Whose telephone number is this?
Get the facts behind a number before you call it, text it back or share anything.
Put a face to the number
A number you don't recognise, in a missed call or a text, raises the obvious question: who is this? Enter it above and we'll show you the type of line, the area it's registered to if it's a landline, what it costs to call and what other people experienced when it contacted them. In most cases that's enough to tell a real business from someone trying their luck.
We'll be straight with you: this isn't a phone book. For the vast majority of numbers we can't give you an owner's name. You'll only see one if a person who was called mentioned it in their report.
What our lookup can and can't tell you
| Result | What it shows | What it doesn't |
|---|---|---|
| Line type | Whether it's a landline, mobile, freephone, business or premium line | Who the person or company is |
| Location | The town a landline code such as 0161 or 029 belongs to | Where the caller is at this moment, since calls can be diverted |
| Call cost | A rough idea of what ringing back costs | Your exact charge, which depends on your plan |
| Caller reports | Ratings and descriptions from people who were called | Anything about a number nobody has reported yet |
How to work out who a number belongs to
- Look it up here using every digit, including the leading 0.
- Note the line type. A Bristol landline, a mobile and a premium 09 line point to very different callers.
- Read the reports to see what the caller told other people.
- Search the number in quote marks on a search engine. Businesses tend to list their numbers on their websites.
- Check the organisation independently using its own website or a letter you've received, never the number that called you.
- Ask by text or voicemail who they are. Real callers will tell you their name and why they rang.
- Rate the number once you know, so others benefit.
Who usually has each kind of number
Treat the prefix as a clue rather than proof, because scammers can make any number appear.
| Begins with | Kind of number | Typically used by |
|---|---|---|
| 01 and 02 | Geographic landline | Households and businesses in a specific town or city. |
| 03 | UK-wide number | Public bodies, banks, charities and big firms. Charged like a landline call. |
| 07 | Mobile | People and businesses on mobiles. 070 forwards calls, 076 is mostly pagers. |
| 0800 and 0808 | Freephone | Helplines and services that pay for your call. |
| 084 and 087 | Business rate | Booking, support and service lines. Usually more than a normal call. |
| 09 | Premium rate | Paid information, competitions and adult lines. Costly to call. |
Call costs for each range are listed on our who called me UK page. Match a landline to its town with the area code finder, or see which network issued a mobile in the network directory and 07 prefix list.
Hidden, overseas and faked numbers
- Withheld or private: there's no number to check. Your provider can usually block these calls.
- A non-UK code: search the whole number with its code (for example +1 646 555 0199) to see the country. Overseas numbers reported by UK visitors are on our international numbers page.
- A UK number that doesn't match the caller's story: spoofing means the number on screen may not be the real one.
- Threats or harassment: contact your provider and the police. They can trace calls in ways no website can.
You can cut down on sales calls through the free Telephone Preference Service, learn how to report a scam number, or read up on current scam calls.
Questions about who owns a number
How do I find out whose phone number this is?
Search the full number using the box on this page. You'll get the line type, the area a landline is registered to, the cost of calling it and ratings from people who've had calls from it. We don't hold a register of owners, so a name only appears if someone wrote it in a report.
Is there a free way to find out who owns a UK number?
Our lookup is free with no account. Be wary of sites that ask for payment to "reveal the owner": there is no complete public list of UK number owners for them to search, so you may pay and get nothing useful.
Can I get a name and address from a phone number?
Usually not, and that's deliberate. The UK has no public mobile directory, and landline numbers only appear in directories when the owner chooses. Your best clues are the type of number, the area, reports from others and what the caller told you.
Whose number starts with 07?
Almost always a mobile used by a person or a business. The digits don't say which. Watch out for 070, which is a personal forwarding number that can be expensive to call, and 076, which is mainly pagers.
Who uses 03, 0800 and 0845 numbers?
Mostly organisations: banks, councils, utilities, charities and companies that want one number for the whole country. These numbers have no location and can be rented by anyone, so match them against the organisation's official website.
Can I find out who a withheld number belongs to?
No. There's nothing to look up when a number is withheld. Ask your provider about blocking withheld calls, and report threats to your provider and the police.
Does a +44 number mean the caller is in the UK?
Not necessarily. Caller ID can be spoofed. If the number starts with a different code, like +1 or +91, search it with the code included to see which country it belongs to.
How can I tell if the number belongs to a scammer?
Look it up and read the reports. Then think about how the caller behaved. Pressure, threats, requests for passcodes or payment, and claims to be your bank or the police are all warning signs. Hang up and contact the organisation yourself.