# The PHONE Act of 2021: Keeping Your Phone Number After a Disaster

When a major disaster strikes—like a hurricane, wildfire, or earthquake—people often have to evacuate or relocate temporarily. The PHONE Act (Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act) protects your phone number during these emergencies so you don't lose it while dealing with the chaos of displacement.

Here's what the bill does: If you have a home or business phone number in an area hit by a federally declared disaster, your phone company cannot reassign that number to someone else for one year after the disaster declaration. This applies specifically to traditional landline phone service. The protection starts automatically once your state officially notifies the Federal Communications Commission that your area suffered covered damage—meaning homes became uninhabitable or people were displaced. Your phone company must keep your number reserved for you during this entire year, and you can request to extend the protection for another year if needed.

The bill also gives you flexibility if your home is damaged or you need to move. If you can show your phone company that your residence is inaccessible or uninhabitable, you can cancel your service without paying early termination fees. Better yet, you can then resubscribe to that same phone number at a different location (if available in that area) or at your original address once it's repaired—again without connection fees. If you simply cancel without proving damage, your number goes back into circulation and the protection ends. The FCC will maintain a public list on its website showing which areas are currently protected under this law, so you can check if your region qualifies.

PHONE Act of 2021

Thompson, Mike

Preserving Home and Office Numbers in Emergencies Act of 2021 or the PHONE Act of 2021 This bill restricts the reassignment of a telephone number assigned to a subscriber for the provision of fixed wireline voice service. Specifically, for up to one year after&nbsp;a major disaster has been declared, a number may not be reassigned except at the request of the subscriber. At the request of a subscriber, this prohibition must be extended for an additional year. Further, a subscriber may cancel service without a cancellation fee and resubscribe with the same number and no fee if the subscriber is&nbsp;located in a disaster area and the residence where the number is located is inaccessible or uninhabitable.