How to Call the UK from the US

To call the UK from the US, dial 011 + 44 + UK number without the leading 0. Example: 011 44 20 7946 0958 reaches a central London number. Mobile numbers follow the same pattern: 011 44 7700 900123. The 011 is the US exit code; 44 is the UK country code.

This guide walks through every variant — landline, mobile, London versus Manchester, US mobile versus US landline — and the dialing mistakes that send calls to the wrong country or the wrong subscriber. For the full UK numbering background, see the UK phone codes guide.

Step-by-step: dial UK from US

1. Dial 011 — this is the US international exit code. Every international call from a US landline or mobile starts with 011. (You can substitute + from a mobile keypad.)
2. Dial 44 — the country code for the United Kingdom (covers England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland).
3. Dial the UK area code without its leading 0. A London number written as 020 7946 0958 becomes 20 7946 0958. A Manchester number written as 0161 496 0123 becomes 161 496 0123.
4. Dial the local subscriber number exactly as written, no spaces required.
5. Press call / send.

The full pattern is 011 44 <area code without 0> <local number>. If you ever see a UK number written in international format already (for example +44 20 7946 0958), you simply replace the + with 011 from a US landline, or dial it as-is with the + from a US mobile that supports E.164.

How to call a UK landline (with examples)

UK landlines use geographic area codes. The area code tells you the city, and you must strip its leading 0 when calling from the US.

Example 1 — London (area code 020). National format: 020 7946 0958 From the US: 011 44 20 7946 0958 London uses an 8-digit local number after the 020 area code. Older listings sometimes break London numbers as (020) 7946 0958 — same digits, same dial.

Example 2 — Manchester (area code 0161). National format: 0161 496 0123 From the US: 011 44 161 496 0123 Manchester uses a 4-digit area code (0161) plus a 7-digit local number. Drop the leading 0 → dial 161.

Example 3 — Edinburgh (area code 0131). National format: 0131 555 0199 From the US: 011 44 131 555 0199 Edinburgh follows the same pattern as Manchester — 4-digit area code with leading 0 dropped, then 7-digit local.

All three follow the identical rule: prefix 011 44, then the UK national number with its first 0 removed.

How to call a UK mobile from the US

UK mobile numbers all start with 07 in national format. The 0 is the trunk prefix and gets dropped when calling internationally — so every UK mobile becomes 7xxx after 011 44.

National format: 07700 900123 From the US: 011 44 7700 900123

You cannot tell a UK mobile from a UK landline by length (both are 11 digits in national format including the leading 0), but you can tell from the prefix: anything starting 07 is a mobile, 01 or 02 is a geographic landline, 08 is a service number (often freephone or premium), and 03 is a non-geographic standard-rate number. Mobile destinations cost slightly more per minute than landlines on most US plans. For mobile-specific guidance, see UK mobile number format.

What to dial from a US mobile vs US landline

The numeric dial string is identical from a US landline and a US mobile. The only difference is the shortcut:

You are calling from	What you dial
US landline	011 44 <UK number minus leading 0>
US mobile (any carrier)	011 44 <UK number minus leading 0> OR +44 <UK number minus leading 0>
US VoIP softphone (DialPhone, etc.)	+44 <UK number minus leading 0>

US mobiles accept the + symbol (long-press 0 on the keypad to enter it) which auto-resolves to the local exit code — so +44 20 7946 0958 works from any US mobile and is the format you should save in your contacts. Saving in + format means the number works without modification when you roam internationally.

US landlines do not accept the + shortcut and require the literal 011. If you switch a number from your mobile contacts to a desk-phone speed-dial, swap + for 011.

Calling rates: what does it cost?

UK calling costs from the US break down into three rate buckets:

• Per-minute carrier rates without an international plan: roughly $0.05–$0.20 per minute to UK landlines, $0.08–$0.30 to UK mobiles. T-Mobile and Verizon publish current rates in their international calling pages.
• Carrier international add-on packages: $5–$15 per month gives discounted per-minute rates, typically $0.10–$0.15 to UK destinations regardless of landline vs mobile.
• VoIP per-minute rates: generally the cheapest path. DialPhone charges a flat per-minute rate to UK destinations (covered under DialPhone business phone) — under typical SMB usage this works out to about half the cost of a major US carrier add-on, with no monthly minimum.

For occasional callers — under 30 minutes a month — the per-minute carrier rate is fine; the math does not justify a monthly plan. For sales teams, recruiters, or anyone calling the UK weekly, a VoIP plan or carrier international add-on pays for itself fast. DialPhone customers with a UK virtual number effectively call the UK as a local — outbound calls from your US-based DialPhone account that originate from a UK DID present as a UK number to the recipient and route over the lowest-cost path.

See DialPhone pricing for current UK calling rates included in each plan.

How to call back from UK to US

The reverse direction — calling a US number from the UK — uses the UK’s international exit code 00 instead of the US’s 011, and the US country code 1:

00 1 <US area code> <US number>

So a Los Angeles number (310) 555-0199 dialed from the UK becomes 00 1 310 555 0199. On a UK mobile, +1 310 555 0199 works the same way. The US has no trunk prefix to drop (unlike the UK’s leading 0), so the area code is always dialed in full.

Most UK mobile contracts include international minutes to the US in their plans; UK landline international rates to the US run roughly £0.03–£0.10 per minute depending on carrier.

Common dialing mistakes

• Leaving the leading 0 in the UK number. Dialing 011 44 020 7946 0958 (with the 0 still in front of 20) is the #1 reason US-to-UK calls fail. The UK trunk 0 is for inside the UK only — you replace it with 011 44, not stack them.
• Omitting the 011. From a US landline you must dial 011 before 44. Some UK numbers shared casually online appear as 44 20 7946 0958 without the leading + — that is not directly dialable from a US landline. Add 011.
• Confusing +44 with 0044. Both mean the same thing, but 0044 only works from UK landlines or some international roaming contexts — it is not the format to dial from the US. From the US it is 011 44, not 0044.
• Dialing premium-rate UK numbers (starting 09) without realizing the cost. UK 09 numbers can run several pounds per minute. Most US carriers block these by default, but if they connect, you pay the premium rate plus international charges.
• Calling a UK freephone 0800 number from the US. UK freephone numbers are freephone only inside the UK. From the US, calls to 0800 numbers either fail entirely or connect at a normal international rate (sometimes higher). Use the company’s geographic alternative number when available.
• Forgetting timezone. The UK is 5 hours ahead of US Eastern (8 hours ahead of US Pacific). A 9 AM Pacific call lands at 5 PM UK — usually fine for business hours. A 4 PM Pacific call lands at midnight in the UK.

For a deeper overview of UK numbering — including how to recognize landline area codes, mobile prefixes, and service-number families — see the full UK phone codes guide. And if you regularly need to receive UK calls without a UK SIM, a DID on a UK number is the standard route.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

What is the international dialing code for the UK? +

The international dialing code for the United Kingdom is +44. From a US landline or mobile, you reach that code by dialing the US exit code 011 first, so the full prefix becomes 011 44 followed by the UK area code (with the leading 0 dropped) and the local subscriber number. From a mobile that supports E.164 dialing you can substitute + for 011, dialing +44 and the same UK national number minus its leading 0.

Do I drop the 0 when calling UK from the US? +

Yes. UK national numbers are written with a leading 0 (for example 020 7946 0958 in London or 07700 900123 for a mobile), but that 0 is the UK trunk prefix and is only used when dialing inside the UK. When you call from the US you replace it with 011 44, so 020 7946 0958 becomes 011 44 20 7946 0958 and the mobile 07700 900123 becomes 011 44 7700 900123. Leaving the 0 in is the single most common reason an international call to the UK fails to connect.

How much does it cost to call the UK from the US? +

Calling the UK from the US typically costs between $0.05 and $0.20 per minute to a UK landline on a per-minute carrier plan, with mobile destinations slightly higher at roughly $0.08 to $0.30 per minute. Major US mobile carriers price international add-on packages from about $5 to $15 per month for discounted UK rates. VoIP providers, including DialPhone, charge a flat per-minute rate that is generally lower than the carrier add-on and require no extra plan.

Why does my call to a UK number not connect? +

The most common reasons a US-to-UK call fails are: leaving the leading 0 in the UK number after dialing 011 44, forgetting the 011 exit code entirely (the US needs an exit code unlike many other countries), dialing the UK number in its local format instead of E.164, having international calling disabled on your US line by default (most carriers gate this for fraud control), or low account balance on a prepaid plan.

Enable international dialing in your carrier account or VoIP admin panel first, then redial in the strict 011 + 44 + national-number-minus-zero format.

Related guides

• UK phone codes guide — the hub for UK numbering
• DID explained — what a Direct Inward Dialing number is
• DialPhone business phone
• DialPhone pricing