023 area code
Southampton & Portsmouth
The 023 area code is for Portsmouth and Southampton in Hampshire, and the surrounding areas.
Locations using 023 numbers include:
- Ashurst
- Bassett
- Bursledon
- Cadnam
- Chandler's Ford
- Compton
- Cosham
- Eastleigh
- Fair Oak
- Fawley
- Gosport
- Hamble
- Hampton
- Hambledon
- Havant
- Hayling Island
- Horndean
- Hythe
- Lee-on-the-Solent
- Lyndhurst
- Moorhill
- North End
- Portsmouth
- Rowland's Castle
- Rownhams
- Shirley
- Southampton
- Southsea
- Totton
- Waterlooville
- Woolston
The first digit of the eight-digit local number usually indicates more precisely where it is associated with:
| Number range | Primary area* | Other locations served |
|---|---|---|
| (023) 8xxx xxxx | Southampton | Ashurst, Bassett, Bursledon, Cadnam, Chandler's Ford, Eastleigh, Fair Oak, Fawley, Hamble, Hampton, Hythe, Lyndhurst, Moorhill, Rownhams, Shirley, Totton, Woolston |
| (023) 9xxx xxxx | Portsmouth | Compton, Cosham, Gosport, Hambledon, Havant, Hayling Island, Horndean, Lee-on-the-Solent, North End, Rowland's Castle, Southsea, Waterlooville |
* Telephone companies are officially required to issue numbers according to this pattern. Some smaller or newer operators may disregard the rules and use the same series of numbers across the entire area.
Most 023 numbers are for normal Southampton and Portsmouth landlines but be aware that, as is the case for all UK area codes, such numbers may also be used for services without any physical link to the area. (More info)
Formatting an 023 number
023 numbers should be displayed in the format 023 xxxx xxxx or (023) xxxx xxxx, with the first space always placed between '023' and the eight-digit local number.
For international callers, use: +44 23 xxxx xxxx.
02380, 02381 and 02382 numbers, as well as 02392, 02393 and 02394 numbers, should all be written as above; formats such as '02380 xxxxxx' are incorrect. [Why?]
Notes and links
Area code 023 was introduced in April 2000, to replace the older 01703 and 01705 area codes.
Unusually, the same 023 area code serves two separate non-adjoining areas. The Portsmouth and Southampton areas covered are some distance apart, with the 01329 and 01489 area codes used for the area in between them.
Recent history
| 1980s | Southampton uses area code 0703, along with the 0421 for some outer areas. Meanwhile, Portsmouth uses area code 0705 alongside 0701 for outer areas. |
| 1994 | By this point area codes had been consolidated, with just 0703 in use in Southampton and 0705 in Portsmouth. Both areas have six-digit local numbers. |
| 1995 | Codes becomes 01703 and 01705, with local numbers unchanged. |
| 2000 | Both areas move to the shared 023 area code, with local numbers lengthened to eight digits by prefixing with '80' in Southampton and '92' in Portsmouth. Example: (01703) 833000 becomes (023) 8083 3000. |
| 2006 | Local numbers beginning with 81 and 93 introduced. |
| 2012 | Local numbers beginning with 82 introduced. |
| 2013 | Local numbers beginning with 94 introduced. |
The numbering scheme introduced in 2000 gives Southampton and Portsmouth nearly 80 million usable numbers: (023) 20000000 to 99899999.
Prior to the change, fewer than 800,000 were available in each city: (01703) 200000 to 998999 for Southampton and (01705) 200000 to 998999 for Portsmouth.