🇬🇧United Kingdom • London

London Area Code
is 020

Need to call a business in the City or a friend in Westminster? The area code for all of Greater London is 020. Connect instantly via browser without international fees.

Dialing Format
Calling LondonReady
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Decoding the 020 Code

A common misconception is that London has two area codes: 0207 and 0208. In reality, the area code is just 020.

The Structure

  • 020 is the Area Code
  • The local number is 8 digits long
  • Format: (020) xxxx xxxx
PrefixLocationStatus
020 7Inner LondonLegacy / High Demand
020 8Outer LondonLegacy / High Demand
020 3London-wideActive since 2005
020 4London-wideNew (Active 2019)

Why does this matter?

If you are calling from abroad, you dial +44 20 followed by the 8-digit number. If you try to dial +44 207, you are actually dialing the first digit of the local number as part of the area code, which works, but understanding the split helps you recognize numbers correctly (e.g., newer 020 3 numbers).

How to Call London from Abroad

1

Exit Code

011 (USA) or 00 (EU)
2

UK Code

+44
3

London Code

20 (Drop the 0)
Example: Calling a London Landline
+44 20 7123 4567

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Incoming Call
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London Client
+44 20 7946 0123

How the 020 Plan Came to Be and How to Read It

In short

London's numbering plan is the product of four renumberings in forty years, and understanding that history makes modern 020 numbers far easier to interpret. This guide traces the road from 01 to 020, explains how Ofcom actually hands out number blocks, shows how to spot fake or spoofed London numbers, and covers how to write a London number correctly for international readers.

Four Codes in Four Decades

No British city has renumbered as often as London. Until May 1990 the entire capital sat behind the famous 01 code. It then split into 071 for the center and 081 for the surrounding boroughs, the divide that first created the inner and outer distinction people still argue about.

PhONEday in April 1995 stretched those codes into 0171 and 0181 by inserting a digit. Five years later, on 22 April 2000, the Big Number Change reunited the capital under a single 020 code and extended local numbers to eight digits, producing the structure in force today.

The 2000 conversion followed a tidy rule that still helps with ancient letterheads: an 0171 number became 020 7 plus its old seven digits, and an 0181 number became 020 8 plus the same. A contact filed away in 1998 can be revived by applying that translation.

How 020 Numbers Are Handed Out

Ofcom allocates 020 numbers to communications providers in blocks, and each provider issues them onward to customers. The opening digits of the local number therefore record which company received the block and roughly in what era, not where in London the line physically terminates.

Two shops on the same street can hold numbers from entirely different ranges, and a firm that relocates across the city keeps its number through portability. Reading geography into a modern London number is guesswork. The prefix is a record of allocation history, nothing more.

Spotting a Fake or Spoofed London Number

Start with arithmetic. A genuine London number is 020 followed by exactly eight digits, no exceptions. Anything longer, shorter, or starting with a digit outside the released ranges has been mistyped or invented, which makes a simple count a surprisingly effective first filter for suspicious messages and invoices.

Passing the format test is not the same as being trustworthy. Presentation numbers are easy to forge, so an incoming call showing 020 while claiming to be a bank, HMRC or a delivery company deserves independent verification through the organization's published line.

Remember too that internet telephony lets anyone anywhere operate a legitimate 020 number, and lets fraudsters do the same. The prefix signals a London identity, not a London desk, so judge the substance of the request rather than the code it arrives under.

Writing a London Number for the World

For international audiences, publish London numbers as +44 20 followed by the eight digits grouped four and four. This form dials correctly from any country and from any mobile, and it avoids the classic mistake of foreign contacts dialing the leading zero after the country code.

Domestic material should group the number as 020 xxxx xxxx rather than running digits together. Poor grouping is what spawned the persistent belief in separate 0207 and 0208 codes, and clean spacing spares your callers that confusion entirely. The same grouping also makes numbers easier to read back over the phone without transposition errors.

Frequently asked questions

When did London switch to the 020 code?+

On 22 April 2000, during the Big Number Change. The previous 0171 and 0181 codes were merged into 020 and local numbers grew to eight digits, which remains the format for every London line today.

What were London's area codes before 020?+

London used 01 until May 1990, then split into 071 and 081 for inner and outer areas. PhONEday in 1995 changed those to 0171 and 0181, and the Big Number Change of 2000 unified everything under 020.

How many digits does a full London phone number have?+

Eleven when written domestically: 020 plus an eight digit local number. Internationally it becomes +44 20 plus the same eight digits. Any London number that fails this count is incomplete or fabricated.

How can I tell if a London number is fake?+

Count the digits first, since real numbers are always 020 plus eight. Then verify the organization independently, because caller ID can be spoofed. A correct format proves the number exists as a pattern, not that the caller is honest.

Does a 020 8 number mean the caller is in Outer London?+

Not anymore. That association comes from the old 081 era. Numbers are now allocated to providers in blocks and move with their owners, so a 020 8 line can serve any part of London or even a business elsewhere.

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