Get Started with Clio Phones

Clio Phones is a VoIP business phone system built into Clio that keeps your calls, recordings, transcripts, and AI summaries all connected to the right client and matter in one place. Clio Phones is available as a 90-day free trial if you sign up before Dec. 31, 2026.

Set up Clio Phones on firm account

Clio Administrators can set up Clio Phones for their firm using the instructions below. Once set up for the firm, Administrators can invite firm users to use Clio Phones. Each firm user will have to set up Clio Phones for their account.

To set up Clio Phones for the firm:

1. In the left navigation, select Communications.
2. Select Phones.
3. In the Clio Phones panel, select Get started.

4. Review your firm's account details (firm name, first name, last name, email) and firm address, then select Confirm and continue.

   Important: Clio registers this address for 911 emergency dispatch and to provision your local phone number. Learn about your obligations for placing calls to 911 via Clio Phones.

5. Enter a caller ID name (up to 15 characters), then select Continue.

   Tip: Use a name that your clients will recognize.

   Note: Your caller ID name may take up to about 72 hours to start displaying to your clients.

6. Select your phone number. Choose between the following options:

   • Keep my existing number: Select this option when you want to bring your current business number to Clio Phones. You will get a temporary number to use until you complete the process to bring your existing number over, after initial setup.

   • Get a new number: Select this option, select Continue, then choose from a list of local numbers available near your firm's address.

     Tip: Select Show other numbers for more options.

   Select Continue.

   Note: Reach out to Clio Support to use your existing phone number with Clio Phones.

7. Choose whether to automatically record inbound calls, outbound calls, neither, or both. Then select Continue.

   Important: Some jurisdictions require all parties to consent to having calls recorded. When you enable recording, Clio Phones will play an audio notice to all parties on the call. You remain responsible for being compliant with your jurisdiction's laws and requirements.

8. Review your information. Select Edit next to anything that needs changing.

9. Select Confirm and set up.

   Wait for Clio to set up your phone. This process happens within a few minutes.

10. Allow Clio Phones access to your microphone for phone calls and allow browser notifications to be notified about incoming calls, then select Continue.

Once completed, your confirmation screen shows your caller ID status and your ready-to-use number.

Set up Clio Phones on user account

After a Clio administrator sets up Clio Phones for the firm, each user can individually enable Clio Phones on their account.

1. In the left navigation, select Communications.
2. Select Clio Phones.
3. Select Get started.

4. Review your physical address, then select Continue.

   Important: This should be the physical address that you will primarily work from and where you will primarily be using Clio Phones from. Clio registers this address for 911 emergency dispatch and to provision your local phone number. Learn about your obligations for placing calls to 911 via Clio Phones. If this is not the correct address, update it, or ask your Administrator to update your address.

5. Adjust your call recording settings by choosing whether to automatically allow recording of incoming phone calls, outgoing phone calls, neither, or both. Then select Continue.

   Important: Some jurisdictions require all parties to consent to having calls recorded. When you enable recording, Clio Phones will play an audio notice to all parties on the call. You remain responsible for being compliant with your jurisdiction's laws and requirements.

6. Allow Clio Phones access to your microphone for phone calls and allow browser notifications to be notified about incoming calls. Then select Finish setup.
7. Wait for your phone setup to complete, then select Continue.

Once completed, your confirmation screen shows your caller ID status and your ready-to-use number and extension. Clio Phones is now ready and available to you.

Clio Phones Settings

During the Clio Phones setup process, you select several settings. You can adjust these settings after setup from your Clio Phones Settings on Clio and from the separate Clio Phones Advanced Settings portal.

Clio Phones Advanced Settings

Clio Phones Advanced Settings is a separate settings area with more detail than what's shown inline in Clio Phones Settings. What you can see and do there depends on whether you're a firm admin or a regular firm user; the following applies to firm admins.

• Users: Available to administrators, this subtab shows a read-only list of everyone at your firm using Clio Phones, including their name, extension, direct number (if they have one), and caller ID name and number.
• Phone Numbers: Available to administrators, this subtab shows a list of every phone number on your account along with its status (for example, in use or not).
• Call Routing: Configure how your firm's main number is routed.
• Call Recording: View and change your own call recording setting. Administrators can also see other firm users' selected settings.
• Voicemail Box: View your voicemail box PIN. Administrators can also see other firm users' PINs and reset the voicemail PIN for any phone number at your firm.
• E911: Manage your firm's registered 911 addresses and which address is assigned to each user.

Set up a voice greeting

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Clio Phones.
2. Under Call preferences, find Personal voicemail greeting and select Change.
3. Choose between using Clio's default greeting or creating your own.
   • Own greeting:
     1. Select Record greeting or re-record greeting. The dialer will open with the voicemail number pre-filled (e.g. *98).
     2. Select the call button.
     3. Record your greeting and select End when you are done.
   • Use the default: Select Use default greeting.

Your selection autosaves.

Set call preferences

Under Call preferences, these apply to all calls you make or receive, on any of your numbers. You can enable or disable automatically creating logs of calls placed and received for viewing from your Inbox > Phones tab, enable or disable creating time entries for the call duration, and enable or disable call recordings.

1. Toggle Automatically save call logs on or off.
2. Toggle Automatically create time entries on or off.

3. Call recording and transcription shows whether you're using the firm default or your own setting. Select Manage to change it in your Clio Phones Advanced Settings.

   1. In Clio Phones Advanced Settings, go to the Call recording subtab.
   2. Toggle My automatic call recording on or off.

   Note: Admins can see the call recording preference for all firm users.

Firm admins can also set the firm-wide defaults for call recording and transcription, which apply to each new line until the person on it changes their own setting.

Update your emergency address

Firm Administrators can update their firm's 911 address.

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Clio Phones.
2. Under Emergency (911) address, select Update.
3. In the E911 tab, in the My Firm's Registered Addresses section, select Edit to update an existing address, or select Add Address to add a new address.
4. Make your updates and select Save.

Firm Administrators can update the 911 addresses for their firm members on their behalf. They should first add the address to the list of 911 addresses for the firm, then they can change a user's assigned address.

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Clio Phones.
2. Under Emergency (911) address, select Update.
3. In the E911 tab, in the User 911 Address Assignment section, select Change for the relevant user.
4. Select the correct address from the list of your firm's registered addresses, then select Save.

Each user can update their own 911 address. Typically, the firm's address will be your default 911 address, but if you primarily work away from your firm's address, you should update your address to the location you primarily work and use Clio Phones from.

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Clio Phones.
2. Under Emergency (911) address, select Update.
3. In the E911 tab, in the My Current E911 CallerID and Address section, select Edit.
4. Make your updates and select Save.

Set up call routing

Firm admins can set up call routing to ensure that the right calls reach the right people at your firm during office hours, and that no unanswered call goes unchecked.

1. Go to Settings > Communications > Clio Phones.
2. Next to Call routing, select Manage. You are redirected to Clio Phones Advanced Settings.
3. Select the Call routing subtab.
4. Choose your settings.
   • Choose your main phone number.
   • Choose whether to route calls the same way for all hours or use different routing options during business hours vs. after business hours. For each option, you can choose details about what that looks like in the Route preview section — for example, sending someone straight to a mailbox without allowing it to ring after hours.
   • Choose how calls are answered — for example, allowing all calls to go to one individual, or having all calls ring everyone so that at least one person can answer.
   • Phones ring for 25 seconds before a call counts as not answered.
   • Choose what to do with unanswered calls — for example, sending it to voicemail or redirecting to another firm member's phone number.
5. After you've made changes, select Save routing.

Use your existing phone number

If you would like to use your firm's existing phone number for Clio Phones, contact Clio Support. Prior to contacting Clio:

• Make sure that the address your phone service provider has on file matches the physical address you provide when setting up Clio Phones.
• Make sure that you do not have unfulfilled contractual obligations with your current service provider (for example, you have entered into an annual contract with the service provider and the term has not yet expired).

When you contact Clio to request to bring your existing phone number into Clio Phones, make sure you have the following ready:

• Name of your current provider and account number
• Service address on file with your current provider
• Porting PIN, if your provider requires one for the process

The process typically takes 7–10 days, but can take up to 3 weeks. If it takes longer, reach out to Clio Support again and make sure that you have the above information ready.

Understand Clio Phones fees and charges

Depending on your region, your Clio Phones invoice may include the following in addition to your subscription price. These charges are standard for business phone services and are set by tax authorities and regulators.

• Sales tax: Based on your firm's location. Rate and name vary by jurisdiction. Software and telecommunications charges may be taxed separately and appear as separate subtotals on your invoice.
• Federal Universal Service Fund contribution: A federal charge on the telecommunications portion of your invoice.
• 911 surcharges: The cost of routing 911 calls to emergency services. One or more jurisdictions (state, county, or city) may each charge their own fee, typically per license. If applicable in your jurisdiction, you cannot opt out of this fee — it's required to ensure continued availability of 911 routing, not a charge for actual use.
• State, provincial, or local surcharges: Some jurisdictions apply their own telecom-specific taxes or per-line fees.

These rates depend on your location and can also change periodically as regulators update them, so the exact charges on your invoice may vary over time.

Use a desk phone with Clio Phones

If you'd rather use a physical desk phone instead of calling from your browser, desktop app, or mobile app, Clio Phones currently supports Yealink and Poly desk phones.

1. Find your desk phone's MAC address.

   Tip: The MAC address is a unique identifier often printed on the device or available in the phone's settings menu.

2. Reach out to Clio Support with this identifier. Once registered, the phone should connect automatically without needing manual configuration.

   Note: If the phone was previously used with another phone provider, it may need to be released from that provider's system first.