How to write your number

Formatting UK phone numbers

General | Special numbers | Overseas | Programmers

Writing phone numbers correctly makes them easier to read and helps callers dial the right number. [How?]

Rules for Landline Numbers

One space between the area code and the local number, to help distinguish the two parts clearly
Where the local number after the code is more than six digits long, split it with a space for readability: xxx xxxx or xxxx xxxx
For areas where dialling the area code is optional, the code may be put in brackets if you wish

The length of area codes and local numbers varies across the UK, which means there are several valid formats:

02x xxxx xxxx	London, Cardiff, Coventry, Portsmouth, Southampton and Northern Ireland have 3 digit codes and 8 digit local numbers.
01x1 xxx xxxx 011x xxx xxxx	Most other big cities have a 4 digit area code, followed by 7 digit local numbers. Examples: Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham.
01xxx xxxxxx 01xxx xxxxx	Nearly all other towns and rural areas have 5 digit area codes, followed by 6 digit (or sometimes 5 digit) local numbers. Examples: Newquay, Guildford, Stirling.
01xxxx xxxxx 01xxxx xxxx	A handful of towns in the North West and Scotland still have 6 digit area codes followed by 5- or 4-digit local numbers. Examples: Langholm, Keswick, Hawkshead.

Browse the area code listings for advice specific to each area code.

Special numbers

Mobile and non-geographic numbers don't have optional area codes so can largely be written in whichever pattern aids memorability.

The format 07xxx xxxxxx is recommended for mobile phones as it is used by the main networks and most of the public.

'08' numbers are best displayed in the style 08xx xxx xxxx to aid recognition of the various different services. For example, as the meaning of '0800' is widely understood, 0800 123 4567 is more likely to be recognised as a freephone number than 08001 234567.

From overseas

If you want people to call you internationally, remove the leading zero of your phone number and prefix it with '+44'. For example, London number (020) 7946 0018 becomes +44 20 7946 0018.

Never write '0044' instead of +44. Many countries do not use '00' for international dialling - such as the USA from which a caller would need to dial 01144 to reach the UK. Using the symbol '+' avoids this problem as it tells the caller to dial their country's international access code (whether 00, 011 or anything else) - and is also recognised by many mobile phones.

The complete pattern for programmers

Need to build number formatting into a piece of software or a database? The basic list of patterns and accompanying notes below show the various valid formats in the UK in 2013:

01### #####
01### ######
011# ### ####
01#1 ### ####
013873 #####
015242 #####
015394 #####
015395 #####
015396 #####
016973 #####
016974 #####
016977 ####
016977 #####
017683 #####
017684 #####
017687 #####
019467 #####
02# #### ####
03## ### ####
05### ######
0500 ######
07### ######
08## ######
08## ### ####
09## ### ####

Notes to above:

# represents any digit between 0 and 9
There are also, exceptionally, two eight digit numbers in use which are not specifically included above: 0800 1111 and 0845 4647.
There are, as yet, no numbers beginning 04 or 06.

The list needs to be parsed in the order shown to work properly; the last match in the list is the one to use for any given number.

As an example, 01234567890 matches the second line of the list and no others, so is formatted as 01234 567890. Meanwhile the last line matched by the number 01134960018 is the third line in the list, so the correct formatting is 0113 496 0018.

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