diff --git a/docs/kratos/guides/normalize-phone-numbers.mdx b/docs/kratos/guides/normalize-phone-numbers.mdx
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9bd1ed9f5
--- /dev/null
+++ b/docs/kratos/guides/normalize-phone-numbers.mdx
@@ -0,0 +1,126 @@
+---
+id: normalize-phone-numbers
+title: Normalize phone numbers to E.164
+sidebar_label: Normalize phone numbers
+---
+
+Ory Kratos normalizes phone numbers to [E.164 format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.164) when they're used as identifiers,
+verifiable addresses, or recovery addresses. New data is normalized on write. Existing data continues to work through a
+backward-compatible lookup, but you should run the `normalize-phone-numbers` migration command after upgrading to converge all
+rows to E.164.
+
+This guide is for self-hosted Kratos administrators (OSS and OEL). Ory Network customers don't need to take any action.
+
+:::important
+
+Back up your database before running the migration. The migration doesn't store the original value, therefore there's no automatic
+rollback after migration. To revert, you will need to restore your backed-up database.
+
+:::
+
+## Why normalize
+
+Before this change, Kratos stored phone numbers exactly as users entered them. A user who registered with `+49 176 671 11 638` and
+another who registered with `+4917667111638` would create two separate identities for the same phone number. Lookups, recovery,
+and verification could behave inconsistently depending on the input format.
+
+After normalization, all phone numbers are stored in E.164 format (for example, `+4917667111638`). Lookups match regardless of how
+the user formatted the input.
+
+## Rollout sequence
+
+:::caution
+
+Don't run the migration before deploying the new Kratos version. The previous version does exact-string matching on identifiers.
+If you normalize the database first, users who type their phone number in the original (non-E.164) format won't be able to log in
+until the new code is deployed.
+
+:::
+
+Run the steps in this exact order:
+
+1. **Deploy the new Kratos version.**  
+   The new code normalizes phone numbers on write and uses a backward-compatible lookup that matches both E.164 and legacy
+   formats. Existing users can still log in with whatever format they originally registered with.
+
+2. **Run the migration command.**  
+   After the deploy completes and traffic is stable, run:
+
+   ```
+   kratos migrate normalize-phone-numbers <database-url>
+   ```
+
+   Or with the DSN from the environment:
+
+   ```
+   export DSN=...
+   kratos migrate normalize-phone-numbers -e
+   ```
+
+   The command iterates over `identity_credential_identifiers`, `identity_verifiable_addresses`, and `identity_recovery_addresses`
+   and rewrites any non-E.164 phone numbers in place.
+
+## What the command does
+
+The command uses keyset pagination to scan three tables in batches:
+
+| Table                             | Column       | Filter                 |
+| --------------------------------- | ------------ | ---------------------- |
+| `identity_credential_identifiers` | `identifier` | `identifier LIKE '+%'` |
+| `identity_verifiable_addresses`   | `value`      | `via = 'sms'`          |
+| `identity_recovery_addresses`     | `value`      | `via = 'sms'`          |
+
+For each row, the command parses the value with the [`nyaruka/phonenumbers`](https://github.com/nyaruka/phonenumbers) library and
+rewrites it to E.164 if parsing succeeds. Rows that fail to parse (for example, an OIDC subject that happens to start with `+`)
+are left untouched and counted as skipped.
+
+The command is **idempotent**: running it twice is safe. The second run only reports skipped rows.
+
+## Flags
+
+| Flag                    | Default | Description                                                              |
+| ----------------------- | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
+| `-e`, `--read-from-env` | `false` | Read the database connection string from the `DSN` environment variable. |
+| `-b`, `--batch-size`    | `1000`  | Number of rows to process per batch.                                     |
+| `--dry-run`             | `false` | Report what would change without writing.                                |
+
+Use `--dry-run` first to preview the changes:
+
+```
+kratos migrate normalize-phone-numbers --dry-run -e
+```
+
+Each row that would be updated is printed in the form:
+
+```
+[dry-run] identity_credential_identifiers <id>: "+49 176 671 11 638" -> "+4917667111638"
+```
+
+## Output
+
+After processing all three tables, the command prints a summary:
+
+```
+=== Summary ===
+identity_credential_identifiers: scanned=1234 updated=42 skipped=1192 errors=0
+identity_verifiable_addresses: scanned=987 updated=15 skipped=972 errors=0
+identity_recovery_addresses: scanned=987 updated=15 skipped=972 errors=0
+```
+
+- `scanned`: rows examined.
+- `updated`: rows rewritten to E.164 (or rows that _would_ be rewritten in dry-run mode).
+- `skipped`: rows already in E.164 format, or values that aren't valid phone numbers.
+- `errors`: rows that failed to update. Errors are logged to stderr with the row ID and source value.
+
+## Duplicate handling
+
+If the migration finds two rows that normalize to the same E.164 value (for example, `+49 176 671 11 638` and `+4917667111638` for
+the same user), the update fails on the second row with a unique constraint violation, which the command logs as an error and
+skips. You can resolve the duplicate manually and re-run the command.
+
+In practice, duplicates are rare. Most identities have only one phone identifier per credential type.
+
+## Rolling back
+
+The migration only converts non-E.164 values to E.164. It doesn't store the original value, so there's no automatic rollback. If
+you need to revert, restore from the backup you took before running the command.
diff --git a/docs/kratos/guides/upgrade.mdx b/docs/kratos/guides/upgrade.mdx
index feb7a7e35..5ca412d93 100644
--- a/docs/kratos/guides/upgrade.mdx
+++ b/docs/kratos/guides/upgrade.mdx
@@ -17,6 +17,9 @@ Back up your data! Applying upgrades can lead to data loss if handled incorrectl
 1. Update the [Ory Kratos SDK](../sdk/01_overview.md) if used in your application.
 1. [Install](../install.mdx) the new version of Ory Kratos.
 1. Run [`kratos migrate sql`](../cli/kratos-migrate-sql.md) to run the SQL migrations to the new database schema.
+1. If you are upgrading to a version that introduces phone number normalization, run `kratos migrate normalize-phone-numbers`
+   after the new version is deployed and serving traffic. This rewrites existing phone identifiers to E.164 format. See the
+   [phone normalization guide](./normalize-phone-numbers.mdx) for the recommended rollout sequence.
 
 Should you run into problems with the upgrade, consider a stepped upgrade and please visit the community
 [chat](https://slack.ory.com/) or start a [discussion](https://github.com/ory/kratos/discussions).
diff --git a/sidebars-oel.ts b/sidebars-oel.ts
index 165200fbc..61e2d7491 100644
--- a/sidebars-oel.ts
+++ b/sidebars-oel.ts
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@ const oelSidebar = [
               "kratos/guides/https-tls",
               "kratos/guides/hosting-own-have-i-been-pwned-api",
               "kratos/guides/secret-key-rotation",
+              "kratos/guides/normalize-phone-numbers",
               {
                 type: "category",
                 label: "Troubleshooting",
diff --git a/sidebars-oss.ts b/sidebars-oss.ts
index b78956292..0cc2fef62 100644
--- a/sidebars-oss.ts
+++ b/sidebars-oss.ts
@@ -1,12 +1,3 @@
-// sidebars-oss.ts
-
-import {
-  SidebarItem,
-  SidebarItemConfig,
-} from "@docusaurus/plugin-content-docs/src/sidebars/types"
-
-type SidebarItemsConfig = SidebarItemConfig[]
-
 const ossSidebar = [
   {
     type: "category",
@@ -88,6 +79,7 @@ const ossSidebar = [
               "kratos/guides/https-tls",
               "kratos/guides/hosting-own-have-i-been-pwned-api",
               "kratos/guides/secret-key-rotation",
+              "kratos/guides/normalize-phone-numbers",
               {
                 type: "category",
                 label: "Troubleshooting",