Choose the customer-facing number
Select a geographic, UK-wide, freephone or other available business number that matches your requirement.
BUSINESS CALL FORWARDING
Business Call Forwarding and Call Divert
Keep a professional telephone number in front of customers while incoming calls are sent to an existing UK landline or mobile. Call forwarding is a straightforward delivery option for businesses that want a dedicated number without a more complex hosted phone system.
QUICK ANSWER
What you need to know
Business call forwarding, also called call divert, sends incoming calls from one published business number to another destination such as an existing UK landline or mobile. It separates the public number from the device that answers the call.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT OPTION
How business call forwarding works
Customers dial the UKDDI number you publish. The network then routes the incoming call to the destination configured for your service.
Set the destination
Provide the UK landline or mobile that should receive incoming calls as part of the service configuration.
Keep the published number stable
If the answering device changes later, the public number can remain consistent while the destination is updated through the appropriate support process.
HOW IT WORKS
When call divert is the right business phone option
Forwarding works best when the requirement is primarily to get the call to an existing telephone rather than build a full multi-user call-control environment.
Small and owner-managed businesses
Use a dedicated company number while calls ring a phone already carried by the person answering enquiries.
Campaign and temporary numbers
Route a dedicated campaign number directly to the team handling that response.
Backup or simple overflow routes
A separate number or agreed routing design can give customers an alternative contact path where it forms part of your service plan.
BUSINESS BENEFITS
Call forwarding versus hosted VoIP
Both approaches can keep a professional number separate from a physical line, but they solve different levels of complexity.
Choose forwarding for simplicity
If one destination answers and you do not need extensions or advanced call handling, divert may be sufficient.
Choose hosted VoIP for a team
Hosted voice is better suited when several users need extensions, transfers or structured business call handling.
Choose SIP for your own PBX
A SIP trunk is appropriate where you already operate a compatible business phone system and want direct number delivery.
Set up a business number with call forwarding
Search live number availability and choose landline/mobile divert during the delivery stage of the order.
RELATED UKDDI SERVICES
Continue planning your business phone service
COMMON QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between call forwarding and call divert?
They are commonly used to describe the same basic function: incoming calls to one number are routed to another destination.
Can I forward a business number to a mobile?
Yes. UKDDI can provide a landline/mobile-divert delivery option for suitable business numbers and UK destinations.
Can I change the forwarding destination?
Destination changes can be requested through the relevant UKDDI support and provisioning process, subject to the service configuration.
Does call forwarding provide extensions and queues?
Simple divert is not intended to replace a full business phone system. For extensions, queues and more advanced call handling, consider hosted VoIP or a compatible PBX with SIP.
NEXT STEP
Choose a number
Set up a business number with call forwarding
Search live number availability and choose landline/mobile divert during the delivery stage of the order.