Telephone numbers in Italy

Since 1998, telephone numbers in Italy follow a closed telephone numbering plan with landline numbers starting with 0, mobile numbers starting with 3, and special services assigned other initial digits.

Number format

Landline numbers (area code+exchange+number) are generally 9 or 10 digits long, although they can be as few as 6 or as many as 11 digits. Mobile numbers are always 10 digits long, with the only exception of very old TIM numbers, which are 9 digits long (though those are now extremely rare).

Mobile phone number in Italy: without a zero, started with a 3. Mobile phone numbers are generally 10 digits long (3 digits for the prefix + 7 digits for the subscriber number). However, some rare 9 digits long (3+6) phone numbers are still in use, and so are new numbers with 11 digits (3+8).

     3xx xxxxxxx (within Italy and San Marino)
 +39 3xx xxxxxxx  (from the rest of the world)

Numbering plan

In early 1998, a new numbering plan was proposed which on 19 June 1998 would remove the earlier trunk code 0 from all telephone numbers and add 0 as the first digit of landline numbers only. Subsequently, the leading 0 was to be replaced by "4" starting from 29 December 2000, making all landline numbers begin with a "4"; all mobile phone numbers, with a "3"; and other telephone services, with the remaining digits.

The first part of the plan was carried out whilst the second part was postponed indefinitely, leaving 0 as the first digit of landline numbers (unlike in the closed numbering plans of many other countries where 0 is a trunk code).

A landline number in Rome (area code 06) is thus called in the following manner:

        xxxxxxxx  (from within Rome—before 1999)
     06 xxxxxxxx  (from within Rome—after 1999)
     06 xxxxxxxx  (from outside Rome—both before and after 1999)
  +39 6 xxxxxxxx  (from abroad—before 1999)
 +39 06 xxxxxxxx  (from abroad—after 1999)

A Vodafone Italy mobile number is called as follows:

    0347 xxxxxxx  (from within Italy—before 1999)
     347 xxxxxxx  (from within Italy—after 1999)
 +39 347 xxxxxxx  (from abroad—both before and after 1999) 

San Marino

Until 1996, San Marino was part of the Italian numbering plan, using the Italian area code 0549 but in that year it adopted its own country code 378. However, instead of using international dialing codes, dialing arrangements between San Marino and Italy continued as before. In 1998, San Marino incorporated the 0549 area code into its subscribers' numbers, following the Italian format:

     0549 xxxxxx  (San Marino from Italy)
 +39 0549 xxxxxx  (San Marino from the rest of the world via Italy)
+378 0549 xxxxxx  (San Marino from the rest of the world directly)

Vatican City

Similarly, Vatican City is assigned country code 379. However, Vatican City is still reached via the Italian numbering plan. Telephone numbers in the Vatican City are similar to telephone numbers in Rome, with "698" following the "06" for Rome.

     06 698x xxxx (Vatican City from Italy)
 +39 06 698x xxxx (Vatican City from the rest of the world via Italy)
+379 06 698x xxxx (Vatican City from the rest of the world directly; not yet implemented as of 2015)

List of codes

00-     International access code
00800-  International toll-free numbers
0878-   Mass calls phone number (polls, television programs, etc.), max. 0.66€ + 0.23€/min

0-      Landline numbers

1-      Service and emergency numbers
112     Gendarmerie (Carabinieri)
113     Police (Polizia di Stato)
115     Fire brigade (Vigili del Fuoco)
116     Road help (ACI)
117     Italian Customs/Financial/Border Police Guardia di Finanza 
118     Ambulance (Italian Red Cross included)
12xx    Premium rate services 
144-    Premium rate services, max. 0.07€ + 1.31€/min
15xx    Other emergency and information services
1515    Forest and environmental emergency (Corpo Forestale dello Stato)
1518    Road information service (CCISS)
1530    Coastguard (Corps of the Port Captaincies – Coast Guard)
166-    Premium rate services, max. 0.07€ + 1.31€/min
178-    Premium rate services, max. 0.15€ + 0.35€/min
18-     Customer care services
19-     Customer care services
199-    Premium rate services, max. 0.12€ + 0.26€/min

2-      Reserved for future purposes

3-      Mobile phone numbers
313-    Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (GSM-R and internal numbers accessible from public network)
32x-    Wind Italy mobile phones
33x-    TIM mobile phones
34x-    Vodafone Italy mobile phones
35x-    Future full-MVNO mobile phones
36x-    TIM mobile phones
37x-    Various ESP/MVNO mobile phones
38x-    Wind Italy mobile phones
39x-    H3G Italy mobile phones

4-      Internal phone and internet service numbers

5-      VoIP numbers (implemented and accessible only by few operators) 

6-      Reserved for future purposes

7xx-    Internet services
70x-    Dial-up internet access

8-      Special-rate numbers
80x-    Toll-free numbers
84x-    Shared-rate numbers (information services), max. 0.10€ + local rate/min
89x-    Premium-rate services (information and adult services)
892-    Premium-rate services, max. 0.30€ + 1.50€/min

9-      Reserved for future purposes

See also

• List of dialling codes in Italy
• Telephone numbers in San Marino
• Telephone numbers in Vatican City

References

• Un elenco (parziale) delle tariffe da telefono fisso (in Italian)
• ITU allocations list
• The telephone area codes in Italy (PagineBianche)
• Find an Area Code (PagineBianche)
• whole in-force Numbering Plan