Custom Local Phone Number Guide
A five-step guide to choosing a custom number for your business — word rules, base choice, search, plan and confirmation — with the local question answered honestly.
Choosing a custom number — one that spells or says something about the business — is a five-step job: draft the word, pick the base, search what is actually available, match a plan, and confirm with the team. This guide walks each step with the published rules. One honesty note up front: "local" here means a state-neutral business number with no area code, not a geographic area-code landline — those are not published products on this site.
Step 1 — draft the word
Work from the published keypad mapping (2 = ABC through 9 = WXYZ; 0 and 1 carry no letters). The word must be up to 6 letters on a 1300 or 1800 base (4 on 13) and contain no 0 or 1 digits when mapped. Example: BAKERY maps to 225379 on a 1300 base.
Step 2 — pick the base
The word rides on 1300 (shared cost — callers pay a local call cost, the business pays the remainder) or 1800 (callers pay nothing in the stated Australian context, the business carries the charges). The 1300 vs 1800 page works through the trade-off.
Step 3 — search what is available
The Find a Number search lists available 1300/1800 Phonewords by word or last six digits. It is a snapshot of the current listing — not a reservation, and not a promise that your word is available or at a particular price.
Step 4 — match a plan
Published 1300/1800 rows run $10, $15, $39, $79 and $99 per month with per-row call rates on the pricing page; word pricing starts from $40 per month with availability and desirability affecting the specific word. Match the row to realistic call patterns; do not total it from this page.
Step 5 — confirm
Apply with the number, plan and answer point — the signup flow records the number the service will connect to. The team confirms the exact number and price before connection; that confirmation, not the search, is where availability settles. No activation timeframe is published, and terms sit in the terms and conditions.
Related reading: the custom local phone number pillar, custom local phone number setup, or custom versus standard numbers.
Guide questions
How long should my word be?
Up to 6 letters on a 1300 or 1800 base, up to 4 on 13 — and no 0 or 1 in the mapped digits, per the published rules.
Can I get a number with my area code in it?
No. Geographic area-code numbers are not published products here; the custom options are state-neutral 1300/1800 words.
My word shows as available — can I buy it now?
The search is a snapshot. Apply, and the team confirms the exact number and price before connection.
What if my word is taken?
Search alternatives by word or last six digits, or ask the team about standard numbers. Nothing on this page promises any word's availability.
The five-step guide
Choose a custom number the guided way
Word rules, base choice, search, plan, confirm.