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LiveKit Phone Numbers

How to purchase and configure phone numbers directly through LiveKit.

On this page

OverviewSetting up a LiveKit phone number Step 1: Search for an available number Step 2: Rent a number Step 3: Assign the number to a dispatch ruleCreate an agent that responds to inbound callsConsiderationsCLI reference Additional resources

Overview

LiveKit Phone Numbers lets you purchase and manage US phone numbers for voice applications. It provides the telephony infrastructure and phone number inventory, without requiring separate SIP trunk configuration. Buy local or toll-free numbers directly through LiveKit and assign them to voice agents using dispatch rules.

Inbound calling only

LiveKit Phone Numbers currently only supports inbound calling. Support for outbound calls is coming soon.

  • Buy numbers directly: Select local or toll-free US numbers for inbound calling with your preferred area code.
  • Streamlined setup: Purchase phone numbers and configure voice agents without SIP trunk complexity.
  • High-definition (HD) voice: Ensure clear, professional audio quality on all calls, from agent dialogue to hold music.
  • Unified management: Use LiveKit Cloud to procure and manage numbers, configure dispatch rules, and review call metrics and logs.

You can manage your phone numbers using the LiveKit Cloud dashboard , LiveKit CLI, or the Phone Numbers APIs.

Setting up a LiveKit phone number

To set up a LiveKit phone number, you need to purchase a phone number and assign it to a dispatch rule. The following steps guide you through the process.

Step 1: Search for an available number

Search for available phone numbers by country and area code.

Search for available numbers by area code:

  1. Sign in to the LiveKit Cloud dashboard .
  2. Select Telephony → Phone Numbers .
  3. Select Rent a number.
  4. Select the search icon and enter an area code. For toll-free numbers, enter a toll-free area code, for example, 800, 833, or 888.

Search for phone numbers in the United States with area code 415:

lk number search --country-code US --area-code 415

Search for toll-free numbers in the United States with area code 833:

lk number search --country-code US --area-code 833
Search for toll-free numbers

Search filters by area code and doesn't have a number type filter. To find toll-free numbers, search by a toll-free area code, for example, 800, 833, or 888.

Step 2: Rent a number

Select an available phone number and rent it.

Free number included

All LiveKit Cloud plans include 1 free US local phone number. The Build plan also includes 50 free inbound minutes. For details on pricing, see LiveKit Telephony pricing .

After you search for available numbers, rent the number by clicking Rent in the row with the number you want:

  1. Select Rent for the number you want.
  2. Select Confirm rental.

To buy the number +14155550100, run the following command:

lk number purchase --numbers +14155550100

Step 3: Assign the number to a dispatch rule

Assign the number to a dispatch rule. LiveKit recommends using explicit dispatch for agents that receive inbound calls. Define the agent you want to respond to calls to a number in the dispatch rule. To learn more, see Dispatch from inbound SIP calls.

After you successfully purchase a phone number, you can select Options to assign or create a dispatch rule for the number. Otherwise, use the following steps to assign a dispatch rule:

  1. Navigate to the Phone Numbers page  and find the number you want to assign a dispatch rule to.
  2. Select the more menu (⋮) and select Assign dispatch rule.
  3. Select the dispatch rule you want to assign to the number.
  4. Select Save.

For example, to assign a phone number to a dispatch rule, replace the <PHONE_NUMBER_ID> and <DISPATCH_RULE_ID> placeholders, and run the following command:

lk number update --id <PHONE_NUMBER_ID> --sip-dispatch-rule-id <DISPATCH_RULE_ID>
Find your phone number ID

You can find your phone number ID by listing all phone numbers using the lk number list command.

Create an agent that responds to inbound calls

Follow the Voice AI quickstart to create an agent. Start your agent and call your phone number.

Considerations

The following limitations and considerations apply to LiveKit Phone Numbers:

  • Available only in the US. Support for additional countries is coming in a future release.
  • Only inbound calling is supported. Support for outbound calling is coming in a future release.
  • Forwarding calls using the TransferSIPParticipant API is not yet supported.
  • Each project can rent a limited number of local phone numbers at one time. To learn more, see Quotas and limits.
  • If you release a phone number before the end of the month, you are still billed for the entirety of the month. For details on pricing, see LiveKit Telephony pricing .

CLI reference

Manage phone numbers from your terminal with the lk number commands in the LiveKit CLI. For example, to list the numbers in your project:

lk number list

For every command and option, see the CLI telephony reference.

Additional resources

The following topics provide more information on managing LiveKit Phone Numbers and LiveKit SIP.

Dispatch rules

Create dispatch rules to determine how callers to your LiveKit Phone Number are dispatched to rooms.

Phone Number APIs

Reference for the phone number management commands in the LiveKit CLI.

Testing your telephony setup

Validate the setup with a test call and verify the resulting room, SIP participant, and logs.