---
title: "E.164 number format"
description: "E.164 is the ITU-T international numbering plan. An E.164 number is written with a leading + followed by the country code and national number, up to 15 digits in total, with no spaces or punctuation."
canonical: "https://omnichannels.ai/glossary/e164/"
language: "en"
updated: "2026-10-10"
publisher: "BroadNet Technologies"
brand: "OmniChannels.ai"
---

# E.164 number format

Canonical: https://omnichannels.ai/glossary/e164/
Language: en
Publisher: OmniChannels.ai by BroadNet Technologies

**Definition:** E.164 is the ITU-T international numbering plan. An E.164 number is written with a leading + followed by the country code and national number, up to 15 digits in total, with no spaces or punctuation.

An international number consists of a country code (1–3 digits) followed by the national significant number, which mobile networks split into a national destination code and a subscriber number (3GPP TS 23.003).

Messaging APIs expect numbers in E.164 so they can be routed unambiguously. Drop the national trunk prefix (the leading 0) when converting: 050 123 4567 in the UAE becomes +971501234567.

Store numbers in E.164 in your CRM. Local formats, duplicated country codes and spaces are a frequent cause of failed sends and duplicate contacts.

Some APIs and SMPP fields want the number without the +; in SMPP, set the TON to international (1) and NPI to ISDN/E.164 (1) instead.

## Example

```
+971501234567 (UAE mobile), +966512345678 (Saudi mobile), +442071234567 (UK landline)
```

## Sources

- [ITU-T Recommendation E.164 — The international public telecommunication numbering plan](https://www.itu.int/rec/T-REC-E.164)