How to verify a VoIP carrier is licensed: the five-registry check

Why is “licensed carrier” a claim you can check?

To verify a VoIP carrier is licensed, check five registrations, four with a public lookup: a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Registration Number, a Form 499 Filer ID, an Operating Company Number (OCN), a Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) listing and STI Policy Administrator (STI-PA) authorization. Koda Voice publishes its own five keys below so you can run the test on us first.

Under FCC rules at 47 CFR 64.6305, providers may accept calls directly from a domestic voice service provider only if that provider’s filing appears in the Robocall Mitigation Database. There is no single “carrier license” document; there are five registrations. Four have a public lookup; the OCN is confirmed through the provider and cross-checked against the STI-PA list.

How do you look up an FCC Registration Number (FRN)?

An FCC Registration Number (FRN) is the 10-digit identifier the FCC assigns to every entity that does business with the Commission, under 47 CFR 1.8001. The FCC issues it through the Commission Registration System (CORES), and the CORES public site offers a “Search for Public FRN Information” option.

1. Ask the provider for its FRN. A name search can return several similarly named registrants; the FRN resolves them.
2. Open the CORES public search and enter the FRN.
3. Compare the registrant name and address with the provider’s website, contract and invoice. Match the legal entity, not the brand.

Proves: the legal entity exists in the FCC’s registration system under that name and address.

Does not prove: that the entity provides voice service or holds numbers. Under 47 CFR 1.8002, anyone doing business with the Commission needs an FRN.

How do you search the Form 499 Filer Database?

The FCC Form 499 Filer Database lists every company that files the Telecommunications Reporting Worksheet with the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC). According to USAC’s forms-to-file page, Form 499-A is the annual worksheet, due April 1, on which each filer reports prior-year revenue. The public database is searchable by Filer ID, FRN or company name and shows the business name, address and jurisdictions on file.

1. Search by the Filer ID the provider gave you, or by the FRN from the previous step.
2. Confirm the business name and address match the CORES record.
3. Note the jurisdictions on file.

Proves: the company reports telecommunications revenue to USAC in its own name.

Does not prove: what the company sells or whether it holds numbers. A reseller can file Form 499 too.

How do you confirm an Operating Company Number (OCN)?

An Operating Company Number (OCN) is the company code a provider must hold before it can apply for numbering resources. According to NANPA’s guide for interconnected VoIP providers, a VoIP provider requests the OCN from NECA (the National Exchange Carrier Association), which assigns it under the “IPES” category for Internet Protocol Enabled Services. Our article on what an OCN is covers the background.

1. Ask for the OCN in writing, with its category. A VoIP provider’s OCN should carry IPES.
2. Where the provider already holds numbers, ask which numbers or port requests carry that OCN; a carrier can show it on its own numbering paperwork.
3. Cross-check against step 5. The Secure Telephone Identity Governance Authority (STI-GA) requires an assigned OCN or a Resp Org ID before the STI Policy Administrator clears a provider, so for a voice carrier on the authorized list the OCN has already been checked.

Proves: the company can hold numbering resources in its own name, the working definition of a carrier rather than a reseller.

Does not prove: that it holds numbers today, or that its traffic is clean.

How do you search the Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD)?

The Robocall Mitigation Database (RMD) is the FCC-hosted database of every provider that files a robocall-mitigation certification under 47 CFR 64.6305. Under that rule a voice service provider must certify that all calls it originates are covered by a robocall mitigation program, and other providers may accept its calls directly only if its filing appears in the database and has not been de-listed. Our guide to the Robocall Mitigation Database explains what a filing contains.

1. Open the FCC RMD public listings and search by the provider’s legal name.
2. Confirm the name and address match the CORES and Form 499 records.
3. Read the status. A de-listed entry fails the test outright.

Proves: the provider has filed the required certification, including a commitment to respond within 24 hours to traceback requests from the FCC, law enforcement and the industry traceback consortium.

Does not prove: quality. The filing is a self-certification. It shows the provider is inside the rule, not that its traffic is good.

Where is the STIR/SHAKEN authorized service provider list?

The STIR/SHAKEN authorized service provider list is published by iconectiv, the U.S. STI Policy Administrator (STI-PA), on its authorized providers page. The STI-GA sets the eligibility rule. Under its SPC Token Access Policy, a provider needs a current Form 499-A (or proof of the annual Resp Org fee), an assigned OCN (or a Resp Org ID), and an FCC certification with a Robocall Mitigation Database listing before the STI-PA clears it for Service Provider Code (SPC) tokens and certificates.

1. Open the list and search the page for the provider’s legal name. The list is alphabetical, names only, with no search box, so use your browser’s find function.
2. Match the legal entity, not the brand or product name.
3. Ask whether the provider signs under its own Service Provider Code or under another provider’s certificate. The list does not say.

Proves: for a voice carrier, that the STI-PA has checked its Form 499-A, OCN and RMD status and cleared it for its own certificates.

Does not prove: the attestation level your calls will carry. Attestation is assigned per call under the A, B and C framework, explained in STIR/SHAKEN attestation levels, and depends on the provider’s verified relationship with the customer and the calling number, not on its place on the list.

How can you tell a reseller from a carrier?

A reseller delivers service on another company’s registrations; a carrier holds its own. Any FCC filer can hold an FRN, and a reseller can file Form 499, so the deciding checks are the OCN and the STI-PA authorization: a reseller’s numbers sit under the upstream carrier’s OCN, and its calls are signed under the upstream carrier’s certificate.

Website language is a secondary signal, not a test. Every carrier interconnects with other carriers; the question is whether the company’s numbers and call signing sit under its own Operating Company Number and certificate or under a partner’s. A site that names the provider it is “powered by” and shows no registrations in its own legal name describes a reseller.

What are the red flags?

Red flags in a carrier check are absences and mismatches, not statements:

• No legal entity. A brand name only, or a Terms page issued in a different entity name from the invoice.
• No street address, or an address that appears only inside a PDF.
• Claims without lookup keys. “Fully licensed”, “certified”, “Tier 1” or a promised attestation level, with no FRN, Filer ID or OCN to look up.
• Keys that resolve to someone else. An FRN or Filer ID that returns a different company or address from the website.
• Registries that disagree. A CORES address that differs from the Form 499 address, or an RMD entry under a name the provider never uses.

What if a provider fails one of the checks?

Apart from the two hard stops below, a failed check is a question to put in writing, not an automatic verdict. Ask which legal entity holds the registration and why the record differs; expect lookup keys in the answer. Legitimate explanations exist: a recent rename, a Form 499 record not yet updated, or a parent entity that holds the registrations.

Two results are hard stops. A missing or de-listed RMD entry means other providers may not accept traffic directly from that company under 47 CFR 64.6305. Identifiers that resolve to a different company mean you do not know whom you are contracting with. Everything else is a mismatch to resolve before you sign. The check also runs in reverse: a carrier that vets its customers will ask you for comparable documents, and our guide to carrier Know-Your-Customer review lists what to prepare.

Checklist: how to verify a VoIP carrier is licensed in five steps

The five-registry check fits on one page; record each value as you go.

Record the five values, the date and who supplied them. Repeat the check yearly: Form 499-A is an annual filing, and registry status can change.

How this applies to Koda Voice

Koda Voice LLC holds every credential this article checks in its own name. The Trust Center lists each identifier with a link to the registry that issued it, so this checklist can be run against Koda directly.

Koda Voice LLC is a Delaware limited liability company founded in 2026, headquartered at 1919 Taylor Street, Suite F #1300, Houston, TX 77007, and registered with the FCC and USAC as an interconnected and non-interconnected VoIP provider. Its STI certificate was issued by an approved STI Certification Authority, and calls originated on Koda’s network are signed under Koda’s own Service Provider Code (583H), not a reseller’s certificate. Signing details are on the STIR/SHAKEN page; company facts are on the About page.

Koda is a new carrier, and every date in the table is recent; that is why the keys are published, so a vetting team need not take a 2026 company at its word. If a lookup disagrees with this page, write to compliance@kodavoice.com through the contact page and we will correct whichever is wrong.