# Outbound batch call error for US numbers despite valid E.164 formatting **URL:** \ **Category:** Support Help\ **Created:** [January 5, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-batch-call-error-for-us-numbers-despite-valid-e-164-formatting/332 "2026-01-05T19:43:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![johnstevenson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@johnstevenson](https://community.retellai.com/u/johnstevenson)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 7:43pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-batch-call-error-for-us-numbers-despite-valid-e-164-formatting/332/1 "2026-01-05T19:43:51Z")
Hello Retell team, We’re running into a persistent issue with **batch outbound calls** , even after strictly following the official CSV template and formatting guidelines. **Problem** After uploading recipients, we consistently get errors such as: - **“Country is not in the allowed outbound country list for this phone number.”** - **“The number provided is not a valid number. Please provide a valid number in E.164 format.”** **What we’ve already verified** - All recipients are **United States numbers only** - All numbers are formatted correctly in **E.164** (`+1XXXXXXXXXX`) - We used the official Retell CSV template without changing headers - `ignore e164 validation` set correctly - Tested multiple CSV files (large and very small batches) - Tested with a **single known-valid US number** - Issue still occurs consistently **From Number** +16677779782 At this point, it seems like the issue may be related to: - Outbound country allowlist not including **United States** - Account-level or phone-number-level outbound restrictions - Pending verification / compliance gating Could someone from the Retell team please help confirm: 1. Whether **US outbound calling is enabled** for our account and From Number 2. If there are any **allowlist, compliance, or verification blocks** 3. Any additional steps required to enable **US batch outbound calls** We’ve attached screenshots showing the exact errors for reference. Thanks in advance — any guidance would be greatly appreciated. ![ttt](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/uploads/retell1/original/1X/fa020cc895d2119d6453803c892686028ce01c02.png) ---
**Author:** ![support2](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/support2/32/15_2.png) [@support2](https://community.retellai.com/u/support2)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2026, 7:44pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-batch-call-error-for-us-numbers-despite-valid-e-164-formatting/332/2 "2026-01-05T19:44:16Z")
Based on the errors you’re encountering, here are the key areas to verify: ## Check Your Phone Number’s Outbound Country Settings Your phone number `+16677779782` needs to have the United States explicitly included in its `outbound_allowed_countries` list[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/list-phone-numbers)[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number). You can verify this by retrieving your phone number details using the Get Phone Number API[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number). If `outbound_allowed_countries` is `null` or empty, calls to all countries are allowed[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/list-phone-numbers)[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number). However, if it contains a list of countries and “US” is not included, you’ll get the country restriction error[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/list-phone-numbers)[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number). ## Verify E.164 Format Requirements For batch calls, ensure your CSV follows these requirements[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/make-batch-call): - Phone numbers must be in E.164 format (`+1XXXXXXXXXX` for US numbers)[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/make-batch-call) - The CSV must include a header row with a “phone number” column[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/make-batch-call) - If using custom telephony and needing to bypass E.164 validation, add a column named `ignore e164 validation` with value `true`[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/make-batch-call) ## Common Formatting Issues Based on community reports, the most frequent cause of “invalid number” errors is incorrect formatting - specifically including dashes or spaces in phone numbers[(4)](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1280655741723611246). Even if you believe your format is correct, double-check that there are absolutely no dashes, spaces, or other characters in your phone number column[(4)](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1280655741723611246). ## Next Steps 1. Use the Get Phone Number API to retrieve your number’s configuration and verify the `outbound_allowed_countries` setting[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number) 2. If US is not in the list (and the list is not null/empty), you’ll need to update your phone number configuration to include “US”[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/list-phone-numbers)[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/get-phone-number) 3. Re-verify your CSV has no hidden formatting issues (open in a plain text editor to confirm) If after these checks the issue persists, please reach out through official support channels: - [Contact Sales](https://retellai.octolane.com/) - [Discord Community](https://discord.com/invite/wxtjkjj2zp) - [GitHub](https://github.com/RetellAI/) ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Ashraf](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/omar_ashraf/32/102_2.png) [@Omar\_Ashraf](https://community.retellai.com/u/Omar_Ashraf)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2026, 3:42pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/outbound-batch-call-error-for-us-numbers-despite-valid-e-164-formatting/332/3 "2026-01-06T15:42:07Z")
Hello @johnstevenson As you can see the number +11444524636 is not a valid phone number , that’s why it show you this error , please remove it and try again.