International phone number max and min?

What is the max and min digits for an international telephone number? (country code + area code + phone number)

Solution 1:

, where the format of telephone numbers is standardized by ITU-T in the recommendation E.164, which specifies that the entire number should be 15 digits or shorter,

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telephone_number

Also, check this other question on SO: What's the longest possible worldwide phone number I should consider in SQL varchar(length) for phone

Solution 2:

Telephone numbers are standardised by ITU-T in their recommendation E.164. In the recommendation they say telephone numbers should not exceed 15 digits.

So it's up to the telephone operators and local standards.

Most operators don't allow you to send SMS messages to numbers which are more than 16 digits long. So you'll be safe with 16 digit limit.

Edit A nice summary of misconceptions about phonenumbers can be read at https://github.com/googlei18n/libphonenumber/blob/master/FALSEHOODS.md

Solution 3:

The answer to that question can (and does) change in a fashion which is entirely too fluid to be able to provide you with a definitive answer. Carriers or countries can change their numbering plans (adding area codes or adding digits or the like) at any time.

A website which I often use as a reference for International Phone Numbers is http://www.numberingplans.com/

I believe they also sell their databases, if you are wanting to validate individual numbers within your own system..

Solution 4:

15 digits is maximum, refer this link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E.164

Solution 5:

Although the standard is talking about 15 digits maximum, a call number extension using Direct Inward Dial (DID) and Private Branch Exchange (PBX) technologies is oftenly used in order to call a specific person or department inside an organisation, which can make a phone number longer than 15 digits (note "-1234" suffix at the end):

0049 (30) 123456789-1234

In our systems we use the limit of 20 digits.