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The last step of signup is picking the phone number your practice will use. Rivet searches for available numbers inside the province or territory you chose, as close to your city as current stock allows, and shows you up to five. Tap Show more to see the rest of what it found.

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How Rivet looks for numbers

Every search stays inside your province. Rivet works down this list and stops at the first step that has numbers:
1

An area code you typed

If you’ve typed an area code into the small field below the list, Rivet looks there first. Your explicit choice outranks everything else.
2

Your city

Numbers the carrier lists under the city you entered.
3

The same calling area

Most Canadian cities have more than one area code — Windsor and London share 519, 226, 548 and 382; Toronto has 416, 647, 437 and 683. If the code you asked for is empty, Rivet tries its sister codes, still inside your city.
4

The nearest available numbers

For Toronto and Montreal, whose own codes are often sold out, Rivet tries the ring around the city next — 905, 289 and 365 around Toronto; 450, 579 and 354 around Montreal.
5

Anywhere in your province

The last resort. Still your province, never the rest of the country.

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The headline tells you which step answered

Read the line above the list before you pick. It says exactly what Rivet found: “Right now” means exactly that. Stock changes daily, so a code that is empty this morning can have numbers by the afternoon.

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Asking for a specific area code

Type an area code in the field below the list and tap Search again. Rivet looks there first and tells you if it came up empty. You can do this as many times as you like before committing. Common Canadian area codes:
If you serve clients across two area codes (say, 519 and 226 in Southwestern Ontario), either one reads as local. Pick whichever number you like the look of.

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Why the area code matters to your clients

For most people, the area code is the first thing they read on an incoming call. A 519 number says “Windsor” to a Windsor-area client; a 902 number says “East Coast.” Both are local Canadian numbers, but the perceived distance matters when a client is deciding whether to pick up. Because you choose your province before your city, “Windsor” means Windsor, Ontario when you are in Ontario and Windsor, Nova Scotia when you are in Nova Scotia. Rivet never offers a number from another province.

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If nothing comes up at all

If your whole province is out of stock, the picker says so and gives you hello@getrivet.ca. Write to us and we will find you a number. This is rare, and it is not something you can fix by picking a different city. If the picker says it couldn’t reach the number search, that is a hiccup on our side, not empty stock. Tap Search again.

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Can you change the number later

Not easily. The number you pick during signup is the one your clients will save to their contacts, and your auto-reply will identify you as “calling from” that number on every outbound text. Treat this picker like picking a custom phone number — print it on a card and you live with it. If you absolutely need to change numbers later (you moved provinces, you mistyped the area code, the chosen number turns out to be confusable with a local pizza place), email hello@getrivet.ca and we’ll work out a migration plan. Account changes that affect your line are not self-serve, because they affect every client who already has your number saved.

Your Rivet URL

The other identifier your clients will remember — your URL.

Changing your number

The deliberate, supported path if you absolutely need to swap numbers later.

Comparing practice numbers

How a Rivet number compares with a carrier line, a second SIM or an answering service.