# US and Canada carrier lookup

> Current carrier and line type for US and Canadian numbers, including ported numbers. Runs in bulk jobs; numbers outside US/CA are free.

Canonical: https://mobilevalidate.com/services/us-carrier-lookup · Last updated: 2026-09-25

![A cell tower sends signal to a SIM card; the line type is identified as mobile rather than landline or VoIP.](https://mobilevalidate.com/images/carrier-and-line-type-lookup.svg)

*Carrier lookup returns the line type (mobile, landline or VoIP) and the network behind the number.*


The US and Canada carrier lookup returns the current carrier and line type of a North American number. It follows numbers that have been ported to another network. It covers US and Canadian numbers only and runs in bulk jobs. Use it to clean a contact list before an SMS or calling campaign that people have agreed to receive.

## What does the US/CA carrier lookup tell you?

It tells you which carrier serves a US or Canadian number today and what kind of line it is: mobile, landline, VoIP, toll-free and so on.

In North America the number itself says little about the carrier. The US introduced wireless local number portability on 24 November 2003 (FCC), and Canada followed for wireless numbers on 14 March 2007 (CRTC). Since then, subscribers can keep their number when they change carriers, and they can move a landline number to a mobile or VoIP service. A lookup table built on area code and exchange (NPA-NXX) therefore shows where a number was first assigned, not where it lives now. This service answers with the carrier serving the number today.

Unlike the [general carrier lookup](/services/carrier-lookup), it doesn't return `original_carrier` or `country`. The number is always in the US or Canada, and the current carrier is what matters there.

## Who uses it, and why?

It is built for teams that message or call North American numbers at volume.

- **A2P SMS senders.** US carriers apply their own rules and fees to business messaging. Knowing the current carrier and whether a number is a landline or VoIP line before a send avoids failed messages and lets you estimate costs per carrier.
- **Call centers.** Landline, mobile and VoIP numbers are handled differently under US calling rules, and dialing strategy often depends on line type. See [call-center screening](/use-cases/call-center-screening).
- **Lead verification.** A lead form in the US that returns a `voip` or `toll_free` line in the "mobile phone" field is worth checking again before you spend sales time on it.
- **List hygiene.** Run a quarterly job over the whole CRM to find numbers that moved from mobile to VoIP or landline.

Combine it with [spam reputation](/services/spam-reputation), which covers the US and Canada too, to see reported nuisance numbers in the same job.

## What do you get back?

| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| `attributes.line_type` | enum | `mobile`, `fixed_line`, `fixed_line_or_mobile`, `voip`, `toll_free`, `premium_rate`, `shared_cost`, `personal`, `pager`, `uan`, `voicemail` or `unknown` |
| `attributes.carrier` | string | Current carrier name (up to 80 characters) |
| `registered` | boolean or null | `true` when data was found; `null` when not conclusive |
| `status` / `reason` | enum / string | `completed`, `unknown`, `unsupported_country` (non-US/CA numbers) |
| `checked_at`, `cached`, `billed` | — | When the answer was obtained, whether it came from cache, whether it was charged |

In bulk downloads (CSV or NDJSON), the attributes appear as the columns `network.carrier_us.line_type` and `network.carrier_us.carrier`, next to your original rows in their original order.

## How is it billed?

You're not charged for inconclusive results (unknown, unsupported country, timeout, invalid, duplicate). A number from outside the US and Canada, including other +1 countries, is `unsupported_country` and free. The bulk estimate (`POST /v1/jobs/estimate`) is free and shows the maximum cost before you commit.

The service has a single bulk price per number checked. See [pricing](/pricing). Repeat checks of the same number inside the freshness window can come from your account's cache, and cache hits are free. Pass `max_cost` when you create the job to set a hard ceiling on the spend.

## What are the limits?

- **Bulk only.** `POST /v1/lookup` refuses the check with `403 service_disabled`. Use `POST /v1/jobs` (up to 50,000 numbers and e-mails per job, 100,000 numbers × checks).
- **US and Canada only.** Everything else is `unsupported_country`, which is free. The +1 prefix is shared with other countries in the North American Numbering Plan, so +1 alone doesn't guarantee coverage.
- Requests that look like sequential number ranges or generated e-mail lists are rejected (20 or more consecutive numbers → `suspected_enumeration`).
- A daily numbers cap applies per account (`GET /v1/limits`).
- It reports the carrier and line type, not whether a number was reassigned to a new subscriber and not whether the handset is reachable. It doesn't replace the FCC Reassigned Numbers Database, and it doesn't create TCPA consent.

## How do I use it responsibly?

Carrier data helps you reach people who asked to hear from you. It doesn't give you permission to contact anyone. US and Canadian rules on calls and texts still apply, including consent and do-not-call obligations. The [acceptable use policy](/legal/acceptable-use) forbids unsolicited bulk messaging and using results for credit, employment, housing or insurance decisions.

People can object to their number being checked through the [opt-out form](/opt-out). Suppressed numbers are skipped and never charged.

## Example request

Test keys are free and never reach a real network. The documented test numbers (`+447700900001` to `…006`) work for this service in test mode. Any other non-US/CA number returns `unsupported_country`.

```bash
curl https://api.mobilevalidate.com/v1/jobs \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOBILEVALIDATE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: us-carrier-demo-001" \
  -d '{"numbers": ["+447700900001", "+447700900002", "+447700900003"], "checks": ["network.carrier_us"]}'
# then: GET /v1/jobs/{id}?wait=30 and GET /v1/jobs/{id}/results
```

Response from `GET /v1/jobs/{id}/results` (excerpt, test mode: the first row):

```json
{
  "kind": "phone",
  "input": "+44770*****01",
  "e164": "+447700900001",
  "country": "GB",
  "number_status": "valid",
  "checks": {
    "network.carrier_us": {
      "service": "network.carrier_us",
      "status": "completed",
      "registered": true,
      "attributes": {
        "line_type": "mobile",
        "carrier": "Test Carrier"
      },
      "confidence": "high",
      "confidence_score": 0.99,
      "checked_at": "2026-09-25T14:25:31.310Z",
      "cached": false,
      "age_seconds": 0,
      "billed": false,
      "reason": null,
      "poll_after_ms": null
    }
  },
  "test": true
}
```

## Frequently asked questions

### Why does the prefix of a US number not tell me its carrier?

Since wireless number portability started in the US in November 2003, subscribers can keep their number when they switch carriers. The area code and exchange show where the number was first assigned, not where it is served today.

### Can I use this lookup in real time?

No. It is available in bulk jobs only (POST /v1/jobs). A real-time request is refused with service_disabled. For real-time answers, use the general carrier lookup.

### What happens to numbers from other +1 countries, such as Caribbean numbers?

They share the +1 country code but are not US or Canadian numbers. They come back as unsupported_country and are not charged.

### Is this the same as checking whether a number was reassigned?

No. The lookup tells you the current carrier and line type. It does not tell you whether the number changed hands, so it is not a substitute for the FCC Reassigned Numbers Database.

## Service code and modes

- Code: `network.carrier_us` (input: phone number)
- Modes: bulk only · countries: US, CA

## Price (live)

- Realtime: not available (bulk only)
- Bulk (POST /v1/jobs): $0.003 per check ($3.00 per 1,000)
- You're not charged for inconclusive results (unknown, unsupported country, timeout, invalid, duplicate).

## Response fields (from the public catalog)

| Field | Type | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| registered | boolean or null | true when data was found; null when unknown (not charged) |
| status | enum | completed, pending, unknown, unsupported_country, failed |
| checked_at | timestamp | When the answer was obtained |
| attributes.line_type | enum (mobile, fixed_line, fixed_line_or_mobile, voip, toll_free, premium_rate, shared_cost, personal, pager, uan, voicemail, unknown) | Line type. |
| attributes.carrier | string | Current carrier name. |