Porting numbers for Zendesk Talk

If you have an existing phone number that you use for support calls, you might be able to port this number for use in Zendesk Talk.

The most up to date information can be found on our regulatory requirements article if there are porting guidelines for a given country then porting is possible.

This article contains the following topics:

• Before you start
• Information to submit when porting a number
• What to expect after your request
• Porting a number out of Zendesk Talk

Before you start

To get this process started, we need some information from you about your current number and your provider. Before initiating a port request with us, keep the following in mind:

• You must be a paid subscriber to Zendesk Talk for us to port a number. We can't port phone numbers for customers on a Zendesk trial. We are unable to make exceptions to this.
• Porting US and Canada numbers can take between one and four weeks. Other numbers can take 6 or more weeks. During the process, consider forwarding calls from your current provider to a phone number in your Zendesk Talk instance to provide a smooth transition.
• Once a porting date is set by us, changing it can be difficult and cause potential issues. Don't initiate ports until you are ready.
• Notify your current carrier to not disconnect the number until you tell them it's OK.
• Zendesk Talk is compliant with Canadian CRTC regulations.

Porting is available in the following countries, if it's not on the list, it's not going to be possible. Specific porting requirements can be found on this page.

Australia	Austria	Belgium	Brazil	Canada	Czech Republic	Denmark	France
Germany	Ireland	Italy	Mexico	Netherlands	New Zealand	Norway	Spain
Switzerland	United Kingdom	USA

Note: External numbers for outbound calls is a feature only available on the Talk Professional, Enterprise, and Suite Professional and higher plans.

Information to submit when porting a number

When you are ready to port your number, contact Zendesk customer support with the following information:

Note: We recommend not initiating the port until your go-live date to prevent porting early -- but can, at your request, initiate before that. Although you can request a go-live date. it's possible that your number could be ported in before this date. Note that we cannot choose a day and time for the port to happen but can often ask that a port is delayed until a certain date.

• The phone numbers you would like to port.
• The current carriers for the number(s) being ported.
• Does the current carrier use Twilio as their provider. If so its a number move not a port, this is good as its much quicker!
• The country and type (local / national / toll free) for the phone number.
• Your most recent billing statement for the number dated within 3 months.
• If you are porting a US-based number, include this filled in Letter of Authorization form. If you are porting from a different country, our team will reach out to you for any additional documentation we may need.
• If you are moving a number from another Twilio-based carrier and have your Twilio account SID from the current carrier, please also include that. If you are moving from a current Zendesk account to a different Zendesk account, give us the subdomain the number is currently on and the one it is being moved to.
• If the number to be ported is a cellphone number, you'll need to submit your account details and PIN number in the porting request

What to expect after your request

We will keep you up to date throughout the porting process. We might reach out to you to obtain additional documentation or information if specific countries have different requirements. If at any point in the process you have questions, let us know.

Porting a number out of Zendesk Talk

Timeline: Zendesk is not in control of the timeline of port-out requests, this is controlled by the gaining provider. Typically we have seen this happen in as little as 1 week, but in some extenuating circumstances it can take 4+ weeks. 

For help moving your Zendesk Talk number to another provider for any reason, contact Zendesk Customer Support. Typically this is initiated on the gaining providers side first by the Zendesk Customer who wants to move their number(s), the new provider asks us to release it and we automatically approve (if your account is in good financial standing) when your gaining provider attempts to move the number from Zendesk Talk.