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Most problems with phone lists start with the format. A number that looks fine on a phone screen, like 0151 xxxx xxxx, means nothing to a system that works across countries. It needs the country code, and nothing else around it
What international format means
The international standard for phone numbers is called E.164. A number in this format is the country code followed by the national number, with at most 15 digits in total. On paper it is written with a plus sign in front, like +49 151 xxxxxxxx. In a file, the digits alone are enough: 49151xxxxxxxx
Three rules cover almost every case:
- Start with the country code. 49 for Germany, 44 for the UK, 33 for France
- Drop the national 0. Many countries put a 0 in front of the mobile or area code when you dial inside the country. In international format it goes away
- Keep only digits. Spaces, dashes, brackets and dots are there to make numbers easier to read, nothing more
Examples for 20 countries
The x's stand for the rest of the number. Mobile numbers are shown, because that is what most lists contain
| Country | Code | Written at home | International format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 49 | 0151 xxxx xxxx | 49 151 xxxx xxxx |
| Austria | 43 | 0664 xxx xxxx | 43 664 xxx xxxx |
| Switzerland | 41 | 079 xxx xx xx | 41 79 xxx xx xx |
| United Kingdom | 44 | 07xxx xxxxxx | 44 7xxx xxxxxx |
| France | 33 | 06 xx xx xx xx | 33 6 xx xx xx xx |
| Netherlands | 31 | 06 xxxx xxxx | 31 6 xxxx xxxx |
| Belgium | 32 | 04xx xx xx xx | 32 4xx xx xx xx |
| Spain | 34 | 6xx xxx xxx | 34 6xx xxx xxx |
| Italy | 39 | 3xx xxx xxxx | 39 3xx xxx xxxx |
| Poland | 48 | 5xx xxx xxx | 48 5xx xxx xxx |
| Sweden | 46 | 07x xxx xx xx | 46 7x xxx xx xx |
| Turkey | 90 | 05xx xxx xx xx | 90 5xx xxx xx xx |
| Saudi Arabia | 966 | 05x xxx xxxx | 966 5x xxx xxxx |
| United Arab Emirates | 971 | 05x xxx xxxx | 971 5x xxx xxxx |
| Egypt | 20 | 01x xxxx xxxx | 20 1x xxxx xxxx |
| Jordan | 962 | 07x xxx xxxx | 962 7x xxx xxxx |
| United States and Canada | 1 | (xxx) xxx-xxxx | 1 xxx xxx xxxx |
| Brazil | 55 | (xx) 9xxxx-xxxx | 55 xx 9xxxx xxxx |
| India | 91 | 9xxxx xxxxx | 91 9xxxx xxxxx |
Some countries, like Spain, Italy and Poland, have no national 0 in front of mobile numbers. There you only add the country code. One exception worth knowing: Italian landlines keep their 0 after the country code (Rome is 39 06…), while Italian mobiles start with 3
Numbers that start with 00
In most of Europe and many other countries, 00 is what you dial before a foreign number. So 0049151xxxxxxxx and +49151xxxxxxxx are the same number. Remove the 00 and keep the rest
Mistakes we see all the time
- Country code and 0 together.
490151xxxxxxxxis not a German mobile number. The 0 has to go:49151xxxxxxxx - No country code at all. A number that still starts with 0 cannot be placed in any country. Add the code first
- Several countries in one file. A list with German, Austrian and Swiss numbers is three lists. Split it by country code
- Numbers that Excel changed. Long numbers can turn into
4.91512E+12, and leading zeros can disappear. Our guide to cleaning a phone list shows how to stop that
How PWF Platform reads your file
You do not need a perfect file, but the country code has to be there. When you upload a .txt or .csv file:
- Spaces, dashes, brackets and the plus sign are removed for you, and so is a leading 00
- In a CSV file, the first cell in each row that looks like a phone number is used
- Lines that are too short, too long or still start with 0 are counted as invalid, and you do not pay for them
- Duplicates are removed, so each number is checked and charged once
- The country is detected for you. Numbers from other countries are left out and not charged
A short checklist
Before you upload or import a list anywhere, check that every number:
- starts with the country code
- has no 0 between the country code and the rest
- has only digits, or a plus sign in front
- belongs to the same country as the rest of the file
