If you’re the first time to make a phone call to the United States, you may have difficulty understanding the US phone number format.
You may confuse about which one in the following phone number format you should use when making international dialing:
- +1(847)123-4567
- 001(847)123-4567
- (847)123-4567
- 123-4567
In this article, we‘ll explain what a US telephone or mobile phone number is composed of, and how to make a call to the US whether you’re out of the country or in domestic.
Contents
US Phone Number Format: Both for Telephone and Mobile Numbers
The US phone number format is based on the North American Numbering Plan. Canada and the other nations in the region of North America and the Caribbean also use this format.
The standard American phone number has a four-part format. The format of a mobile phone number and a landline number is the same. It consists of country code, area code, exchange code, and line number. The exchange code and line number make up the subscriber number.
A phone number in the US is 11 digits long, it can be written as +1 (NXX)-NXX-XXXX. N=digits 2 to 9, X=digits 0 to 9. +1 is the country code, (NXX) is the area code, NXX-XXXX is the subscriber number. For example, +1 (323) 555-1234.
Notice: The plus before 1 means you need to dial 00 before 1 when you want to call a US phone number if you’re out of the US. The parentheses and dashes are not part of the phone number format, they are just simply used as delimiters.
When you see a US phone number (323) 555-1234, which is represented in international phone format as +1 (323) 555-1234.
1. Country Code
The first digit +1 is the “US country code” or “US International code”, which also means 001, tells the phone number starts with +1 or 001 belongs to the US. The number +1 stands for North America, which includes the US, Canada, and the Caribbean.
An International code can be used to route your call to a different country, just as there are codes for certain cities and regions of your nation.
2. Area Code
3 digits (323) are the “area code,” which indicates the city (e.g 323 specifies you’re in Commerce, California) where the phone was located in the US or it might indicate a service, such as a toll-free number. There are around 320 area codes in the US.
3. Subscriber Number Composed of Exchange Code and Line Number
Then a 7-digit telephone number (555-1234), which is the subscriber number, comprised of a 3-digit exchange code (555) and a 4-digit line number (1234).
Can You Tell If a US Phone Number Belongs to a Mobile Phone or to a Landline?
Unlike many other countries, you cannot distinguish USA cell phones and landlines apart as they share some phone number format +1 (NXX) NXX-XXXX, where N is 2 to 9 and X is 0 to 9.
How Do I Call the US Phone Out of the US?
As you already know, the US International phone number is +1(NXX) NXX-XXXX
The ‘+’ before 1 indicates that 00 must be dialed before 1 to get through a phone number in the US. 00 is the exit code from your country, which is needed for making any international call.
You need to follow the international dialing format to make a direct call to the United States. Use the same dialing procedure to call American landlines and mobile phones.
To call the United States from your country, dial 001, then a 3-digit area code, and finally a 7-digit subscriber number.
How Do I Call the US Phone from a Domestic Phone?
When calling American phone numbers from domestic phones, you do not need to dial 001.
Local calls are typically made by using a 10-digit number that combines the 3-digit area code with the 7-digit subscriber number. So you can dial (NXX) NXX-XXXX.
If the person you are calling is from the same area code as you, you can omit the area code and directly dial the 7-digit subscriber number NXX-XXXX.
Some persons in one city may have a phone number with the area code from another city since the phone was purchased there before. So when calling someone’s phone with a different area code, you need to put the area code.
