List of dialling codes in the United Kingdom
This is a list of telephone dialling codes in the United Kingdom. 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] The United Kingdom adopts an open telephone numbering plan for its public switched telephone network. 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. When dialling from abroad, the prefix is not dialed.
Contents
Code prefixes[edit source | edit]
Area code prefix | Service type |
---|---|
00 | International dialling |
01 | Geographic area codes since 1995 |
02 | Geographic area codes after 2000 |
03 | Non-geographic numbers charged at geographic rates |
04 | Reserved |
05 | Corporate numbering and VoIP |
06 | Reserved |
07 | Mobile phones, pagers and personal numbering |
08 | Freephone and revenue share non-geographic numbers |
09 | Premium rate (PRS) |
List of dialling codes[edit source | edit]
Short codes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
02x [eight-digit local number] | 011x [seven-digit local number] | 01x1 [seven-digit local number] | |||
020 to 029 | 0113 to 0118 | 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 (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 (previously 031)[notes 3] |
024 | Coventry[notes 6] (previously 01203)[notes 2] (previously 0203)[notes 3] | 0114 | Sheffield (previously 0742)[notes 3] | 0141 | Glasgow (previously 041)[notes 3] |
0115 | Nottingham (previously 0602)[notes 3] | 0151 | Liverpool (previously 051)[notes 3] | ||
0116 | Leicester (previously 0533)[notes 3] | 0161 | Manchester (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 | 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
Long codes | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
01xxx [mostly six-digit local numbers][notes 12] and 01xxxx [mostly five-digit local numbers][notes 13] (but not 01x1 codes) | |||||
01200 to 01474 | 01475 to 01767 | 01768 to 01999 | |||
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|
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01426, 01523 and other non-standard 01 prefixes were briefly used for pagers[7] in the late 1990s and then moved to new 076 prefixes in the Big Number Change in 2000/2001.
The 01632 area code is set aside for use as fictional numbers for drama as are parts of a number of other area codes.[13][14]
Code length[edit source | edit]
The length of the area code part and the local number part is found as follows:[15]
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.[16]
The number format '5+4' refers to, e.g. Brampton, numbers using the (0169 77) xxxx format.[16]
Areas with required area code dialling[edit source | edit]
In the following area local calls must be dialled using the area code from the date shown.
Area code | Area code name | Date effective |
---|---|---|
01202 | Bournemouth | 1 November 2012[6] |
01274 | Bradford | 1 November 2014[17] |
Overseas Territories[edit source | edit]
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:
NANP[edit source | edit]
- Anguilla +1-264
- Bermuda +1-441
- British Virgin Islands +1-284
- Cayman Islands +1-345
- Montserrat +1-664
- Turks and Caicos Islands +1-649
Others[edit source | edit]
- British Indian Ocean Territory +246
- Falkland Islands +500
- Gibraltar +350
- Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha +290 (Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha only) and +247 (Ascension Island only)
- Akrotiri and Dhekelia +357 (Shared with Cyprus)
- Pitcairn Islands +64 (Shared with New Zealand)
Notes[edit source | edit]
- ^ (020) The codes 0207 & 0208 do not exist: London is under a single code, 020. Local numbers have eight digits and currently begin 3, 7, or 8.
- ^ a b c d e Area code changed as a part of the Big Number Change in 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Area code changed as a part of phONEday in 1995.
- ^ a b c Area code changed in 1990.
- ^ (023) Wide area. Southampton numbers begin 80, 81, 82. Portsmouth numbers begin 92, 93, 94. Local numbers have eight digits.
- ^ (024) Wide area. Coventry numbers begin 75, 76, 77. Local numbers have eight digits.
- ^ (028) Eight-digit local numbers begin as follows: Ballycastle: 20, Martinstown: 21, Ballymena: 25, Ballymoney: 27, Larne: 28, Kilrea: 29, Newry: 30, Armagh: 37, Portadown: 38, Banbridge: 40, Rostrevor: 41, Kircubbin: 42, Newcastle (Co. Down): 43, Downpatrick: 44, Enniskillen: 66, Lisnaskea: 67, Kesh: 68, Coleraine: 70, Derry: 71, Limavady: 77, Magherafelt: 79, Carrickmore: 80, Newtownstewart: 81, Omagh: 82, Ballygawley: 85, Cookstown: 86, Dungannon: 87, Fivemiletown: 89, Belfast: 90 and 95, Bangor (Co. Down): 91, Lisburn: 92, Ballyclare: 93, Antrim: 94, Saintfield: 97. When dialling Northern Ireland from the Republic of Ireland, it may be cheaper to dial 048 xxxxxxxx rather than the normal 00 44 28 xxxxxxxx (see ComReg website).
- ^ a b (0118) Numbers in Reading separately migrated to 0118 several years after PhONEday and a couple of years before the BigNumber change. Local numbers have seven digits and begin 3, 4 or 9.
- ^ Area code changed in 1998.
- ^ (029) Wide area. Cardiff numbers begin 20, 21, 22. Local numbers have eight digits.
- ^ (0191) ELNS area. Tyneside numbers begin 2, 4, 6, 8 (North Tyneside/Newcastle 2, 6 – South Tyneside/Gateshead 4, 8). Durham numbers begin 3, 9. Sunderland numbers begin 5, 7. Local numbers have seven digits.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao
There are still a very few places with the standard (01xxx) four-digit area code but which have both six-digit and five-digit local numbers, as described at Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom. These codes include 01204, 01208, 01254, 01276, 01297, 01298, 01363, 01364, 01384, 01386, 01404, 01420, 01460, 01461, 01480, 01488, 01524 (mixed), 01527, 01562, 01566, 01606, 01629, 01635, 01647, 01659, 01695, 01726, 01744, 01750, 01768 (mixed), 01827, 01837, 01884, 01900, 01905, 01935, 01946 (mixed), 01949, 01963 and 01995. - ^ a b There are still a very few places with an (01xx xx) five-digit area code. These areas can potentially have either or both five-digit and four-digit local numbers. Nowadays only Brampton (0169 77) has four-digit local numbers (0169 77) 2xxx and (0169 77) 3xxx, as well as five-digit local numbers (0169 77) 4xxxx to (0169 77) 9xxxx, as described at Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom and at Ofcom. "Code and number blocks – 1600 00 to 1799 99". Office of Communication. Archived from the original on 2012-09-18.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv bw bx by bz ca cb cc cd ce cf cg ch ci
This change happened prior to PhONEday (16 April 1995); the new code is not to be confused with the current allocations of dialling codes commencing 02 to 09, as this code would have changed again (mostly by adding the '1' after initial zero) on PhONEday. - ^ (01229) ELNS area. Barrow-in-Furness numbers begin 2, 4, 5, 6, 8. Millom numbers begin 3, 7, 9.
- ^ (01247) Mixed area. Bangor numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p All Northern Ireland 01xx xx "mixed" areas migrated to the new 028 area code in the Big Number Change in 2000.
- ^ (01265) Mixed area. Coleraine numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01266) Mixed area. Ballymena numbers began 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01339) ELNS area. Aboyne numbers begin 2, 3, 5, 8. Ballater numbers begin 4, 6, 7, 9.
- ^ (01365) Mixed area. Enniskillen numbers began 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ a b c d e (0191) Numbers in Newcastle, Durham, Sunderland, Tyneside, and Wearside were migrated to 091, now 0191, between 1982 and 1988.
- ^ (01387) Mixed area. Dumfries numbers begin 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
- ^ (01388) ELNS area. Bishop Auckland numbers begin 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9. Stanhope (Eastgate) numbers begin 2, 5.
- ^ (01396) Mixed area. Downpatrick numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ Historical note: In fact 0402x codes were used for Hornchurch, Ingrebourne, Purfleet, Rainham, Stapleford [Abbots] and (check) South Ockendon. 0402 was not an area code on its own. It was equivalent to 07088, and translated as such for call connection, but (say) 070884 xxxxx was too long a dial string for the numbering plan, so 04024 xxxxx was used.
- ^ (01423) ELNS area. Boroughbridge numbers begin 3, 4, 9. Harrogate numbers begin 2, 5, 6, 7, 8.
- ^ (01430) ELNS area. Market Weighton numbers begin 6, 7, 8, 9. North Cave numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 5.
- ^ (01434) ELNS area. Bellingham numbers begin 2, 4, 9. Haltwhistle numbers begin 3, 5. Hexham numbers begin 6, 7, 8.
- ^ (01437) ELNS area. Clynderwen (Clunderwen) numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 5. Haverfordwest numbers begin 6, 7, 8, 9.
- ^ (01504) Mixed area. Londonderry numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01507) ELNS area. Alford (Lincs) numbers begin 4, 8, 9. Louth numbers begin 3, 6, 7. Spilsby numbers begin 2, 5.
- ^ (01524) Mixed area. Lancaster numbers begin 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.
- ^ (01539) Mixed area. Kendal numbers begin 2, 3, 7, 8, 9.
- ^ (01595) Lerwick numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 77, 78, 79, 8, 9. Foula numbers begin 75. Fair Isle numbers begin 76.
- ^ (01648) Mixed area. Magherafelt numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01662) Mixed area. Omagh numbers began 2, 3, 4, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01686) ELNS area. Llanidloes numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 7. Newtown numbers begin 5, 6, 8, 9.
- ^ (01693) Mixed area. Newry numbers began 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 before 2000.
- ^ (01697) Mixed area. Brampton six-figure numbers begin 2, 5, 6, 8, 9.
- ^ (01768) Mixed area. Penrith numbers begin 2, 5, 6, 8, 9.
- ^ (01847) ELNS area. Thurso numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 5, 8. Tongue numbers begin 6, 7, 9.
- ^ (01851) ELNS area. Great Bernera numbers begin 4, 6, 9. Stornoway numbers begin 2, 3, 5, 7, 8.
- ^ (01890) ELNS area. Ayton numbers begin 5, 6, 7, 9. Coldstream numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 8.
- ^ a b Historical note: 0930 was a Premium rate number range, however 0930 7 was used by One2One mobile phones. Where switchboards blocked 0930 as Premium rate, the mobile phones could not be contacted. 0961 7 was mirrored onto this allocation to get round the problem.
- ^ (01946) Mixed area. Whitehaven numbers begin 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9.
- ^ (01964) ELNS area. Hornsea numbers begin 2, 5, 8, 9. Patrington numbers begin 3, 4, 6, 7.
- ^ (01975) ELNS area. Alford (Aberdeen) numbers begin 2, 4, 5, 9. Strathdon numbers begin 3, 6, 7, 8.
- ^ National Significant Number – the digit count after the 0 trunk code or +44 international country code.
References[edit source | edit]
- ^ a b Roger Haworth (1999-11-22). "UK Geographic STD codes". Archived from the original on 2012-07-24. — contains largely the same information as this page.
- ^ a b Selwyn Horne, Andy Emmerson et al. (2006-04-16). "British Subscriber Trunk Dialling Codes". Archived from the original on 2012-07-09. — The original alphanumeric codes in all their glory!
- ^ Hallas, Sam (2010-05-28). "STD Equivalent List" (PDF). Archived from the original on 2013-05-08.
- ^ Ofcom (2009-08-08). "Telephone numbers – the facts and figures : (Boxout) Is it (020) 7 or 0207?". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-07-10.
- ^ Ofcom (2005-05-25). "Telephone Numbering : London Telephone Numbers". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-07-09.
- ^ a b Ofcom (2012-03-20). "Dialling the 01202 area code in Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2012-04-15.
- ^ a b c Pritchard, Stephen (1997-01-19). "We're talking telephone numbers". The Independent (London: Independent Print Limited). Archived from the original on 2013-04-23.
- ^ a b (0169 77) BT (2003-05-16). "BT's Response to the Consultation by OFTEL on Proposals to Publish a National Telephone Numbering Plan" (PDF). British Telecommunications PLC. Archived from the original on 2011-06-05. "Page 7: '01697 – Brampton should be 0169 77; not 01697'."
- ^ a b (0169 77) Oftel (2003-05-07). "A User’s Guide to Telephone Numbering" (PDF). Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 2006-04-07. "Pages 6 and 7 show Brampton examples using 0169 77 and +44 169 77 codes."
- ^ a b (0169 77) Director General of Telecommunications (2003-07-09). "The National Telephone Numbering Plan" (PDF). Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 2009-01-07. "Page 20 shows Brampton listed as 0169 77."
- ^ "01706 Area Code - UK Area Code Finder". Area-codes.org.uk. Retrieved 2013-02-11.
- ^ (01987) Ofcom (2008-04-29). "Telephone Numbering : Creation of New Area Code for Ebbsfleet". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-09-03.
- ^ Oftel (1999-06-01). "Numbers Used For Drama. ca. 1999". Oftel Numbering Bulletin 38. Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 2004-05-15.
- ^ Ofcom (2004-10-26). "Telephone Numbers for drama purposes (TV, Radio etc) revised 2004". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-07-26.
- ^ Ofcom. "The National Telephone Numbering Plan – downloadable data files". Office of Communications. Archived from the original on 2010-08-26. — List of all UK number allocations and their dialling format.
- ^ a b Oftel (2003-05-07). "A User's Guide to Telephone Numbering". Office of Telecommunications. Archived from the original on 2004-01-28.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
dial01274
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
External links[edit source | edit]
- Ofcom – Telephone Area Code Tool – UK dialling code lookup.
- UK Telephone Area Codes – basic lookup of current codes and areas covered.
- UK telephone area codes – area code list with detailed "mixed" area information and incorporating other recent allocations and name changes.
- UK Numbering Plan – area code list with details of local number length in each area.
- Full UK area code list – CSV and Excel files listing towns associated with each area code.
- Ofcom – The National Numbering Scheme – PDF and Excel area code lists and number allocation details.
- Regular Expressions for Validating and Formatting GB Telephone Numbers – patterns for checking which area codes and prefixes are valid and patterns for formatting each number type.
- The first 25 years of UK STD code changes summarised – detailed information and explanation (PDF).
- Area codes as they were in the early 1990s – detailed list with many additional comments.
- UK STD Codes – a comprehensive list of historical dialling codes including sub-area identification.
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