This is a list of telephone dialling codes in the United Kingdom and the Crown Dependencies, which adopts an open telephone numbering plan for its public switched telephone network. The national telephone numbering plan is maintained by Ofcom, an independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries. This list is based on the official standard, but includes defunct codes and historical changes, including the derivation of the two letter identities, in cases where known. [1] [2] [3] Dialling codes do not correspond to specific political boundaries: for example, the Coventry dialling code covers a large area of Warwickshire and the Manchester dialling code covers part or all of several neighbouring towns.
When dialling within the country, all area codes are preceded by the national trunk prefix 0, which has been included in all listings in this article. 0 was traditionally the number dialled for the operator for long-distance calls before subscriber trunk dialling (STD) was introduced, and so was retained as a prefix for direct-dialled calls. In the majority of areas, the area code still corresponds to the original STD letter code. When dialling from abroad, the 0 prefix is not dialled. When dialling within the same area, the area code is not needed, save for a handful of areas that do require this. When calling from a mobile telephone or through a VoIP service, such as BT's 'Digital Voice', the area code is always needed.
Initial digits | Service type |
---|---|
00 | International call prefix |
01 | Geographic area codes since 1995 |
02 | Geographic area codes since 2000 |
03 | Non-geographic numbers charged at geographic rates |
04 | Reserved |
05 | Reserved (previously, corporate numbering and VoIP) |
06 | Reserved |
07 | Mobile telephony, paging services and personal numbering |
08 | Freephone and revenue share non-geographic numbers |
09 | Premium-rate services |
Short codes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
02x yyyy yyyy [eight-digit local number] | 011x yyy yyyy [seven-digit local number] | 01x1 yyy yyyy [seven-digit local number] | |||
020 to 029 | 0113 to 0119 | 0121 to 0191 | |||
020 | London [notes 1] [4] [5] (previously 0171 and 0181) [notes 2] (previously 071 and 081) [notes 3] (previously 01) [notes 4] | ||||
0121 | Birmingham (B1) (previously 021) [notes 3] | ||||
023 | Southampton and Portsmouth [notes 5] (previously 01703 and 01705) [notes 2] (previously 0703 and 0705) [notes 3] | 0113 | Leeds (previously 0532) [notes 3] | 0131 | Edinburgh (E1) (previously 031) [notes 3] |
024 | Coventry [notes 6] (previously 01203) [notes 2] (previously 0203) [notes 3] | 0114 | Sheffield (previously 0742) [notes 3] | 0141 | Glasgow (G1) (previously 041) [notes 3] |
0115 | Nottingham (previously 0602) [notes 3] | 0151 | Liverpool (L1) (previously 051) [notes 3] | ||
0116 | Leicester (previously 0533) [notes 3] | 0161 | Manchester (M1) (previously 061) [notes 3] | ||
0117 | Bristol (previously 0272) [notes 3] | 0171 | unused(was Inner London until 2000)(previously 071) [notes 3] (previously 01) [notes 4] | ||
028 | Northern Ireland [notes 7] (previously used multiple 01xxx and 01xxxx area codes until 2000) [notes 2] (previously used multiple 0xxx and 0xxxx area codes until 1995) [notes 3] | 0118 | Reading [notes 8] (previously 01734) [notes 9] (previously 0734) [notes 3] | 0181 | unused(was Outer London until 2000)(previously 081) [notes 3] (previously 01) [notes 4] |
029 | Cardiff [notes 10] (previously 01222) [notes 2] (previously 0222) [notes 3] | 0191 | Tyne & Wear and Durham, i.e., Tyneside, Sunderland, and Durham [notes 11] (previously 091) [notes 3] |
For an explanation of the two-letter STD codes used below, see Introduction of area codes.
ELNS denotes Extended Linked Numbering Scheme areas, where an area code is associated with more than one place name.
Long codes | |||||
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01xxx [mostly six-digit local numbers] [notes 12] and 01xxxx [mostly five-digit local numbers] [notes 13] (but not 01x1 codes) | |||||
01200 to 01470 | 01471 to 01762 | 01763 to 01999 | |||
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01426, 01523 and other non-standard 01 prefixes were briefly used for pagers [8] in the late 1990s and then moved to new 076 prefixes in the Big Number Change in 2000/2001.
In several area codes, a block of 1,000 numbers is set aside for use as fictional numbers for drama. [15] [16]
The length of the area code part and the local number part is found as follows: [17]
Number format | NSN [notes 49] | Geographic area code |
---|---|---|
2+8 only | 10 | 020, 023, 024, 028, 029 |
3+7 only | 10 | 0113, 0114, 0115, 0116, 0117, 0118, 0121, 0131, 0141, 0151, 0161, 0191 |
4+6 only | 10 | All 01xxx area codes from 01200 to 01999 not otherwise mentioned. |
4+6 areas where part of range is assigned as 5+5 | 10 | 01387, 01539 |
4+6 areas where part of range is assigned as mixed 5+5 and 5+4 | 10 or 9 | 01697 |
Mixed 4+6 and 4+5 | 10 or 9 | 01204, 01208, 01254, 01276, 01297, 01298, 01363, 01364, 01384, 01386, 01404, 01420, 01460, 01461, 01480, 01488, 01527, 01562, 01566, 01606, 01629, 01635, 01647, 01659, 01695, 01726, 01744, 01750, 01827, 01837, 01884, 01900, 01905, 01935, 01949, 01963, 01995 |
Mixed 4+6 and 4+5 areas where part of range is assigned as 5+5 | 10 or 9 | 01524, 01768, 01946 |
5+5 only | 10 | 0138 73, 0152 42, 0153 94, 0153 95, 0153 96, 0169 73, 0169 74, 0176 83, 0176 84, 0176 87, 0194 67 |
Mixed 5+5 and 5+4 | 10 or 9 | 0169 77 |
The number format '2+8' refers to, e.g. London, numbers using the (020) xxxx xxxx format. [18]
The number format '5+4' refers to, e.g. Brampton, numbers using the (0169 77) xxxx format. [18]
In the following areas, the area code must be included when dialling local numbers. This enables local numbers to start with 0 or 1 and was introduced to increase the number of available telephone numbers within these areas.
Area code | Area code name | Date effective |
---|---|---|
01202 | Bournemouth (BO2) | 1 November 2012 [6] |
01224 | Aberdeen (AB4) | 1 October 2014 [7] |
01273 | Brighton (BR3) | 1 October 2014 [7] |
01274 | Bradford (BR4) | 1 October 2014 [7] |
01642 | Middlesbrough (MI2) | 1 October 2014 [7] |
01908 | Milton Keynes (WO8) | 1 October 2014 [7] |
Unlike the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man which use the UK area codes 01534, 01481 and 01624, respectively, telephone numbers in British Overseas Territories do not come under the UK telephone numbering plan. Some are within the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). These calls are treated as international calls. Below are the access codes for the overseas territories:
Premium-rate telephone numbers are telephone numbers that charge callers higher price rates for select services, including information and entertainment. A portion of the call fees is paid to the service provider, allowing premium calls to be an additional source of revenue for businesses. Tech support, psychic hotlines, and adult chat lines are among the most popular kinds of premium-rate phone services. Other services include directory enquiries, weather forecasts, competitions and ratings televoting. Some businesses, e.g. low-cost airlines, and diplomatic missions, such as the US Embassy in London or the UK Embassy in Washington, have also used premium-rate phone numbers for calls from the general public.
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reachable by a system of destination code routing. Telephone numbering plans are defined in each of the administrative regions of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and in private telephone networks.
In the United Kingdom, telephone numbers are administered by the Office of Communications (Ofcom). For this purpose, Ofcom established a telephone numbering plan, known as the National Telephone Numbering Plan, which is the system for assigning telephone numbers to subscriber stations.
Telephone numbers in Japan consist of an area code, an exchange number, and a subscriber number.
In Argentina, area codes are two, three, or four digits long. Local customer numbers are six to eight digits long. The total number of digits is ten, for example, phone number (11) 1234-5678 for Buenos Aires is made up of a 2-digit area code number and an 8-digit subscriber's number, while (383) 123-4567 would be an example of a Catamarca number.
The Big Number Change addressed various issues with the telephone dialling plan in the United Kingdom, during the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the country was running short of new telephone numbers.
Numbers on the Irish telephone numbering plan are regulated and assigned to operators by ComReg.
Widespread UK telephone code misconceptions, in particular brought on by the Big Number Change in 2000, have been reported by regulator Ofcom since publication of a report it commissioned in 2004.
020 is the national dialling code for London in the United Kingdom. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of eight digits and it has capacity for approaching 100 million telephone numbers. The code is used at 170 telephone exchanges in and around Greater London as part of the largest linked numbering scheme in the United Kingdom. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling London from abroad.
Telephone numbers in Malaysia are regulated by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC).
0191 is the UK telephone dialling code used by Newcastle upon Tyne, Durham, Sunderland and other nearby areas in the north east of England.
PhONEday was a change to telephone numbering in the United Kingdom on Sunday 16 April 1995. A shortage of unique telephone numbers in the old dialling system meant that it was becoming increasingly difficult in certain areas of the country to assign unique numbers to new subscribers. To counteract this, dialling codes starting with 0 were changed to start with 01. In Bristol, Leeds, Leicester, Nottingham and Sheffield, the existing area codes, were entirely replaced with new codes comprising 4 digits, and the subscriber numbers lengthened from 6 to 7 digits. The changes made possible the ability to provision new numbers in each of these five cities. It also had the effect of assigning all geographic landline telephone numbers into one range of numbers starting with 01, allowing for further changes to be made at the Big Number Change in 2000. A £16m advertising campaign, and an eight-month parallel period during which both old and new codes were active, preceded the change. PhONEday followed a change made in May 1990, when the old London area code 01 was released from use, permitting all United Kingdom geographic numbers to begin with this prefix. Originally planned in 1991 to take place in 1994, in 1992 the change was postponed until the Easter Sunday bank holiday in 1995.
National conventions for writing telephone numbers vary by country. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) publishes a recommendation entitled Notation for national and international telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and Web addresses. Recommendation E.123 specifies the format of telephone numbers assigned to telephones and similar communication endpoints in national telephone numbering plans.
0114 is the national dialling code for Sheffield in the United Kingdom. The area it serves includes almost all of the City of Sheffield and some adjacent areas. When STD codes were first introduced, Sheffield was assigned the mnemonic 0SH2, later changing to the corresponding numbers upon the introduction of All-Figure Dialling in the area. Instead of the expected 01742 code, Sheffield's area code changed to the current 0114 code on 16 April 1995, along with 4 other cities in England, as part of PhONEday. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of seven digits. The code is used at several telephone exchanges as part of a linked numbering scheme. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling Sheffield from abroad.
Ranges for fictitious telephone numbers are common in most telephone numbering plans. One of the main reasons these ranges exist is to avoid accidentally using real phone numbers in movies and television programs because of viewers frequently calling the numbers used. In North America, the area served by the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) system of area codes, fictitious telephone numbers are usually of the form (XXX) 555-xxxx. The use of 555 numbers in fiction, however, led a desire to assign some of them in the real world, and some of them are no longer suitable for use in fiction. Other areas have different fictitious telephone numbers.
Telephone numbers in Georgia consist of 9 digits and follow a closed numbering plan in which the initial 2 or 3 digits indicate the service or area code and the remaining 6 or 7 digits identify the subscriber.
The Belize telephone numbering plan is the system used for assigning telephone numbers in Belize.
01708 is the national dialling code for Romford in the United Kingdom. The area it serves includes almost all of the London Borough of Havering and some adjacent areas. When STD codes were first introduced, Romford was assigned 0708 and 0402 was used for the rest of the current code area. After a sequence of changes in the early 1990s, culminating with PhONEday, the current 01708 code became active on 16 April 1995. All subscriber numbers within the area code consist of six digits. The code is used at eight telephone exchanges as part a linked numbering scheme. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is not required when dialling Romford from abroad.
The 01633 telephone area code covers the city of Newport and surrounding areas in the United Kingdom. Before PhONEday the area code was 0633, which was originally dialled as "0NE3" where the "NE" were formed from the first two letters of NEwport on the telephone dial. In common with all other British area codes the initial '0' is a trunk prefix that is dropped when dialling from abroad.
Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom have a flexible structure that reflects their historical demands, starting from many independent companies through a nationalised near-monopoly, to a system that supports many different services, including cellular phones, which were not envisaged when the system was first built. Numbers evolved in a piecemeal fashion, with numbers initially allocated on an exchange-by-exchange basis for calls connected by manual operators. Subscriber numbers reflected demand in each area, with single digit telephone numbers in very rural areas and longer numbers in cities.
Page 7: '01697 – Brampton should be 0169 77; not 01697'.
Pages 6 and 7 show Brampton examples using 0169 77 and +44 169 77 codes.
Page 20 shows Brampton listed as 0169 77.