Phone Number Validator: Bulk Check, Format, Number Type

This phone number validator checks and formats phone numbers in bulk. For each number you get whether it is valid and, if not, why, plus the E.164, international and national formats, the country and the number type (mobile, fixed line, toll free, VoIP and more). It runs fully offline with Google's libphonenumber data (the complete "max" metadata through libphonenumber-js), so your numbers are never sent to a third-party lookup service and 20,000 numbers take about half a minute.

• Three ways to give it numbers. Paste a list, link a CSV or text file (a published Google Sheet works too), or point it at the dataset of another Apify run, such as a Google Maps or lead scraper, and say which field holds the phone number.
• Any format in, clean format out. (213) 373-4253, 0044 20 7946 0958, +33 6 12 34 56 78 ext. 12 and tel:+14165550123 all come back as E.164 (+12133734253) and as the format people dial.
• Keep your data. Turn on Keep all fields of the source row and every result carries the original row (name, address, website) next to the validation fields.
• Country per row. Numbers without a +country code are read with a default country, or with each row's own country field when your data has one.

What data you get

Field	What it holds
input	The number as you gave it
valid	True when the length is right and the number is in a range assigned to a phone network in its country
possible	True when the digit count is possible for the country (a weaker check)
e164, international, national, rfc3966	+12133734253, +1 213 373 4253, (213) 373-4253, tel:+12133734253
extension	The extension, when the input had one
countryCallingCode, country, countryName	+1, CA, Canada
type	mobile, fixed_line, fixed_line_or_mobile, toll_free, premium_rate, shared_cost, voip, personal_number, pager, uan or voicemail
invalidReason, invalidReasonText	NOT_A_NUMBER, INVALID_COUNTRY, TOO_SHORT, TOO_LONG, INVALID_LENGTH or NOT_IN_ASSIGNED_RANGE, and the same in plain English
defaultCountryUsed	The country used to read a number that had no +country code
source, sourceRow	list, dataset:<id> or the file URL, and the row number in it

The run's key-value store also gets a SUMMARY record: how many numbers were read, valid, invalid, skipped as duplicates, counts by type, country and invalid reason, and any input that could not be loaded.

How to use it

1. Paste numbers into Phone numbers, or fill in Dataset ID or CSV or text file URL. You can combine all three in one run.
2. Pick the Default country for numbers written without a +country code.
3. For a dataset or CSV: set Phone field or column name (or leave it empty to use the first column with "phone" in its name), and optionally Country field and Keep all fields of the source row.
4. Run it and download the results as CSV, Excel or JSON, or call it from the API, Make, Zapier, n8n or an AI agent through the Apify MCP server.

To clean the output of a lead scraper: open that run, copy the dataset ID from its Storage tab, and paste it here. A field that holds a list of numbers (like phones) gives one result per number.

Example input

{
  "phoneNumbers": [
    "+1 213 373 4253",
    "(416) 555-0123",
    "+44 20 7946 0958",
    "+44 7400 123456",
    "+1 800 555 0199",
    "12345",
    "not a phone"
  ],
  "defaultCountry": "US"
}

Example output (from a real run: 4 of 9 items, some fields left out after the first)

[
  {
    "input": "(416) 555-0123",
    "valid": true,
    "possible": true,
    "e164": "+14165550123",
    "international": "+1 416 555 0123",
    "national": "(416) 555-0123",
    "rfc3966": "tel:+14165550123",
    "extension": null,
    "countryCallingCode": "+1",
    "country": "CA",
    "countryName": "Canada",
    "type": "fixed_line_or_mobile",
    "invalidReason": null,
    "invalidReasonText": null,
    "defaultCountryUsed": "US",
    "source": "list",
    "sourceRow": 2
  },
  {
    "input": "+44 7400 123456",
    "valid": true,
    "possible": true,
    "e164": "+447400123456",
    "international": "+44 7400 123456",
    "national": "07400 123456",
    "country": "GB",
    "countryName": "United Kingdom",
    "type": "mobile",
    "invalidReason": null
  },
  {
    "input": "+1 800 555 0199",
    "valid": true,
    "e164": "+18005550199",
    "national": "(800) 555-0199",
    "country": "US",
    "type": "toll_free"
  },
  {
    "input": "12345",
    "valid": false,
    "possible": false,
    "e164": null,
    "countryCallingCode": "+1",
    "country": "US",
    "type": null,
    "invalidReason": "TOO_SHORT",
    "invalidReasonText": "Too few digits for a number in this country.",
    "defaultCountryUsed": "US",
    "source": "list",
    "sourceRow": 8
  }
]

Note how (416) 555-0123 was read with the default country US but came back as Canada: 416 is a Toronto area code, and the country is taken from the number itself.

How much does it cost?

You pay $0.0005 per phone number saved, plus $0.0005 once per run. Valid and invalid numbers cost the same, because both are results. Duplicates removed by Remove duplicates, invalid numbers skipped by Only save valid numbers, empty rows and inputs that fail to load are not saved and cost nothing.

1,000 numbers cost $0.50, and 10,000 numbers cost $5.00. Use Max numbers to cap a run on a big file or dataset.

Use cases

• Clean lead lists from Google Maps, directory or CRM exports before they go into a dialer, an SMS tool or a CRM that wants E.164.
• Drop junk numbers (too short, wrong country, not assigned) before you pay for SMS sends or a live HLR lookup.
• Split mobiles from landlines to decide which leads get an SMS and which get a call.
• Normalise for dedupe and matching: two lists with (213) 373-4253 and +1-213-373-4253 match once both are in E.164.

FAQ

Does "valid" mean the phone line is live? No. This Actor checks that the number has the right length and falls in a range that the country's numbering plan has assigned to a network, using Google's libphonenumber metadata. It does not call the number, query a carrier or run an HLR lookup, so it cannot tell you whether the line is switched on, who the carrier is today, or whether the number was ported. A valid number can still be disconnected. For that you need a paid carrier or HLR service.

Why is the type fixed_line_or_mobile for US and Canadian numbers? The North American numbering plan does not separate mobile and landline ranges, so libphonenumber cannot tell them apart from the number alone. Most other countries have separate ranges, so you get mobile or fixed_line.

What happens to numbers without a +country code? They are read as numbers of the Default country (or of the row's Country field). A number that starts with + or with the international prefix 00 is always read with its own country code. If no default country is set, such numbers come back with invalidReason: INVALID_COUNTRY.

Which fictional or test numbers count as valid? The ones Google's metadata lists as assigned. For example, US numbers in 555-01XX are inside assigned area code ranges and pass, while +1 555 555 5555 fails with NOT_IN_ASSIGNED_RANGE.

How current is the numbering data? It comes from the libphonenumber-js package bundled at build time, which follows Google's releases. Countries add new ranges over time, so a very recently opened range might show as invalid until the next update.

Can it read Excel files? Not directly. Save the sheet as CSV, or publish a Google Sheet as CSV (File > Share > Publish to web) and paste that link.

Is my data sent anywhere? No. Numbers are checked inside the Actor's container. Only the file download (if you give a URL) leaves it.

Other Actors by this developer

• Business Leads List: business lists by city or country from Overture Maps open data, with phone, website and email. Paste its dataset ID here to validate the phones.
• Google Sheets Export: write the validated numbers to a Google Sheets tab, appending or upserting by key.
• Email Security Check: SPF, DKIM, DMARC and MX checks with a grade for the domains in your lead list.
• WHOIS and DNS Lookup: domain age, registrar, DNS, mail provider and SSL for the websites of your leads.
• Companies House Search: status, address, SIC codes and filing dates for UK companies.