How to Dial an International Call From the United States

Making an international phone call takes a few simple steps.

When you need to call family, a friend or a business contact who lives abroad, you need to know the method for dialing an international call. Calling an international number is easy once you have established that your phone can make international calls and you look up the code for the country you wish to call. Be sure to check your phone company's international calling rates so you aren't in for a shock when your next phone bill arrives.

Things You'll Need

• Telephone
• Long-distance phone number

Instructions

Self-Dialed Calls

1. Look up the country and city codes for the location you are placing the call to. This will be a one-, two- or three-digit code for each.

2. Pick up your phone and check to see that you have a dial tone.

3. Dial 011 on your phone's keypad. This is the international calling exit code for the United States. Every call from the U.S. to another country requires you to begin by dialing 011 to indicate you want to call to a number out of the country.

4. Dial the country code for the country you are placing a call to.

5. Dial the city code for the city you are placing the call to.

6. Dial the phone number you wish to connect with.

Operator Assisted Calls

1. Dial 01 to indicate you would like to make a call with the assistance of an operator. Most international calls are direct-dialed, but if you feel you need the help of an operator, use this method instead.

2. Dial the country code, or tell the operator which country you wish to call.

3. Dial the city code, or tell the operator which city you wish to call.

4. Dial the telephone number, or tell the operator the phone number you would like to call.

5. Hold while the operator connects you to your international call.

Tips & Warnings

• When calling a phone number that begins with a zero, drop the first zero and start dialing with the next number. This zero is called a "trunk code" and is only used when calling a number from within that country, not with calls from abroad.

• Since calls to a cell phone in another country can demand higher rates than calls to a land line in another country, know which type of number you are calling and find out from your phone company if the rates to different types of phone numbers vary.

• Calls placed with the assistance of an operator are much more expensive than direct-dialed calls, so only use an operator if you absolutely need to.

References

• Federal Communications Commission: International Long Distance Calling
• How To Call Abroad: List of Country Codes and International Exit Codes