# Programmatic transfer

**URL:** <https://community.retellai.com/t/programmatic-transfer/852>\
**Category:** Support Help\
**Tags:** general\
**Created:** [February 14, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/programmatic-transfer/852 "2026-02-14T14:19:11Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![rpetkov](https://yyz2.discourse-cdn.com/flex008/user_avatar/community.retellai.com/rpetkov/32/773_2.png) [@rpetkov](https://community.retellai.com/u/rpetkov)\
**Post date:** [February 14, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/programmatic-transfer/852/1 "2026-02-14T14:19:11Z")

</div>

I am trying to use a standard tool to transfer. The setup we have is Twilio \> Retell via sip trunking. Pretty standard I guess. I am trying to create a tool that is not retell’s native transfer to tool but custom one. However I cannot find the call in twilio until it is over. Nor I can use twiml to transfer the call using the Twilio sid that is in the call. Not sure this is for feature request or there is already a way to do that.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**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:** [February 14, 2026, 2:19pm UTC](https://community.retellai.com/t/programmatic-transfer/852/2 "2026-02-14T14:19:35Z")

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Based on the available sources, when using Twilio with Retell via SIP trunking, the Twilio call SID is available in the call object under the `telephony_identifier` field[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/register-phone-call). This field is populated when available and contains the `twilio_call_sid`[(1)](https://docs.retellai.com/api-references/register-phone-call).

However, the sources indicate that for custom transfer implementations, you would need to handle the integration with your telephony provider through code[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/custom-telephony). When using elastic SIP trunking (your setup), Retell does not directly control the telephony provider, which limits what you can do with the native Twilio APIs during an active call[(2)](https://docs.retellai.com/deploy/custom-telephony).

From the webhook documentation, the `telephony_identifier` with the Twilio call SID becomes available in webhook events like `call_started`, `call_ended`, and `call_analyzed`[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/features/webhook-overview). The `call_started` webhook is triggered when a new call begins and includes basic call information[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/features/webhook-overview), while `call_ended` is triggered when a call completes, transfers, or encounters an error[(3)](https://docs.retellai.com/features/webhook-overview).

One community member mentioned they “created the transfer function separately from Retell as a custom function” when dealing with similar requirements[(4)](https://discord.com/channels/1186424376300679209/1186462578310910112/1298965047212642334). This suggests implementing your own transfer logic as a custom function might be necessary for your use case.

If you need real-time access to the Twilio call SID during an active call to use TwiML for transfer, this appears to be a limitation of the current architecture when using SIP trunking. The sources don’t provide a documented way to access the Twilio call SID mid-call for custom TwiML manipulation.

For your specific need to find and manipulate the Twilio call using TwiML during an active call, this may indeed be a feature request, as the current documentation doesn’t show a method to access the Twilio SID in real-time before the call ends.