How to Call Canada or the US From Abroad (Country Code +1)

Every Canadian and US number has 10 digits: a three-digit area code followed by a seven-digit local number. In international format that becomes +1 and the 10 digits — for example +1 416 555 0123 for a Toronto number. (Numbers from 555-0100 to 555-0199 are reserved for examples like this one, so none of them reaches a real person.)

To call it from outside North America, dial your country's international prefix — the “exit code” — in place of the +, then 1, then the area code and number. From the UK, that is 00 1 416 555 0123. On a mobile you can skip the exit code entirely: type + (hold down the 0 key on most phones) and the network adds the right prefix for you, wherever you are.

The prefix depends on the country you are calling from, not the one you are calling. The most common ones, from the ITU's list of national dialing procedures:

• 00 — the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, India, the Philippines and mainland China: 00 1 + area code + number.
• 001 — Hong Kong: 001 1 + area code + number. Carriers there also offer their own IDD access codes, often at different rates.
• 010 — Japan: 010 1 + area code + number.
• 0011 — Australia: 0011 1 + area code + number.
• 011 — from the US or Canada to any country outside the +1 zone (011 44 for the UK, for example). You don't need it between the US and Canada — see below.
• From any mobile, anywhere: + 1 + area code + number.

Because both countries share the +1 zone, a call from the US to Canada — or from Canada to the US — is dialed exactly like a domestic long-distance call: 1, the area code, then the number. To reach Montréal from Chicago, dial 1 514 555 0123. No 011, and no country code beyond that 1. The FCC and Canada's official dialing plan both describe it this way: 011 is only for calls that leave the +1 zone.

Dialing works like a domestic call; billing doesn't always. Some US and Canadian plans include calls to the other country, others charge them as long distance or international — check yours before a long call. And note that Caribbean numbers such as 876 (Jamaica) or 809 (Dominican Republic) are also dialed with a 1, but they belong to separate countries and are billed as international calls. Our guide to which country a +1 number belongs to lists them all.

If the call doesn't go through, check for these first:

• Doubling the 1. If a number is written +1 416… or 1-800…, the 1 is already the country code. Dial 00 1 416…, not 00 1 1 416….
• Adding a 0. Many countries drop a leading 0 for international calls, but North American numbers have no 0 to drop or add: area codes never start with 0 or 1.
• Leaving out the area code. Even if someone gives you only seven digits, you need all ten from abroad. Our area code lookup shows which city each code covers.
• Counting on an 800 number. Toll-free numbers such as 800 or 888 are often unreachable from outside North America, or charged at international rates. Look for a regular “calling from abroad” number on the company's website.
• Dialing 011 between the US and Canada. It's the international exit code; between the two countries, 1 is all you need.

Canada spans six time zones and the mainland US four, so check the area code's time zone before you dial — our area code lookup shows it. As a rule of thumb, Toronto, Montréal and New York are 5 hours behind London and 6 hours behind Paris; Vancouver, Seattle and Los Angeles are 8 hours behind London and 9 hours behind Paris.

For a few weeks a year the gap shrinks by an hour, because most of North America changes its clocks on the second Sunday of March and the first Sunday of November, while the UK and the EU change on the last Sundays of March and October. Mainland China and Hong Kong don't change their clocks at all: from there, the East Coast is 12 hours behind during North American daylight saving time and 13 hours behind the rest of the year.

A call to +1 from abroad is an international call, billed by your own operator unless your plan includes North America. Rates vary widely between operators and plans, so check yours before a long call. Internet calling apps are usually the cheapest option when the other person uses the same app.

If you are returning a missed call from a +1 number you don't recognize, check it first. A carrier lookup shows whether it is a mobile, a landline or a VoIP line, and short “one-ring” calls from unknown +1 numbers are a known callback scam — see how to tell which country a +1 number is from before you dial back.