Non-VoIP number guides: line types, VoIP and recycling
Which guide answers my question?
- What is a non-VoIP number?Definition, line types and why some forms refuse VoIP.
- VoIP vs non-VoIP numbers by countryHow 12 regulators separate mobile and VoIP ranges.
- Is Google Voice a VoIP number?How line-type databases class Google Voice and app numbers.
- Free non-VoIP numbers: what to knowWhy public SMS inboxes are shared and often refused.
- Phone number recycling and verificationWhy a single-use number is not a recovery number.
What are the key facts, with their sources?
One verifiable fact per guide, as checked on 2026-10-18. Each guide lists all its sources.
| Topic | Fact | Source | Date of the source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Line types | Line-type lookups class numbers as mobile, fixedVoip or nonFixedVoip; Google Voice is Twilio's example of nonFixedVoip | Twilio Lookup docs | Read 2026-10-18 |
| US numbering | VoIP providers may obtain numbers directly in ordinary area codes | FCC 15-70 | Effective January 11, 2016 |
| UK numbering | 056 numbers set aside for location-independent (VoIP) services | Ofcom statement | 2004 |
| Spain numbering | Voice services over IP may only use numbers starting with 51 | Ministry for Digital Transformation | April 2026 |
| VoIP refusals | Microsoft: "VOIP numbers cannot be added as a way to sign in or get verification codes." | Microsoft Support | Read 2026-10-18 |
| Number reuse | Google limits how many accounts and verifications one number can serve | Google Help | Read 2026-10-18 |
| Recycling | US residential numbers are aged 45 to 90 days before reassignment | 47 CFR 52.15 | Current rule |
| Recycling | Apple: another user may link a number to a new account after 30 days | Apple Support | Read 2026-10-18 |
Six of the twelve countries we cover give VoIP a separate range (UK 056, France 09, Netherlands 085/091, Spain 51, Italy 55, Ireland 076), and Germany reserves mobile ranges for mobile services only. In the US and Canada a number's digits say nothing about its line type, which is why services look it up in carrier databases.
How are these guides checked?
Each guide cites the regulator or the service's own help centre, with the date we read it (2026-10-18 for this edition). Exact quotes are marked with quotation marks; where a help page could not be read directly, the guide paraphrases it and links to it. Prices quoted in the guides come from the SMS verification price index, which lists every provider's public price with its source.
We review the guides when a rule they cite changes, for example when Spain moved IP voice services to the 51 range in April 2026 or when Microsoft announced it would phase out SMS codes for personal accounts. The date at the top of each guide is the date of its last real change.
Where should I start?
- New to the topic: what is a non-VoIP number.
- A form refused your Google Voice or TextNow number: is Google Voice a VoIP number.
- You need a number from a given country: VoIP vs non-VoIP numbers by country.
- You plan to keep the account: phone number recycling.