# Verizon call forwarding for business > Verizon call forwarding on a wireless phone is *72 for every call and *71 if you do not answer. Here is how to turn it on, test it, and turn it off. Published 2026-11-08 · by RingKit · tags: call forwarding, setup, small business. Canonical: https://www.ringkit.com/blog/verizon-call-forwarding Verizon call forwarding, on a Verizon wireless phone, is three codes you dial from that phone. `*72` plus the 10-digit number sends every call there, and your phone does not ring. `*71` plus the 10-digit number lets the phone ring, then forwards if you are busy or you do not answer after 3 to 6 rings, instead of sending the caller to voicemail. `*73` turns either one off. Those codes are from Verizon's own device pages and FAQ, read on November 8, 2026. They are for that wireless service. A desk system is a different product and a different list. If you are pointing a business line at an AI receptionist, use `*71` when you still want to pick up, and `*72` when you want the receptionist to take the line. RingKit does not port your Verizon number. The number stays on your Verizon account, and these codes tell Verizon where the voice call should go. ## Turn on every call, or only the ones you miss From the wireless phone, while you are on Verizon's network: 1. For every call, dial `*72` and the 10-digit number, area code included. Verizon's example is written with hyphens (`*72` and then a number like 999-555-4567). What matters is the ten digits. 2. Listen for a series of beeps, then wait. Verizon says the call ends on its own. 3. For busy or no-answer only, do the same with `*71` instead of `*72`. [Verizon's page for turning forwarding on](https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-181139/) is the source for both codes and for the 3-to-6-ring description. It also says forwarding to international numbers is not available, and that a star code may not work when you are outside Verizon wireless coverage. Dial from the phone that owns the number. Verizon's FAQ says you cannot change forwarding without that phone. If the code does nothing, contact Verizon. `*72` is why the phone never rings. Use `*71` when you still want a chance to answer. Other carriers are in the [conditional call forwarding](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/conditional-call-forwarding) guide. Do not mix their codes onto a Verizon phone. ## Turn it off From the same phone, dial `*73`. [Verizon's off page](https://www.verizon.com/support/knowledge-base-17268/) says this disables immediate or conditional forwarding. Listen for beeps and wait for the call to end. [Verizon's FAQ](https://www.verizon.com/support/call-forwarding-faqs/) says the confirmation can be a tone or a message that sounds like a busy signal. If you hang up at that sound and dial `*73` again, you may think it failed when Verizon is telling you it worked. After `*73`, prove it with a call from another phone. Your Verizon phone should ring. The off page also says that if you still are not receiving calls, check Do Not Disturb, blocking, Quiet Mode, and apps that restrict incoming calls. `*73` does not fix those. Outside Verizon wireless coverage, the off page repeats the same limit as the on page: a star code may not be available. Turn forwarding off before you leave coverage if you will want the phone to ring while you are away. ## Limits that are easy to miss The FAQ matches the device pages on the codes and adds the account rules. Verizon marks part of that FAQ as generated, so re-read it if a bill disagrees. The destination has to be an active US voice line, 10 digits, area code included. International numbers are refused. Texts are not forwarded. If the plan is not unlimited, Verizon bills a forwarded call as if you had answered it, even when the far end is a landline. The FAQ says there is no monthly fee for the feature on most plans, and that some older plans still charge one. You cannot start forwarding outside Verizon coverage or while traveling internationally. If you turned it on before you left, the FAQ says it should keep working while you roam. A busy tone when customers call is often a bad number: extra digits got pressed. Dial `*72` or `*71` again with ten digits only, then test. ## A desk phone is not this article Verizon sells business voice products with their own feature codes. One Talk, for example, documents a different list, with codes that start with `**` rather than a single `*`. Those codes prompt for a number. They are not `*72`. Using a wireless code on a desk phone, or a desk-phone code on a wireless phone, is how a "simple forward" eats an afternoon. If the business number rings a desk set or a hosted system first, change forwarding there. The wireless steps never run, because the call never gets to the mobile. If the published business number is the mobile, the steps in this article are the ones that match Verizon's wireless pages. This article does not copy the desk-phone list. Open the guide for the product you actually have, and use only that list. ## Test it from a phone that is not yours Dialing the code is not the test. The test is a call from a second phone to your Verizon number. For `*72`, your Verizon phone should stay quiet and the other number should answer. For `*71`, your Verizon phone should ring. Let it. After a few rings the other number should answer, and voicemail should not. Verizon's on page is the source of "3 to 6 rings, instead of voicemail." If voicemail still wins, you do not have the behavior that page describes. Turn the forward off with `*73`, confirm the phone rings, and only then set `*71` again. The [test checklist](https://www.ringkit.com/blog/test-call-forwarding) walks the no-answer, busy, and phone-off cases without assuming every carrier uses these codes. Call the destination before you forward. Ask it a question your customers ask. Then forward. RingKit's rates stay on the [pricing page](https://www.ringkit.com/pricing). This article does not restate them. You still pay Verizon under your own plan for forwarded airtime. A developer creating the receptionist uses the [docs](https://www.ringkit.com/docs). Verizon still expects these codes from the wireless phone. --- Try Ringkit: $0.20/min, $1.99/mo per number, no plan. Get started at https://app.ringkit.com/onboard