Number porting rejections

A porting request may be rejected for several reasons, here are some of the preventable reasons for rejection and the steps you can take to avoid them.

Address mismatch - the address submitted does not match the records of the current/losing provider.

This is one of the most common problems with porting and we must ensure that the address we've provided matches what your current provider has on record. Whilst we always request a bill to help with confirming the correct address, you may need to speak to your provider to check which address they have on file. It may, for example, be different if you've moved premises but not updated your address with them.

Security lines associated with this number which have no order to cancel or transfer - there is a physical security line on your installation that has no active order to either cancel or transfer it to another number or line.

If a physical security line is associated with one or more numbers on the port request, the order cannot be placed until a separate cancel or transfer order has been undertaken with your security line provider. A common case is BT Redcare.

Number not in service - the number that you are trying to port is currently not active.

Any numbers that you wish to port must be in service with your current provider. This, in the most simple terms, means that the number(s) must be routed to a valid destination that will result in a ringing or answered call when it is dialled. If the number is not in service, it must be brought back into service before we can submit another port attempt.

Number(s) have been ported away from the range holder to another provider - the original range holder of the number has previously transferred the number to another provider.

In this case, we must determine who the other provider is, to be able to contact them as part of the process. This is referred to as a subsequent (SUP) port. The easiest way to obtain this information is to speak to your current provider.

You can ask your provider for the current Communications Provider Identity (CUPID) code for the number. The CUPID is a 3 digit number that all communications providers obtain when they register with Ofcom.

There are missing associated numbers or direct dial inward (DDI) ranges - the number(s) on the request also have additional numbers that are associated with them that must be included in any future port requests.

This can happen if there are numbers in use with your current provider that we are not aware of. All numbers must be included in a future port request, but depending on the nature of these numbers, they may be ported, remain with the current provider, or be ceased. You can find out more information about multi-line ports here.

This is a multi-line order, not a single line: - this happens if the number on the request was specified as a single line number, but there are multiple lines.

This might happen if there is a single number on the port request, but it has multiple physical lines (quite common with a traditional BT ISDN setup), or if there are simply multiple numbers associated with the number you wish to port.