Does the sim card need to be in a phone to block the sim?

[AC Question]

I brought my now ex husband a contract phone and since the break up he has not been paying for it. As such i want to ensure he can't use it, however he has removed the sim. So does the sim card need to be in a phone to block the sim?

 

[chanchan05]

No. The SIM is blocked carrier level so the SIM would be unusable, as is his number. You can have the phone blacklisted as well so that it would become unusable too.