South West England

Bristol Area Code
0117 Guide

Establish a local presence in the UK's "Silicon Gorge". Whether you need to call Clifton, Filton, or the City Centre, get a virtual 0117 number or make cheap calls to Bristol instantly.

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How to Dial 0117 Numbers

Bristol uses the 0117 area code followed by a 7-digit local number.

From Within UK

Dial the full code including the zero.

0117 xxx xxxx

From Abroad

Dial +44 and drop the leading zero.

+44 117 xxx xxxx

Areas Covered by 0117

The 0117 code covers the City of Bristol and surrounding suburbs.

Bristol City Centre

Business/Commercial
Prefix: 0117 92

Clifton

Residential/Upscale
Prefix: 0117 97

Bedminster

South Bristol
Prefix: 0117 96

Filton

Aerospace/Tech
Prefix: 0117 90

Avonmouth

Industrial/Port
Prefix: 0117 98

Fishponds

East Bristol
Prefix: 0117 96

Westbury-on-Trym

North Bristol
Prefix: 0117 95

Brislington

South East
Prefix: 0117 97

Why Your Business Needs a
Bristol 0117 Number

Bristol is one of the UK's fastest-growing economies, known for aerospace, creative media, and technology. A local 0117 number builds trust with customers in the South West, even if you are located elsewhere.

  • Establish a local presence in the South West
  • Route calls to any mobile or landline worldwide
  • Keep your personal mobile number private
  • Instant activation via StartACall

Local Trust

Customers prefer answering calls from recognizable local codes.

Professional

Separate business calls from personal calls on one phone.

Secure

Enterprise-grade encryption for all your business communications.

VoIP Tech

No hardware needed. Works directly in your browser.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 0117 a free number?

No, 0117 is a geographic rate number. Calls are charged at standard UK landline rates. However, calling via StartACall is often significantly cheaper than traditional carriers.

Can I get a 0117 number if I don't live in Bristol?

Yes! With StartACall's virtual number service, you can purchase a 0117 number from anywhere in the world and route calls to your browser or mobile.

What is the difference between 0117 and 01275?

0117 covers Bristol city proper. 01275 covers the outskirts and North Somerset (like Clevedon and Portishead). StartACall offers both.

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Reading 0117 Numbers: Age, Origins and the Wider West

In short

A Bristol phone number quietly records its own history. Here you will find how the city jumped from 0272 to 0117 in a single day, what the first digit after the code suggests about a number's age, which codes surround Bristol across the West Country, and how to time and budget an international call to the city.

Two Changes in a Single Day

Bristol entered PhONEday on 16 April 1995 differently from most of Britain. While other towns simply gained a 1 in their code, Bristol was one of five cities running out of numbers entirely, so it received the brand new 0117 code and longer local numbers at the same moment.

Every existing six digit number had a 9 bolted onto the front, turning 0272 followed by six digits into 0117 9 followed by the same six. Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and Leicester went through parallel conversions that day, taking 0113 through 0116 and leaving 0117 as Bristol's badge.

What the Digit After 0117 Suggests

Because the 1995 conversion prefixed a 9 onto every legacy line, any number in the 0117 9 range traces back to the original stock or to blocks issued shortly after. These tend to belong to long established households, institutions and firms that have kept their lines through decades of change.

As Bristol grew, fresh ranges such as 0117 2 and 0117 3 were opened for new allocations. Numbers there are simply newer, often issued through internet-based providers, and they carry no district meaning at all. A modern startup in Clifton and one in Bedminster may hold nearly adjacent numbers.

Treat these signals as hints about a number's age rather than proof of anything, because UK portability lets a number follow its owner between providers and premises indefinitely. A company founded in the eighties may answer on a modern range it adopted later, while its original line lives on with a successor.

Codes Around Bristol

The West Country wraps several distinct codes around the city. Bath answers on 01225, Weston-super-Mare on 01934, Gloucester on 01452 and Taunton on 01823, while Newport across the Severn uses 01633. Seeing one of these on a listing tells you the business sits outside Bristol proper.

This matters for tradespeople and deliveries, where a genuinely local firm is often the practical choice. A company marketing itself as Bristol based but reachable only on a Bath or Weston code is at least half an hour away by road.

Across the Severn in Wales the pattern changes again. Cardiff uses the short 029 code with eight digit local numbers, a format from the 2000 reform that Bristol never joined. Numbers on either side of the bridge look alike at a glance but follow different rules.

Planning the Call Itself

Bristol keeps UK time, GMT in winter and BST in summer, so callers in North America should aim for their own morning to land inside the British working day. Callers in Australia and East Asia do better in their evening, which corresponds to Bristol's morning.

If a contact offers both a landline and a mobile, the 0117 landline is usually the cheaper destination from abroad, since mobile termination costs more in most countries. Through StartACall the call runs from your browser over WebRTC with per-minute billing and credits that never expire, so no plan is needed for occasional calls.

Frequently asked questions

What was Bristol's area code before 0117?+

Bristol used 0272 until 16 April 1995. On that day the city received the new 0117 code and every local number gained a leading 9, converting six digit numbers into the current seven digit format.

Do all Bristol numbers start with 0117 9?+

No. The 9 ranges hold the numbers converted in 1995 plus early additions, but later demand opened ranges such as 0117 2 and 0117 3. Newer businesses and internet phone lines frequently sit in those ranges.

Is Bath part of the 0117 area?+

No, Bath has its own 01225 code. Bristol's 0117 covers the city itself, while surrounding towns like Weston-super-Mare on 01934 and Taunton on 01823 keep separate codes across the wider region.

How do I call Bristol from Ireland?+

Dial 00 44 117 followed by the seven digit local number. The 00 exits the Irish network, 44 selects the UK, and the leading zero of 0117 is dropped. On a mobile you can replace 00 with the plus sign.

Is it cheaper to call a Bristol landline than a UK mobile?+

Usually yes. Landline termination costs less than mobile termination in most rate tables, so dialing the 0117 number instead of an 07 mobile for the same contact often reduces the per-minute price of the call.

Last reviewed June 2026Reviewed by the StartACall calling teamDialing rules cross checked against ITU international dialing procedures
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