Keep +39 if it is already in the number. You do not need to remove Italy’s country code simply because you are physically in Italy. A contact saved as +39 06… for a Rome landline or +39 3… for an Italian mobile can normally be called from an Italian mobile phone. The detail that catches travelers out is the zero: on Italian geographic landlines, the initial 0 stays after +39.
The easiest way to handle Italian phone numbers is to save them in full international format. That means +39 followed by the complete Italian number. It works particularly well for hotel contacts, apartment hosts, restaurants, drivers and WhatsApp because you can keep the same saved contact before arriving, while traveling in Italy and after leaving.
Why +39 does not disappear when you enter Italy
+39 is Italy’s country calling code. The plus sign tells your phone to use the appropriate international dialing prefix, while 39 identifies Italy. The International Telecommunication Union lists +39 as Italy’s country code.
Modern mobile networks can interpret a number stored in international format even when the caller and the number being called are in the same country. Your contacts app does not need to rewrite the number every time you cross a border.
For example, suppose an Italian mobile number is shown as:
- 347 123 xxxx in national format
- +39 347 123 xxxx in international format
If you save the second version, you can normally use it both inside and outside Italy.
Seeing +39 on your screen also does not, by itself, mean your phone is treating the call as an expensive international call. Charges depend on your SIM, carrier and roaming arrangement, not simply on whether the destination is displayed with its country code.
The important Italian exception: do not remove the zero from a landline
This is where advice learned in other European countries can cause trouble.
Italian geographic telephone numbers begin with 0. Under the national numbering system administered by AGCOM, Italy’s communications regulator, numbers beginning with 0 are geographic numbers, while numbers beginning with 3 are used for mobile and personal communications.
Crucially, that zero is part of the Italian geographic number. It is not a trunk prefix that you throw away when adding the country code.
So these formats are correct:
- Rome: 06 … or +39 06 …
- Milan: 02 … or +39 02 …
- Florence: 055 … or +39 055 …
- Venice: 041 … or +39 041 …
Do not turn a Rome number such as +39 06… into +39 6…. That common “drop the zero after the country code” rule applies in countries such as the UK, but it is the wrong habit for an Italian fixed-line number.
What to dial when you are actually in Italy
On a normal mobile phone, you have two straightforward choices.
Calling an Italian mobile
If the number begins with 3, either of these formats is normally fine:
- 347 123 xxxx
- +39 347 123 xxxx
Saving +39 is usually smarter because the contact continues to work when you leave Italy.
Calling an Italian landline
Keep the entire geographic code, including its first zero:
- 055 123 xxxx
- +39 055 123 xxxx
You also dial the geographic code when you are already in that city. If you are standing in Florence and calling a Florence landline, do not assume you can remove 055 and dial only the remaining subscriber digits.
+39, 0039 and the plus sign
You may see the same contact written as +39… or 0039…. The 00 is an international access prefix, while the plus sign is the more useful way to store a number on a mobile phone because the handset and network handle the appropriate international access sequence.
For a traveler’s contact list, use:
+39 followed by the complete Italian number.
There is little benefit in storing a normal contact as 0039…, and you should not add both forms together. Something such as +39 0039… is wrong.
What number should you give an Italian hotel, host or driver?
If they are asking for your number, give your own number with its own country code, not +39 unless you actually have an Italian number.
For example, a traveler keeping a US SIM should give the number beginning +1. A UK number remains +44. An Australian number remains +61. Being physically in Italy does not turn your home number into an Italian one.
This matters with apartment check-ins. A host may need to call or WhatsApp you when you reach the building, and sending a home-country number without its country code can leave them guessing. Save the host’s full contact details before traveling to the accommodation, along with the practical entrance information described in our guide to finding an Italian apartment when the map pin is not enough.
WhatsApp numbers should normally be saved with +39
For an Italian contact on WhatsApp, saving the mobile number in international format is the safest approach:
+39 3xx xxx xxxx
You do not remove +39 once you arrive in Italy. WhatsApp identifies accounts by telephone number rather than by your current physical location.
The same principle is useful for restaurants, tour guides, taxi or transfer drivers and accommodation hosts who send instructions through messaging apps. If you are collecting contacts while building a multi-city trip, you can also organize the rest of your Italy route separately rather than burying booking details among dozens of phone contacts.
Do not add +39 to every number you see
Country-code formatting is intended for ordinary full telephone numbers. Italy also has short service numbers and special-number ranges, and these should not automatically be converted into +39 numbers.
For example, if you need the European emergency number 112, dial 112. Do not turn it into +39 112.
Numbers beginning with 800 and other service numbers can also behave differently from ordinary landlines and mobiles. Some may not be reachable from certain foreign SIMs, roaming connections or internet-calling services. If a business gives you a special number that will not connect, ask for un numero fisso o cellulare normale, a normal landline or mobile number.
If an Italian number will not connect
Before assuming the business is closed or the number is dead, check the formatting in this order:
- Check the country code. An Italian full number saved internationally should begin +39.
- For a landline, check the zero. +39 06… is correct for Rome. Removing the zero is a frequent cause of failed calls.
- For a mobile, expect a 3. A normal Italian mobile number begins with 3 after +39.
- Remove accidental duplication. +39 +39…, +39 0039… and similar combinations will not produce the intended number.
- Try the national format while in Italy. On a normal Italian mobile connection, try the complete number without +39, keeping the initial 0 on a landline.
- Check whether it is a special service number. Short codes and some 800-series services are not equivalent to ordinary telephone numbers.
- Try WhatsApp or another contact method. Hotels and apartment hosts frequently provide both calling and messaging options.
If you are using a hotel room telephone, there is one extra complication: the hotel’s internal phone system may require a digit such as 0 or 9 before making an outside call. That prefix belongs to the hotel switchboard, not to the Italian telephone number. Check the room phone instructions or ask reception rather than modifying the saved contact.
The format worth saving before your trip
For ordinary Italian contacts, the simple rule is enough: save +39 plus the complete number. For mobiles, that will normally mean +39 followed by a number beginning with 3. For geographic landlines, keep the initial 0, even immediately after +39.
That one habit avoids the most common mistake: treating Italy like a country where the leading zero disappears in international format. In Italy, +39 06…, +39 02… and +39 055… are not typos. The zero belongs there.