Porting LOA Requirements: What You Need to Know Before Switching VoIP Providers

When you switch VoIP providers, porting LOA requirements, the official authorization documents needed to transfer your phone number from one carrier to another. Also known as Letter of Authorization, it’s the single most overlooked step that can delay your switch by weeks. Without a properly filled LOA, your number stays locked with your old provider—no matter how good the new deal looks.

LOA isn’t just a form. It’s a legal contract between you, your old carrier, and your new one. It must include your full legal name, exact phone number(s) being moved, account number, signature, and date. Many providers reject LOAs because of tiny errors: a missing hyphen in the phone number, an unsigned copy, or using a generic company name instead of the registered legal entity. If you’re a small business, your LOA must match the name on your business license. If you’re a remote worker using a virtual number, your LOA still needs your real identity tied to it. This isn’t bureaucracy—it’s how telecom fraud gets blocked.

Related to this are SIP trunking, the technology that lets VoIP calls travel over the internet instead of traditional phone lines. Your new provider might offer SIP trunks, but if your number isn’t ported correctly, those trunks won’t work with your existing line. And if you’re moving multiple numbers—say, for a team spread across states or countries—each one needs its own LOA. Some providers bundle porting into setup, but others charge extra or make you submit each LOA manually. You’ll also need to check if your current provider has early termination fees or number lock-in clauses. Don’t assume your number is free to move.

Real-world delays happen because people treat LOA like a checkbox. They download a template from a forum, fill it out in a hurry, and send a scanned signature. That’s not enough. Your new VoIP provider will verify every detail with your old carrier, and if anything doesn’t match—like a mismatched billing address or an outdated account number—the whole process stalls. Some carriers even require a notarized LOA. Others accept e-signatures. It varies by country, by provider, and sometimes by the type of number (toll-free, local, mobile). You can’t guess your way through it.

That’s why the posts below cover real cases: how a construction team in Texas lost three days of calls because their LOA used the LLC name instead of the DBA, how a healthcare provider in Canada had to resubmit their LOA three times due to HIPAA compliance rules, and how one company saved 11 days by using automated LOA tools that cross-checked their details against carrier databases. These aren’t theory pieces. They’re lessons from people who got burned.

What you’ll find here isn’t a generic guide. It’s a collection of real fixes, checklists, and provider-specific tips that actually work. Whether you’re moving ten numbers or one, whether you’re a solo freelancer or running a call center, you’ll find exactly what you need to get your number transferred without the headache.