Country calling code: +64

International call prefix: 00

Trunk prefix

Trunk prefix

A trunk prefix is the number to be dialed in a domestic telephone call, preceding any necessary area codes and subscriber numbers. When the number is called from overseas, the trunk prefix is omitted by the caller. In most countries, such as Australia, Germany and the United Kingdom, the trunk...

: 0

The New Zealand telephone numbering plan describes the allocation of telephone number

Telephone number

A telephone number or phone number is a sequence of digits used to call from one telephone line to another in a public switched telephone network. When telephone numbers were invented, they were short — as few as one, two or three digits — and were given orally to a switchboard operator...

s in 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...

.

History

Up until the 1970's, New Zealand's telephone network consisted primarily of step-by-step

Strowger switch

The Strowger switch, also known as Step-by-Step or SXS, is an early electromechanical telephone switching system invented by Almon Brown Strowger...

 telephone exchanges, or a mixture of rotary and step-by-step exchanges in the main centres. A few rural areas were still served by manual exchanges. Crossbar exchanges were installed from the 1970s, and electronic exchanges from 1982. Local telephone number lengths varied from 3 to 6 digits depending on the size of exchange and population of the local calling area.

Numerous complex dialling instructions appeared in the front of telephone books explaining the number sequences needed to dial subscribers in local "free calling" areas, and in a few cases for short distance toll calls (usually to the local city or town), which were recorded on manually read meters in some step-by-step local exchanges. Local calls were "free", and still are for residential customers. Long distance or toll calls required the manual intervention of an operator, who had access to toll circuits, either via an operator's cord board or a toll exchange (switch). Access to the toll operator was by dialling 0.

Local directory service could be accessed via 100, telephone faults via 120, and emergency services via 111

1-1-1

111 is the emergency telephone number in New Zealand. It was first implemented in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958, and was progressively rolled out nationwide with the last exchanges converting in 1988...

.

Subscriber toll dialling (the historic codes)

Subscriber toll dialling

Subscriber trunk dialling

Subscriber trunk dialling is a term for a telephone system allowing subscribers to dial trunk calls without operator assistance.- Terminology :...

 (STD) was introduced into New Zealand telephone network in the mid 1970s, a result of the introduction of NEC crossbar

Crossbar switch

In electronics, a crossbar switch is a switch connecting multiple inputs to multiple outputs in a matrix manner....

 based toll exchanges and their ability to perform number translation. One still needed to dial 0 to make a toll call, but instead of calling the operator, one could then dial the STD number directly. Access to the operator was via 010, while other service numbers remained unchanged.

The original STD codes were numbered roughly south to north, with a few exceptions. Some of the STD codes were:

Town/City	Historic STD Code
Whangarei	089
Auckland	09
Tauranga	075
Hamilton	071
New Plymouth	067
Palmerston North	063
Wellington	04
Nelson	054
Christchurch	03
Dunedin	024
Invercargill	021

STD codes were assigned with larger areas having short STD codes (e.g. Auckland - 09), while smaller areas had longer STD codes and shorter local numbers (e.g. Shannon

Shannon, New Zealand

Shannon is a small town in the Horowhenua District of New Zealand's North Island. it is located 28 kilometres southwest of Palmerston North and 15 kilometres northeast of Levin. The town's population at the 2006 census was 1506....

 - 06927). The total number length, that is STD code and local number excluding the first 0, usually totalled seven digits, but could vary up to nine, often as exchanges increased the length of local numbers to accommodate new lines.

Reorganisation

With the introduction of NEC Stored Program Control exchanges

Stored Program Control exchange

Stored Program Control exchange is the technical name used for telephone exchanges controlled by a computer program stored in the memory of the system. Early exchanges such as Strowger, panel, rotary, and crossbar switches were electromechanical and had no software control...

 in to the New Zealand telephone network during the 1980s, and the rapid growth in demand, the breakup of the New Zealand Post Office

New Zealand Post Office

The New Zealand Post Office was a New Zealand government department.As a Government Department, the New Zealand Post Office or N.Z.P.O., previously the Post and Telegraph Department or P & T, had as the political head the Postmaster General who was a member of Cabinet, and, when it was a separate...

 and the creation of Telecom New Zealand

Telecom New Zealand

Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...

, the opportunity arose to standardise local telephone numbers at 7 digits long. In many parts of the country, the old area code was incorporated into the new number, however in some areas the numbers changed completely.

Town/City	Old number	New number
Whangarei	(089) xx-xxx	(09) 43x-xxxx
New Plymouth	(067) xx-xxx	(06) 75x-xxxx
Dunedin	(024) xxx-xxx	(03) 4xx-xxxx
Invercargill	(021) xx-xxx	(03) 21x-xxxx

At the same time, the opportunity was taken to move directory service from 100 to 018 and charge for directory service calls. The justification for doing so was the introduction of a directory service computer system that gave access to current New Zealand telephone number listings, not just those printed in the telephone book, and the need for a separate user pays revenue stream for Telecom Directory Services, which was separate to the 5 regional (local) telephone companies, TNI and Telecom Mobile that Telecom had split itself into, as part of the sale of Telecom and deregulation of New Zealand telecommunications services.

Since 1993, land-line telephone numbers in New Zealand consist of a single-digit area code and seven-digit local numbers, the first three of which generally specify the exchange and the final four a line at that exchange.

International number lengths

The long distance trunk prefix, 0, that is prepended to national numbers is not part of the international number.

Minimum number length after International prefix : 3 digits (Most numbers, other than service numbers, are at least 8 digits.)

Maximum number length after International prefix : 9 digits (Except numbers starting 210 - 10 digits)

Present numbering plan

New Zealand follows open dialing plan.

Country code: 64

Long distance prefix: 0

International prefix: 00

Landlines

New Zealand landline phone numbers total eight digits excluding the leading 0: a one-digit area code, and a seven-digit phone number (e.g. 09 700 1234), beginning with a digit between 2 and 9 (but excluding 900, 911, and 999 due to misdial guards).
There are five regional area codes: 03, 04, 06, 07, and 09. These must be dialled when calling a recipient outside the local calling area of which the caller is located. For example, one calling Dunedin

Dunedin

Dunedin is the second-largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the principal city of the Otago Region. It is considered to be one of the four main urban centres of New Zealand for historic, cultural, and geographic reasons. Dunedin was the largest city by territorial land area until...

 from Christchurch

Christchurch

Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...

 must dial 03, even though Christchurch is 03 as well.

The area codes are:

• 02 409 for Scott Base
  Scott Base
  Scott Base is a research facility located in Antarctica and is operated by New Zealand. It was named after Captain Robert Falcon Scott, Royal Navy, leader of two British expeditions to the Ross Sea area of Antarctica...
  
   in the Ross Dependency
  Ross Dependency
  The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south...
  
  
• 03 for the South Island
  South Island
  The South Island is the larger of the two major islands of New Zealand, the other being the more populous North Island. It is bordered to the north by Cook Strait, to the west by the Tasman Sea, to the south and east by the Pacific Ocean...
  
   and the Chatham Islands
  Chatham Islands
  The Chatham Islands are an archipelago and New Zealand territory in the Pacific Ocean consisting of about ten islands within a radius, the largest of which are Chatham Island and Pitt Island. Their name in the indigenous language, Moriori, means Misty Sun...
  
  
• 04 for the Wellington Region to Kapiti, but not the Wairarapa
  Wairarapa
  Wairarapa is a geographical region of New Zealand. It occupies the south-eastern corner of the North Island, east of metropolitan Wellington and south-west of the Hawke's Bay region. It is lightly populated, having several rural service towns, with Masterton being the largest...
  
   and Otaki
  Otaki, New Zealand
  Otaki is a town in the Kapiti Coast District of the North Island of New Zealand, situated half way between the capital city Wellington, 70 kilometres to the southwest, and Palmerston North, 70 kilometres to the northeast. It marks the northernmost point of the Wellington Region. The town's...
  
  
• 06 for the remaining southern and eastern North Island
  North Island
  The North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the much less populous South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
  
   including Taranaki, Manawatu-Wanganui
  Manawatu-Wanganui
  Manawatu-Wanganui is a region in the lower half of the North Island of New Zealand, around the cities of Palmerston North and Whanganui. It is administered by the Horizons Regional Council.-Administration:...
  
   (excluding Taumarunui
  Taumarunui
  Taumarunui is a town in the King Country of the central North Island of New Zealand. It is on State Highway 4 and the North Island Main Trunk Railway....
  
  ), Hawke's Bay, Gisborne
  Gisborne, New Zealand
  -Economy:The harbour was host to many ships in the past and had developed as a river port to provide a more secure location for shipping compared with the open roadstead of Poverty Bay which can be exposed to southerly swells. A meat works was sited beside the harbour and meat and wool was shipped...
  
  , the Wairarapa, and Otaki
• 07 for the Waikato, the Bay of Plenty
  Bay of Plenty
  The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...
  
   and Taumarunui
• 09 for 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...
  
   and Northland

The first few digits of the local number can specify the general area of the telephone numbers.

• 03 20 Gore, Edendale
• 03 21 Invercargill, Stewart Island
• 03 22 Otautau
• 03 23 Riverton, Winton
• 03 24 Tokanui, Lumsden, Te Anau
• 03 30 Ashburton, Akaroa, Chatham Islands
• 03 31 Rangiora, Amberley, Culverden, Darfield, Cheviot
• 03 3 Christchurch (excluding 03 30 and 03 31)
• 03 409 Queenstown
• 03 41 Balclutha, Milton
• 03 42 Dunedin
• 03 43 Oamaru, Mount Cook, Twizel, Kurow
• 03 44 Queenstown, Cromwell, Alexandra, Wanaka, Ranfurly, Roxburgh
• 03 45 Dunedin, Queenstown
• 03 46 Dunedin, Palmerston
• 03 47 Dunedin
• 03 48 Dunedin, Lawrence
• 03 52 Murchison, Takaka, Motueka
• 03 54 Nelson
• 03 57 Blenheim
• 03 61 Timaru
• 03 68 Timaru, Waimate, Fairlie
• 03 69 Geraldine
• 03 73 Greymouth
• 03 75 Hokitika, Franz Josef Glacier, Fox Glacier, Haast
• 03 76 Greymouth
• 03 78 Westport
• 03 90 Ashburton
• 03 94 Christchurch, Invercargill
• 03 95 Dunedin, Timaru
• 03 96 Christchurch
• 03 97 Christchurch
• 03 98 Christchurch, Blenheim, Nelson

• 04 23 Wellington
• 04 29 Paraparaumu
• 04 3 Wellington
• 04 4 Wellington
• 04 5 Wellington
• 04 80 Wellington
• 04 90 Paraparaumu
• 04 9 Wellington (except 04 90)

• 06 27 Hawera
• 06 30 Featherston, Greytown
• 06 32 Palmerston North, Marton
• 06 34 Wanganui
• 06 35 Palmerston North
• 06 36 Levin
• 06 37 Masterton, Dannevirke, Pahiatua
• 06 38 Taihape, Ohakune, Waiouru
• 06 75 New Plymouth, Mokau
• 06 76 New Plymouth, Opunake, Stratford
• 06 83 Napier, Wairoa
• 06 84 Napier
• 06 85 Waipukurau
• 06 86 Gisborne, Ruatoria
• 06 87 Napier
• 06 94 Masterton, Levin
• 06 95 Palmerston North, Napier, New Plymouth
• 06 96 Wanganui, New Plymouth
• 06 97 Napier
• 06 98 Gisborne

• 07 30 Whakatane
• 07 31 Whakatane, Opotiki
• 07 32 Whakatane
• 07 33 Rotorua, Taupo
• 07 34 Rotorua
• 07 35 Rotorua
• 07 36 Rotorua
• 07 37 Taupo
• 07 38 Taupo
• 07 54 Tauranga
• 07 57 Tauranga
• 07 82 Hamilton, Huntly
• 07 83 Hamilton
• 07 84 Hamilton
• 07 85 Hamilton
• 07 86 Paeroa, Waihi, Thames, Whangamata
• 07 87 Te Awamutu, Otorohanga, Te Kuiti
• 07 88 Matamata, Putaruru, Morrinsville
• 07 89 Taumarunui
• 07 90 Taupo
• 07 92 Rotorua, Whakatane, Tauranga
• 07 93 Tauranga
• 07 95 Hamilton
• 07 96 Hamilton

• 09 23 Pukekohe
• 09 2 Auckland (excluding 09 23)
• 09 3 Auckland (includes Waiheke Island)
• 09 40 Kaikohe, Kaitaia, Kawakawa
• 09 41 Auckland
• 09 42 Helensville, Warkworth, Hibiscus Coast, Great Barrier Island
• 09 43 Whangarei, Maungaturoto
• 09 44 Auckland
• 09 47 Auckland
• 09 48 Auckland
• 09 5 Auckland
• 09 6 Auckland
• 09 8 Auckland
• 09 90 Warkworth
• 09 98 Whangarei
• 09 9 Auckland (excluding 09 90 and 09 98)

Mobile phones

Mobile phone numbers begin 02, followed by seven to nine digits (usually eight). The first few digits after the 02 indicate the original mobile network that issued the number.

Telephone numbers must always be dialled in full for mobile phones. In the late 1990's however, Telecom mobile phones could dial other Telecom mobile phones without the (then) 025 prefix, making 025 act like a landline area code.

Prefix	Network	Number length	Notes
020	Orcon Orcon Internet Limited Orcon Internet Limited , is a state-owned New Zealand telecommunications company. It is currently New Zealand's fourth largest ISP.-History:...
021	Vodafone Vodafone New Zealand Vodafone New Zealand is a British owned telecommunications company, a subsidiary of Vodafone Plc operating in New Zealand. It is New Zealand's largest mobile phone operator, based in Auckland, New Zealand and was formed in 1998, after Vodafone purchased BellSouth's New Zealand operations...	6 to 8 digits	6 digits originally assigned to on plan accounts only and 7 digits assigned to prepay account customers only
022	2degrees 2degrees 2degrees is a U.S. and British owned mobile phone provider operating in New Zealand with 580,112 customers . They launched on 5 August 2009 after 9 years of planning. 2degrees currently offers prepaid and pay monthly mobile services...	7 digits	2degrees was launched in August 2009.
023	Unused		Owned by TelstraClear TelstraClear TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....
024	Unused		Protected by Management Committee 30.01.09 to preserve the potential code expansion option.
025	Unused	6-7 digits	Was used by Telecom New Zealand Telecom New Zealand Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...  until it was shut down on 31 March 2007. All numbers have now migrated to 027 (7-digit), with older 025 numbers prefixed with 4 (eg. 027-4xxx-xxx).
026	Telecom New Zealand, Team Talk	7 digits	Used for calling Fleetlink or other trunked radios from a phone line
027	Telecom New Zealand Telecom New Zealand Telecom New Zealand is a New Zealand-wide communications service provider , providing fixed line telephone services, a mobile network, an internet service provider , a major ICT provider to NZ businesses , and a wholesale network infrastructure provider to other NZ CSPs...	7 digits
028 0	Compass Communications
028	CallPlus or BLACK + WHITE Black + White Mobile Black+White is a New Zealand Mobile virtual network operator piggybacking on Vodafone New Zealand's GSM . Their handsets are compatible with the Vodafone network and some may also be compatible with Telecom New Zealand's XT network. The handsets are similar to Vodafone's handset range but are sold...
028 3	Teletraders MVNO
028 85	M2 MVNO
028 96	Airnet NZ Ltd
029	TelstraClear TelstraClear TelstraClear is New Zealand's second-largest telecommunications company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra Corporation , with around 400,000 customers....

The introduction of mobile number portability on 1 April 2007 meant that an increasing number of mobiles will be operating on a different network to that which originally assigned the number.
To find out whether a particular number belongs to a specific network provider, one can text the mobile number of interest to 300. It is a free service provided by Telecom, Vodafone and 2degrees. Reply will be sent to verify whether the number is operating on their network or not.

Toll-free and premium-rate

Toll-free numbers begin with 0508 or 0800, usually followed by 6 digits (some numbers on 0800 have seven digits).
Premium rate services use the code 0900 followed by 5 digits.
Local rate numbers, such as internet access numbers, have the prefix 08xx, and are usually followed by 5 digits.

• 0508 TelstraClear Tollfree
• 0800 Telecom, TelstraClear and other network operators Tollfree
• 08xy Various non-geographic services
• 083210 Call Minder answerphone service
• 08322 Infocall numbers
• 0867 Dial-up Internet numbers
• 0900 Premium rate services

Service numbers

Numbers beginning with 01 are for operator services.

• 010 National Operator
• 0170 International Operator
• 0172 International Directory Service
• 018 National Directory Service

The '1' codes are used for local services, including activating exchange features. The emergency services number is '111'.

• 111
  1-1-1
  111 is the emergency telephone number in New Zealand. It was first implemented in Masterton and Carterton on 29 September 1958, and was progressively rolled out nationwide with the last exchanges converting in 1988...
  
  Emergency Services Operator (all telephones)
• 112 Emergency Services Operator for GSM Mobiles (only)
• 11x Not allocatable. Used internally for specific emergency services.
• 12x Network operator repair and sales services.
• 13 - 19 Various uses, mainly exchange service.

The mobile network also recognises telephone numbers starting with *, including:

• *123 Telecom Mobile Sales and Service
• *222 Automobile Association Roadside Service
• *500 Coastguard Marine Assistance
• *555 Traffic Safety Services (Police non-emergency traffic calls)

Text message numbers for mobile phones are 3 or 4 digits long.

Other useful numbers

• 07 832 0000 - automated information (free call) who your toll provider is.
• 1956 - reads back number you are currently calling from (includes the area code 03 7654321)
• 1957 - reads back the number you are currently calling from (without the area code eg 7654321)
• 511 - reads back the number you are currently calling from (TelstraClear Only)
• 083201234 - reads back the pilot number of the line you are calling from (if calling from a business line in a stepping group) or the individual number on the Telstra network.
• 083201231 - reads back the pilot number as above, with area code
• 083201232 - returns the DTMF tones of the line you are calling from
• 137 - ringer test (ringback number); when dialled you can select that after you hang up it will call back to test your line rings

Fictional numbers

New Zealand has no dedicated series of fictional telephone numbers. Television shows and movies generally use any available range of numbers (e.g. the TVNZ soap opera

Soap opera

A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Shortland Street

Shortland Street

Shortland Street is a New Zealand prime-time soap opera, first broadcast on Television New Zealand's TV2 on 25 May 1992. It is the country's longest-running drama and soap opera, being broadcast continuously for over 4500 episodes and 19 years, and is one of the most watched television programs in...

uses the unassigned (09) 4299 number range.).

External links

• Ministry of Economic Development information to ITU
• Number Administration Deed (NAD)
  • Number Register maintained by the NAD (Current information)
• Telephone Numbering Scheme, Access Codes Allocation and National Toll Codes from Telecom New Zealand website (Older information)