Phone number check phone number status is a critical component to an effective database and contact management system. It isn’t uncommon for numbers to change or be deactivated, making it difficult to maintain accurate contact data. Without a way to check whether a phone number is active, businesses can waste valuable time and resources calling or sending text messages to invalid numbers.

What makes a phone number active?

There are a few key factors that determine if a phone number is active or inactive. The most obvious factor is that the phone number must be capable of receiving calls or text messages. Active numbers will ring, be answered or sent to voicemail when called and will likely return an error-delivery prompt when a message is sent to them. Inactive numbers, on the other hand, cannot be reached when called and will typically be met with a dial tone or automated message that states the number is no longer in service.

A real-time phone validation tool can help to ensure that a phone number is active by performing a line type lookup, carrier lookup and live ping to verify the status of the number. This can be done as part of the signup process or when a lead submits a form on your website to help reduce time wasted trying to reach an invalid number. Using phone intelligence, a tool like IPQS can also enrich the number with risk information and provide additional details like whether it is a VoIP number and more.