Phone number standards

Standardizing phone numbers in your CRM is necessary to ensure verbal and SMS communications with your prospects and customers go smoothly.

Ultimately, the decision about how you standardize phone numbers in your CRM is an internal decision and may also be determined by your CRM configuration and functionality.

• Check with your data governance team on which standards apply for your business.
• Check CRM resources to determine if there are any default or configurable business rules in place or available. You want to be sure that your CRM doesn't undo formatting fixes you do in DemandTools.

Resources

• North American Numbering Plan Administrator
• North American Numbering Plan General Management and Oversight
• International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
• CountryCode.org

Formats

North America Numbering Plan (NANP)

NANP is a format used by Canada, the United States, Bermuda, and most of the Caribbean.

Structure

• [Area Code][Phone or Subscriber Number]
• [3 digits][7 digits] 
• [212][5555555]

Format

• () for area code 
• space and hyphen as separators
• For example:
  • (212) 555-5555 

E.164

E.164 is a widely accepted international format and is used for phone numbers expected to be called in another country.

Structure

• [Exit Code][Country Code][Area or Destination Code][Phone or Subscriber Number]
• [1-3 digits][1-3 digits][1-3 digits][7-9 digits]       
• [011][1][212][5555555]

Format 

• no spaces
• The exit code is replaced by a + symbol along with the country code
• For example:
  • +12125555555
  • +442055555555         

Alternative format

E.123

This format allows for the use of spaces to accommodate other local and international data storage preferences. Companies may use this format instead of E.164 because it has a local and international format.

Local

• Uses () for area code with spaces as separators, not used with international number
• No + sign
• For example:
  • (212) 555 5555 

International

• Uses a + sign
• Uses spaces as separators unless a hyphen is necessary for procedural purposes 
• +44 5 555 555 5555

Using other common separators

Depending on your internal data policies, you might use other common separators. 

• Parentheses [ ( ) ]
• Hyphen [ - ]
• Period [ . ]
• Space [  ]

For example:

• (212) 555-5555 
• 212-555-5555
• 212.555.5555
• 212 555 5555

Phone number examples

Below is a sample of different styles of phone numbers from around the world. The use of separators may vary depending on local customs, standards, and company policy.

• Brazil
  
  • +55 12 3456 7898
  • +551234567898
• Canada
  
  • (555) 555-5555
  • +1 (555) 555-5555
•  China
  • +86-55-5555 5555
• South Africa
  
  • +27 55 555 5555
• South Korea
  
  • +82-5-5555-5555
• Spain
  
  • +34 55 555 55 55
• Turkey
  
  • +90 (555) 555 55 55
• United Kingdom
  
  • 02055555555
  • +44 20 5555 5555
• United States
  
  • (555) 555-5555
  • +1 (555) 555-5555