# Call Parking Overview

Call parking gives you a flexible way to put a call on hold. Instead of tying the call to one phone, Cloud Voice holds it on a shared number that any extension can dial to take over the conversation. This page explains the concepts behind call parking: the parking number, the available parking types, what happens when a parked call times out, and the feature codes users dial to park a call.

## How call parking works

With a standard hold, the call stays on the phone that put it there, so only that phone can resume it. Call parking removes that limitation. The call is placed on a parking number, and anyone can retrieve it simply by dialing that number from any phone on the system.

:::note
This is what makes parking useful day to day. If a caller needs someone who is at a different desk (or in another room), you can park the call, announce the parking number over the office, and let your colleague pick it up from whichever phone is nearest.
:::

## Parking number

A parking number (sometimes called a slot or orbit) is a virtual extension that Cloud Voice assigns to a parked call. A virtual extension is a number the system uses internally to hold the call: it does not belong to a physical desk phone. Each parked call takes up one parking number for as long as it stays parked.

:::note
Because each parked call uses one parking number, the system draws from a limited pool of numbers. If several calls are parked at once and never retrieved, the free numbers can run low, so encourage users to retrieve parked calls promptly.
:::

## Parking types

Cloud Voice offers two ways to park a call:

- **Call parking**: The system parks the call on the first parking number that is free.
- **Directed call parking**: The user chooses the exact parking number the call is placed on.

:::tip
Use directed call parking when you already know which parking number you want, for example a number your team has agreed to use for a specific person or department. It lets you (and the colleague retrieving the call) skip the guesswork of which number the system picked.
:::

## Parking timeout destination

A parked call only waits on its parking number for a set amount of time (60 seconds by default). If nobody retrieves it before that window closes, Cloud Voice forwards the call to a destination you designate. By default, the call returns to the person who parked it (the initiator). This automatic return is sometimes called parking recall.

:::caution
The timeout destination decides what happens to a caller nobody picked up. Confirm it points somewhere a person or a fallback (such as a ring group or voicemail) will handle the call. If it is set to an unattended destination, a parked call could be left ringing or sent nowhere useful once the timeout expires.
:::

## Parking feature codes

A feature code is a short dial pattern (usually starting with `*`) that triggers a system function instead of calling another extension. Users park calls by dialing the parking feature code. The defaults are:

- **Call Parking**: `*5`
- **Directed Call Parking**: `*05`

:::tip
You can change these codes, or turn them on and off, in the Cloud Voice portal under **Call Features > Feature Code > Call Parking**.
:::