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Guidance

Switching networks: the complete procedure

Departure from any UK network requires one free text message. The departing network may not refuse, delay, or require persuasion — the procedure and every right within it, set out in full.

Published: Northgate Review editorial deskLast reviewed: July 2026Reading time: 5 minutesJurisdiction: United Kingdom

Summary of key points

  1. A PAC (text PAC to 65075) transfers the number; a STAC (text STAC to 75075) closes the line. Both are free.
  2. The reply arrives within approximately one minute, carrying the code and full exit economics.
  3. Codes remain valid thirty days; the receiving network conducts the transfer, ordinarily within one working day.
  4. No third party may lawfully charge for these codes; any such offer is fraudulent.

I.The procedure

Select the code

Retention of the number requires a PAC; a fresh number requires a STAC.

Send the free text

PAC to 65075, or STAC to 75075, from the SIM being departed. Free on every UK network.

Read the reply in full

It carries the code together with the honest exit economics — any early-termination fee and any remaining device balance. Validity: thirty days.

Deliver the code to the receiving network

Through official channels at signup; the receiving network conducts the transfer thereafter.

Completion

Ordinarily within one working day of processing; interruptions of a few hours on the day are normal.

Examine the final bill

Charges must cease from the switch date, excepting amounts the code text disclosed.

II.Rights during the procedure

  • The departing network may not refuse or delay the code, nor require a retention conversation.
  • Customers beyond their minimum term owe nothing to depart; those within it owe only what the code text disclosed.
  • Failed transfers or service loss beyond one working day warrant formal complaint — consumer rights.
No code is ever soldPAC and STAC codes are issued free, by one's own network, directly. No third party — this publication included — can obtain one on a customer's behalf, and any party charging for the service is conducting a fraud.

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