Phone number validation in Laravel: Comprehensive Guide

• Validate Phone Numbers in Laravel
• Basic Phone Number Validation Using Built In Rules
  • Using the required and numeric rules
  • Using regex for simple patterns
  • Best practices when using regex
• International Phone Number Validation
  • Understanding E.164 formatting
  • Regex for E.164 in Laravel validation
  • Common pitfalls
• Using Custom Validation Rules
  • Creating a custom rule
  • Implementing passes and message
  • Using the custom rule inside Form Requests
• Validating Phone Numbers in Form Requests
  • Centralizing validation logic
  • Example FormRequest with phone rules
  • Custom messages and attribute naming
• Using Third Party Libraries for Advanced Validation
  • When to use a library
  • Example using the propaganistas/laravel-phone package
• Summary

Validate Phone Numbers in Laravel

Phone number validation is a common requirement in modern applications. Clean and accurate phone data ensures reliable communication, proper user identity verification, and consistent database formatting. Laravel provides flexible tools for validating both simple and complex phone formats through built in rules, regex, custom rules, and third party libraries.

Basic Phone Number Validation Using Built In Rules

Using the required and numeric rules

For basic numeric phone input:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'numeric'],
]);

This ensures the value contains only digits. It is useful for local formats without symbols or country codes.

Using regex for simple patterns

Regex allows basic structure enforcement. For example, a ten digit local number:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'regex:/^[0-9]{10}$/'],
]);

Best practices when using regex

• Keep patterns minimal and readable.
• Avoid overly strict patterns that reject valid real world formats.
• Escape characters correctly to avoid unintended matches.

International Phone Number Validation

Understanding E.164 formatting

E.164 is the global standard for phone numbers. It requires a leading plus sign followed by up to fifteen digits. Example: +15551234567.

Regex for E.164 in Laravel validation

A reliable E.164 pattern:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'regex:/^\+[1-9][0-9]{1,14}$/'],
]);

Explanation:

• The value must start with a plus sign.
• The first digit cannot be zero.
• The number can contain up to fifteen digits.

Common pitfalls

• Allowing spaces or punctuation when using E.164.
• Accepting country codes starting with zero.
• Forgetting to anchor the regex pattern at the start and end of the string.

Using Custom Validation Rules

Creating a custom rule

Generate a rule class:

php artisan make:rule PhoneNumber

Implementing passes and message

Example rule enforcing E.164:

namespace App\Rules;
 
use Illuminate\Contracts\Validation\Rule;
 
class PhoneNumber implements Rule
{
    public function passes($attribute, $value)
    {
        return preg_match('/^\+[1-9][0-9]{1,14}$/', $value) === 1;
    }
 
    public function message()
    {
        return 'The :attribute field must be a valid phone number.';
    }
}

Using the custom rule inside Form Requests

public function rules()
{
    return [
        'phone' => [new \App\Rules\PhoneNumber],
    ];
}

This encapsulates validation logic and keeps controllers clean.

Validating Phone Numbers in Form Requests

Centralizing validation logic

Form Requests provide a dedicated location for validation. They improve maintainability and support custom messages, authorization, and reusable rules.

Example FormRequest with phone rules

namespace App\Http\Requests;
 
use Illuminate\Foundation\Http\FormRequest;
 
class StoreUserRequest extends FormRequest
{
    public function rules()
    {
        return [
            'phone' => ['required', 'regex:/^\+[1-9][0-9]{1,14}$/'],
        ];
    }
}

Custom messages and attribute naming

public function messages()
{
    return [
        'phone.regex' => 'Enter a valid E.164 phone number.',
    ];
}
 
public function attributes()
{
    return [
        'phone' => 'phone number',
    ];
}

Using Third Party Libraries for Advanced Validation

When to use a library

Use a library when you need country specific formatting, parsing, normalization, or validation beyond simple regex. This is helpful when supporting multiple regions.

Example using the propaganistas/laravel-phone package

Install the package:

composer require propaganistas/laravel-phone

Validate a phone number for a specific country:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'phone:US'],
]);

Validate an international phone number:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'phone:INTERNATIONAL'],
]);

Validate multiple possible countries:

$request->validate([
    'phone' => ['required', 'phone:US,CA'],
]);

Summary

Laravel offers powerful options for validating phone numbers ranging from simple digit checks to advanced international validation. Developers can use built in rules for straightforward cases, regex for structured formats, custom rules for complex logic, and external libraries for global accuracy. These tools allow applications to collect clean, consistent, and reliable phone data across diverse regions and use cases.