WhatsApp country codes and number formats

How do I format a phone number for WhatsApp?

Start from the number as it is written locally, remove the trunk prefix, and put the country code in front. Then delete every character that is not a digit.

The trunk prefix is the digit you dial before a domestic number that you drop when calling from abroad. It is 0 in most of the world, 8 in Russia and Kazakhstan, and absent entirely in the United States, Spain, Italy's mobile ranges and a few others.

1. Write the number as it appears locally. For example 07400 123456 in the UK, or 081234 56789 in India.
2. Remove the trunk prefix. Usually a single leading 0. This gives 7400 123456 and 81234 56789.
3. Add the country code in front. 44 for the UK and 91 for India, giving 447400123456 and 918123456789.
4. Strip everything that is not a digit. Remove the plus sign, spaces, dashes, brackets and dots. What remains is what goes after https://wa.me/.

Should I include the plus sign?

Not in a wa.me link. https://wa.me/447400123456 works and https://wa.me/+447400123456 does not.

Elsewhere the plus sign is fine and often preferred. It is correct in WhatsApp's own new-chat search, in your contacts, and in anything a person will read, where +44 7400 123456 is clearer than a wall of digits. The no-plus rule applies specifically to the URL.

Which countries do not follow the standard rule?

Four situations account for nearly all the links that fail despite being built correctly.

• Argentina: Drop the leading 0, delete the 15 that appears in domestic mobile numbers, and insert a 9 directly after the country code. 011 15-2345-6789 becomes 5491123456789.
• Russia and Kazakhstan: The trunk prefix is 8, not 0, and it is replaced by the country code rather than simply deleted. 8 (912) 345-67-89 becomes 79123456789.
• Brazil: Mobile numbers carry an extra 9 before the eight-digit subscriber number, after the two-digit area code. A number written without it is an older landline-era format and will not open a chat.
• Italy: Italian landlines keep their leading 0 in international format, unlike almost everywhere else. Italian mobiles never had one, so nothing is removed and nothing is added.

How do I know if a number can receive WhatsApp at all?

You cannot tell from the number alone. Formatting only proves the number is structurally valid for its country, not that anyone has registered it with WhatsApp.

Landlines are the clearest case: a correctly formatted landline number produces a perfectly valid link that will never open a chat, because WhatsApp accounts are tied to numbers that can receive a verification code. Newly issued numbers and numbers whose owner deleted their account behave the same way.

The only way to find out is to open the link and see whether WhatsApp opens a conversation.

Does the country code have to match where the person lives?

No. A WhatsApp account keeps the number it was registered with, wherever the person happens to be.

Someone who registered a UK number and then moved to Australia still has a +44 WhatsApp account. Use the country code the number was issued under, not the country the person is currently in.

Number formats by country

Each row shows how a mobile number is written inside the country and what it becomes in a WhatsApp link. Formats and example numbers come from Google’s libphonenumber metadata rather than being written by hand, so they match what a phone would consider valid.

* These countries need more than removing a leading zero. Open the country page for the exact rule.

Frequently asked questions