Need to get a phone number within the NANP plan but don’t know anything about the plan? Here is everything you need to know about the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), dialing codes, phone number formats, and more.
What is the North American Numbering Plan (NANP)?
The North American Numbering Plan — also known as the NANP — is a telephone numbering plan that serves 20 North American countries (listed below). The NANP region mainly covers the US and its territories, Canada, and some Caribbean countries.
The participating countries share numbering resources among themselves. The NANP was developed in 1947 by AT&T and implemented in 1951. The purpose was to simplify and facilitate easy direct international calling.
Format of NANP Phone Numbers
NANP phone numbers are assigned the country code (1) by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU). NANP numbers are ten-digits long. This includes a three-digit Numbering Plan Area (NPA) code — an area code followed by a seven-digit local number or subscriber number. The format is usually represented as: +1 NXX-NXX-XXXX.
Which Countries are Included in the NANP?
- Anguilla: 264
- Antigua & Barbuda: 268
- Bahamas (the): 242
- Barbados: 246
- Bermuda: 441
- British Virgin Islands (the): 284
- Canada: multiple local area codes
- Cayman Islands (the): 345
- Dominica: 767
- Dominican Republic (the): 809/829/849
- Grenada: 473
- Jamaica: 876/658
- Montserrat: 664
- Saint Kitts and Nevis: 869
- Saint Lucia: 758
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: 784
- Sint Maarten: 721
- Trinidad and Tobago: 868
- Turks & Caicos: 649
- United States of America: multiple local area codes
- US Territories:
- American Samoa: 684
- Guam: 671
- Northern Mariana Islands: 670
- Puerto Rico: 787/939
- US Virgin Islands: 340
Additional Facts about the North American Numbering Plan
Dialing between two NANP countries is quick and easy. Users simply dial the country dialing code, followed by the NPA area code, and a 7-digit local number. For example, when calling from the US to Barbados, users will dial +1 (246) xxx-xxxx.
Even though all numbers within the NANP share the same numbering plan and resources, calls made between NANP countries are not considered domestic calls. They are considered international calls and are charged international or long-distance calling rates. Fortunately, these rates are not much higher than domestic rates.
To call a NANP country from outside the NAN plan, users need to dial their exit codes, trunk prefix (1), and the national subscriber number (NSN). The format is:
(exit code) 1 (area code) xxx-xxxx.
For example, someone calling a Canada number from France would dial the exit code (00), trunk prefix (1), Jamaica’s area code (876), and the subscriber number (xxx-xxxx):
00 1 876 xxx-xxxx.
Learn More About NANP
You can learn more about the North American Numbering Plans by visiting our homepage. We provide international phone numbers from countries participating within the North American Numbering Plan. Find your new NANP phone number or buy a USA phone number by browsing through our website or receive assistance by contacting our sales team.