Lookup v1 Tutorial: Carrier and Caller Name
Version 2 of the Lookup API is now available! Lookup v2 has an improved developer experience and exciting features, such as Twilio Regions support and these new data packages:
- Line Type Intelligence: Get the line type of a phone number including mobile, landline, fixed VoIP, non-fixed VoIP, toll-free, and more.
- SIM Swap: Get information on the last SIM change for a mobile phone number.
- Call Forwarding: Get the unconditional call forwarding status of a mobile phone number.
- Identity Match: Get confirmation of ownership for a mobile phone number by comparing user-provided information against authoritative phone-based data sources.
You are currently viewing Version 1 content. Lookup v1 will be maintained for the time being, but any new features and development will be on v2. We strongly encourage you to do any new development with Lookup v2. Check out the migration guide or the API v2 Reference for more information.
Given a phone number, Twilio Lookup can identify the number's carrier and what type of phone it is (landline, mobile, or VoIP). In the U.S., Lookup can also retrieve the name of the person or business associated with a phone number (if available).
Lookup can show you even more information about a phone number using Twilio Add-ons. See the Add-ons guide to learn more.
Identify a phone number's carrier and type
To discover a phone number's carrier and what type of phone it is, pass an extra argument to your lookup requesting carrier information.
The response will contain two additional fields:
- Type specifies whether the phone is a
landline,mobile, orvoipphone - Carrier is the name of the phone's carrier, like
Verizon Wireless. Note that carriers rebrand frequently
Note: Type voip is only returned for eligible U.S. numbers. VoIP detection is not available outside of the U.S and only landline or mobile will be returned for non-U.S. phone numbers.
If your phone number is invalid or incorrectly formatted, Twilio will return a 404 error.
Get a name associated with a phone number
Note: Caller name lookup is available for U.S. numbers only
Lookup can also retrieve the name of the individual or business associated with a phone number. Simply pass a caller-name argument to your lookup request.
If available, the response will include a name for the phone number and whether the name is for a business or consumer.
Keep in mind that not all numbers will have names available.
Want even more information about a phone number? See the Twilio Add-ons guide to learn more and check out the available Lookup add-ons in the console.
Need some help?
We all do sometimes; code is hard. Get help now from our support team, or lean on the wisdom of the crowd by visiting Twilio's Stack Overflow Collective or browsing the Twilio tag on Stack Overflow.
