have the right to take your number to a new provider.

1. Keep the old service active. Cancelling first can release the number for good.
2. Get your details from the current provider: the account number, a port-out PIN or passcode, and the name and service address exactly as they appear on that account.
3. Start the port with the new provider. You usually sign an authorization (often called a letter of authorization) and may upload a recent bill.
4. Wait for the port date. Expect several business days; complex or toll-free ports can take longer.
5. Test calls and texts on the new provider, then cancel the old service.

If you will text from a ported number, its texting registration needs to be set up with the new provider too.

Step 5: Register the emergency address (E911)

Every number that can make or receive calls over the internet needs a registered emergency address, so a 911 dispatcher knows where to send help. FCC rules require interconnected VoIP providers, which covers most business numbers today, to have one on file, and providers ask for it when you set the number up. Linxi's guide to setting up an E911 emergency address covers it on Twilio.

What to know:

• Use a real street address where a first responder could be sent. A PO box is not accepted. It does not have to be your registered business address; it has to be where the phone is used.
• Add the details that matter, such as suite or floor, so responders find the right door.
• Update it when people move. An internet number works anywhere, so a number used from home needs that home address, not the office's.
• Skipping it costs real money. Twilio, at the time Linxi checked, charged $75 for each emergency call from a number with no address on file; Telnyx charges $100.
• On Telnyx, your account must accept the Emergency Terms of Service in the portal first, and the ZIP code must be the five-digit form, not ZIP+4.

If your business uses a multi-line phone system, two more federal rules apply. Kari's Law requires that anyone can dial 911 directly, with no prefix such as 9, and that the system alerts a central point like the front desk when someone does. The RAY BAUM'S Act rules require 911 calls to carry a dispatchable location: the street address plus details like the floor or suite where needed. A good business phone provider handles both.

Step 6: Register for texting

If you will text customers from a local US number, register for A2P 10DLC before you send: a Brand (who you are) and a Campaign (what you send and how people opted in). Unregistered business texts are blocked. A toll-free number needs toll-free verification instead. Linxi's help pages walk through the A2P brand and A2P campaign step by step, and the opt-in requirements page shows how to collect consent that reviewers accept.

Allow a few business days. Brand approval can take minutes; campaign review typically takes 1 to 3 business days.

Step 7: Set up calling: greeting, hours and routing

For a number that takes calls:

• Record a greeting that names the business, so callers know they reached the right place.
• Set business hours and what happens outside them: voicemail, a message with your hours, or forwarding to a mobile.
• Turn on voicemail transcription if your provider offers it, so messages arrive as text.
• Route calls to the right person, or ring several people at once if a team shares the line.

Step 8: Publish the number and test it

Put the number on your website, Google Business Profile, email signature, invoices and social profiles, in the same format everywhere. Then test from a phone that is not on your account: call it, text it, reply, and check that each one arrives where it should.

Setting up a business phone number in Linxi

Linxi gives you a number for texting, with the registration handled. Here is the path:

1. Open Linxi Settings → Number → Linxi Number and choose Search & Buy a Number.
2. Search by area code, or by digits the number starts with, contains or ends with, and pick one.
3. Answer the wizard's questions about your business and your messages. Step 4 of the wizard, Messaging setup, is the A2P campaign: use case, description, sample messages and opt-in wording. Linxi checks your wording, then files the brand and campaign for you.
4. Import your contacts and send once the campaign is approved. See Sending Your First Message.

A Linxi-managed local number is $1.50 a month and a toll-free one $2.50; the first number is included on paid plans. Texts are billed at the carrier's own rate with no markup, plus a 2.9% fee when you add funds. Full figures are on the pricing page.

If you already have a Twilio or Telnyx account, choose Add Manually instead and connect it, keeping your numbers. On your own Twilio account, the Setup Progress page walks through eight parts, including the Messaging Service, the A2P brand and campaign, the webhooks and, at step 8, the emergency address.

One honest note about Linxi today: it is for texting, email and messaging, and it does not take or place calls yet. If the number has to ring, set up calling with another provider for now. On your own Twilio account, choosing a number that also shows Voice capability keeps calling open for later. And Linxi-managed numbers run on Telnyx, which Linxi cannot send picture messages from yet.

Mistakes to avoid

• Cancelling the old service before a port completes. The number can be lost.
• Using a PO box or the wrong location for E911. The address must be where a responder can actually go.
• Texting before your A2P campaign is approved. Every text to US mobiles fails until it is.
• Printing a free number that can be reclaimed if it goes quiet.
• Different numbers in different places. Customers and Google both trust a listing more when the number matches everywhere.
• One person's mobile as the business line. When they leave, the number goes with them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to set up a business phone number?

Buying a number takes minutes, and calling can be working within the hour once greetings and routing are set. Porting an existing number usually takes several business days. Texting from a local US number waits for A2P 10DLC approval, which typically takes a few business days, so start that first if texting matters.

Can I get a business phone number without an EIN?

Yes. You can buy a number and take calls without one. For texting customers from a local US number, a Standard A2P brand needs an EIN, but an individual without one can register as a Sole Proprietor brand, with lower sending limits. Linxi's in-app wizard builds Business profiles only, so a Sole Proprietor registration on Twilio is done in the Twilio Console.

Can I use my personal cell number as my business number?

You can, but it makes your personal number public, it is hard to share with anyone else, and it stays with you if someone else takes over the work. Texting customers at volume from a personal line also breaks carrier rules for business messaging. A separate business number avoids all of this without a second phone.

Do I need a separate phone for a business number?

No. A second line through a second SIM or eSIM, or an app that gives you a virtual number, puts the business number on the phone you already carry. Calls and texts to each number stay separate.

Do I need an E911 address if I only text from the number?

If the number is capable of voice calls, register one. Twilio requires an emergency address for any number that can make or receive calls, even if you never plan to call from it, and it costs nothing to add. A number set up only for messaging, with no voice capability, has nothing to dial 911 with.

Can I keep my business number if I move?

Usually. An internet-based number is not tied to a building, so it keeps working after a move, but you must update the emergency address to the new location. Moving a number to a different provider is porting, which in the US is generally allowed within the number's area.

How much does a business phone number cost?

It ranges from a free personal app to a monthly fee per user for a business phone system. On Linxi, a managed local number is $1.50 a month and toll-free is $2.50, with the first number included on paid plans, and texts are charged at carrier cost. A local number on your own Twilio account ran about $1.15 a month at the time Linxi checked, billed by Twilio.

Is a toll-free number free for the person calling?

Yes. The caller pays nothing for the call; the business pays the provider for the minutes instead. That is the point of a toll-free number, and why businesses that sell nationally like them.

What is a vanity phone number?

A vanity number spells a word on the keypad or follows a pattern that is easy to remember, such as repeating digits. Many providers let you search for numbers that start with, contain or end with particular digits. Memorable numbers are scarcer, so have a few options in mind.