Port Your Existing Fax Number to Send FAX Mail
Porting means bringing the fax number you already have — the one printed on your forms, business cards, and patient records — to Send FAX Mail instead of getting a new one. You keep the number your contacts know; we take over the routing. Porting runs on a regulated process involving a Letter of Authorization and your current carrier, and it typically takes one to three weeks, so the key is to keep your old line active until the switch completes.
How a ported fax number works
Number portability is a carrier-to-carrier transfer governed by telecom rules. You sign a Letter of Authorization, or LOA, that proves you control the number, and you provide a recent bill from your current (losing) carrier so the account details match. The gaining carrier submits the port request, the losing carrier validates it, and a firm-order-commitment date is set for the cutover. On that date the number's routing flips from the old provider to ours, usually a brief window during which the line moves. Because every detail — account number, service address, authorized name — must match the losing carrier's records exactly, a mismatch is the most common cause of a rejected or delayed port, which is why the realistic window is one to three weeks rather than instant. Once the port lands, the number lives on Send FAX Mail and inbound faxes convert to PDFs in your dashboard and inbox.
When it's the right fit
- ✓A practice or firm whose fax number is on thousands of printed records and cannot change without disruption
- ✓A business switching away from an expensive legacy fax line but unwilling to lose its known number
- ✓An office consolidating a separate fax machine line into a cloud service while keeping the same digits
- ✓Anyone whose number is referenced by partners, insurers, or directories that would be costly to update
Setting one up
- 1Start a port request in the dashboard and enter the existing number plus your current carrier account details
- 2Sign the Letter of Authorization and upload a recent bill so the account information can be matched exactly
- 3We submit the port; the losing carrier validates it and a cutover date is scheduled, generally within one to three weeks
- 4Keep the old line active and paid until the cutover completes, then send a test fax once routing has moved
Honest limitations
- Porting is not instant — plan for a one-to-three-week window, longer if account details need correcting
- Do not cancel your old service early; canceling before the port completes can strand the number and force you to start over
- Any mismatch between your request and the losing carrier's records (name, address, account number) will delay or reject the port
- Some specialty or recently moved numbers carry porting restrictions set by the losing carrier
How it compares
| Type | Cost | Setup | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ported | Number itself moves; service runs on your plan | One to three weeks with an LOA and cutover | Keeping a number your contacts already use |
| Local | Lowest carrier cost | Minutes, a brand-new number | Starting fresh with a regional line |
| Toll-Free | Slightly higher, folded into the plan | Minutes, a brand-new 8XX number | Starting fresh with nationwide reach |
Ported fax numbers — FAQ
Your old line keeps working right up to the scheduled cutover. The actual transfer is a short window when routing flips from the losing carrier to us. As long as you keep the old service active until that date, there is no extended outage — which is exactly why you should not cancel early.
Plan for roughly one to three weeks. The timeline is driven by the losing carrier's validation, not by us: once they confirm your details and accept the request, a firm cutover date is set. Mismatched account information is the usual reason a port runs long.
Two things: a signed Letter of Authorization confirming you control the number, and a recent bill from your current carrier. The bill lets us match the account number, authorized name, and service address to the losing carrier's records so the request is not rejected.
Usually yes. A number running to a standalone fax machine or a landline is generally portable to a cloud service, as long as it is an ordinary fax or voice line and the account is in good standing. The same LOA-and-bill process applies.
A rejection almost always traces to a detail that does not match the losing carrier — a slightly different business name or an old service address. We resubmit with the corrected information; your old line stays up the whole time, so a rejection delays the date but does not lose the number.
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