LARA

Port an existing phone number to LARA

Move your existing main line to Laddr without breaking your printed marketing. Plan for 5–10 business days and a few easily-avoided pitfalls.

Colin LawlessColin LawlessCo-founder, CTO6 min readUpdated Apr 14, 2026
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Should you port

Port if your existing number is on every truck, every business card, and every Google listing. Don't port if you're testing LARA — buy a fresh number for that, then port later when you're ready to commit.

One-way move

Porting back to your old carrier is possible but slow. Treat the port as a deliberate move, not an experiment.

Before you submit

Gather these from your current carrier — Laddr can't pull them for you:

  • Account number with current carrier
  • Account PIN (some carriers call this the transfer PIN)
  • The exact business name and service address on file with that carrier
  • A current bill (PDF, less than 30 days old)

Match exactly

Carrier port departments reject mismatched names by default. If your carrier has the address as "100 Main St" but Laddr has "100 Main Street," the port fails and resets the clock. Match the carrier's records exactly, even if it looks wrong.

Submit the port

  1. Open Settings → LARA → Phone numbers → Add number → Port existing.
  2. Enter the number, account info, and upload the recent bill.
  3. Pick a target port date — Laddr defaults to 7 business days out.
  4. Submit. You'll get a confirmation email and a status pill in the dashboard.

During the port window

  • Don't cancel service with your old carrier. They'll release the number prematurely.
  • Don't change the address or business name on either side.
  • If the carrier disputes, you'll get an email with the reason and what to fix.

Cutover is brief

Most ports complete in a 30-minute window during business hours on the target date. Expect a few minutes of "call goes to voicemail" while DNS propagates. Schedule the cutover on a day you'll be at the desk.

After it lands

  1. Place a test call. The number now rings LARA (or your conditional forward, if configured).
  2. Verify your old carrier closed the line — log in and confirm the account is closed.
  3. Update Google Business Profile if you changed phone display preferences.
  4. Send a one-time announcement to your customer list — most don't notice, but a heads-up reduces "is this still you" calls.

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