---
title: "Call forwarding"
url: "https://numberburn.com/features/call-forwarding.md"
canonical_url: "https://numberburn.com/features/call-forwarding"
last_updated: "2026-10-19"
type: "product"
summary: "Calls to a NumberBurn number ring your one confirmed mobile. Callers see only the NumberBurn number, and only answered calls count as minutes."
related: ["https://numberburn.com/features/text-inbox.md", "https://numberburn.com/features/modes-and-labels.md", "https://numberburn.com/features.md"]
---

# Call forwarding

Calls to a NumberBurn number ring your one confirmed mobile. Callers see only the NumberBurn number, and only answered calls count as minutes.

A call to a NumberBurn number rings the one mobile you confirmed. The caller sees only the NumberBurn number, and so does your phone, so you know which burner is ringing.

## How it works

1. **Confirm your mobile.** Your account shows a 4-digit code. Text `START` followed by that code from your real mobile to your NumberBurn number.
2. **Someone calls the number.** The call reaches NumberBurn, which looks up the number and applies its mode. In Forward mode the call goes to your confirmed mobile.
3. **Your phone rings.** The caller ID on your phone is the NumberBurn number, not the caller, so you can tell which burner is ringing before you answer.
4. **Answer, talk, hang up.** Only answered forwarded calls count against your minutes. Each call is rounded up to whole minutes.

## Confirming your mobile

- One confirmed mobile per account: calls on every number in the account ring that one phone.
- The code has 4 digits and lives for 30 minutes.
- You get 5 attempts. After 5 wrong codes the pending verification is locked.
- The text has to come from the mobile you want to confirm, so NumberBurn knows it is really yours.

## Minutes and overage

- Only answered forwarded calls count.
- Each call is rounded up to whole minutes: 65 seconds counts as 2 minutes.
- Voicemail picked up by your own mobile carrier counts as answered time, because the call connected.
- You get an email when 80 percent of your included minutes are used, and again when overage starts.
- At the monthly overage cap, forwarding pauses and texts keep arriving.

| Plan | Included minutes | Overage | Overage cap per month |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Trial | 100 for the whole trial | n/a | n/a |
| Basic | 100 per month | 5 cents per minute | $50 |
| Pro | 1,000 per month | 5 cents per minute | $100 |

## Limits

> **What forwarding does not do:** NumberBurn numbers are receive-only: they cannot place a call or send a text. A NumberBurn number cannot call 911 or any other number. Call audio is not recorded or stored. Numbers are US only.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can the caller see my real number?

No. The caller sees only the NumberBurn number they dialed. On your phone, the number shown is also the NumberBurn number.

### Which calls count as minutes?

Only answered forwarded calls, rounded up to whole minutes. Voicemail picked up by your own mobile carrier counts as answered time.

### What happens when I hit the overage cap?

Forwarding pauses until the next period. Texts keep arriving in the web inbox the whole time.

## Related

- [Web text inbox](https://numberburn.com/features/text-inbox.md)
- [Modes and labels](https://numberburn.com/features/modes-and-labels.md)
- [Burner number features](https://numberburn.com/features.md)