When you need to reach someone, you have a few options. You can email them, or you can see them in person. You can write a letter as well, but that is often the slow way of reaching out to someone. The other option that most think of is reaching someone by phone. The text message is a good way to communicate short thoughts, and that is something that usually comes with cell service. If you need a number, but can not get it from the person, you have more sources to find what you want.

One of the first things that you can do is to ask mutual friends if they have a number for someone you want to reach by phone. You should know that some are very uneasy about giving out cell numbers without the permission of the person in question. Ask them for the number, but understand if they say they can not give it to you. People are more free with residential numbers, but not always.

Look online to find the white page listings for residential numbers. These are the official listings for landline numbers. These that you find online reach the entire country rather than just your local area. Type in a name and see if you can find a match. Use initials for first name if you get nothing with the full name. Some do that for privacy reasons, especially women living alone. This is a great way to get a landline number.

You can take someone's name and enter it into a search engine if you do not find anything through the online white pages. Remember that some have unlisted numbers and some will opt out of being listed on the Internet. Mobile numbers will not be listed in such a way as there are no directories put out by the phone companies for these more private numbers. You may find something through a search engine though, so give that a try.