diff --git a/infrastructure/abri/abri_client.py b/infrastructure/abri/abri_client.py
index 16f74e17b..3d5a7f537 100644
--- a/infrastructure/abri/abri_client.py
+++ b/infrastructure/abri/abri_client.py
@@ -30,12 +30,18 @@ def _format_appointment_date(appointment_date: date) -> str:
     return appointment_date.strftime("%d/%m/%Y")
 
 
+def _phone_priority(entry: ET.Element) -> Tuple[int, int]:
+    """Sort key: lowest numeric priority first; unusable priorities last."""
+    try:
+        return (0, int((entry.get("priority") or "").strip()))
+    except ValueError:
+        return (1, 0)
+
+
 def _select_phone_number(entries: List[ET.Element]) -> Optional[str]:
-    for entry in entries:
-        number = (entry.text or "").strip()
-        if number:
-            return number
-    return None
+    usable = [entry for entry in entries if (entry.text or "").strip()]
+    ranked = sorted(usable, key=_phone_priority)  # stable: ties keep document order
+    return (ranked[0].text or "").strip() if ranked else None
 
 
 class AbriClient: