How to Check if a Phone Number is Active, Valid, and Reachable (Step-by-Step)

Why You Might Want to Check a Phone Number's Status

Whether you're trying to:

• Clean up your contact list,

• Verify leads before outreach,

• Avoid sending SMS to invalid numbers,

• Check if a phone number you're onboarding is real

• Verify if a CLI belongs to a real phone number

• Confirm that a destination telephone number is active before allowing a call to it

• Or simply confirm if someone still uses a number.

In each of these cases, knowing whether a number is active, valid, and reachable helps you avoid wasted effort, save on messaging or call costs, and improve overall communication efficiency. It’s especially important for businesses running SMS campaigns, customer verification, or fraud detection where accuracy directly impacts delivery rates and user experience.

What Is an HLR Lookup?

HLR stands for Home Location Register. The Home Location Register (HLR) is a database that is hosted by each mobile network operator, storing details of the subscribers.

Each mobile network operator maintains its own HLR database for its own subscribers. This keeps the HLR database up to date with which services its subscribers are allowed to access. A separate database called a Visitor Location Register (VLR) temporarily stores details of users who are currently using the network. This includes users from the mobile network’s own HLR and the details of visitors who have roamed into the mobile network area from other mobile networks.

What can a HLR lookup do?

• A HLR lookup provides businesses with a tool to check that a telephone number is real and reachable – active and working.

• Customers can check that the user’s contact details are accurate – determining if the customer’s telephone number is still in use.

• Performing a HLR lookup before sending a voice call or SMS allows a client to determine if the telephone is available and switched on. This checks the number is ready to receive the communication and significantly reduces costs.

• Integrating HLR lookup into an onboarding or signup process saves time and money. Verifying if the entered telephone number is real before the user leaves the signup process.

Learn more by reading our What is a HLR Lookup? Blog post.

How to Use HLR Lookup to Check Number Validity

Single Number Lookup

1. Visit hlrlookup.com and log in.
   If you don’t have an account, register here to receive 200 free credits.

2. Navigate to the lookup page:
   Hover over the Lookup dropdown in the navigation bar and click on Single Number.

3. Enter the phone number:
   In the input field, type the phone number that you want to validate. Remember to use the full e164 number format, which includes the country code.

4. Click the “Check Number” button:
   After inputting the phone number, click Check Number. You’ll then receive details about the number.

Bulk Upload

1. Visit hlrlookup.com and log in.
   If you don’t have an account, register here to receive 200 free credits.

2. Navigate to the File Process option:
   Hover over the Lookup dropdown and click File Process.

3. Upload your file:
   Click the Choose File button and select a file to upload. Supported file formats include .xlsx, .xls, .csv, and .txt.

4. Confirm and process:
   Click Confirm to process your uploaded file.

5. Download results:
   To download your results, click the Actions dropdown and choose Download.

Test HLR Lookup for free with 200 free credits

Who Uses This Kind of Tool?

HLR lookups are used by:

• Marketing teams (to reduce SMS bounce rates)

• Developers (validating user sign-ups)

• Fraud prevention teams (detecting fake numbers)

• Telecom providers (for routing efficiency)

Using a tool like HLR Lookup, organisations can reduce operational costs, avoid sending messages to dead or fake numbers, and improve both deliverability and trust. Whether you're managing thousands of leads or integrating phone validation into an app, HLR data offers a reliable, scalable solution.

Common Questions

Q: Is this legal?

A: Yes, HLR lookups use data from mobile network infrastructure. It’s part of telecom routing and not the same as tracking or surveillance.

Q: Can I bulk check numbers?

A: Yes, Our API allows you to upload a list and validate numbers in bulk.

Q: What information is returned with a HLR Lookup?

A: Where full coverage is available we can tell you the Current Status of your phone numbers alongside the Original Network that the number was assigned to and the Current Network, indicating if the number has been ported.

For LIVE mobile numbers you'll also see the Original and Current MCC MNC (Mobile Country Code and Mobile Network Code), the country prefix, the country ISO code and the number type.

Q: How fast will my results be returned?

A: Lookups are made in real time to the operator so the majority of the time taken is waiting for the operator to respond to our request.

This means speeds can vary depending on the operator but you should expect to see an average latency on our API of 1.5 seconds and an average batch completion time of 40 minutes per 100,000 numbers.

Q: Can I get the connectivity status for Landline numbers?

A: Yes if your landline numbers are from the UK or Ireland.

To do this you need to specifically request that you want to obtain the status of your landlines when you send us your number(s).

You can do this when using the API or when uploading your numbers within a file.

If you have further questions just send us a message and we’ll get back to you.

Ready to Check a Number?

Don't waste time calling or guessing. Use our HLR lookup tool to instantly check if a number is real, active, and reachable

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