For expats, non-residents and travellers
A US number that works wherever you live.
You have US accounts that text codes to a US number: a bank, a brokerage, a card, a marketplace, a payroll provider. You moved away, or you never lived there. A Cleat line receives those texts wherever you have internet.
What a Cleat line is
A real US mobile number that receives texts. Not VoIP, not a virtual number. It lives in your Cleat inbox, so texts reach you anywhere with internet: in the browser, by email, in Telegram, or straight into your own tools. There's no SIM to install and nothing to activate from inside the US. It's receive-only: no outbound calls or texts, and no 911. Incoming calls still reach you, transcribed, so a code read out over an automated call lands in the inbox with the texts.
What you need
- Internet access, wherever you are.
- A government ID, and a selfie, or the ID-only option reviewed by a person.
- A payment card for $24.99 a month, charged in US dollars. Checkout asks for the card's billing address.
You don't need a US SIM, a US phone, or to be in the US.
Which documents work
Identity verification is handled by Stripe, and government IDs from many countries work. If your national ID is written in a script other than Latin, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Tamil or Thai, a passport is the most reliable document (Stripe). How we handle the check is on our trust page and in the Privacy Policy.
Paying from abroad
The price is set in US dollars, the same everywhere. Your bank converts it and may add a conversion fee; in Brazil, your bank may also apply IOF to international card purchases. Taxes are added where they apply. Pricing has the billing details.
Compared with other ways to keep a US number
| Option | Number type | Needs a US SIM or phone | Set up from abroad | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keeping your US carrier plan | Mobile | Yes | Already set up | Your carrier's plan |
| A prepaid US SIM or eSIM (for example Tello) | Mobile | Yes | Tello's eSIM must be activated while “physically located within the United States” (Tello) | Set by each carrier |
| Google Voice (personal) | Internet number | No | “Available in the US” (Google) | Free |
| Virtual-number apps (for example Hushed) | Internet number; Hushed: “NOT guaranteed to work with third-party verification” (Hushed) | No | Yes | Hushed: “STARTING AT $6.99 USD/MONTH” (Hushed) |
| Cleat Line | Real US mobile line, not VoIP | No | Yes, with a government ID | $24.99/month |
Honest limits
- Most services that refuse VoIP accept a real mobile line. No provider can promise that every service accepts every number.
- Some services also check where you are or your account's history. A US number doesn't change those.
- Cleat Line can't place calls, and an incoming one reaches you as a transcript rather than a ringing phone, so choose text messages wherever a service gives you the choice.
- You can't choose the area code.
- Try it in your first month, and cancel anytime from Billing.
Before you decide
Every option, including the free ones, weighed side by side: how to get a US phone number from outside the US. Why internet numbers get refused for codes: what is a non-VoIP number?
Questions
Do I need to be in the US to sign up?
No. You need internet access and a government ID.
Do I need a US SIM or a US phone?
No. There's no SIM to install and nothing to activate in the US.
Which ID can I use?
A government-issued ID that Stripe supports. A passport is the safest choice if your ID isn't in Latin script.
Can I receive WhatsApp or Telegram codes?
A Cleat line receives texts from services that send them. We don't keep a list of which services accept which numbers, so try yours in your first month.
What about calls from my bank?
You can't answer one or call back. An incoming call arrives afterwards as a transcript, so a code read out by an automated call still reaches you; a banker who wants to talk won't. Choose text messages where your bank offers the choice.
Is the price in my currency?
It's set in US dollars. Your bank may show a converted amount, and any conversion fees are your bank's.
What if I stop paying?
Your number is held for 30 days, then released, and it may later be given to someone else. Move your accounts to another number before that.
Sources
Facts about other companies come from their own pages, checked in September 2026.
- Stripe Docs, identity document checks https://docs.stripe.com/identity/verification-checks?type=document
- Tello Help Center, activating an eSIM outside the US https://tello.com/help_center/how-to-activate-an-esim-outside-the-us
- Google Workspace, Google Voice https://workspace.google.com/products/voice/
- Hushed Help Center https://support.hushed.com/hc/en-us/articles/360015707631
- Hushed pricing https://hushed.com/pricing/