Should a service business use a local phone number or a toll-free number?
For most local service businesses, a local number is the usual choice, because nearby customers may recognize the area code and its calls usually come from close by. A toll-free number, which FCC rules define as one where the business pays the charges for completed calls, can suit a business that serves callers across many states. Whichever you pick, keep it on an account in the business's name. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
What a toll-free number is
The FCC's rules on toll-free numbers, in Title 47 of the Code of Federal Regulations (section 52.101, as published by Cornell Law School's Legal Information Institute), define a toll-free number as one for which the toll charges for completed calls are paid by the toll-free subscriber, meaning the business that has the number. The same definitions say the business's location has no bearing on which toll-free number it can get.
They also define a Responsible Organization, or RespOrg: the company a toll-free subscriber chooses to manage the records for its number. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
Local or toll-free, side by side
These are rules of thumb, not rules, and some businesses use both.
| Local number | Toll-free number | |
|---|---|---|
| Often suits | A business serving one town or region | A business taking calls from many states |
| What it can signal to a caller | A business nearby | A larger or wider-reaching operation |
| Who pays the call charges | Depends on the caller's plan | The business, by the FCC's definition |
| Good fit for | Home services, trades, local offices | Support lines, mail-order or nationwide service |
Do not buy a number from a broker
Section 52.107 of the same rules bars toll-free subscribers from hoarding numbers, meaning taking more than they intend to use, and says no person or entity may acquire a toll-free number in order to sell it to someone else for a fee. The rule does not apply to numbers assigned by competitive bidding, or to certain numbers transferred under a related exception. So be wary of anyone offering to sell you a memorable toll-free number; get one through a phone provider instead, and ask a lawyer if an offer seems unclear. This is a plain summary, not legal advice.
Keep it in the business's name, and track it
A number on your trucks and cards is hard to change later, so it should sit on an account the business owns, with the login and passcode in the owner's hands. The related answer on who should own your business phone number covers that. For a toll-free number, ask your provider who acts as its RespOrg and get the answer in writing.
Either way, ask every caller how they heard about you and record the answer; the related answer on tracking phone call leads covers how. On its own, the type of number does not tell you which channel brought the call.
Sources
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School), "47 CFR § 52.101 - General definitions"
- Legal Information Institute (Cornell Law School), "47 CFR § 52.107 - Hoarding"
Related answers
- Who should own your business phone number?
- How do you track leads that come in by phone?
- Why do my business calls show up as 'Spam Likely' on customers' phones?
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