FreePBX Outbound Routes & Dial Patterns

1. What Are Outbound Routes?

Outbound routes in FreePBX control how outgoing calls leave your phone system. When a user dials a number from their extension, FreePBX evaluates each outbound route in priority order, comparing the dialed number against the route's dial patterns. The first route with a matching pattern wins, and FreePBX sends the call out through the trunk (or trunks) assigned to that route.

This routing logic lets you accomplish several important objectives:

• ● Cost optimization: Route domestic calls through one provider and international calls through a cheaper international carrier.
• ● Emergency routing: Ensure 911 calls always go out a specific trunk with a verified physical address.
• ● Trunk failover: Assign primary and backup trunks so calls automatically fail over if your primary provider is unreachable.
• ● Number manipulation: Prepend area codes to 7-digit dials, strip leading digits, or rewrite CallerID per route.
• ● Access control: Restrict international dialing to specific extensions or require a PIN for toll calls.

2. Prerequisites

Before configuring outbound routes, make sure you have the following in place on your FreePBX 17 system:

3. Creating Your First Outbound Route

Log into the FreePBX admin GUI and navigate to Connectivity > Outbound Routes. Click Add Outbound Route to open the route configuration form.

Route Settings Tab

The Route Settings tab contains the core configuration for the route:

Trunk Sequence

Under Trunk Sequence for Matched Routes, select the trunk(s) to use for this route. FreePBX tries them in order from top to bottom:

# Trunk Sequence for Matched Routes
0  IPComms_SIP_Trunk     # Primary trunk
1  Backup_SIP_Trunk      # Failover (optional)

Select your IPComms trunk from the Trunk Sequence dropdown. To add a second trunk for failover, click the + Add button and select the backup trunk.

4. Understanding Dial Patterns

Click the Dial Patterns tab in the outbound route editor. Each dial pattern has four fields that work together to match and manipulate dialed numbers before sending them to the trunk.

The Four Dial Pattern Fields

Pattern Wildcards

FreePBX uses Asterisk-standard digit placeholders in the Match Pattern field:

How Matching Works: An Example

Consider this dial pattern configuration:

Prepend:  1
Prefix:   9
Match:    NXXNXXXXXX

When a user dials 9-212-555-1234:

• ● FreePBX sees the prefix 9 and strips it, leaving 2125551234
• ● The remaining digits match NXXNXXXXXX (10-digit NANP number)
• ● FreePBX prepends 1, sending 12125551234 to the trunk

5. Essential Dial Patterns for US/Canada

The following table provides a complete set of dial patterns for handling North American dialing. Add these to your primary outbound route to cover all standard call types.

Complete US/Canada Dial Patterns

Emergency Dial Patterns (Separate Route)

Emergency calls should always be configured in a separate outbound route with the highest priority (lowest number). Create a route called Emergency_911 and set the Route Type to Emergency.

6. Route Priority & Trunk Failover

Route priority determines the order in which FreePBX evaluates outbound routes. A lower priority number means the route is checked first. You can view and reorder route priorities under Connectivity > Outbound Routes in the main list view.

Recommended Route Priority Order

Configuring Trunk Failover

Within each route, you can assign multiple trunks in the Trunk Sequence for Matched Routes section. FreePBX attempts trunks in sequence order. If trunk 0 fails (registration down, congestion, or SIP error), it automatically tries trunk 1, and so on.

# Example: Trunk Sequence with Failover
# Trunk Sequence for Matched Routes
0  IPComms_Primary       # Try this trunk first
1  IPComms_Secondary     # If primary fails, try secondary
2  Backup_Provider       # Last resort backup

To add failover trunks:

• ● In the route editor, scroll to Trunk Sequence for Matched Routes
• ● Select your primary IPComms trunk in the first dropdown (position 0)
• ● Click the + button to add another row
• ● Select your backup trunk in position 1

7. CallerID Manipulation

FreePBX gives you multiple levels of CallerID control for outbound calls. Understanding the priority order is critical to ensuring the correct number shows to the called party.

CallerID Priority Order (Highest to Lowest)

Setting Route CID

In the outbound route's Route Settings tab, enter a CallerID number in the Route CID field. The Override Extension toggle controls whether this overrides per-extension CID settings:

• ● Override Extension = No (default): The extension's Outbound CID takes priority. Route CID is only used if the extension has no CID set.
• ● Override Extension = Yes: The Route CID is forced on all calls through this route, regardless of extension settings.

Per-Extension Outbound CID

To set a different CallerID for each extension, go to Applications > Extensions, edit the extension, and enter the DID number in the Outbound CID field. Use the format:

# Extension Outbound CID format
"John Smith" <2125551234>

8. Advanced: Time Conditions & Class of Service

FreePBX provides several mechanisms to restrict or condition outbound routing based on time of day, extension groups, or PIN codes.

Time-Based Route Restrictions

You can restrict an outbound route to only work during specific times using Time Groups and Time Conditions:

Step 1: Create a Time Group

Navigate to Admin > Time Groups and create a new group. For example, to allow international calls only during business hours:

# Time Group: Business_Hours
Time Start: 08:00
Time Finish: 18:00
Day Start: Monday
Day Finish: Friday

Step 2: Assign to Route

In your International outbound route, select the Time Group from the Time Group dropdown on the Route Settings tab. The route will only match calls during the specified time window. Outside that window, calls will fall through to the next route or receive a "all circuits busy" message.

PIN-Protected Routes

For toll calls or international dialing, you can require users to enter a PIN before the call proceeds. In the route's Route Settings tab, enter a numeric password in the Route Password field:

# Route Settings for International_Outbound
Route Name:     International_Outbound
Route Password: 5678
Route Type:     Intra-Company

When a user dials an international number matching this route, FreePBX will prompt them to enter the PIN before completing the call.

CallerID-Based Routing (Class of Service)

You can restrict which extensions can use a route by specifying CallerID patterns in the dial pattern's CallerID field. This acts as a basic Class of Service mechanism:

# Only allow extensions 100-199 to use this route
Prepend:    (blank)
Prefix:     011
Match:      .
CallerID:   1XX
# Only allow extension 300 (executive) to dial international
Prepend:    (blank)
Prefix:     011
Match:      .
CallerID:   300

9. Testing & Troubleshooting

After configuring your outbound routes and dial patterns, apply the changes and test each call type to ensure proper routing.

Apply Configuration

After saving your routes, click the red Apply Config button in the FreePBX top bar. This reloads the Asterisk dialplan with your new routing rules.

Testing Outbound Routes

Make test calls for each dial pattern type from a registered extension:

• ● 10-digit domestic: Dial a local number without the 1 prefix
• ● 11-digit with 1: Dial 1 + area code + number
• ● Toll-free: Dial 1-800-555-1212 or similar
• ● International: Dial 011 + country code + number

Monitor Routing Decisions in Asterisk CLI

Open the Asterisk CLI to watch routing decisions in real time:

# Connect to Asterisk CLI with verbose output
sudo asterisk -rvvv
# Increase verbosity to see routing details
core set verbose 5
# Enable PJSIP SIP message logging
pjsip set logger on

When you place a test call, the CLI will show which route and trunk were selected:

-- Executing [12125551234@from-internal:1] Macro("PJSIP/100-00000001", "dialout-trunk,1,12125551234,,off")
-- Attempting to place outbound call via trunk IPComms_SIP_Trunk
-- Called PJSIP/12125551234@IPComms_SIP_Trunk
-- PJSIP/IPComms_SIP_Trunk-00000002 is ringing

Common Issues & Solutions

Debug Commands Reference

# Show all outbound routes and their patterns
sudo asterisk -rx "dialplan show from-internal"
# Show trunk registration status
sudo asterisk -rx "pjsip show registrations"
# Show active channels during a call
sudo asterisk -rx "core show channels"
# Enable full PJSIP debug logging
sudo asterisk -rx "pjsip set logger on"
# Check FreePBX applied config for errors
sudo fwconsole reload