What happens to your business phone number when you cancel: 18 vendors' terms compared

The short answer, vendor by vendor

Two things decide whether your number survives a cancellation: what kind of number it is, and whether you moved it before the account closed. A number you brought with you can usually leave with you if you port it while the account is open and paid. A number the vendor handed you may belong to the vendor. A tracking number on an ad was never yours.

We read each vendor's own terms, numbering policy or help pages on October 31, 2026. Where a page would not load or is silent, the table says so instead of guessing. Terms change, so read the clause again before you sign or cancel. This is general information, not legal advice.

Forwarding, porting, assigned and tracking numbers: what's the difference?

Most confusion about keeping a number comes from mixing up four setups.

• Forwarding. Your number stays with your own carrier, and you forward its calls to an answering service, an AI receptionist or a crew lead's cell. Leaving means changing a setting. The number never moved, so the vendor's terms can't take it. Watch for side numbers: Jobber's dedicated number, for example, is a separate texting line.
• Porting. The number moves to the vendor's carrier account, and to leave you port it out again. Federal rules back you: the FCC's porting guide says you can generally keep your number when you switch providers and stay in the same area. Nearly every vendor below adds one condition: start the port while the account is open.
• Assigned. The vendor gives you a number from its own pool. Ruby's FAQ says you can take yours; Jobber's terms say its company numbers are Jobber's; others hold it for a set time and then release it.
• Tracking. A stand-in number an ad or listing shows in place of yours, forwarding to your real line so the vendor can count calls. When the program ends, the number goes back to the vendor, and anyone who saved it is calling a line you don't control.

So the number on your trucks, yard signs, invoices and Google Business Profile should be held in your company's name, either kept at your own carrier and forwarded, or ported to a provider whose port-out terms you've read. A tracking number on your own phone account, one you can keep or port, is a different thing from one an ad vendor rents you. Our call tracking guide shows how to set up the first kind.

Phone systems: Quo, Google Voice, RingCentral, Zoom and Grasshopper

Quo, the company that renamed itself from OpenPhone, documents porting out more plainly than most. Its porting-out article requires an active paid account and rules out porting during the trial. Quo then sends the account number and PIN the new carrier asks for within 24 to 48 business hours. A transfer typically takes 1 to 14 days, a finished port does not cancel your subscription, and voicemails should be downloaded first.

On how long a number survives after you cancel, Quo's own pages disagree. Here are all three as written, because we can't tell which one Quo follows:

Plan on the shortest, 14 days, and port before you cancel.

Google Voice has two cases. For Workspace accounts, the Google Workspace service terms (last modified October 12, 2026) make you responsible for porting fees and for charges until the port completes (8.5(b)(i)), then say in 8.5(b)(ii) that Google may release any Voice number after the user's license ends if you didn't port it first. Remove the seat of the person whose number is on your trucks before the port finishes, and that number can go. For a personal number, Google's porting help article says releasing it to another carrier costs $3, with no charge for a number you originally ported in.

RingCentral's terms point to a separate Numbering Policy (last updated October 15, 2019). It says RingCentral is required by law to comply with a valid porting request, that you alone are responsible for porting numbers out before termination, and that numbers not ported by then may be released. Cancelling individual lines may also release their numbers, which matters if you trim users before the main port is done.

Zoom Phone's numbering policy (effective September 2021) uses nearly the same wording, then adds a clock: numbers not already ported may be released to other customers after 30 days, subject to applicable law.

Grasshopper's porting page offers to port your own number in for free. Its support articles would not load in full, so we read them through search results on October 31, 2026. The port-out article says only paid accounts with no outstanding balance can port out, not free trials, and a finished port does not close the account. The cancellation article says to port every number before you cancel; numbers stay on the account 90 days after the subscription ends, then are recycled. Its terms address returned a not-found error.

Answering services: Ruby, Rosie and Smith.ai

Ruby puts the promise in its FAQ and the conditions in its terms. The FAQ says Ruby assigns each customer a number you are free to publish and take with you at the end of service. The Terms of Use (marked last updated March 2026) let you port it away after you terminate if your account is in good standing and either Ruby was hosting your established number or the forwarding number was assigned more than 21 days before the port date. Ruby may release or reassign numbers not ported within three months after the subscription ends.

Rosie's terms (last updated February 5, 2026) have a shorter version of that clause. Section 2(d) says Rosie hosts your established number or assigns a forwarding number, and may release or reassign any number not ported back within three months after the subscription ends. That section leaves out Ruby's good-standing and 21-day conditions.

Smith.ai is the gap in this group. Its porting article says Smith.ai charges no fee to port a number in or out, and its article on porting times puts the industry average at 7 to 10 days. We could not check what its terms say about a number Smith.ai assigns: the terms page showed only a contact form on October 31, 2026. Treat that as not verified and ask in writing. Our Ruby versus Smith.ai comparison covers both services in more depth.

Field service software: Jobber, Housecall Pro and Workiz

Field software adds texting and notification numbers that customers save and text back for years.

Under Jobber's terms of service, dated September 22, 2026, the company-specific numbers it provisions are Jobber's property and not transferable by you, Jobber has no obligation to port them, and it may take back any number no longer tied to an active subscription. Its dedicated phone number article says the number is for texts only and that calls to it forward to the company phone number in your settings, if you've entered one. Your main number isn't at risk, but customers who saved the Jobber texting number will be texting a dead end. Send them your next texting number before you cancel; our guide to cancelling Jobber covers the rest.

Housecall Pro's terms (last modified July 1, 2026) say a Pro-specific notification phone number may not be transferable and will be held for 90 days after you cancel. For a number you ported in, porting it back out is your responsibility.

Workiz offers a VoIP number on request, subject to its approval, under section 8.3 of its terms (version 1.8, updated February 19, 2026). Section 8.6 lets Workiz suspend or terminate that number immediately and without notice for a missed payment, or for any other reason it considers necessary to protect Workiz or its users. We found no clause on ownership or porting out.

All-in-one marketing platforms: HighLevel and Thryv

HighLevel's terms of service (last updated June 2026) set a short clock: all numbers procured through the platform on your behalf will be released within 14 days after cancellation. A number you ported in is, in the terms' words, the property of the sub-account owner, and HighLevel may release it to that owner on request. HighLevel may also release a number if an account sits paused for more than 30 days while still running up costs. Its help article on what happens to your data when you cancel (modified August 18, 2026) says numbers and A2P texting registrations are deleted 14 days after cancellation and billed until then. If an agency set up your phones inside its own software, ask whose software it is and read those terms too. Either way, the new provider will need its own texting registration; our 10DLC guide explains it.

Thryv's terms (page marked effective December 1, 2026) are blunt. Section 12 says Thryv cannot hand ownership of its SMS number to you, during or after the subscription; when the subscription ends, that number is disconnected or may go to another business. Section 11 says VoIP numbers come with additional terms provided when you get the number, so ask for those before you print a Thryv number on anything.

Agencies and ad platforms: Hibu, LocaliQ, Marketing 360, Yelp and Google

Tracking numbers are a fair way for a marketing vendor to measure an ad. The trouble starts when one lands on the truck, the website header or the Business Profile, because it leaves with the vendor.

Hibu's legal terms cover remote call forwarding and call tracking. Hibu arranges a "keyed/metered" tracking number, and you agree not to publish it anywhere but your website. If you fail to pay, Hibu may disconnect the number and forward the calls it receives to other advertisers in your market offering the same services, and you still owe what the agreement says. We found no clause saying the number ever transfers to you.

LocaliQ's Dash product page says it assigns a dedicated texting number for use inside Dash and that you can't use your own. Its Australian tracking services terms (last modified September 12, 2023) say you do not own, and will not obtain, any ownership interest in its tracking numbers. Its US tracking terms page showed no terms text when we read it, so the US wording is not verified; ask LocaliQ for it.

Marketing 360 is the one vendor in this section that offers a way to keep a tracking number. Section 1.b of its terms (last updated July 30, 2026) says that after cancellation you may keep your call tracking numbers for a monthly fee, amount not stated. Its help article on porting a tracking number away says the numbers run through Bandwidth, that porting is a carrier-only process your new carrier has to start, and that you should not use these numbers on printed marketing or branding materials.

Yelp's advertising terms (last updated May 11, 2026) say call tracking replaces the number on your Yelp page with a temporary tracking number, and that Yelp's tracking numbers are the property of Yelp or its service providers and cannot be retained by you.

Google Local Services Ads show a Google forwarding number. Google's help page on managing leads says you can't choose it, that it is a dynamic number that changes often, and that in the US and Canada calls through it are recorded by Google. When you stop, what carries on is your own number on your Business Profile and website. Our Yelp Ads versus Local Services Ads comparison covers the rest of both programs.

Why does cancelling first cost you the number?

Read the clauses side by side and one pattern shows up: your right to move a number is strongest while the account is open and paid. RingCentral, Zoom, Google Voice and Grasshopper expect the port before the account closes, and Quo needs an active paid account. After cancellation, the stated hold periods run from 14 days (HighLevel, and Quo after failed payments) to three months (Ruby and Rosie).

So the order never changes: open the new service, port the number, test it, then cancel the old one. Expect a short overlap where you pay both, and get the closing of the old account confirmed in writing, because a finished port does not stop Quo's billing by itself.

Before you sign: what to ask any vendor about your number

• What kind of number is this? Mine ported in, one you assign, or a tracking number. Get the answer in writing.
• Whose name is on the carrier account? Your company should be the account holder, with the port-out PIN stored where the business can find it.
• What do I need to port out, and how fast do you provide it? Quo commits to 24 to 48 business hours for the account number and PIN. No written timeline means plan for a slow port.
• How many days do you hold the number after I cancel, and after a missed payment? One number, in writing. Quo's three pages show why.
• What does porting out cost? Smith.ai says it charges no fee; Google charges $3 for a personal Voice number; Google's Workspace terms put porting fees on you.
• What happens to texting? Ask which number texts go out from, who owns it, and what happens to the texting registration.
• Can I download voicemails, recordings and message history first? Quo tells customers to export contact lists and call logs before closing an account.
• Will a tracking number appear on my listings or website? If so, confirm your own number stays on your Business Profile, trucks, signs and printed material.

If you are leaving a vendor now

1. Find your number type in the table above. Ported-in and hosted numbers can usually move; vendor-owned texting numbers and ad tracking numbers get replaced instead.
2. Open the new service and request the port-out details (account number, PIN, service address) while the old account is still active and paid.
3. Download voicemails, recordings, texts and call logs.
4. Submit the port, test calls and texts, then cancel the old account and keep the written confirmation.
5. Swap out tracking and vendor texting numbers on listings, your website, email signature and anything printed.

Our step-by-step porting walkthrough covers the port request, the letter of authorization and the usual reasons ports get rejected. If you are choosing a new provider, our business phone plans comparison sets the main apps' prices and texting limits side by side.

How we set up phone numbers

We build business phone systems for service companies, and we start from a number you control: your existing number ported over, or a new local or toll-free number in the area codes you serve. Our pricing page lists the phone number among the things you own when the work is done, in these words: "ported to you, not leased to you." Phone numbers and minutes are their own monthly line in the quote, so you can stop that line without touching anything else. We publish no prices and have no client reviews yet, so hold us to the same questions as everyone in the table: ask for the exit terms in writing before you sign, at hello@dillardsdigital.com.

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