Telephone Numbers in Germany - Geographic Numbering

Geographic Numbering

Geographic area codes have a length of two to five digits. The maximum total length is eleven digits.

Geographic numbers are assigned to carriers in blocks, from which these carriers can make derivative assignments to subscribers.

Subscriber numbers do not start with 0 or 11 and can be called directly from landlines within the same geographic area code.

Originally, the first digits following the area code would indicate a smaller area within these area codes or the type of the subscriber line (analogue or ISDN). However, this is no longer true as subscribers can keep their numbers when moving within an area code or when switching from analogue to ISDN. Further, new carriers assign numbers from different blocks.

• (0xx) xxxxxxxx

This is the format used for the four largest geographic areas in Germany: Berlin (030), Hamburg (040), Frankfurt (069) and Munich (089). Newly assigned numbers have a length of eight digits for the local subscriber number, yielding a total length of ten digits (not including the 0 trunk code). This is shorter than the maximum of eleven digits in other areas in order to avoid local numbers to be longer than eight digits. Numbers assigned in the past, which are generally grandfathered, may be as short as five digits.

• (0xxx) xxxxxxxx

In area codes that use three digits, newly assigned numbers (for all locations from May 2010, some cities earlier: Cologne already in February 2007) also have a length of eight digits, yielding a total length of eleven digits. Grandfathered numbers may be as short as four digits (seven total).

• (0xxxx) xxxxxxx

In area codes that use four digits, newly assigned numbers (for all locations from May 2010, some cities earlier: e,g, Heidelberg already in May 2003) have a length of seven digits, also yielding a total length of eleven digits. Grandfathered numbers may be as short as three digits (seven total) in very rural areas.

• (03xxxx) xxxxxx

Some smaller areas in the New States use five-digit area codes, all of which start with 3. Newly assigned numbers (for all locations from May 2010, some locations earlier) have a length of six digits, also yielding a total length of eleven digits.