Toll-free number checker: find 800, 0800 and premium numbers in a list
A toll-free number checker tells you whether a number is toll-free (freephone), premium-rate or shared-cost from its country's numbering plan. In the US and Canada toll-free numbers start 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888; in the UK, 0800 or 0808. Paste numbers or upload a CSV to flag them and download the list without them.
Used for numbers written without a + country code.
Sample result
+1 800 555 0199 is in a US toll-free range, not a regular number.
- Phone number
- +1 800 555 0199
- Country
- US
- Plan type
- TOLL_FREE
What this means for you
Toll-free numbers are usually main business lines, so filter them from direct-dial lists.
- Flags toll-free, premium-rate and shared-cost
- Works for numbers from any country
- Download the list without service numbers
- Shows each number in E.164
- Toll-free
- Premium rate
- Bulk
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I find toll-free numbers in a list?
- Paste numbers one per line, or upload a CSV up to 25 MB. The phone column is found automatically and your other columns are kept.
- Pick the default country for numbers written without a + code, so 0800 123 4567 is read as a UK number.
- Press Check for toll-free numbers. Each number gets a class: toll-free, premium rate, shared cost, other service number, regular or not valid.
- Download the full list with a class column, the list without toll-free and premium numbers, or only the flagged ones.
Example
- You enter
- Two numbers,
+1 800 555 0199and(415) 555-0132. - You get
+1 800 555 0199is classed as toll-free (US, plan type TOLL_FREE);(415) 555-0132is a regular number.- Limits
- Uploaded files can be up to 25 MB; there is no cap on the number of rows, and it all runs in your browser.
How do I tell if a number is toll-free?
Look at the prefix after the country code. In North America, toll-free numbers begin with one of seven codes, 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844 and 833, according to the FCC's guide to how toll-free numbers work. They look like area codes but aren't tied to a place, and the same digits under 800 and 888 reach different businesses.
Other countries have their own ranges: 0800 and 0808 in the UK, 1800 in Ireland, Australia and India, 0800 in Germany, and the +800 universal international freephone range. This checker uses Google's open-source libphonenumber data, which records each country's freephone ranges, so a mixed-country list is checked in one pass. The toll-free numbers guide has the full table.
Is 833 a toll-free number?
Yes. 833 is the newest of the seven North American toll-free codes, alongside 800, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888, and it is toll-free in both the US and Canada. The same is true of 844 and 855: they are toll-free codes, not geographic area codes, so the number doesn't say where the business is.
Watch for look-alikes. 900 numbers in North America are pay-per-call, and area codes such as 809 and 876 belong to Caribbean countries and are charged as international calls. This tool marks 900 numbers as premium rate and Caribbean numbers as regular numbers in their own country.
Are 0800 and 0845 numbers free?
0800 and 0808 are free to call from UK landlines and mobiles; 0845 and the other 084 and 087 numbers are not. Ofcom's guide to phone numbers and call costs explains that 084 and 087 calls carry an access charge from your provider plus a service charge set by the organisation, and 09 numbers are premium rate with a much higher service charge.
libphonenumber files 084 and 087 numbers under premium rate rather than a separate service-charge class, so this tool shows them as premium rate too. 03 numbers, which cost the same as a call to a landline, show as a company number (UAN) and are kept in the cleaned download.
Why remove toll-free numbers from a call or SMS list?
Because they reach a company's switchboard or support line, not a person, and many can't receive texts at all. Lead lists built from websites and directories pick them up because that's the number a business publishes. Premium-rate numbers are worse: calling them from a dialer costs you money.
For the numbers that are left, the next question is mobile or landline. The landline or mobile checker answers that wherever the numbering plan can; in the US and Canada it can't, because mobiles and landlines share prefixes.
Is this better than a prefix formula in Excel?
| This checker | Excel formula | |
|---|---|---|
| US/CA 8XX toll-free | Yes | Yes, once numbers are in E.164 |
| UK, Ireland, Australia, India and others | Yes, every country | One pattern per country |
| Premium rate and shared cost | Yes | Only the prefixes you list |
| Mixed formats like (800) 555-0199 | Yes | Clean them first |
The formula, on E.164 numbers in C2: =REGEXTEST(C2,"^\+1(800|833|844|855|866|877|888)\d{7}$") in Microsoft 365, or REGEXMATCH in Google Sheets.
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- SMS teams
- Strip toll-free and premium numbers from a campaign list before upload, so you don't pay to send to switchboards.
- Sales and dialer teams
- Find the 800 and 0800 support lines in a scraped lead list and keep only numbers that might reach a person.
- Finance and procurement
- Flag premium-rate 09 and 900 numbers in a supplier or contact list before they get dialled.
- CRM admins
- Add a class column to a contact export so toll-free company lines can be filtered or moved to an account field.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- The class is what the range was allocated for in the numbering plan; it can't tell whether a number is in service or who holds it.
- It can't tell whether a toll-free number has texting enabled.
- UK 084 and 087 service-charge numbers are labelled premium rate, as libphonenumber files them, not as a separate class.
- Numbers written without a + code are read with the default country, so a mixed-country list needs + codes on its foreign numbers.
- Ranges come from libphonenumber's metadata, which can lag recent allocations.
Common questions
- What is a toll-free number?
- A number the business pays for instead of the caller. In the US and Canada they start 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 or 888; in the UK, 0800 or 0808. Mobile callers may still use plan minutes.
- How to check if a number is toll-free?
- Check the prefix after the country code, or paste the number into the checker above. It reads the country's numbering plan and labels the number toll-free, premium rate, shared cost or regular.
- Is 833 a toll-free number in Canada?
- Yes. The North American toll-free codes, including 833, are shared by the US and Canada, so an 833 number is toll-free from either country.
- Is 844 a toll-free number?
- Yes. 844 is one of the seven North American toll-free codes. It isn't a geographic area code, so it doesn't say where the business is.
- Is 0800 free on mobile?
- Yes, in the UK. Ofcom says 080 numbers are free to call from consumer landlines and mobiles. Business phone contracts may still charge, so check with the provider.
- Are 0845 numbers free to call?
- No. 084 and 087 numbers carry your provider's access charge plus a service charge set by the organisation you call, per Ofcom. Only 0800 and 0808 are free.
- Can you text a toll-free number?
- Only if its owner has enabled texting on it; many toll-free numbers are voice-only. This tool can't tell whether a particular number takes texts.
- Can I call a toll-free number from another country?
- Often not. Toll-free numbers are usually free only inside their own country or numbering plan, and many can't be reached from abroad at all. The +800 international freephone range is the exception.
Sources
The numbering plan only knows what a range was issued for.
In the US and Canada mobiles and landlines share the same prefixes, and anywhere a number can be ported or reassigned the range stops telling the whole story. A live carrier lookup asks the network data instead, which is what the Email + Phone plan adds.
- 5,000 live carrier lookups a month: real line type, including US numbers
- Carrier name for every number looked up
- Upload a CSV up to 100,000 rows; emails in the same file get a mailbox check
One plan, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.