> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.getrivet.ca/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Changing your Rivet number

> When changing the Rivet line is worth it, what changes break, and how to request a swap.

The phone number Rivet provisioned for you at signup is meant to be
permanent. Once you've put it on a business card, told a few clients,
forwarded your existing line to it, and pointed it at your EHR's intake
form, **changing it is real work** — for you and for your clients.

That said, there are a few situations where the swap is worth it.

The hard part is rarely the swap itself — it is moving people across without
anyone falling through the gap. [Changing your practice number without losing
anyone](https://getrivet.ca/switching-your-practice-number) walks through the order to do it in.

## When changing is worth it

A few legitimate reasons:

* **You picked an area code that doesn't match your practice's
  community.** You signed up while travelling and the system grabbed a
  416 number, but your practice is in Halifax. A 902 number reads
  warmer to a Haligonian client when you call them back.
* **The number you picked turns out to share a suffix with a local
  pizza place** (it happens). Wrong-number calls drown out the real ones.
* **You're rebranding.** New practice name, new phone number, fresh start.
* **The number was flagged or delivery quality is poor.** Rare, but if
  your SMS deliverability tanks for inexplicable reasons, a new number
  resets the carrier-side reputation.

If none of those apply, the answer is almost certainly "keep your
number." Even when one of them does apply, weigh the cost first.

## What breaks when the number changes

In order of impact:

* **Every place the old number is printed or saved.** Business cards,
  website, email signatures, voicemail greeting on your old cell, EHR
  intake form, Google Business Profile, directory listings, your
  clients' phones. None of these update automatically.
* **Call forwarding from your existing practice line.** You set this up
  in your phone's settings or via your carrier; both reference the
  Rivet number explicitly. You'll redo that step. See
  [Call forwarding by carrier](/practice-phone/index) for the relevant
  carrier instructions.
* **SMS conversations with existing clients.** Their phones associate
  past texts with the old number. When you reply from the new number,
  it shows up as a new thread to them — not appended to the existing
  one. Your old conversation history stays in your Rivet inbox, but
  *they* see it as starting fresh.

What **doesn't** break:

* Your Rivet URL (slug). It's separate from the phone number and stays
  the same.
* Your account, your auto-reply config, your greeting, your data — all
  of it stays bound to your account, not to the phone number.
* Voicemails and texts already in your inbox. We don't delete history
  when we swap the line.

## How to request a swap

Email **[hello@getrivet.ca](mailto:hello@getrivet.ca)** with:

* Your current Rivet number.
* The area code you'd prefer, or the city you want a local number in.
* A one-sentence reason. (Helpful for sanity-checking; not gating.)

We'll usually respond the same day with a shortlist of two or three
candidate numbers in the area you asked for. Once you pick one, the
swap takes 5–10 minutes on our end. The old number is released back to
the pool after a short hold window.

<Warning>
  **Released numbers don't come back.** Once we release the old number,
  it returns to the carrier pool and could be assigned to someone else
  within days. There's no recall path. Confirm you're done with the old
  one before we swap.
</Warning>

## After the swap

A short checklist of what to update, in priority order:

<Steps>
  <Step title="Forward your existing practice line to the new number">
    The most urgent one. New clients calling your published number need
    to reach you. See
    [Call forwarding by carrier](/practice-phone/index).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update your website, email signature, and business cards">
    The slow-burn places. Each one missed becomes a missed call later.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Send a one-line text to your active clients">
    From your new Rivet number — "*Hi, just letting you know my office
    line has changed. Save this number as my new practice line.*"
    Bonus: ask them to text you back so the thread is established from
    their side too.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Update your Google Business Profile + any directories">
    Psychology Today, Theravive, Inkblot, whichever directories your
    clients find you through.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Related articles

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Changing your Rivet URL" icon="link" href="/account/changing-your-rivet-url">
    The other piece of your public identity. Different rules — three
    changes allowed, no support email needed.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Sending and receiving calls" icon="phone" href="/practice-phone/making-calls">
    What changes about call handling after a number swap.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Moving clients across" icon="arrow-right-arrow-left" href="https://getrivet.ca/switching-your-practice-number">
    What to tell clients, and why you keep the old line running.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>