Phone number lookup

How the lookup works

Every country hands out its phone numbers in blocks, and most give each kind of line its own block. UK mobiles start with 07, London landlines with 020. The lookup reads the number against those numbering plans — the libphonenumber data Google uses, covering 200+ countries — and tells you what the number itself reveals.

The US and Canada are the exception. Mobiles and landlines share area codes there, so the number alone can't say which it is, and the lookup shows both. The carrier check closes that gap: it asks the carrier's own records, which also show the network the number is on today and whether it moved there from another one.

Number types

Landline

A wired line tied to an address, usually with a geographic area code. Common for homes, offices and government lines.

Mobile

A cell phone number. It can receive texts, and it moves with its owner — between networks, too, when it's ported.

VoIP

A number that runs over the internet. It can look like a landline but isn't tied to one place. Google Voice and most business phone systems work this way.

Toll-free

Free for the caller; the business pays. In the US these start with 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 or 833.

Premium rate

The caller pays extra — often $1–10 a minute. In the US these often start with 900. Scammers sometimes dress them up as support lines.

Why the type matters

• Texts only reach mobiles. A verification code sent to a landline never arrives.
• Calling a mobile usually costs more. A UK mobile (+44 7…) costs more per minute than a London landline (+44 20…).
• Some networks block VoIP numbers to fight fraud, so calls to and from them can fail.
• Premium-rate numbers bill the caller heavily. Checking first saves a surprise on your bill.

Frequently asked questions

Is this lookup really free?

Yes. The number lookup is free and needs no account. The carrier check reads live carrier records, so it needs a free account — you get 10 checks a day.

How accurate is the mobile vs. landline answer?

Where a country gives mobiles their own prefixes — the UK, Germany, most of Europe — the number alone is reliable. In the US and Canada it can't be, because mobiles and landlines share area codes; the carrier check answers from the carrier's records instead. A ported number keeps its original prefix, so only the carrier check sees where it lives now.

Can I look up who owns a phone number?

No. Neither the lookup nor the carrier check shows the owner — personal subscriber information isn't available through public lookups.

Does this work for international numbers?

Yes, for any country. Include the country code — +44 for the UK, +49 for Germany, +81 for Japan.

What's the difference between "valid" and "possible"?

"Possible" means the number has the right length to be real. "Valid" means it matches the exact pattern its country uses for that kind of number.