Remove formatting from phone numbers: strip dashes, spaces, dots and brackets from a list
In short: Paste numbers or a CSV and get plain digits, with an optional leading + and the extension in its own column. Limit: It reads text only, so it cannot say whether a number is valid or what country it belongs to.
Paste a list of phone numbers or upload a CSV, and every dash, space, dot and bracket is removed, so (415) 555-0132 becomes 4155550132. Choose whether to keep a leading + sign. Extensions such as ext. 42 move to their own column, and numbers with too few or too many digits are flagged.
Price: this tool is free. Live line type and carrier lookups come with Pro + Phone at $49.99/mo; email checking is from $9/mo. See pricing
Keep it when numbers carry a country code.
Sample result
(415) 555-0132 becomes 4155550132 and +1 (212) 555-0100 ext. 42 becomes +12125550100 with extension 42.
- Digits
- 4155550132
- Input
- (415) 555-0132
- Extension
- Own column
What this means for you
Plain digits suit systems that reject punctuation; they do not show which lines work.
- Dashes, spaces, dots, brackets
- Optional leading +
- Extension in its own column
- Odd digit counts flagged
- Digits only
- Phones
- CSV
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
Cleaning a list that also has email addresses?
- Download the file with its plain digits.
- Upload or paste it at /verify. Every address gets a live mailbox check, and the first 100 email checks are free with a Google sign-in, no card.
How do I remove dashes and brackets from phone numbers in bulk?
- Paste the list or upload a CSV; the phone column is found for you.
- Choose whether to keep a leading + sign.
- Press the button and read the digit check: numbers under 7 or over 15 digits, and ones that had letters, are flagged.
- Download the CSV with the original columns plus digits and extension, or copy the digits.
Example
- You enter
- Five numbers: (415) 555-0132, +1 (212) 555-0100 ext. 42, 1-800-FLOWERS, 555-12 and +1 415 555 0132 998 100 771, with the leading + kept.
- You get
- (415) 555-0132 becomes 4155550132 and +1 (212) 555-0100 ext. 42 becomes +12125550100 with extension 42. 3 rows are flagged: 1-800-FLOWERS had letters, 555-12 has under 7 digits and the last has over 15.
- Limits
- Runs in your browser; nothing is uploaded. It reads text only, so the digit check is not a validity check.
What exactly is removed?
Everything that is not a digit goes: spaces, dashes, dots, brackets and slashes. A leading + sign can stay, since it marks a country code. An extension written ext. 42, x42 or #42 at the end is moved to its own column, so its digits do not join the number.
Letters, as in 1-800-FLOWERS, are dropped and the row is flagged. Turning vanity letters into digits is a different job, done by the vanity number converter.
Is this the same as formatting to E.164?
No. Stripping works on the text alone and does not know the country, so 4155550132 stays as it is and nothing adds the +1. The phone number formatter reads each country's numbering plan and writes full E.164, which most CRMs and SMS tools expect.
Use this tool when a system only wants plain digits, or as a first pass before formatting. A leading 0 or a 00 prefix is left alone, because removing it needs the country.
What does the digit check mean?
Numbers with fewer than 7 digits are flagged as too short, and numbers with more than 15 are flagged as too long, since E.164 allows at most 15. That catches cut-off cells and two numbers pasted into one.
A number that passes is only plausible by length. It may still be unallocated or mistyped, so use the bulk phone number validator for a numbering-plan check.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- CRM admins
- Prepare a phone column for an import that rejects punctuation.
- Dialer operators
- Load a plain-digit list into a dialer that cannot read brackets or dashes.
- Data teams
- Make numbers from several sources comparable before a merge, then remove duplicate phone numbers.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- It reads text only, so it cannot say whether a number is valid or what country it belongs to.
- A leading 0 or 00 is kept; removing it depends on the country.
- Letters are dropped, not turned into digits.
- A spreadsheet can turn long digit strings into scientific notation when it opens the file; set the column to text.
Common questions
- Does it keep leading zeros?
- Yes. Digits are never changed, only the characters around them removed. A spreadsheet may drop zeros when it opens the file, so set the column to text.
- What happens to extensions?
- An ext., x or # followed by digits at the end moves to its own column and is left out of the number.
- Can it keep the plus sign?
- Yes. Choose to keep a leading +; it is the only symbol that stays.
- Does it add a country code?
- No. For that, use the add or remove country code tool, which reads the numbering plan.
- Does this show a number is active?
- No. It reads the number against its country's numbering plan, or edits text. Nothing here contacts a phone network, so it cannot say a line is connected, who holds it, or that anyone will answer.
- Is my list uploaded?
- No. It is read in your browser and goes nowhere, so a customer list stays on your device.
Well formatted is not the same as reachable.
This tool fixes how numbers are written. It cannot tell you whether a line is mobile, landline or VoIP, or which carrier holds it. That takes a live carrier lookup, which is what Pro + Phone ($49.99/mo) adds.
- Upload a CSV up to 100,000 rows with an email or phone column
- 5,000 live carrier lookups a month: carrier name and real line type
- Emails in the same file get a real SMTP mailbox check
Plans from $9 a month, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.