05 Numbers

Corporate and VOIP use

UK telephone numbers beginning '05' fall into three categories:

0500 Freephone

Although no new 0500 numbers have been issued in recent years, there are still a few remaining ten-digit freephone numbers that begin '0500'.

Newer freephone numbers begin with 0800 or 0808.

055 Corporate Numbering

These numbers are used mainly by organisations who require their own large blocks of dedicated telephone numbers that are not associated with a specific locality.

The only 055 numbers currently in use begin 05511, 05516, 05555 and 05588.

056 VOIP and similar

Officially designated for 'location independent electronic communication services', numbers beginning 056 are largely used to access VOIP phone services. Such services have also been able to use standard '01' and '02' area codes since late 2004.

Numbers beginning 05600, 05601, 05602 and 05603 are currently in use.

Number Format

05xxx xxxxxx is typical for most numbers, with 0500 xxxxxx used for the remaining freephone services in this range.

Last updated: 12 April 2012