# List penetration and vertical dialing

- List penetration is the default. The dialer tries the first phone on every record, then the next phone on a later pass. Vertical dialing stays with one contact and moves across that contact's numbers before it moves on.
- The community article's wording is easy to twist: it says the physical direction of list penetration is vertical, while the industry phrase vertical dialing means walking numbers across a record. Use the article's definitions, not the compass words. A final disposition stops every number on the record in either mode.
- Walk both list modes on paper
- Respect a final disposition

## Sources and go deeper

- [List dialing modes](https://community.five9.com/s/article/Administrator-List-Dialing-Modes-and-its-Differences?language=en_US). community. last checked 2026-10.
- [Vertical list dialing chapter](https://documentation.five9.com/bundle/campaign-admin/page/campaign-admin/configuring-campaigns/configuring-list-dialing-mode/using-vertical-list-dialing.htm). vendor. last checked 2026-10.
- confirm. The documentation portal has a vertical-dialing chapter. This lesson follows the community article's definitions because that page returned readable text. Confirm the portal chapter in your own admin guide. last checked 2026-10.