Codes and access phone numbers
Country code: 54
International access code: 00
Trunk code: 0
International phone calls operator phone number: 000
Local and national calls operator phone number: 19

Phone numbers in Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 have ten digits, if both the area code and the subscriber's code are included. The area code may have 2, 3 or 4 digits, with the remaining 8, 7 or 6 digits being the subscriber's number. For example, phone number (11) 1234-5678 for Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires

Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...

 is made up of a 2-digit area code number and an 8-digit subscriber's number, while (264) 123-4567 would be an example of a San Juan

San Juan, Argentina

San Juan is the capital city of the Argentine province of San Juan in the Cuyo region, located in the Tulúm Valley, west of the San Juan River, at above mean sea level, with a population of around 112,000 as per the ....

 number.

Local dialing

Local landline phone numbers in Argentina can have 6, 7 or 8 digits, depending on where they are located:

• The Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area uses 8 digits
• Second-tier cities use 7 digits
• Remaining towns and cities use 6 digits

Local numbers usually begin with a 4, although in recent times numbers having 2, 3, 5, 6, or even 7 as the first digit are not uncommon.

Thus, for example to call a local number within Buenos Aires, one should dial 1234-5678; within Mar del Plata, 123-4567 and within Bariloche, 123-456. For mobile phone dialing, see the corresponding section below.

Upcoming changes

In March 2011, the CNC (National Communications Commission, the telecommunications regulatory agency in Argentina) announced changes to be carried out in 21 local areas throughout the country. The reason being the soaring demand in mobile lines causing lines to be nearly depleted in many areas. The changes will take place in three stages, starting in November 2011 with the final cities having their numbering plan changed in May 2012. Users in these areas will have an extra 4 added in front of their subscriber's numbers as well as having the area code shortened. Thus, they will go from a (xxxx) xx-xxxx format to a more resourceful (xxx) xxx-xxxx.

Long distance dialing

To dial a long-distance number in Argentina (whether landline or mobile), the area code must be dialed before the subscriber's number.

As explained before, area codes can have 2, 3 or 4 digits and must be dialed before the local subscriber's phone number.

In addition, to place a domestic long distance call, trunk code 0 must be dialed as well.

Thus, for example, in order to call a landline phone in Ushuaia

Ushuaia

Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....

 from Salta

Salta

Salta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. Along with its metropolitan area, it has a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , making it Argentina's eighth largest city.-Overview:...

, one should dial: 0 + 2901 + xx-xxxx, where 0 is the trunk code, 2901 is the Ushuaia area code, and xx-xxxx is the local phone number.

The same rule applies to mobile phone numbers, with the addition of the mobile prefix 15 right in front of the local subscriber's number. Using the same example above, to reach a Ushuaia mobile from Córdoba, one should dial: 0 + 2901 + 15 + xx-xxxx

Although trunk code 0 is not part of the long distance area code, it is normally represented as if it were part of the long distance prefix. Thus, when given a long distance number already including a 0 in front of it, no additional 0 is to be added in order to call domestically.

Mobile phone numbers

Mobile phone numbers in Argentina are assigned the same geographic area codes as fixed lines, according to the subscriber's choice or residence, and can be 6, 7 or 8 digits long, just as landline numbers are. The difference with landline numbers is that a prefix 15 must be dialed in order to complete the call. This prefix tells the caller that the call is being routed to a mobile line and will be charged a differential rate (considerably more expensive than a landline call).

Thus, calling a mobile phone locally involves dialing 15 + the subscriber’s number.

For example, to call a Bariloche mobile number from Bariloche, one must dial 15 xx-xxxx.

To call a mobile phone in a different area code, the area code must be dialed, followed by the mobile prefix 15 and then the 6, 7 or 8-digit number.

For example, to call a Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

 mobile from Buenos Aires, the following dialing pattern must be used: 0 223 15 xxx-xxxx, where 0 is the trunk code, 223 is the Mar del Plata area code, 15 is the mobile prefix, followed by the seven-digit subscriber number.

Here are some examples of mobile phone numbers in Argentina:

• (11) 15 1234-5678 Buenos Aires
  Buenos Aires
  Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
  
  .
• (221) 15 123-4567 La Plata
  La Plata
  La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
  
  .
• (3722) 15 12-3456 Resistencia
  Resistencia, Chaco
  Resistencia is the capital and largest city in the province of Chaco, in northeastern Argentina. At the 2001 census, the population of the Resistencia city proper was 274,490 inhabitants. It is the anchor of a slightly larger metropolitan area, Greater Resistencia, which comprises three more...
  
  .

A common mistake among locals is to think of the prefix 15 as part of the number, to the extent of giving or reading numbers out with 15 together with the first subscriber's number digits. Although this is not a problem when dialing, it may cause some confusion when the mobile prefix must be left out (such as on IVR menus or when writing the number to be dialed from outside Argentina).

Mobile prefix 15 and trunk code 0 can be omitted altogether only when calling a mobile from another mobile within Argentina. In this way, the mobile user can be reached by dialing the ten-digit number.

There is a different dialing pattern to access mobile numbers from outside the country. Please see Inbound international below.

Inbound

Inbound international calls to landline numbers obey the same rules as calls within the country. International access code +54 must be used in order to call Argentina, followed by the area code and then the local phone number. This must be preceded by an international call prefix specific to the country where the call is being placed from.

For example, to call the number (351) 123-4567 in the city of Córdoba from the United States, the dialing sequence is as follows: 011 54 351 123-4567.

Mobile phone numbers need some extra attention in order to be reached from outside Argentina. The prefix 9 must be added before the area code, leaving out the prefix 15, which is only used when calling domestically. The inbound dialing pattern for mobiles is then: +54 +9 +area code +mobile subscriber's number.

For example: If we want to reach mobile number (223) 15 123-4567 in Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata

Mar del Plata is an Argentine city located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, south of Buenos Aires. Mar del Plata is the second largest city of Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" had apparently the sense of "sea of the Río de la Plata region" or "adjoining sea to the Río de la Plata"...

 from outside Argentina, the following sequence must be dialed: +54 9 223 123-4567. If the call is placed from the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the complete sequence would be: 00 54 9 223 123-4567; where 00 is the international call prefix for the United Kingdom, 54 is the international code for Argentina, 9 is the prefix used to call mobile numbers from outside the country, 223 the area code, and 123-4567 the mobile phone number.

Non-geographic numbers (such as 0800 or 0810) are not accessible from outside Argentina and the standard geographic number must be dialed instead. Some companies do not have their standard number available and only provide the public with a non-geographic, usually vanity number. In this case, the organization should be contacted in order obtain the standard geographic number to be accessed from overseas.

Inbound SMS

To send an SMS (text message) to an Argentine cell phone from outside of Argentina, you should omit the 9 used when dialing that cell phone for a voice call. For example, if the mobile number in Argentina is (11) 15 1234-5678, a voice call from abroad would be: +54 9 11 1234 5678. However, for a text message to go through, you should text: +54 11 1234 5678. A text message to +54 9 11 1234 5678 may not go through. Both formats should be tested if one of them is not working. The best advice is to reply to the text using the same number showing on the display (either with or without the 9). In addition, not all mobile providers in Argentina have SMS agreements with every carrier in the world, so SMS compatibility should also be checked beforehand.

Outbound

Outbound international calls use a trunk prefix 00 followed by the international code for the country being called, and then the area code (if any) and local phone number.

For example, to call the number (9) 123-4567 in Auckland

Auckland

The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, the dialing sequence will be: 00 64 9 123-4567; where 00 is the international trunk code, 64 is the country code for New Zealand, 9 is the Auckland area code, and 123-4567 is the local number.

Collect calls

Domestic collect calls are placed by dialing 19 from any landline or payphone. Then, the caller is supposed to say his/her name which will be inserted and played in a pre-recorded message once the person being called answers the phone. If the latter accepts the collect call by pressing a certain key, the two parties are connected.

International collect calls are placed via the international operator dialing 000. This number also provides international assistance, such as country and area codes, rates, etc.

Non-geographic numbers

Non-geographic numbers have a three-digit prefix and a seven-digit number. They are usually represented as if the leading 0 prefix were part of the three-digit prefix (like with long-distance numbers), resulting in the format 0ppp-nnn-nnnn.

The currently allocated prefixes are, but not limited to:

• 0800: toll-free telephone numbers
• 0810: local rate calls
• 0822: toll-free numbers used for calling card
  Calling card
  Calling card may refer to:* Visiting card, a card originally used socially to signify a visit made to a house if the occupant were absent, or as an introduction for oneself; the precursor to the modern business card...
  
   access
• 0600: premium-rate telephone numbers
• 0609: premium, fixed-rate gaming numbers
• 0610: dial-up Internet access numbers, usually with a rate lower than a normal local call
• 0605: premium-rate telephone numbers for charity donations

0810 numbers differ from 0800 toll-free numbers in that the former numbers are used by large but cost-conscious companies that do not wish to bear the full cost of a nationwide toll-free system, yet still do not want their customers to be put away by having to pay long-distance rates.

0610 numbers, used as a cheaper alternative to standard local numbers for dial-up Internet access, are nowadays rare due to the widespread use of broadband Internet access.

Public utility numbers

The format for public utility service phone numbers is mostly 1xx. They can be accessed from any landline, mobile or pay phone within the country.

Here is a list of the most common public utility service numbers:

• 100: Firefighters
• 101: Police
• 102: Child services
• 103: Civil defense
• 106: Coast Guard
• 107: Ambulance
• 110: Phone directory
• 112: Customer service
• 113: Official time
• 114: Phone repair service
• 115: Ring test
• 121: Phone usage info (subject to availability)
• 125: Assistance service for the hearing-impaired
• 911: Emergency (only in cities where 100, 101 and 107 have been merged into one emergency number, such as the Buenos Aires Metro Area
  Greater Buenos Aires
  Greater Buenos Aires is the generic denomination to refer to the megalopolis comprising the autonomous city of Buenos Aires and the conurbation around it, over the province of Buenos Aires—namely the adjacent 24 partidos or municipalities—which nonetheless do not constitute a single administrative...
  
   and Buenos Aires Province
  Buenos Aires Province
  The Province of Buenos Aires is the largest and most populous province of Argentina. It takes the name from the city of Buenos Aires, which used to be the provincial capital until it was federalized in 1880...
  
  )