Verizon Call Forwarding Codes: *71, *72, *73 and What Each One Actually Does

Verizon has more than one forwarding code, and picking the wrong one is the difference between your phone still ringing and your phone going silent all day. Here's what each does, in plain terms.

The codes

• *71 — conditional forwarding. Your phone rings normally; only calls you don't answer (or that arrive while you're already talking) go to the other number. Dial *71 then the 10-digit number, press call, listen for the confirmation tone.
• *72 — immediate forwarding. Everything goes to the other number and your phone never rings at all. Same dialling pattern: *72 then the number.
• *73 — off. This cancels forwarding, both the *71 and the *72 kind. Note that it is NOT ##61# — that is a GSM code, and Verizon does not use it.
• *90 and *91 — busy-only forwarding, on and off, if you want to split it that finely.
• *92 and *93 — no-answer-only forwarding, on and off.

For almost every service business, *71 is the one you want. *72 sounds appealing until you realise you've stopped hearing your own phone.

Things that trip people up

• It's a network setting, not a phone setting — it survives a reboot, a new phone, and a factory reset. You have to dial *73 to actually turn it off.
• There's no visible indicator that it's on. If calls stop reaching you and you can't work out why, dial *73 before you replace anything.
• Ring time before forwarding is roughly 20 seconds and Verizon doesn't let you set it from the handset. If that's too fast for you, that's a conversation with support.
• Prepaid and Verizon-network MVNOs (Visible, Total Wireless and similar) usually accept the same codes, but some plans block forwarding entirely. If the code errors out, that's why — it isn't your handset.

The part nobody tells you

The code takes ten seconds. The decision that matters is what sits on the other end of it. Forwarding to a spouse works until they get sick of it. Forwarding to voicemail is where the whole exercise falls apart — about 85% of callers hang up on a business voicemail rather than leave a message.

The alternatives, honestly compared: what an answering service costs, where missed-call text-back falls down, and the full six options ranked by price.

We build CallEmBack for the destination end of that code: an AI receptionist answers in your business's name, takes the problem, the address and the urgency, and texts you a warm lead. $49/month. Other carriers: AT&T · T-Mobile.