🇩🇪 Germany Phone Number Format
German numbers have no fixed national length — area codes run 2 to 5 digits and subscriber numbers 3 to 9 digits, which makes Germany one of the hardest plans to validate by hand. Mobiles start with 015, 016 or 017, and the trunk 0 disappears behind +49.
German Number Formats Side by Side
Here is how one Germany number is written in each of the four standards:
| Format | Example | Use for |
|---|---|---|
| E.164 | +4915123456789 | Databases, SMS APIs (Twilio, WhatsApp), CRMs |
| International | +49 1512 3456789 | Display to a global audience, business cards |
| National | 01512 3456789 | Domestic display inside Germany |
| RFC3966 | tel:+49-1512-3456789 | Clickable tel: links on websites |
Bundesnetzagentur and the Open-Length Numbering Plan
Germany inherited an “open” numbering plan: more than 5,000 geographic area codes of two to five digits, paired with subscriber numbers whose length varies by exchange. Berlin is 030, Munich 089, but a small town might use a five-digit code like 03991. The Bundesnetzagentur publishes the authoritative tables, and any serious validator — including Google’s libphonenumber, which powers this site — must embed them.
The practical consequence: no regex can validate a German number. A length check that accepts Berlin’s short business lines will also accept impossible mobiles, and one that demands 11 digits rejects genuine landlines. This is the single best argument for normalising German numbers to E.164 at the point of entry.
Formatting conventions are codified in DIN 5008: area code separated by a space (030 901820), no parentheses, optional hyphen only before extensions (030 901820-12). German business correspondence genuinely follows this standard, so render national format accordingly.
015x–017x Mobiles and Variable-Length Landlines
Type Prefixes Digits Example Mobile 015x, 016x, 017x 10–11 after 0 01512 3456789 Berlin landline 030 variable 030 901820 Munich landline 089 variable 089 12345678 Freephone 0800 11 0800 1234567 Premium 0900 variable 0900 1234567
Calling Germany: Drop the 0 After +49
Calling from Dial Within Germany 01512 3456789 — Keep the leading 0 domestically. From the US 011 49 1512 3456789 — Drop the leading 0. From any mobile +49 1512 3456789
- Enter + or your country’s exit code.
- Add the German country code 49.
- Drop the leading 0 of the German number.
- Dial the area code and subscriber number.
Why German Numbers Break Naïve Validators
- Germany has no fixed number length — validation requires the full Bundesnetzagentur numbering plan, which is why regex-only validators fail on German numbers.
- A German mobile in E.164 (+4915123456789) is 14 characters — near the E.164 15-digit maximum.
- DIN 5008 prescribes domestic formatting as “030 901820” (space after area code, no parentheses).
- Copy-pasting 4915123456789 without the + is the classic failure case — a formatter must re-add the + to parse it.
Common Mistakes with German Numbers
- Pasting E.164 without the plus — 4915123456789 looks like a national number and, with Germany selected, can double the country code in poor parsers (this formatter detects and fixes it).
- Keeping the 0 after +49 — “+49 01512…” is always wrong.
- Validating by length — German numbers legitimately range from about 7 to 12 digits after +49.
- Writing (030) with parentheses — DIN 5008 uses a plain space: 030 901820.
Validate a German Number in One Paste
Handles every German quirk — variable lengths, missing +, DIN 5008 spacing — and returns clean E.164 like +4915123456789.
Enter phone number with country code or select country below.
Up to 100 numbers. Include country code or select a default country below.
| Original | E.164 | International | National | Valid |
|---|
Germany Phone Format FAQ
How do I write a German phone number internationally?
Drop the leading 0 and prefix +49: 01512 3456789 becomes +49 1512 3456789, or +4915123456789 in E.164 for APIs and contact systems.
How many digits does a German phone number have?
It varies — Germany has no fixed length. Numbers run roughly 7 to 12 digits after +49. Mobiles are typically 10–11 digits after the dropped 0.
What do German mobile numbers start with?
German mobiles start with 015, 016 or 017 (e.g. 0151 Telekom, 0162 Vodafone, 0176 O2) — internationally +4915x, +4916x, +4917x.
Why won’t my German number validate?
German numbers have variable lengths, so simple length checks fail. Use a parser built on Google’s libphonenumber (like this site) which carries the full German numbering plan.