Custom Caller ID in VICIdial

Sometimes one number for the whole campaign is not enough. You might want different numbers for different leads, different regions, or different agents. The Custom Caller ID setting on a VICIdial campaign is the switch that opens those doors. It has more than one mode, and the mode you pick changes where the dialer looks for the outbound number.

Setting it to Y: per-lead numbers

When you set Custom Caller ID to Y, VICIdial reads the security_phrase field on each Lead and uses whatever number sits there as the CID (caller ID) for that call. It is a field that already exists on every row of the Lead list, so you load your per-lead numbers into it the same way you load phone numbers. If a lead's security_phrase is empty, the dialer quietly falls back to the campaign caller ID, so a half-filled list still works.

This is the right mode when each lead came in with a number you want to dial back from, or when you bought numbers grouped by source and matched them to leads ahead of time.

Setting it to AREACODE: local numbers by region

When you set it to AREACODE, a submenu called AC-CID becomes available on the campaign. There you map each area code to the number that should show for leads in that area. A lead in the 312 area code can see a 312 number, a lead in 213 can see a 213 number, and so on. People answer local numbers more often, so this is a common way to lift your Answer rate. We cover the mechanics in our post on area-code caller ID.

The USER_CUSTOM options: per-agent numbers

There are also USER_CUSTOM choices. These read a number stored on the agent's user record and apply it to calls that agent places by hand. They only affect Manual dialing (click to dial) and inbound-manual calls, not the campaign's automatic dialing, so they suit teams where each rep dials from their own assigned number.

A word of caution before you flip it on

Custom Caller ID changes how every call on the campaign is numbered, so test it before a full run. Setting it to Y also changes how list-level overrides behave: if a lead has a value in security_phrase, that value beats the list override for that lead. The practical upshot is that you should not mix per-lead numbers and a blanket list override on the same campaign unless you have thought through which one you want to win. Always confirm the number you send is one you actually control, because sending a number you do not own can run into STIR/SHAKEN attestation problems and earn you a Spam Likely label tag fast.

Knowing which one wins

Several caller-ID features can be on at once, and VICIdial follows a fixed priority order to decide which number actually goes out. List-level overrides win first, then rotating groups, then area-code matches, then the security_phrase value, then user-custom, and finally the plain campaign number. The takeaway is simple: a more specific match always beats a more general one. If you set up two features and the wrong number appears, check which one ranks higher.

Caller ID is one knob among many that shape how your dials land. For the full picture of pacing, lists, and routing, see our VICIdial dialing strategies guide, and if abandoned calls are your real headache, read how to lower your VICIdial drop rate. When you want a box you can experiment on freely, check our pricing.