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November 3, 2026 · By Piyush Sahoo Telephone numbers in India use country code +91 and a 10-digit national number. Mobile numbers run all 10 digits together, while landlines split them into an STD code and a line number. Businesses also use special series: 1800 and 1860 for incoming calls, and 140, 1600 and 1601 for outgoing ones. This guide helps you read any Indian number, dial it correctly, and choose the right one for your business. It also covers the 2025 and 2026 rules that changed what business numbers mean.
Key takeaways
  • Sort numbers by call direction first. Some series exist for customers calling you, others exist for you calling customers, and only ordinary numbers do both.
  • The first digit can mislead you. Many mobiles start with 6 to 9, but so do landlines in Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.
  • The series now signals the call type. TRAI assigns 140 to promotions, 1600 to financial and government service calls, and 1601 to service calls from other sectors.
  • 1601 is new. TRAI started it in August 2026 with utilities, couriers and logistics firms only.
  • Plan for two numbers if you both take and make calls at scale: one customers can dial, and one that fits your outgoing calls.

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What types of telephone numbers does India have?

India has three broad groups: everyday numbers that work both ways, numbers customers dial to reach a business, and series businesses use to call customers. The table below gives you the whole picture, with digits masked. Most Indian numbers belong to the first row. TRAI counted 1,319.19 million wireless and 48.74 million wireline subscribers at the end of September 2026. The wireless figure includes fixed wireless and machine connections, so it isn’t only phones in people’s hands. Direction explains the rest of the table, so it’s the fastest way to make sense of it. Three columns of Indian number types sorted by call direction. Customers call you: 1800 toll-free, 1860 universal access and 0900 premium rate. Calls both ways: mobile, landline and virtual. You call customers: 140 promotional, 1600 regulated service and 1601 other service. Three columns of Indian number types sorted by call direction. Customers call you: 1800 toll-free, 1860 universal access and 0900 premium rate. Calls both ways: mobile, landline and virtual. You call customers: 140 promotional, 1600 regulated service and 1601 other service.

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How is an Indian phone number built?

TRAI explains that fixed and mobile numbers both have 10 digits after the country code. A landline divides them by geography. Its STD code has 2, 3 or 4 digits, and its line number has 8, 7 or 6, so the total stays at 10. Digit boxes for eight Indian number shapes. A mobile number has a five-digit network part and five more digits. Landlines have a two, three or four-digit STD code followed by the line number. The 140, 1600 and 1601 series start with those digits and total ten. An 1800 toll-free number shown here has eleven digits. Digit boxes for eight Indian number shapes. A mobile number has a five-digit network part and five more digits. Landlines have a two, three or four-digit STD code followed by the line number. The 140, 1600 and 1601 series start with those digits and total ten. An 1800 toll-free number shown here has eleven digits. Bigger cities get shorter codes, which leaves more digits for individual lines. These are common STD codes: A leading 0 isn’t part of the number. It’s a dialling prefix for long-distance calls, so 080 becomes 80 in the international form. Our guide to E.164 number formatting covers the standard written form.

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Why can’t you trust the first digit?

Many guides say a number starting with 6, 7, 8 or 9 is a mobile. That shortcut fails in two of India’s biggest cities. Bengaluru landlines start with 80 and Ahmedabad landlines start with 79, as the table above shows. The history explains the overlap. TRAI records that mobile numbers began in the 9 range. When that filled up, spare codes in the 7 and 8 ranges went to mobile too. By November 2019, mobile numbers had been allocated across the 9, 8, 7 and 6 ranges. The opening digits won’t reveal the operator either. Mobile number portability broke that link, and 16.77 million subscribers asked to port in September 2026 alone. Treat an old “this prefix means this operator” chart as history.

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How do you dial a telephone number in India?

The digits you dial depend on where you are and what you’re calling. This table follows TRAI’s dialling scheme, which has applied to landline-to-mobile calls since January 15, 2021. The last two rows follow the format the ITU published for a 2010 conference in India. From a mobile, TRAI notes that +91 can replace the leading 0, which is why saving contacts as +91 plus the number is a useful habit. To call out of India, use 00 and the country code. Our landline number guide has more worked examples.

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Who pays on 1800, 1860 and 0900 numbers?

These three series change the bill, so the difference matters to your customers. Toll-free has a limit worth knowing. Airtel says standard 1800 numbers don’t work for callers abroad. If you have overseas customers, ask about an international toll-free service, which TRAI lists under the 000800 series, or give them a regular +91 number. For how Indian toll-free compares with other countries, see toll-free vs local vs mobile numbers.

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What do 140, 1600 and 1601 numbers mean?

These series tell the person answering what kind of call to expect. The rules behind them changed quickly over the last two years. A timeline of Indian number series rules. July 2018, TRAI commercial calling regulations. December 2024, DoT allocates 1600. February 2025, TRAI restricts normal 10-digit numbers for telemarketing. January to March 2026, phased 1600 deadlines. July 2026, TRAI clarifies tagging rules. August 2026, 1601 opens. September 2026, Third Amendment on spam flags and automated calls. A timeline of Indian number series rules. July 2018, TRAI commercial calling regulations. December 2024, DoT allocates 1600. February 2025, TRAI restricts normal 10-digit numbers for telemarketing. January to March 2026, phased 1600 deadlines. July 2026, TRAI clarifies tagging rules. August 2026, 1601 opens. September 2026, Third Amendment on spam flags and automated calls. 140 is for selling. TRAI’s July 2026 clarification says any sector can use it for promotional calls after registering with an operator. Customers control these calls through the Do Not Disturb registry, by sector or in full. They can opt out through 1909 by call or SMS. TRAI’s 2025 amendment also restricts normal 10-digit numbers for telemarketing. 1600 is for financial and government service calls. The same clarification covers entities regulated by RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA calling existing customers, plus government bodies calling citizens. TRAI set phased deadlines from January to March 2026 for RBI, SEBI and PFRDA entities in scope, and February 15, 2026 for insurers. After its date, an entity can’t place these calls from another number, even with customer consent. 1601 is for service calls from other sectors. TRAI began it on August 10, 2026 with electricity, water, gas and LPG utilities, and with courier and logistics firms. Operators verify each firm and allocate numbers to it directly, not to intermediaries. The direction bans promotional use and says TRAI can add sectors after reviewing this phase. Operators have 90 days to finish onboarding, which by our count ends around November 8, 2026. You may still read that 1601 is for lenders. TRAI’s direction says the opposite: it covers sectors other than financial services and government. Two September 2026 changes matter here. TRAI’s Third Amendment says numbers in these three series must not be flagged as suspected spam. It also requires anyone placing automated, robo or pre-recorded calls, including artificial voices, to declare them and their caller IDs to their operator first. Undeclared calls count as unsolicited commercial communication. If you plan to use an AI voice agent, raise this and the start date with your operator before you launch.

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Where do short codes, virtual numbers and device numbers fit?

Short codes are the 3 to 6-digit numbers in the “1” range. TRAI gives the examples of 100 for police, 101 for fire, 102 for ambulance and 112 for all emergencies. Virtual numbers aren’t a separate range. A virtual or DID number can carry a city code or a mobile prefix, and software decides where its calls go. The difference is in how you run it, not in the digits. Read more in our guides to virtual phone numbers and DID numbers. Device numbers are the 13-digit numbers for machine-to-machine links. TRAI wants SIM-based devices moved to them from the 10-digit mobile range.

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Can you keep your number if you change operators?

For mobiles, yes. TRAI’s portability FAQ sets out the steps. You text PORT and your number to 1900, receive an 8-digit code, and apply with the new operator. In most areas, the code lasts 4 days and the move takes 3 working days within a service area or 5 across areas. A request within 7 days of a SIM swap won’t get a code. Landlines are different. TRAI describes fixed-line portability as something its proposed numbering changes would make possible.

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What could change next?

In February 2025, TRAI recommended a new fixed-line scheme to the Department of Telecommunications. Every landline-to-landline call would use 0, the STD code and the number, even within a city. Existing numbers would stay the same, and calls involving mobiles would dial as they do now. This is still a recommendation. We found no published decision as of November 3, 2026, so check with your provider before you reprint stationery or change a phone system.

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Which number should your business use?

Start with who places the call. This map turns the rules above into a few short questions. A decision map. If customers call you and the call should be free, choose 1800. If not, choose a city landline-style number when callers expect a local business, or a mobile or virtual number when they don't. If you call customers and the call sells something, choose 140. For service calls, banks, insurers, brokers, pension bodies and government use 1600, utilities, couriers and logistics firms use 1601, and other sectors use a city number for service calls only. A decision map. If customers call you and the call should be free, choose 1800. If not, choose a city landline-style number when callers expect a local business, or a mobile or virtual number when they don't. If you call customers and the call sells something, choose 140. For service calls, banks, insurers, brokers, pension bodies and government use 1600, utilities, couriers and logistics firms use 1601, and other sectors use a city number for service calls only. Service calls are the moving part. If your sector has no series yet, Vobiz’s India calling rules allow landline-series numbers for service and transaction calls, with no promotional content. TRAI’s 2025 amendment aims for commercial calls to come from registered headers or designated series, and it can add sectors over time. Confirm your route with your operator before you commit. Businesses with regulated outgoing calls usually need more than one number. These are typical combinations, not legal advice: The series you choose also shapes what people see. Our guide to caller ID explains how that display works.

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How Vobiz handles it

Vobiz is a programmable telephony platform, available in 130+ countries, that lets businesses run phone numbers and calling in software. For Indian numbers, that looks like this: Buying a number debits your balance straight away, and calls are billed. Use your own account, and confirm the fees before you buy or place calls. The DLT registration guide and UCC guide cover the compliance steps.

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Frequently asked questions

Ten, not counting the +91 country code. A mobile number uses all ten as one block. A landline splits them into an STD code of 2 to 4 digits and a line number of 8 to 6 digits. Toll-free numbers are the main exception and can run longer.
Check the opening digits against a list of STD codes. A number starting with 6, 7, 8 or 9 is often a mobile, but not always. Bengaluru landlines begin with 80 and Ahmedabad landlines begin with 79, so the first digit alone can mislead you.
Yes. On an 1800 number, the business that owns the number bears the call cost and the caller pays nothing. Standard 1800 numbers generally do not work from outside India, so businesses with overseas callers need a separate international toll-free service or a local number.
The difference is who pays. On 1800, the business pays and the call is free for the caller. On 1860, the caller pays or shares the cost with the business. So don’t assume an 1860 call is free, even though the number can look like a toll-free one.
A 1600 number is reserved for service and transaction calls from regulated financial firms and government bodies. A 140 number is for promotional calls from any sector. A series only tells you the call type, so never share a one-time password just because of the number.
Yes, for mobile numbers, through mobile number portability. Send PORT and your number by SMS to 1900 for a porting code, then apply with the new operator. Landline portability is different: TRAI describes it as a future step for fixed-line numbers.

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Further reading on Vobiz

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Sources

Indian regulator (TRAI) Operators and other references

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