Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom telephone numbers

Location of the United Kingdom
Location
Country United Kingdom
Continent Europe
Regulator Ofcom
Type Open
NSN length 7, 9, 10[notes 1]
Typical format various, see text
Numbering plan The National Telephone Numbering Plan
Last updated 13 December 2013
Access codes
Country calling code +44
International call prefix 00
Trunk prefix 0
List of United Kingdom dialing codes

Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the UK government's 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.

Structure

Since 28 April 2001, almost all geographic numbers and most non-geographic numbers have 9 or 10 national (significant) numbers after the "0" trunk code. All mobile telephone numbers have 10 national (significant) numbers after the "0" trunk code. The overall structure of the UK's National Numbering Plan is:[1]

Prefix Service type
01 Geographic area codes.
02 Geographic area codes (introduced in 2000).
03 Non-geographic numbers charged at standard geographic area code rates (introduced 2007).
04 Reserved.
05 Corporate numbering and VoIP services (some VoIP services use 08 or geographic numbers). Freephone (toll free) on 0500.
06 Was reserved for possible use by personal numbering (PNS) instead of 070 following consumer confusion with mobile phones.
07 Mostly for mobile phones on 071xx, 072xx, 073xx, 074xx, 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx, and 079xx. Personal numbering on 070. Pagers on 076xx.
08 Freephone (toll free) on 080, and Special Services (formerly known as local and national rate) on 084 and 087.
09 Premium Rate services (PRS).

A short sample of geographic numbers, set out in the officially approved (Ofcom) number groups:

Number Location
(020) xxxx xxxx  London
(024) 7xxx xxxx Coventry
(029) xxxx xxxx Cardiff
(0113) xxx xxxx Leeds
(0121) xxx xxxx Birmingham
(0117) xxx xxxx Bristol
(0131) xxx xxxx Edinburgh
(0141) xxx xxxx Glasgow
(0161) xxx xxxx Manchester
(01223)  xxxxxx Cambridge
(01382)  xxxxxx Dundee
(01386)  xxxxxx Evesham
(01935)  xxxxxx Yeovil
(01865)  xxxxxx Oxford
(01792)  xxxxxx Swansea
(01204)  xxxxx Bolton
(0153 96) xxxxx Sedbergh
(0169 77) xxxx Brampton

In the United Kingdom, area codes are two, three, four, or, rarely, five digits long (after the initial zero). Regions with shorter area codes, typically large cities, permit the allocation of more telephone numbers as the local number portion has more digits. Local customer numbers are four to eight figures long. The total number of digits is ten, but in a very few areas the total may be nine digits (after the initial zero). The "area code" is also referred to as an "STD (code)" (subscriber trunk dialling) or a "dialling code" in the UK.

The code allocated to the largest population is (020) for London. The code allocated to the largest area is (028) for all of Northern Ireland. The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies—Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man—even though they are not part of the UK itself.

Format

Possible number formats for UK telephone numbers are as follows:

NSN length 10 digits 9 digits 7 digits 3 digits
Number formats (01xx xx) xxxxx
(01xxx) xxxxxx
(01x1) xxx xxxx
(011x) xxx xxxx
(02x) xxxx xxxx
03xx xxx xxxx
055 xxxx xxxx
056 xxxx xxxx
070 xxxx xxxx
07624 xxxxxx
076 xxxx xxxx
07xxx xxxxxx
0800 xxx xxxx
08xx xxx xxxx
09xx xxx xxxx		 (0169 77) xxxx
(01xxx) xxxxx
0500 xxxxxx
0800 xxxxxx		 0800 1111
0845 46 4x		 999
112
111
123
101

118
105

Number ranges starting 01 can have NSN length as 10 or 9 digits. The 0800 range can have NSN length as 10, 9 or 7 digits. The 0845 range can have NSN length as 10 or 7 digits. The 0500 range has NSN length as 9 digits only. There are no telephone numbers in the UK with an NSN length of 8 digits.

Geographic numbering

Standard geographic numbers

Geographic telephone numbers in the UK always have nine or ten digits.

Four-digit area codes

Four-digit area codes have either six-digit subscriber numbers or a mix of five- and six-digit subscriber numbers.

This is the format used by most areas. It has a four-digit area code (after the initial zero) and a six digit subscriber number, and is known as 4+6 format. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. Just short of 581 areas use this format, and the area codes range from 01200 to 01998. A small number of these areas also have a few subscriber numbers that have only five digits (see next section). That is, almost all (01xxx) area codes now have only six digit local numbers, e.g. (a small selection)

01224 Aberdeen 22 = AB
01244 Chester 24 = CH
01382 Dundee 38 = DU
01387 Dumfries (mixed) 38 = DU local numbers cannot begin with 3
01452 Gloucester 45 = GL
01472 Grimsby 47 = GR
01473 Ipswich 47 = IP
01429 Hartlepool 42 = HA
01482 Hull 48 = HU
01539 Kendal (mixed) 53 = KE local numbers cannot begin with 4, 5 or 6
01582 Luton 58 = LU
01670 Morpeth 67 = MP
01697 Brampton, North West (mixed) 69 = NW local numbers cannot begin with 3, 4 or 7
01730 Petersfield 73 = PE
01736 Penzance 73 = PE
01772 Preston 77 = PR
01792 Swansea 79 = SW
01793 Swindon 79 = SW
01854 Ullapool 85 = UL
01947 Whitby 94 = WH

Six of the four-digit area codes are known as "mixed" areas as they share those four digits with the twelve five-digit area codes. This leads to a restriction as to which initial digits can be used for subscriber numbers within those four-digit area codes, e.g. in the 01387 four-digit area code, subscriber numbers cannot begin with a 3 because 013873 is a separate five-digit area code; likewise in the 01946 four-digit area code, subscriber numbers cannot begin with a 7 because 019467 is a separate five-digit area code.

This is used for forty smaller towns where some subscriber numbers within the area code have only five digits and is known as 4+5 format. The numbers therefore have only nine digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. These towns always have a mixture of six and five digit local numbers, each type allocated in specific DE blocks; e.g. in the 01647 area code numbers beginning 24xxx and 61xxx have five digits whereas all other DE blocks within that area code are allocated as six digit numbers. The number of places with five digit subscriber numbers and an 01xxx area code has declined rapidly in recent decades. There were 511 ranges allocated across 56 different area codes in January 1998. The Big Number Change removed many, especially in Northern Ireland, and by July 2005 there were only 329 ranges in 42 codes. By April 2010 this had reduced to 324 ranges in 40 codes, with the same number still in November 2012. The 40 area codes are listed in the table below.

01204 Bolton 20 = BO 61-64
01208 Bodmin 20 = BO 72-79
01254 Blackburn 25 = BL 51-57, 59
01276 Camberley 27 = CR 20-29, 31-38, 61-66
01297 Axminster 29 = AX 20-24, 32-35
01298 Buxton 29 = BX 22-28, 70-74, 77-79, 83-85
01363 Crediton 36 = CN 82-85
01364 Ashburton, Devon 36 = DN 72, 73
01384 Dudley 38 = DU 70, 74-79
01386 Evesham 38 = EV 40, 41, 45, 47-49
01404 Honiton 40 = HO 41-47
01420 Alton, Hampshire 42 = HA 22, 23, 80-89
01460 Chard, Ilminster 46 = IM 30, 52-55, 57, 61-68, 72-78
01461 Gretna 46 = GN 40
01480 Huntingdon 48 = HU 52
01488 Hungerford 48 = HU 71-73
01524 Lancaster (mixed) 52 = LA 32-37, 39, 60-69 local numbers cannot begin with 2
01527 Redditch 60-69
01562 Kidderminster 56 = KM 60, 66-69
01566 Launceston 56 = LN 86
01606 Northwich, Winsford 60 = NO 40-49, 74-77, 79
01629 Matlock 62 = MA 55-57
01635 Newbury 63 = NE 30-39, 40-49
01647 Moretonhampstead 64 = MH 24, 61
01659 Sanquhar, Nithsdale 65 = NL 50, 58, 66, 67, 74
01695 Skelmersdale/Ormskirk 50-54
01726 St Austell 72 = SA 61, 63-69, 70-77
01744 St Helens 74 = SH 20-29
01750 Selkirk 75 = SK 20-23, 32, 42, 52, 62, 76, 82
01768 Penrith (mixed) 76 = PN 882, 883, 884, 886, 887, 888 local numbers cannot begin with 3, 4 or 7
01827 Tamworth 82 = TA 50-59, 60-69
01837 Okehampton 52-55, 82, 83, 89
01884 Tiverton 88 = TV 32-35, 38
01900 Workington 90 = WO 61-68, 85
01905 Worcester 90 = WO 20-29
01935 Yeovil 93 = YE 83
01946 Whitehaven (mixed) 94 = WH 61-68 local numbers cannot begin with 7
01949 Whatton 94 = WH 20, 21, 81
01963 Wincanton 96 = WN 23, 31-34
01995 Garstang, Wyre 99 = WY 61
Three-digit area codes

Three-digit area codes always have seven-digit subscriber numbers and always begin 011x or 01x1.

This is the geographic number format for the first round of five large cities moved to all figure dialling in the 1960s, and subsequently also used in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, eastern County Durham and south-eastern Northumberland from the 1980s onwards. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 1x1 (after the initial zero) and a seven digit subscriber number, and this is known as 3+7 format. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995.

0121 Birmingham formerly 021 (2 = B)
0131 Edinburgh formerly 031 (3 = E)
0141 Glasgow formerly 041 (4 = G)
0151 Liverpool formerly 051 (5 = L)
0161 Manchester formerly 061 (6 = M)
0171 Used for inner London until 2000
0181 Used for outer London until 2000
0191 County of Tyne and Wear, eastern County Durham,
south-eastern Northumberland 		formerly 091 (9 = tYne)

This is the geographic number format for the second round of large cities and towns moved to brand-new three-digit area codes. Five of these were moved in 1995 as a part of PhONEday. Reading followed a year later. At the time of the change, an extra digit was added to the subscriber number. These six areas have a three-digit area code matching the pattern 11x, with a seven-digit subscriber number, and this is known as 3+7 format. The first three digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. The former Reading area code had already been changed once, by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995.

0113 Leeds formerly 0532 (53 = LE)
0114 Sheffield formerly 0742 (74 = SH)
0115 Nottingham formerly 0602 (60 = NO)
0116 Leicester formerly 0533 (53 = LE)
0117 Bristol formerly 0272 (27 = BR)
0118 Reading formerly 01734 (73 = RE)
Two-digit area codes

Two-digit area codes always have eight-digit subscriber numbers and always begin 02.

This is the newest geographic number format. It is used for the third tier of large cities and for Northern Ireland, and was formed as a part of the Big Number Change in 2000. The new area code is much shorter than the old one, and begins 02 unlike the previous 01 area codes. Numbers in these five areas are commonly misquoted, e.g. London as 0207 or Cardiff as 02920. The numbers consist of a two-digit area code matching the pattern 02x, and an eight-digit subscriber number, and this is known as 2+8 format.

The first four digits of the local number identifies a small area within the town or city. At the time of the change, the subscriber part of the number gained an extra digit in London, those in Northern Ireland gained two or three digits, and the subscriber part of the number in the other areas gained two digits. All of these areas were also subject to a previous code change, one that added a "1" directly after the initial zero, as a part of PhONEday in 1995.

020 London (020) 3xxx xxxx new since 2005.
(020) 7xxx xxxx formerly 0171 and
(020) 8xxx xxxx formerly 0181 (both 1995–2000),
071 and 081 (1990–1995), 01 (1960s-1990)
023 Southampton (023) 8xxx xxxx formerly 01703 (70 = SO)
Portsmouth (023) 9xxx xxxx formerly 01705 (70 = PO)
024 Coventry (024) 7xxx xxxx formerly 01203 (20 = CO)
028 Northern Ireland (028) 25xx xxxx Ballymena formerly (01266) xxxxxx
(028) 28xx xxxx Larne formerly (01574) xxxxxx
(028) 37xx xxxx Armagh formerly (01861) xxxxxx
(028) 71xx xxxx Derry[2][3] formerly (01504) xxxxxx
(028) 82xx xxxx Omagh formerly (01662) xxxxxx
(028) 90xx xxxx Belfast formerly (01232) xxxxxx
(028) 92xx xxxx Lisburn formerly (01846) xxxxxx
(028) 95xx xxxx Belfast new number range
029 Cardiff (029) 2xxx xxxx formerly 01222 (22 = CA)
Five-digit area codes

Five-digit area codes have either five-digit subscriber numbers or a mix of four- and five-digit subscriber numbers. Five-digit area codes always share their first four digits with four-digit area codes.

This is the oldest geographic number format and is used for twelve smaller towns and villages where the subscriber number is either five or (in one area code) four digits long. These are known as 5+5 and 5+4 format. Therefore, the STD code and the subscriber number does not always total ten digits after the initial zero trunk code. These area codes were changed by adding a "1" directly after the initial zero as a part of PhONEday in 1995. The number of places using these two formats has declined rapidly in recent decades and Brampton is the last place in the UK with four-digit local numbers.

0138 73 Langholm
0152 42 Hornby
0153 94 Hawkshead
0153 95 Grange-over-Sands
0153 96 Sedbergh
0169 73 Wigton
0169 74 Raughton Head
0169 77 Brampton[4][5]
0176 83 Appleby
0176 84 Pooley Bridge
0176 87 Keswick
0194 67 Gosforth

The above twelve area codes and their six 'parent' area codes (01387, 01524, 01539, 01697, 01768 and 01946) are known as 'Mixed' areas due to multiple area codes sharing the same SABC digits.

National dialling only ranges

These ranges have subscriber numbers beginning with the digits "0" or "1", e.g.:

0169 77 0xxxx Brampton
01332 050xxx Derby
01382 006xxx Dundee
0141 005 xxxx Glasgow
0117 101 xxxx Bristol
0118 00x xxxx Reading
020 0003 xxxx London

Currently, these numbers are mostly used as the termination points for non-geographic numbers, and by some automated systems such as alarms. As such they are not usually meant to be directly dialled. These numbers have been problematic as some mobile phone operators in the UK do not allow access to these ranges,[6] and there may also be difficulty accessing these numbers from outside the UK. Regulator Ofcom proposes that in future these numbers be released for wider, general-purpose use in up to 70 area codes facing number shortage.[7] In order to avoid confusion with codes beginning with these digits, the area code must always be dialled, even from within the same geographic exchange. Accordingly, if these numbers are eventually released for general use, Ofcom proposes completely removing the ability to dial locally without the area code in areas affected. This occurred on 1 November 2012 for the 01202 area code, which covers Bournemouth.[8]

Recently, the carrier TalkTalk have inadvertently released parts of the 020 0011 range to the general public,[9] with these numbers currently being in use. For example, the charity Give a Car used the number 020 0011 1664 for a while, but recently switched to a proper London number.

Mobile telephones

Individual mobile phone companies are allocated different ranges within the 073xx, 074xx, 075xx, 07624, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx area codes. Changes to mobile phone numbers in the Big Number Change were mostly straight replacements, such as Vodafone customers on the 0378 block became 07778.

073xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (in use since November 2014)
074xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (in use since November 2009)
075xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (in use since May 2007)
07624 xxxxxx Mobile phones on the Isle of Man
077xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (former 03xx and 04xx—mostly Vodafone and O2 (formerly Cellnet))
078xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (former 05xx, 06xx and 08xx—mostly Vodafone and O2 (formerly Cellnet))
079xx xxxxxx Mobile phones (former 09xx—mostly Orange and T-Mobile (formerly one2one))
07911 2xxxxx
07911 8xxxxx		 WiFi numbers

Since the advent of Mobile number portability, mobile phone number prefixes can no longer be relied on to determine the current operator of a particular mobile phone – only the original operator.

Pagers and personal numbering

070 and 076 numbers are often charged at a much higher rate than calling the similar-looking 07xxx mobile telephone numbers.

070 xxxx xxxx Personal numbering
076 xxxx xxxx Pagers (excluding 07624, used for mobile phones on the Isle of Man)

Personal numbers beginning 070 are regulated by Phone-paid Service Authority formally (PhonepayPlus)) formally ICTIS.

Non-geographic numbering

Non-geographic numbers charged at geographic rate

On 27 July 2006, Ofcom announced that companies will soon be able to use an "03" non-geographic number, in place of other non-geographic numbers (such as 0870 or 0845 numbers). Callers would be charged at the same rate as if they were calling a geographic number (01 or 02).[10] This means that customers who are benefiting from inclusive minutes on mobile phone or landline calling plans would also be able to call these numbers using their inclusive minutes.[11] On 13 February 2007, Ofcom released more details on their plans for the 03 range and announced that allocations of 03 numbers to providers would begin in March 2007. Whilst 01, 02 and 07 numbers can receive text messages, currently the majority of cellular network providers do not support the sending of text messages to 03 numbers. Three different ranges of numbers were announced; those beginning 030x are reserved for qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations, those beginning 033x, which are available for allocation to anyone, and those beginning 034x and 037x which will be used for migration from the matching 084x and 087x number ranges respectively. Ofcom itself began using 03 numbers on 13 November 2007 for public use.[12]

030x xxx xxxx For qualifying public bodies and non-profit organisations as defined by Ofcom
033x xxx xxxx For any end user
034x xxx xxxx Migration range for operators who have 084x numbers
037x xxx xxxx Migration range for operators who have 087x numbers

Corporate and VoIP numbering

Unlike 03 numbers there is no uniform pricing for 05 numbers; BT charge a number of different rates depending on the number dialled.[13] Some are charged at geographic rate, others not. Other operators are not required to charge the same rates as BT for calling 05 numbers.

055 xxxx xxxx Corporate Numbering (but also used by BT for its Broadband Voice service)
056 xxxx xxxx Allocated by Ofcom for LIECS (Location Independent Electronic Communications Services), e.g. VoIP services

Freephone numbers

The 0500 range is used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications Ltd (now Cable & Wireless Worldwide). These numbers are different from the rest of the 05 range in that they are only 9 digits in length after the 0 trunk code, e.g. 0500 007 007 (NS&I, National Savings and Investments), 0500 2 88 2 91 (BBC Radio 2, 88 to 91 FM), 0500 600 600 (Crimewatch), 0500 600 700 (Watchdog), and 0500 909 693 (BBC Radio Five Live, 909 and 693 kHz). Numerous universities, government departments, airlines, banks and businesses also use these numbers. They were allocated before the general trend of using longer numbers started in 1997 and long before the rest of the 05 range was assigned to corporate and VoIP numbering after 2000.

0500 xxxxxx[notes 2] Special Services - No charge to Customer a.k.a. "Freephone" Free to call from landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile.

In October 2012, Ofcom started a consultation proposing to remove the 0500 freephone allocation[14] and in June 2014 announced that the range would be removed in June 2017, with new numbers in the 0808 5 range allocated to any provider wishing to migrate them.[15]

0800 xxxxxx[notes 3] Special Services - No charge to Customer a.k.a. "Freephone" Free to call from landline, and was up to 40p per minute from mobile, until July 2015 when calls to 080 numbers from mobiles became free. Calls to certain charity and similar services were always free from most mobiles.
0808 9xx xxxx numbers are used by freephone internet services.
0800 xxx xxxx
0808 xxx xxxx

There is one short "special" number in this range, 0800 1111 for Childline.

Additionally, numbers in the range 0808 80x xxxx are reserved for not-for-profit helplines and as such are usually free to call from most mobile telephones. A number of other numbers can also called for free from mobiles,[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] but this varies by network.

Fixed-rate or special-rate services

With the exception of 080x freephone numbers, 08xx numbers are charged above geographic rates, with some of the extra revenue going to the terminating telco. This additional revenue may be shared with the subscriber, but is often used instead to subsidise additional network services, such as fax-to-email, virtual office applications, call queuing, voicemail and easy number redirection. None of these call management services is exclusive to 08xx numbers, and they could be provided on any number range.

0845 xxx xxxx Special Services basic rate Up to 5p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend, from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0844 00x xxxx Special Services basic rate Non-BT Discount Scheme—Internet Services incorporating unmetered access up to and including 5p for BT customers
0844 01x xxxx
to
0844 09x xxxx		 currently unused
0844 1xx xxxx currently unused
0844 2xx xxxx
to
0844 9xx xxxx		 Up to 4.26p a minute (plus VAT), varies daytime/evening/weekend, from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0843 xxx xxxx Up to 4.26p a minute (plus VAT), but fixed (e.g. always 3p/minute or always 4p/minute) from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0842 xxx xxxx Up to 4.26p a minute (plus VAT), but fixed (e.g. always 3p/minute or always 4p/minute) from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.

There were a few short "special" number in this range, such as 0845 46 47 for NHS Direct; this was closed in 2014 and replaced by NHS 111 except in Wales, where the transition took place in 2015.

0870 xxx xxxx Non-Geographic Number Up to 8p a minute (plus VAT), varies daytime/evening/weekend (charged at no more than the caller would pay for a call to a Geographic Number) from landline; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0871 0xx xxxx Special Services higher rate Internet Services metered access, up to and including 10p/minute for BT customers.
0871 1xx xxxx currently unused
0871 2xx xxxx
to
0871 9xx xxxx		 Up to 8.5p a minute (plus VAT) but fixed (e.g. always 6p/minute or always 8.5p/minute) from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 50p a minute from mobiles.
0872 xxx xxxx Up to 8.5p a minute (plus VAT) but fixed (e.g. always 6p/minute or always 8.5p/minute) from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 50p a minute from mobiles.
0873 xxx xxxx Up to 8.5p a minute (plus VAT) but fixed (e.g. always 6p/minute or always 8.5p/minute) from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 50p a minute from mobiles.

The usage of 0871, 0872 and 0873 numbers is regulated by PhonepayPlus.[24]

There is widespread confusion about the cost of calling 084 and 087 numbers. They often do not qualify for discounts and bundled minutes, and can be prohibitively expensive when called from mobiles and payphones. Many major companies persist in misdescribing them as "Local Rate", "Lo Call" (often as 'locall rate' which can be easily misread as 'local rate') or "National Rate" for which the Advertising Standards Authority can take action.[25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35] [36][37][37][38]

In the future, it is likely that users of 084 and 087 numbers will have to declare the service charge element of the call cost when advertising their phone number, whilst telecoms companies will need to inform their customers about their access charge for calling each number range. Additionally, the EU Consumer Rights Directive requires that many entities that held 084 and 087 numbers will no longer be allowed to use them. The directive bans the usage of numbers that cost more than calling a geographic number for customer service and complaints lines, and other such purposes.[39][40]

From 1 July 2015, the charge for calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers will be split into two parts: An access charge (payable to the company you make your phone calls with - e.g. BT, EE, Sky, etc.) and a service charge (the part of the call that goes to the company offering the service). A list of these new access charges can be found here, which is updated regularly with new information when available. Source:

Other 08xx number ranges

0820 xxx xxxx Special Services: Internet for schools
0899 9xx xxxx Inbound routing codes

Premium rate content services (PRS and SES)

Numbers in the 09xx range are charged at the highest rates of any calls within the United Kingdom, and are controlled by various regulations regarding their use. The regulator is Phone-paid Service Authority formally known as PhonepayPlus,[24] formerly known as ICSTIS (and they also cover 070 (PNS), 0871, 0872, 0873 and 118xxx (DQ) services). There are a large number of charge bands, some with high pence-per-minute rates, others with a high fixed-price for the entire call.

090x xxx xxxx Premium rate content services (PRS)
0908 xxx xxxx
0909 xxx xxxx		 Sexual entertainment services (SES) (not available for new allocations)
091x xxx xxxx Premium rate non-content services (PRS)
098x xxx xxxx Sexual entertainment services (SES)

The earlier unused 092x xxx xxxx - 099x xxx xxxx allocation for "Broadband Internet Services" no longer exists and was removed from the number plan in 2005.

Crown dependencies

Although calls from UK landlines to landlines in the islands are charged at the same rate as those to other UK landlines (i.e. they are not treated as international calls), calls may be excluded from calling plans offering unlimited UK fixed line calls.

Mobile operators may also charge more for calls to the islands and these calls are usually excluded from calling plans. Calls and SMS messages sent to island mobile phone numbers are not charged at the same rate as calls to UK mobile phone numbers.

Guernsey

(01481) xxxxxx Fixed line 48 = GU
(01481) 832xxx Fixed line (Sark)
(01481) 833xxx
07781 xxxxxx Sure mobile phones and pagers
07839 xxxxxx Airtel Vodafone mobile phones
07911 xxxxxx Wave Telecom mobile phones, not for UK

This area code is also used for Alderney and Sark.

Jersey

(01534) xxxxxx Fixed line 53 = JE
07509 xxxxxx Jersey Telecom mobile phones and pagers
07797 xxxxxx
07937 xxxxxx
07700 xxxxxx Sure mobile network
07829 xxxxxx Airtel Vodafone mobile network

Several Jersey companies also have non-geographic numbers allocated.[41]

Isle of Man

(01624) xxxxxx Fixed line 62 = MA
07624 xxxxxx Mobile phones and paging services
07524 xxxxxx Mobile phones additional capacity
07924 xxxxxx

On the Isle of Man, both fixed (01624) and mobile phone (07624) numbers can be dialled locally in the six-digit format.

Fictitious numbers

Ofcom has also reserved certain number ranges for use in television dramas and films, so as to avoid the risk of people having their telephone numbers displayed, and receiving unwanted calls. This is similar to the use of fictitious telephone numbers in the United States and Canada with the digits 555.

In most of the large cities with three-digit area codes a range of numbers is reserved, usually all the numbers starting with the digits 496. For fictitious numbers in other areas the area code 01632 is reserved; this code is not in use, although 0632 was used for Newcastle upon Tyne until the late 1980s (63 = NE) and briefly reallocated for use by premium rate services in the 1990s. There are also reserved ranges for fictitious mobile, freephone, and premium rate numbers.[42][43]

The Post Office even produced dial centre labels for use in advertisements and film/TV with a mythical exchange called VINcent plus four digits. The numerical equivalent of VIN was 846 and all the caller got was the speaking clock (i.e. 846 is also numerical equivalent of TIM) in the big city "Director" areas.[44]

At around the same time as the other Big Number Change changes, Ofcom revised their recommendations to update the prefixes, add additional areas, and increase the size of the allocation from 10 to 1000 numbers per block. Those changes are listed in the Big Number Change article.

In Coronation Street, the fictional Manchester suburb of Weatherfield uses the unallocated range (0161) 715 xxxx.[45]

Special service numbers

Emergency services and helplines

The UK has two free emergency numbers—the traditional 999, which is still widely used, and the EU standard 112, which can be used in all member states of the European Union. Both 999 and 112 are used to contact all emergency services: Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, and Coastguard. (Standard advice for Mountain Rescue or Cave Rescue is to ask the emergency operator for the police, who oversee the communication with these two services.[46][47][48])

Both numbers can be called from mobile phones with the keylock on, or without entering the PIN where that would otherwise be required. Although some mobile phones allow emergency calls to be attempted without a SIM card, at present the UK networks reject such calls. Since November 2009, an emergency call can be made through any UK mobile network as long as there is a SIM for any valid UK network in the handset. Although UK VOIP phone providers are required to offer 999 / 112 service this is subject to a registration for the service and with a verified service address and users need to be aware such service may not work in a power blackout; However International VOIP providers may not provide this service.

The chargeable number 101 was introduced for non-urgent crime and community safety calls on a trial basis in 2006. In Wales, the scheme was taken forward by all four police forces, who adopted the number for non-emergency calls on a permanent basis in early 2009. In England the scheme was on trial until 2012, when it was adopted nationwide and the cost to call changed from 10p per call to 15p per call. In Northern Ireland, the number was introduced by the Police Service of Northern Ireland in March 2014.[49]

The operator is obtained via 100 from landlines, while directory enquiries, formerly 192, is now provided in the 118xxx range, e.g. 118 212, 118 800, 118 500, 118 118, by different companies. International Operator assistance is reached through 155.

From early 2010, the pan-European 116 number range came into use for social helplines. The first three numbers allocated were Missing People using 116 000 for a missing children helpline, the NSPCC ChildLine on 116 111, and Samaritans using 116 123 for an emotional support helpline. A recent consultation for the numbers 116 106 and 116 117 has yet to see any result.

The National Health Service (NHS) can be reached on 111 for non-emergency calls (from landlines and mobiles only). In other European countries the number 116 117 is used for a similar purpose.

Two telephone helplines within the regular code space have only eight digits, namely 0800 1111 for ChildLine and 0845 4647 for NHS Direct in Wales.

Speaking clock

Since the mid-1990s speaking clock services have been available throughout Britain using the number 123. Before this, exchanges in "Director" areas (Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester) dialled 846 (TIM) (later changing to 123) and main exchanges in "Non-Director" areas originally used "952", later changing to "80" with the introduction of STD and eventually to "8081" as other recorded services were introduced on 80X1 codes. Some mobile operators allocate other services to 123—such as customer services or voicemail etc.

Automated services and access codes

Short codes beginning with 1 are reserved for telecom service providers' own functionality; some of the most well-known are codes for use with Caller Display:

141 Withhold number when normally released
1470 Release number when normally withheld
1471 Call return caller may press 3 to return call on most networks
1475 1471 erasure removes details of last call from 1471 service
1571 Voicemail service For people who do not have answering machines.
If there is a new message, the dial tone will be stuttered.

Many fixed line telephone subscribers, e.g. BT,[50] Virgin Media,[51] SkyTalk Sky, TalkTalk and PlusNet have the opportunity to use an automated messaging service which takes messages when the called number is either engaged ("busy") or not answered within a given time. This can be accessed by calling 1571.

For fixed line users, it is possible to override the carrier pre-selection (CPS) on a per-call basis, dialling a special code before the number, e.g. 1280 for BT, 1664 for LowerCall, or 1844 for Daisy. Ofcom defines the range for these as: "124 to 140, 143 to 146, 148 to 149, 160 to 169, and 181 to 189 inclusive. Numbers of up to 5-digits used to access an Indirect Access Provider (‘Type B Access Codes’)".[52]

History

Telephone numbers in Overseas Territories

Telephone numbers in British Overseas Territories do not come under the UK telephone numbering plan. These calls are treated as international calls. Below are the access codes for the overseas territories:

North American Numbering Plan

Others

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ 7 for two special 08xx numbers; 9 in some 01xxx areas, one 01xxxx area, all 0500 numbers, and some 0800 numbers; 10 in all other areas
  2. ↑ Older pre-PhONEday nine-digit 0500 numbers were left as nine-digit numbers after PhONEday. No new 0500 number ranges were released after PhONEday.
  3. ↑ Older pre-PhONEday nine-digit 0800 numbers were left as nine-digit numbers after PhONEday. All new 0800 number ranges released after PhONEday have ten digits after the 0 trunk code.

References

  1. ↑ Oftel (7 May 2003). "A User's Guide to Telephone Numbering". Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 5 May 2005.
  2. ↑ "Telephone area codes". Ofcom. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  3. ↑ "Co. Londonderry - UK Codes - The Phone Book from BT". British Telecom. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  4. ↑ Erdunast, Howard (16 May 2003). "BT's Response to the Consultation by OFTEL on Proposals to Publish a National Telephone Numbering Plan" (PDF). British Telecommunications PLC. Retrieved 2 April 2010. Page 7: '01697 – Brampton should be 016977; not 01697'.
  5. ↑ Director General of Telecommunications (9 July 2003). "The National Telephone Numbering Plan" (PDF). Oftel. Office of Telecommunications. Retrieved 2 April 2010. Page 20 shows Brampton listed as 0169 77.
  6. ↑ Oftel (7 May 2003). "A User's Guide to Telephone Numbering". Office of Telecommunications. Retrieved 5 May 2005. Only BT and Kingston Communications (Hull) are obliged to ensure that their customers can dial all numbers within the UK.
  7. ↑ Ofcom (25 November 2010). "Ofcom | Geographic telephone numbers". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 26 June 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  8. ↑ "Geographic telephone numbers". Ofcom. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  9. ↑ "0200 Numbers and 0201 Numbers". UK Area Codes and Phone Number Information. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  10. ↑ Ofcom (26 April 2007). "Conditions regulating Sexual Entertainment Services" (PDF). Office of Communications. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 May 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  11. ↑ Ofcom (13 February 2007). "Ofcom introduces UK-wide 03 numbers". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 13 August 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  12. ↑ Ofcom. "Contacting Ofcom". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  13. ↑ BT. "(Section 2, Part 11) 05xx Numbers". BT Price List. British Telecommunications PLC. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 5 May 2005.
  14. ↑ Ofcom (23 October 2012). "Proposal for the withdrawal of 0500 Freephone telephone numbers". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 27 August 2013. Retrieved 23 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "The 0500 Number Range". Ofcom. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  16. ↑ Vodafone (28 October 2010). "Free-to-caller charity numbers" (PDF). Vodafone Limited. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 February 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  17. ↑ O2. "Free numbers". Telefónica UK Limited. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  18. ↑ Virgin. "Freephone numbers and Charity Helplines". Virgin Mobile Telecoms Ltd. Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  19. ↑ T-Mobile (30 January 2012). "Free to Call Helpline Services" (PDF). Everything Everywhere Limited. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 May 2012. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  20. ↑ Orange (7 February 2005). "Orange make it free to call". Orange (UK). Archived from the original on 21 April 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  21. ↑ Orange (7 February 2005). "Free Charity and Helpline Calls". Orange (UK). Archived from the original on 5 March 2005. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  22. ↑ DWP (15 January 2010). "Free mobile calls for benefit claimants starting from 18 January 2010". Department for Work and Pensions. Archived from the original on 3 January 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  23. ↑ Orange (1 February 2011). "Free numbers of Department of Work and Pensions". Orange (UK). Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  24. 1 2 PP. "PhonepayPlus - the UK premium rate phone number and service regulator". PhonepayPlus. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  25. ↑ ASA (6 April 2005). "Emap Active Ltd". Non-broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 4 July 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. the claim "Lo-call" was misleading, because calls to 0870 numbers were not charged at a low rate as implied.
  26. ↑ ASA (4 January 2006). "Windsor Telecom plc". Non-broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. we told Windsor Telecom to stop describing 0845 numbers as 'local rate'
  27. ↑ ASA (25 April 2007). "NET Homeworkers". Non-broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. We therefore concluded that the description of the '0845' number as a 'local rate' call was misleading.
  28. ↑ ASA (12 December 2007). "Datel Group plc". Broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. We told Max TV not to describe calls to 0845 numbers as 'local rate' calls.
  29. ↑ ASA (6 April 2005). "Langley Miniature Models". Non-broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. The Authority considered that the description "National Rate Calls" for an 0870 number was misleading and likely to confuse consumers. The Authority told the advertisers not to refer to 0870 numbers as 'national rate'. Marketing communications should also state that the price of calls originating from non-BT call providers varies.
  30. ↑ ASA (20 September 2006). "British Sky Broadcasting Ltd t/a Sky Travel Shop". Broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 25 September 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2012. Because most UK callers now paid more for calls to non-geographic 0870 numbers than for calls to geographic national destinations, we considered that the term "national rate" was inaccurate.
  31. ↑ ASA (21 May 2008). "Men at Work Ltd". Non-broadcast Adjudications. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 20 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012. (we) ruled that the costs of making calls to such numbers (0870) should be stated in the ad.
  32. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (10 March 2005). "Hanging on the telephone. On and on and on.". CAP News. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 29 June 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  33. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (8 September 2005). "Stop the call confusion". CAP News. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 2 January 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2012. The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) ... has told advertisers who quote 084 and 087 numbers ... that they must not describe calls to those numbers as being charged at 'local' or 'national' rate. ... On their introduction, calls to 084(5) numbers were charged at the BT standard local rate and those to 087(0) numbers were charged at BT standard national rate. Calls made from other phone companies were often more expensive. BT has abolished its standard rate for the majority of its customers, making the description of calls being charged at 'local' or 'national' rate meaningless for them.
  34. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (8 September 2005). "Advertising 0845 and 087 numbers". CAP Alerts. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 18 January 2006. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  35. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (8 August 2012). "Chargeable 08 numbers: General". Advice Online database. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  36. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (12 July 2010). "Chargeable 0845 numbers". Advice Online database. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  37. 1 2 Committee of Advertising Practice (8 August 2012). "Chargeable (0842) 0843 and 0844 numbers". Advice Online database. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 28 March 2013. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  38. ↑ Committee of Advertising Practice (7 June 2013). "Premium-rate Services: 09, 0871, 0872 and 0873 numbers". Advice Online database. Advertising Standards Authority. Archived from the original on 10 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
  39. ↑ BIS. "Consumer Rights Directive". Department for Business, Innovation & Skills. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  40. ↑ EU. "Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights" (PDF). European Union. Retrieved 11 November 2011.
  41. ↑ JCRA (9 September 2009). "Jersey telephone number allocations". Jersey Competition Regulatory Authority. Archived from the original on 15 October 2013. Retrieved 11 November 2012.
  42. ↑ Oftel (1 June 1999). "Numbers Used For Drama. ca. 1999". Oftel Numbering Bulletin 38. Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 28 May 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2009.
  43. ↑ Ofcom (26 October 2004). "Telephone Numbers for drama purposes (TV, Radio etc) revised 2004". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 16 February 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2010.
  44. ↑ Reynolds, Phil (23 November 2012). "Phone numbers". Archived from the original on 6 June 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
  45. ↑ Ofcom. "Code and number blocks - 1600 00 to 1799 99" (XLS). Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 18 September 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
  46. ↑
  47. ↑ "Scottish Mountain Rescue". Mountainrescuescotland.org. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  48. ↑ "contact cave rescue | The Cave Rescue Organisation". Cro.org.uk. Retrieved 2017-07-06.
  49. ↑ "Police Service of Northern Ireland". www.psni.police.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  50. ↑ Richardson, Tim (29 June 2001). "BT to offer free voicemail from Monday". The Register. Archived from the original on 2 March 2014. Retrieved 5 May 2005.
  51. ↑ "Other telephone features" (PDF). Telephone price guide. Virgin Media. 20 October 2006. p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2006. Retrieved 5 May 2007.
  52. ↑ Ofcom (20 December 2012). "The National Telephone Numbering Plan" (PDF). Office of Communications. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2013. Retrieved 15 February 2013.
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