How to Check if a Phone Number is Active

If your business relies on customer phone numbers, ensuring they’re active before adding them to your database is critical to avoid wasting time and money on disconnected or invalid numbers.

Don’t assume customers always provide valid numbers—some intentionally give fake or inactive ones to avoid contact, while others may provide numbers that later become disconnected.

Tools like Searchbug make this process fast, accurate, and compliant with regulations like the National Do Not Call Registry, helping you streamline your marketing efforts.

Here’s why and how to verify phone numbers effectively.

What Are Active or Inactive Phone Numbers?  

Active phone numbers are numbers that are reachable. They are in use. For example, if an active number is called, it will ring, be answered, or go to voicemail. Moreover, text messages sent to active numbers will be delivered.

On the other hand, inactive phone numbers cannot be reached. Calls made to inactive numbers are met with dial tones or automated messages stating that the number is not in service. It is not being used. Text messages sent to inactive phone numbers will not be delivered. The sender likely receives an error notification that the message delivery failed.

How Phone Numbers Become Active or Inactive  ?

Phone numbers are owned by phone carriers. Carriers assign the numbers to consumers when they sign up for their service. When a number is assigned, it is activated for use. These numbers are then able to receive calls and messages. A number is inactive until it is assigned.

Let’s take it from the top. Your phone carrier has a list of phone numbers that it owns. Some are active and assigned to their existing clients. Others are inactive and ready to be assigned and activated.

You have one of these active numbers assigned to you. However, you decide to switch carriers, maybe for better service, a better rate, a certain promotion, whatever the case may be. In most cases, you have the option to continue to use your current phone number with the new carrier. This is called porting.

Unfortunately, sometimes porting a number isn’t possible. In this case, you abandon your number with your initial carrier. That number is no longer assigned to you, so that carrier deactivates the phone number.

This allows it to become assigned to a new user, in which case it is activated again but for someone else. It will then be considered a reassigned number.

This explains what happens with “real” phone numbers. Active or inactive, they are legitimate and can be assigned, unassigned, and reassigned as necessary. But it’s important to consider fake numbers as well.

Other Phone Number Scenarios  

In addition to real phone numbers that have not been assigned, there are other numbers that will be inactive as well.

Fake phone numbers are not listed with any carrier and are not available for use by anyone. A fake phone number will never be active or reachable. Phone numbers 555-0100 through 555-0199 were reserved around 1994 by phone companies for use in fictional scenarios such as television, radio, and literature.

Have you ever called 867-5309? About 40 people a day had, according to poor DJ Potter, who was assigned the number in 2004.

Gauging the value of the novelty, his first instinct was to sell the phone number. But as we mentioned earlier, phone numbers are owned by phone companies. So instead, Mr. Potter decided to take advantage of the situation by listing his business—along with its assigned phone number—for sale on eBay after confirming with the phone company that the number could be transferred. Yay capitalism.

Then there are invalid phone numbers. Like deactivated phone numbers, invalid phone numbers will not be active or reachable either. This is because they aren’t formatted correctly. For example, they might have too few numbers. Or perhaps it is entered with a mismatching or nonexistent area code or country code. It just won’t work.

Why Do You Need to Check if a Phone Number is Active?  

Verifying phone numbers is essential, especially for businesses making frequent calls. Here’s why:

 1. Wasting Time, Money, and Resources 

First, consider the cost of calling inactive numbers. For example, a small business with a 10,000-number list could save hours of manual calling by using Searchbug’s Bulk Phone Verification, with flexible pricing that scales by volume. By having a verified and clean list, your team can focus on calling reachable numbers.

 2. Eliminate Fake Numbers Right Away 

Random or fake numbers provided by customers can slip into your database. Searchbug’s Phone Validator APIs catch these at the point of entry, ensuring only valid, active numbers are stored in your CRM.

 3.  Data Decays Fast

Customer data decays at a rate of about 30% per year, with 100,000 numbers reassigned daily and 30 million disconnected annually, the numbers add up fast. Searchbug’s tools make it easy to clean your list periodically, keeping your data accurate and your campaigns effective.

How Do Inactive Numbers Enter Your Database?  

In the data collection process, there’s always room for error. Numbers get mistyped, misread, and entered incorrectly either by the consumer or the person who handles your customer data if it isn’t automated.

If you collect customer data via web forms, check out our article How to Use Validation Error Messages to Improve Web Form Submissions to help prevent incomplete and incorrect entries from making it into your system.

And of course, as we mentioned above, there are those people who provide fake or random numbers to avoid being contacted by marketers. In most cases, you won’t be able to tell whether a number is legitimate just by looking at it. Fortunately, we have solutions to help check if a phone number is active. These solutions are easy to use, accurate, and save you time and money in the long run.

How Do You Check if a Phone Number is Active?  

The most efficient way to check if a phone number is active is by using a professional validation service like Searchbug, which offers fast, accurate, and cost-effective phone validation solutions for businesses and individuals.

Searchbug has multiple scalable phone validation offerings that businesses can choose from: Manual Phone Number Validation, Bulk Upload Validation, and Phone Validation API. All of these search types can check if a number is active, reachable, identify its line type (mobile, landline, or VoIP), and verify its carrier.

In addition, depending on the data you want to retrieve, some of our phone validator tools ensure that you comply with the National Do Not Call (DNC) Registry and TCPA regulations as it provides details whether a phone number is on the Federal DNC, State DNC, or if it’s a DNC Complainer or TCPA Litigator. This prevents costly TCPA fines and saves time by filtering out inactive or invalid numbers before they enter your database.

Bulk Upload validation pricing scales by volume for cleaning large contact lists. Additionally, API integration works seamlessly with web forms, software, or applications for real-time validation, ensuring only valid data is collected. API pricing also scales by volume for maximum cost-effectiveness.

Why Choose Searchbug for Phone Number Validation?  

Searchbug stands out as the premier solution for verifying phone numbers, offering tools tailored for businesses, marketers, and individuals. Its Phone Validator Tool provides instant results, checking if a number is active, its line type, carrier, and DNC status, and much more.

For larger datasets, Bulk Phone Validator processes thousands of numbers at once, making it ideal for cleaning contact lists or ensuring compliance in marketing campaigns. All you have to do is upload your files and let the system process them for you. If you have the technical capability, Phone Validation API integration is highly recommended as it streamlines the process with your existing systems.

For critical needs, Searchbug’s Reachable Phone Number Service uses call detail records and optional dialing to confirm a number’s status with 100% accuracy, perfect for debt collection or legal purposes. By leveraging real-time data from carriers and public records, Searchbug ensures reliability and helps you avoid TCPA fines, saving time and money.

Conclusion  

Don’t let inactive or invalid phone numbers derail your business. With Searchbug, you can verify numbers quickly, ensure DNC compliance, and save time and money. Whether you need a single lookup, bulk upload validation, or real-time API integration, Searchbug has the tools to keep your data clean and your campaigns effective.

Want to try it out? Searchbug offers free API testing—no credit card, no subscriptions, no hidden charges. Try it risk-free today and see how phone validation tools can be a game changer for your organization.