Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom

Telephone numbers in the United Kingdom are administered by the UK government's Office of Communications. 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.
The numbers are of variable length. Local numbers are supported from land-lines or numbers can be dialled with a '0'-lead prefix that denotes either a geographical region or another service. Mobile phone numbers have their own prefixes which are not geographical and are completely portable between providers.

Structure

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

Prefix	Service type
00	International
01	Geographic area codes.
02	Geographic area codes.
03	Non-geographic numbers charged at standard geographic area code rates.
04	Reserved.
05	Corporate numbering and VoIP services. Freephone on 0500 until June 2017.
06	Was reserved for possible use by personal numbering instead of 070 following consumer confusion with mobile phones.
07	Mostly for mobile phones on 071xx, 072xx, 073xx, 074xx, 075xx, 077xx, 078xx and 079xx. Personal numbering on 070. Pagers and "non-inclusive" mobiles on 076xx.
08	Freephone on 080 and Special Services on 084 and 087.
09	Premium Rate services.

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

Number	Location
	London
	Coventry
	Cardiff
	Leeds
	Sheffield
	Birmingham
	Edinburgh
	Glasgow
	Merseyside
	Greater Manchester
	Teesside
	Cambridge
	Chorley
	Dundee
	Evesham
	Yeovil
	Oxford
	Preston
	Swansea
	Bolton
	Sedbergh
	Brampton

In the United Kingdom, area codes are two, three, four or, rarely, five digits long. 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. The "area code" is also referred to as an "STD " or a "dialling code" in the UK.
The code allocated to the largest population is for London. The code allocated to the largest area is for all of Northern Ireland. The UK Numbering Plan also applies to three British Crown dependencies – Guernsey, Jersey, and the Isle of Man – even though they are not part of the UK.

Format

Possible number formats for UK telephone numbers are:

Number length	10 digit NSN	9 digit NSN	7 digit NSN	6 digits	5 digits	4 digits	3 digits
Number formats	xxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxxx 03xx xxx xxxx 055 xxxx xxxx 056 xxxx xxxx 07x xxxx xxxx 07xxx xxxxxx 0800 xxx xxxx 08xx xxx xxxx 09xx xxx xxxx	xxxx xxxxx 0500 xxxxxx 0800 xxxxxx	0800 1111 0845 46 4x	118xxx 116xxx	17070	1470 1471 1475 1477 1571 1572	999 112 111 123 101 105

Number ranges starting 01 can have National Significant Number length as 10 or 9 digits. NSN is the number of digits after the leading 0 trunk code or +44 international prefix. 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 had NSN length as 9 digits only, and was withdrawn from use on 3 June 2017. All other UK numbers have NSN length of 10 digits. 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 after the 0 trunk code or +44 international dialling prefix.

Four-digit area codes

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

' xxxxxx

This is the format used by most areas. It has a four-digit area code 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. Almost all area codes now have only six digit subscriber numbers, but a small number of these areas also have some subscriber numbers only five digits in length.
01224 Aberdeen 22 = AB
01244 Chester 24 = CH
01382 Dundee 38 = DU
01387 Dumfries 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 53 = KE local numbers cannot begin with 4, 5 or 6
01582 Luton 58 = LU
01642 Teesside or Middlesbrough 64 = MI
01670 Morpeth 67 = MP
01697 Brampton, North West 69 = NW local numbers cannot begin with 3, 4 or 7
01733 Peterborough 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.

' xxxxx

This is used for forty smaller towns which 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 24 and 61 have five digits whereas all other DE blocks* within that area code have 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 still the same number in November 2012. The 40 area codes are listed in the table below.
*A DE block is a block of numbers where the initial 0 and the next six digits after it are the same for all the subscriber numbers in the block.

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	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
01595	Lerwick	56 = LW	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	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	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.

' xxx xxxx

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 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.

' xxx xxxx

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, with Reading then following 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
0114	Sheffield	formerly 0742
0115	Nottingham	formerly 0602
0116	Leicester	formerly 0533
0117	Bristol	formerly 0272
0118	Reading	formerly 0734, then 01734

Two-digit area codes

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

xxxx xxxx

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.

	Location	Number	Formerly
020	-	-	-
020	London	3xxx xxxx	New since 2005
020	London	4xxx xxxx	New since 2019
020	London	7xxx xxxx	0171 071 01
020	London	8xxx xxxx	0181 081 01
023	Southampton	8xxx xxxx	01703
023	Portsmouth	9xxx xxxx	01705
024	Coventry	7xxx xxxx	01203
028	Northern Ireland	25xx xxxx Ballymena	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	28xx xxxx Larne	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	37xx xxxx Armagh	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	71xx xxxx Derry	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	82xx xxxx Omagh	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	90xx xxxx Belfast	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	92xx xxxx Lisburn	xxxxxx
028	Northern Ireland	95xx xxxx Belfast	New number range
029	Cardiff	2xxx xxxx	01222

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.

' xxxxx and ' xxxx

This is the oldest geographic number format and is used for twelve smaller towns and villages where the subscriber number is either five or 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
0176 83	Appleby
0176 84	Pooley Bridge
0176 87	Keswick
0194 67	Gosforth

The above twelve area codes and their six 'parent' area codes 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. Using these numbers directly has been problematic as some mobile phone operators in the UK do not allow access to these ranges, and there may also be difficulty accessing these numbers from outside the UK.
Regulator Ofcom proposes that in future these ranges be released for wider, general-purpose use in up to 70 area codes facing number shortage but then, in order to avoid confusion with codes beginning with these digits, the area code would always have to be dialled for all calls, 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.
Requiring the use of the area code also allows additional local numbers starting with normally protected Special Services numbers to be used, significantly increasing the quantity of numbers available for use. This occurred on 1 November 2012 for the 01202 area code, which covers the Bournemouth area.
Recently, the carrier TalkTalk have inadvertently released parts of the 020 0011 range to the general public, 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

07xxx xxxxxx—mobile phones and WiFi numbers.

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.

071xx xxxxxx	Mobile Phones
073xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
074xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
075xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
07624 xxxxxx	Mobile phones on the Isle of Man
077xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
078xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
079xx xxxxxx	Mobile phones
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

07x xxxx xxxx—pagers and personal numbering.

070 xxxx xxxx	Personal numbering
076 xxxx xxxx	Pagers

Personal numbers beginning 070 are regulated by Phone-paid Services Authority.
070 and 076 numbers are often charged at a much higher rate than calling the similar-looking 07xxx mobile telephone numbers and often they are not included in "inclusive minutes" in phone contracts.
From 1 October 2019, Ofcom has capped the termination or wholesale rate for calls to 070 numbers to be at the same level as for calls to mobile numbers. Ofcom "expect this will allow phone companies to price calls to these numbers or include them in call allowances in the same way that they do for calls to mobile s".

Non-geographic numbering

Non-geographic numbers charged at geographic rate

03xx xxx xxxx—"UK-wide" numbering.

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. Callers would be charged at the same rate as if they were calling a geographic number. 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. 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.

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

05x xxxx xxxx—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. 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
056 xxxx xxxx	Allocated by Ofcom for LIECS, e.g. VoIP services

Freephone numbers

0500 xxxxxx—Freephone services allocated before 1999.

Until July 2017, the 0500 range was used for some freephone services which were originally provided by Mercury Communications Ltd. These numbers were 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, 0500 2 88 2 91, 0500 600 600, 0500 600 700 and 0500 909 693. Numerous universities, government departments, airlines, banks and businesses also used 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

Special Services - No charge to Customer a.k.a. "Freephone"

Free to call from landline, up to 40p per minute from mobile.

The range was withdrawn by Ofcom in July 2017 as a result of a series of consultations starting from 2012

0800 xxxxxx, 0800 xxx xxxx and 0808 xxx xxxx—Freephone services.

0800 xxxxxx	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	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.
0808 xxx xxxx	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.

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, but this varies by network.

Fixed-rate or special-rate services

084x xxx xxxx – non-geographic fixed-rate or special-rate services
087x xxx xxxx – non-geographic 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.
Special Services basic rate range:

0845 xxx xxxx	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	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, 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, but fixed from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0842 xxx xxxx	Up to 4.26p a minute, but fixed 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.
Special Services higher rate range:

0870 xxx xxxx	Up to 8p a minute, varies daytime/evening/weekend from landline; up to 42p a minute from mobiles.
0871 0xx xxxx	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 but fixed from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 50p a minute from mobiles.
0872 xxx xxxx	Up to 8.5p a minute but fixed from BT landline, other providers may charge more; up to 50p a minute from mobiles.
0873 xxx xxxx	Up to 8.5p a minute but fixed 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.
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" or "National Rate" for which the Advertising Standards Authority can take action.
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.
From 1 July 2015, the charge for calls to 084, 087, 09 and 118 numbers is split into two parts: An access charge and a service charge.

Other 08xx number ranges

08xx xxx xxxx—Internet for schools and Inbound routing codes.

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

Premium rate content services (PRS and SES)

09xx xxx xxxx—Premium Rate Content Services

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 the Phone-paid Services Authority, formerly PhonepayPlus. 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
0908 xxx xxxx 0909 xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services
091x xxx xxxx	Premium rate non-content services
098x xxx xxxx	Sexual entertainment services

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, 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

This area code is used for the Bailiwick of Guernsey, i.e. including Alderney and Sark.

xxxxxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
822xxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
823xxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
824xxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
832xxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
833xxx	Fixed line	48 = GU
07781 xxxxxx	Sure mobile phones and pagers
07839 xxxxxx	Airtel Vodafone mobile phones
07911 xxxxxx	Wave Telecom mobile phones, not for UK

Jersey

Several Jersey companies also have non-geographic numbers allocated.

Isle of Man

On the Isle of Man, both fixed and mobile phone 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 starting 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 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.
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 in the big city "Director" areas.
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 715 xxxx.

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.
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.
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 can be reached on 111 for non-emergency calls. In other European countries, the number 116 117 is used for a similar purpose.
The NHS has also launched a Covid-19 helpline on 119 relating to swabbing so these calls do not go through the 111 call centre.
Local electricity network operators can be reached on 105 to report power cuts.
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 Great Britain using the number 123. Before this, exchanges in "Director" areas dialled 846, later changing to 123; 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.

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. May need to be prefixed with 1470 if number is normally withheld
1477	Automatic Call Trace	Stores number of nuisance caller at terminating exchange for subsequent investigation and enforcement, but service is seldom enabled by default
1571	Voicemail service	For people who do not have answering machines. If there is a new message, the dial tone will be stuttered.
1572	BT Call Protect	To divert nuisance calls to junk voicemail.
#31#	Withhold number	141 equivalent for use on mobile networks

Many fixed line telephone subscribers, e.g. of BT, Virgin Media, SkyTalk, TalkTalk, and PlusNet, have the opportunity to use an automated messaging service which takes messages when the called number is either engaged 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 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 ".

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

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
British Antarctic Territory +44
British Indian Ocean Territory +246
Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands +500
Gibraltar +350
Saint Helena and Tristan da Cunha +290
Ascension Island +247
Akrotiri and Dhekelia +357
Pitcairn Islands +64

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01224	Aberdeen	22 = AB
01244	Chester	24 = CH
01382	Dundee	38 = DU
01387	Dumfries	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	53 = KE	local numbers cannot begin with 4, 5 or 6
01582	Luton	58 = LU
01642	Teesside or Middlesbrough	64 = MI
01670	Morpeth	67 = MP
01697	Brampton, North West	69 = NW	local numbers cannot begin with 3, 4 or 7
01733	Peterborough	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