HLR · MNP · Number type

HLR Lookup: live status for any mobile number

Our HLR lookup service asks the mobile network whether a number is connected, which operator serves it, and whether it was ported or is roaming. Check one number or 10,000 at a time, in the panel or over the API, and pay only for lookups that succeed.

Start checking numbers See pricing

Pay only for successful lookups
No subscription or minimum
Crypto, card or PayPal

HLR lookupExample result

+44 7700 900123Asking the home network

ConnectedAnswered

Current network: Vodafone UK
Original network: O2 UK
Ported: Yes
Roaming: No
MCC / MNC: 234 / 15
Number type: Mobile

Charged€0.0038

From €0.0038 per lookup10,000 numbers per batch

HLR Lookup at a glance

Price: €0.0038per HLR lookup · MNP from €0.0030
Billing: Pay on successFailed lookups are never charged. No subscription, no minimum.
Bulk: 10,000 numbersper batch, pasted or uploaded as CSV or TXT
Results: Live statusplus current and original network, porting, roaming and MCC/MNC
Access: Panel + REST APIAPI keys with separate read and write scopes
Exports: JSON · CSV · XLSXavailable for 30 days after each batch

Definition

What is an HLR lookup?

An HLR lookup is a real-time query to the Home Location Register (HLR), the database a mobile operator uses to keep track of every subscriber on its network. It tells you whether a number is connected right now, which network it is on, whether it has been ported to another operator and whether it is roaming abroad. Nothing reaches the phone: there is no call and no SMS, so the owner never notices the check.

You submit a number
In the panel, as a CSV file, or with one API call.
Bitcall routes the query
To the home network the number belongs to.
The HLR answers
Status, serving network, porting and roaming.
You get the result
On screen, in your export, or in the API response.

Why businesses run HLR lookups

Businesses run an HLR check before sending SMS, verifying sign-ups or routing calls. It stops them paying for messages to dead numbers and sends ported numbers to the network they are really on.

No call, no SMS, no notification: the person behind the number never knows it was checked.

HLR vs VLR

HLR and VLR work together: when a phone roams, the home HLR points to the visited network's VLR, which is how a lookup can tell you a number is abroad.

	HLR	VLR
Kept by	The subscriber's home operator	The network the phone is using now
Holds	Every subscriber's profile and where they are registered	The phones currently in its area
Lifetime	Permanent	Temporary, while the phone is there

What an HLR lookup returns

Every result comes back as structured data you can filter, export or feed into your own systems.

Connectivity status

CONNECTED

Whether the number is on the network now, absent (switched off or out of coverage) or invalid.

Current network

Vodafone UK

The operator serving the number today, after any porting.

Original network

O2 UK

The operator the number range was first assigned to.

Ported

true

Whether the number moved to another operator, with the new network and country.

Roaming

false

Whether the phone is abroad, and on which network and in which country.

MCC / MNC

234 / 15

The mobile country and network codes of the serving network, for routing.

Country

United Kingdom · +44

The country name, ISO code and dialling prefix of the number.

Reachable

true

A ready-made yes or no, derived from the status, for simple filtering.

Sample API result (trimmed)

{
  "data": {
    "status": "completed",
    "price": {
      "amount": 0.0038,
      "currency": "EUR"
    },
    "result": {
      "connectivityStatus": "CONNECTED",
      "reachable": true,
      "mccmnc": "23415",
      "mcc": "234",
      "mnc": "15",
      "currentNetwork": "Vodafone UK",
      "originalNetwork": "O2 UK",
      "originalCountryName": "United Kingdom",
      "originalCountryCode": "GB",
      "originalCountryPrefix": "44",
      "ported": true,
      "portedNetworkName": "Vodafone UK",
      "roaming": false
    }
  }
}

Status values

CONNECTED: Registered on the network and reachable now.
ABSENT: Not registered at the moment: switched off, out of coverage or inactive.
INVALID_MSISDN: Not a valid, assigned mobile number.
UNDETERMINED: The network did not give a clear answer.

HLR lookup pricing

Three lookups for three questions. Prices are per number and charged only when the lookup succeeds.

MNP lookup

Which network is this number on?

from€0.0030per lookup

Ported or not
Original and current network
MCC/MNC of the current network
Porting date when the operator provides it

Start now

Most complete

HLR lookup

Is this number live right now?

from€0.0038per lookup

Connected, absent or invalid
Current and original network
Ported and roaming status
MCC/MNC for routing

Start now

Number type lookup

Mobile, landline or VoIP?

from€0.0038per lookup

Line type check: mobile, landline, VoIP, toll-free
The carrier the number range belongs to
Country and MCC/MNC
Filter out landlines before sending SMS

Try the free phone number checker Start now

No subscription, no minimum
Failed lookups are never charged
Large volumes? Talk to our team
Test it first: ask for €0.10 free credit

Bulk HLR lookup for whole lists

Clean a contact list before a campaign in a few clicks.

Paste numbers or upload a CSV or TXT file, up to 10,000 numbers per batch
Numbers are cleaned and duplicates removed automatically
Follow the progress live while the batch runs
Download results as JSON, CSV or XLSX; exports stay available for 30 days
Every batch stays in your lookup history

contacts.csv10,000 numbersExample result

7,420 of 10,000 checked

+44 7700 900123Connected
+44 7700 900456Absent
+44 7700 900789Invalid

Connected: 6,912
Absent: 388
Invalid: 120

ExportJSONCSVXLSX

[
  { "inputValue": "447700900123", "resultStatus": "success", "currentNetwork": "Vodafone UK", "reachable": true, … },
  { "inputValue": "447700900456", "resultStatus": "success", "currentNetwork": "O2 UK", "reachable": false, … },
  { "inputValue": "447700900789", "resultStatus": "success", "currentNetwork": "Vodafone UK", "reachable": false, … }
]

inputValue,resultStatus,currentNetwork,reachable,…
447700900123,success,Vodafone UK,true,…
447700900456,success,O2 UK,false,…
447700900789,success,Vodafone UK,false,…

`inputValue`	`resultStatus`	`currentNetwork`	`reachable`	`…`
`447700900123`	`success`	`Vodafone UK`	`true`	`…`
`447700900456`	`success`	`O2 UK`	`false`	`…`
`447700900789`	`success`	`Vodafone UK`	`false`	`…`

HLR lookup API

One request checks a number. One more submits a batch of up to 10,000.

cURLNode.jsPython

curl -X POST https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups \
  -H "x-key-id: $BITCALL_KEY_ID" \
  -H "x-api-secret: $BITCALL_API_SECRET" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"lookupType":"hlr-single","productCode":"hlr:V11","number":"447700900123"}'

const res = await fetch('https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'x-key-id': process.env.BITCALL_KEY_ID,
    'x-api-secret': process.env.BITCALL_API_SECRET,
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({ lookupType: 'hlr-single', productCode: 'hlr:V11', number: '447700900123' })
})

const { data } = await res.json()
console.log(data.result.connectivityStatus, data.result.currentNetwork)

import os, requests

res = requests.post(
    "https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups",
    headers={"x-key-id": os.environ["BITCALL_KEY_ID"], "x-api-secret": os.environ["BITCALL_API_SECRET"]},
    json={"lookupType": "hlr-single", "productCode": "hlr:V11", "number": "447700900123"},
)

result = res.json()["data"]["result"]
print(result["connectivityStatus"], result["currentNetwork"])

JOB_ID=$(curl -s -X POST https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups \
  -H "x-key-id: $BITCALL_KEY_ID" \
  -H "x-api-secret: $BITCALL_API_SECRET" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"lookupType":"hlr-batch","productCode":"hlr:V11","numbers":["447700900123","447700900456"]}' | jq -r '.data.jobId')

curl https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups/$JOB_ID/results \
  -H "x-key-id: $BITCALL_KEY_ID" \
  -H "x-api-secret: $BITCALL_API_SECRET"

curl -X POST https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups/$JOB_ID/exports \
  -H "x-key-id: $BITCALL_KEY_ID" \
  -H "x-api-secret: $BITCALL_API_SECRET" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"format":"csv"}'

curl "https://api.bitcall.io/v1/hlr/lookups?page=1&pageSize=50" \
  -H "x-key-id: $BITCALL_KEY_ID" \
  -H "x-api-secret: $BITCALL_API_SECRET"

{
  "data": {
    "status": "completed",
    "price": {
      "amount": 0.0038,
      "currency": "EUR"
    },
    "result": {
      "connectivityStatus": "CONNECTED",
      "currentNetwork": "Vodafone UK"
    }
  }
}

A single lookup returns its result in the same response
Batches run in the background: fetch the results or an export when they finish
API keys with separate read and write scopes
The same prices and billing as the panel

Read the HLR API docs

What teams use HLR lookups for

The same lookup answers different questions for marketing, security and routing.

Clean SMS lists before a campaign

Remove absent and invalid numbers first, so every message you pay for goes to a phone that can receive it.

Stop fake sign-ups

Check numbers at sign-up and flag the ones that are not live mobiles before you send a verification code.

Route ported numbers correctly

Carriers and resellers use MCC/MNC and porting data to send calls and SMS to the network a number is really on.

See the reseller programme

Keep your CRM accurate

Re-check old contact data on a schedule and mark the numbers that went dead or changed network.

How Bitcall HLR Lookup compares

The same HLR, MNP and number type lookups with no monthly fee, crypto payments and nothing charged for a failed lookup.

	Bitcall	hlr-lookups.com	hlrlookup.com	NeutrinoAPI	Twilio Lookup	seven.io	Messente
HLR price per lookup	From €0.0038	€0.0100	€0.0058	€0.0061	$0.0070	€0.0100	€0.002 + €199/month
MNP lookups	from €0.0030	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Yes	Not stated on their website
Number type lookups	€0.0038	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website
No monthly fee	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not stated on their website	Yes	Not stated on their website	✕ No
Charged only for successful lookups	Failed lookups released	Not stated on their website	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website
Pay with crypto	BTC, USDT, ETH	Yes	Not stated on their website	✕ No	Not stated on their website	Yes	Not stated on their website
Bulk upload in the web panel	10,000 per batch	Yes	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Yes	Yes
REST API	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
JSON, CSV and XLSX exports	Yes	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website	Not stated on their website

HLR lookup FAQ

Straight answers about how HLR lookups work and what they cost.

An HLR lookup is a real-time query to a mobile operator's Home Location Register, the database that tracks every subscriber on the network. It tells you whether a number is connected, which network serves it, whether it was ported and whether it is roaming.

Yes. HLR lookups are a standard tool for SMS platforms, carriers and fraud teams. A lookup returns network data about a number, such as its status, operator, porting and roaming. It does not return the subscriber's name or address.

Run an HLR lookup. CONNECTED means the number is in service and the phone is registered on the network now. ABSENT means it is switched off, out of coverage or not registered at the moment. INVALID_MSISDN means the number is not assigned. Absent numbers can come back, so re-check them before you delete them.

An HLR lookup asks the live network for status, current network, porting and roaming. An MNP lookup is a carrier lookup from number-portability data: it tells you which network a number is on now, without live status, and costs less. A number type lookup tells you whether a number is mobile, landline, VoIP or another type.

A ported number has moved to another mobile network but kept the same digits, so its prefix no longer tells you the network. An MNP lookup, or an HLR lookup, which includes porting, tells you whether the number was ported, the network it was first assigned to and the network it is on now, with the MCC/MNC of that network.

From €0.0038 per number for HLR, €0.0030 for MNP and €0.0038 for number type. You are charged only for successful lookups, from a prepaid balance, with no subscription or minimum. Volume pricing is available on request.

No. The cost is reserved when you submit and released for every number that is rejected or fails, so only successful lookups are charged. Cancelling a batch before it runs releases the reservation too.

Yes. Paste numbers or upload a CSV or TXT file in the panel, up to 10,000 numbers per batch, or send them in one API call. Download the results as JSON, CSV or XLSX.

Yes. The REST API takes a single number or a batch of up to 10,000, with API keys scoped for read and write access. The HLR API documentation lists every endpoint with examples.

Run a number type lookup, a phone line type check that tells you whether a number is mobile, landline, VoIP, toll-free, premium-rate or another type. HLR lookups themselves work for mobile numbers only, because only mobile networks keep an HLR.

Mobile numbers in countries around the world, including the United States. Coverage depends on each operator: where a network does not answer live HLR queries, the lookup can be answered from number-portability data instead.

Ask our team for €0.10 of free test credit, about 25 HLR lookups, and try it on your own numbers. After that, HLR lookups start at €0.0038 each, with no subscription. To check whether a number is valid and what type it is, use the free phone number checker, free and with no limit.

No. An HLR lookup is answered by the network, not by the phone. There is no call, no SMS and no notification on the device.

Check your next list before you send it

Create a free account, top up by card, PayPal or crypto, and run your first lookup in minutes.

Create free account Talk to our team

HLR Lookup: live status for any mobile number

HLR Lookup at a glance

You submit a number

Bitcall routes the query

The HLR answers

You get the result

Why businesses run HLR lookups

HLR vs VLR

Connectivity status

Current network

Original network

Ported

Roaming

MCC / MNC

Country

Reachable

Sample API result (trimmed)

Status values

MNP lookup

HLR lookup

Number type lookup

Clean SMS lists before a campaign

Stop fake sign-ups

Route ported numbers correctly

Keep your CRM accurate

How Bitcall HLR Lookup compares

HLR lookup FAQ

📡What is an HLR lookup?

✅Is HLR lookup legit?

📶How do I check if a phone number is active?

🔀What is the difference between HLR, MNP and number type lookups?

💶What is a ported number, and how do I check one?

🧾How much does an HLR lookup cost?

📂Am I charged for lookups that fail?

🧩Can I check numbers in bulk?

☎️Is there an HLR lookup API?

🌍How can I tell if a number is mobile, landline or VoIP?

🎁Which countries does HLR lookup cover?

🔕Is there a free HLR lookup?

📡Will the phone owner know I checked their number?

Check your next list before you send it