Law Enforcement Requests
If you are an officer, agent, or directly represent a law enforcement agency and need to submit a trace request for information related to a specific telecommunications number, e.g. TN (Telephone Number)/DID (Direct Inward Dialing), Toll-free Number, or Short Code that you believe may be associated with the Number Access carrier network and which may have transmitted or received voice and/or carrier specific text messaging communications associated with an investigation that your agency has jurisdiction on, please read the following guidance statement first before submitting your trace request.
If you do not represent a law enforcement agency but you would like to submit a complaint regarding abuse or a privacy matter related to our network, please submit your details on our abuse form.
Guidance Statement
Number Access is a licensed FCC carrier and telecommunications aggregator with services that support regulated fixed line communications numbers, Toll-free numbers, and other special carrier communication services. Number Access does not provide wireless numbers or services on wireless class numbers other than our telecommunications networks ability to communicate with wireless numbers from our non-wireless numbers. Customers supported are wholesale communications carriers, aggregators, service providers, and enterprise businesses. Number Access does not support end-user consumer subscribers.
The Number Access carrier network supports a base communications number with regulated inbound voice origination, limited services for regulated outbound voice termination, unregulated inbound carrier text messaging, and unregulated outbound carrier text messaging.
Number Access does not support any unregistered voice or unregistered carrier text messaging traffic. All voice terminated services are signed with a Stir/Shaken certificate and all carrier text messaging services are registered with either the Long Code Registry, Toll-free Registry, or the Short Code Registry depending on the number type. Any communication received from a Number Access number that was not signed with our Stir-Shaken certificate for voice or was not registered with the corresponding registry for messaging should be consider Spoofed and a direct violation of our terms of service and acceptable use policy.
All services on fixed line communications numbers within the telecommunications industry are bifurcated and split between multiple providers. This includes both voice and messaging services. An example of bifurcated services on a specific number would be a Number Access or other carrier number enabled for a service such as Google RCS which would support the voice and/or messaging services outside of the Number Access or other carrier network while still using the Number Access or other carrier number. In this example and for the messaging specific services you can generally identify the transport provider which would have access to the voice and/or messaging data by viewing the actual message as follows:
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If the message is a Green message with an indicator stating “RCS”, this would indicate the message was transported on the Google RCS network.
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If the message is a Blue message, this would indicate an Apple iMessage transported solely on the Apple iMessage network.
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If the message is a Green message with no other indication marks this would generally indicate a Carrier Text Message on the same carrier network that the number is registered to unless a valid Letter of Authorization (LOA) exists which has given a third party authority to override and enable messaging services on the specific number.
An illegal spoofed voice call can generally be identified by calling the originating number back to confirm whether you reach the same party or not. Legal spoofing is allowed when the originator has control and authority on the specific number which is typically a use case for convenience within a business with a complicated phone system.
Number Access does has provide authorization and does not allow for third parties to enable its numbers for use on other service platforms. Only direct customers of Number Access who have executed a Letter of Authorization (LOA) may be allowed to provision our numbers with third parties.
Number Access can only assist with Trace Requests for numbers that are in its control within the time period and scope of the request and where the corresponding regulated voice or unregulated text messaging services were transported on its network. If you feel your request falls within this scope, please proceed with submitting a Trace Request as described below.
Submitting a Trace Request
Number Access in most cases will process basic courtesy trace requests for valid law enforcement agencies which do not require a formal subpoena or court order. Basic requests may have a subset or limited amount of information. If you need to submit a subpoena or court order, please try to ensure your request is valid before submitting, see Guidance Statement above. Trace request information is limited to the following:
- Confirmation of whether the request is valid or invalid.
- Customer Name and contact information.
- Count of voice or message transactions within the provided trace period.
- Voice or Messaging content. Voice content must be requested in advance so a tap can be established and does require a court order per regulations. Messaging content will not be provided unless specifically requested due to court proceeding process rules.
- Other information may be requested and provided if available.
- IMEI or other wireless specific identifiers will not be provided as they are not available for non-wireless numbers.
Exigent Requests
Any exigent requests for information on a specific telecommunications number should be emailed to [email protected] with the email marked as High Priority. Additionally, under urgent situations and in addition to emailing your request call +1 (563) 362-9999. Our response time for exigent requests is typically within one hour.
Non-Exigent Requests
If your request is not of an exigent nature, please email [email protected]. Our response time for non-exigent requests is typically within 72 business hours.
For all trace requests, please provide the following details:
- Law enforcement agency name, contact name, phone, email address
- The date and time frame for the trace request. Please also include the time zone.
- The number(s) you would like included in the trace request.
- The registry or service used to identify Number Access as the controlling carrier.
- The communications flow for the number that your trace is related to, see table below.
- Any other relevant details or other information requested.
- Billing information and any State or Federal limitations for Number Access to submit reimbursement for reasonable costs associated with processing the trace request.
| Termination Flows | Direction | Description |
|---|---|---|
| [Voice-TERM] | Outbound/Termination | An Outbound Voice Termination call |
| [Message-TERM] | Outbound/Termination | An Outbound Text Message |
Termination Flows are communications that appear to be originating from a Number Access number and terminating at a foreign carrier/end user number.
| Origination Flows | Direction | Description |
|---|---|---|
| [Voice-ORIG] | Inbound/Origination | An Inbound Voice Origination call |
| [Message-ORIG] | Inbound/Origination | An Inbound Text Message |
Origination Flows are communications originating from a foreign carrier/end user number and appear to be terminating at a Number Access number.
USPS Mail Correspondence
Number Access does not accept legal correspondence from carriers other than the USPS. If you have paper documentation that cannot be emailed through the process outlined above, please use the following USPS mailing address:
| NUMBER ACCESS - WWW |
| ATTN LEGAL - LAW ENFORCEMENT |
| PO BOX 502 |
| BETTENDORF, IA 52722-0009 |
Registered Agent
If your request requires processing via our registered agent, please contact the Secretary of States office for contact details. Number Access is registered in DE. Response time for requests processed through our registered agent are typically three to eight weeks.