FakecreditcardUS phone number generator: why 555-01xx
A random ten-digit US number has a good chance of belonging to someone. Put it in a test that sends SMS verification codes or triggers a call, and a stranger gets the message — and your SMS provider bills you for it. When the North American Numbering Plan opened the 555 exchange to real information services in the mid-1990s, it kept 555-0100 to 555-0199 for fiction. This generator combines that line range with a real area code, so (512) 555-0147 looks like an Austin number but is not assigned to anyone. Other 555 numbers, such as 555-1212, can be real services.
Choose a state or province to get only its area codes — Texas gives 214, 512, 713, 832 and others — or type an exact area code such as 415. That makes the numbers useful for testing address-and-phone consistency checks, regional routing and lead forms that reject out-of-area numbers. In the NANP there is no separate mobile range, so for the US and Canada the number type option disappears.
Fictional ranges in other countries
| Country | Reserved for fiction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| United States, Canada | 555-0100 to 555-0199 in any area code (NANPA) | (212) 555-0142 |
| United Kingdom | Ofcom drama numbers: 07700 900000–900999 mobiles, 020 7946 0000–0999 London, 01632 960000–960999 and blocks in other cities | 07700 900461 |
| Australia | ACMA: (02) 5550 xxxx and (02) 7010 xxxx landlines (and the same blocks in 03, 07, 08), plus 30 individual mobile numbers such as 0491 570 156 | (02) 5550 4127 |
| France | Arcep: 01 99 00 xx xx, 02 61 91 xx xx, 03 53 01 xx xx, 04 65 71 xx xx, 05 36 49 xx xx and 06 39 98 xx xx | 06 39 98 12 34 |
| Germany | Bundesnetzagentur: 030 23125 000–999 (Berlin) and blocks in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Cologne and Munich; mobiles 0171 39200 00–99 and 0176 040690 00–99 | 030 23125 456 |
Sources for every range are listed on the test emails and phone numbers page. Other countries publish no such ranges, so we don’t generate numbers for them.
Formats: national, international, E.164
| Format | US example | UK example | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|---|
| National | (415) 555-0123 | 020 7946 0321 | Forms and print for a domestic audience |
| International | +1 415-555-0123 | +44 20 7946 0321 | Websites and documents with foreign readers |
| E.164 | +14155550123 | +442079460321 | Databases, APIs, SMS providers |
| Digits only | 4155550123 | 2079460321 | Legacy systems and numeric fields |
E.164 is the format to store: a plus sign, the country code and the subscriber number, at most 15 digits, no spaces. Note how the UK trunk prefix 0 disappears in international formats — a classic source of bugs when numbers are converted.
Validating phone numbers
- NANP numbers have the form
NXX-NXX-XXXX: area code and exchange both start with 2–9, and N11 codes such as 411 or 911 are never area codes. - A simple E.164 check:
^\+[1-9]\d{1,14}$. A US national check with balanced parentheses and no N11 codes:^(?:\((?!\d11)[2-9]\d{2}\)|(?!\d11)[2-9]\d{2})[-. ]?(?!\d11)[2-9]\d{2}[-. ]?\d{4}$. - Libraries with numbering-plan metadata, such as Google’s libphonenumber, separate “possible” numbers (right length) from “valid” ones (inside a range in their metadata). Whether a fictional range passes the stricter check depends on the library and its version, so test what yours does and allow-list the fictional ranges in staging if needed.
Testing SMS and verification codes
Fictional numbers are for forms, fixtures, screenshots and scripts; they cannot receive anything, so they can’t get you through an SMS verification. For your own app, use your SMS provider’s test mode instead. Twilio’s test credentials, for example, come with documented “magic” numbers: +15005550006 as a sender that always succeeds, and recipients such as +15005550001 that simulate an invalid number — no message is sent and nothing is billed. For end-to-end tests on a real device, use a number your team owns. Public “receive SMS online” websites share each number with everyone, so anyone can read the codes, and many services block them; never use them for an account you care about.
Frequently asked questions
Are these phone numbers real?
They have real formats, country codes and area codes, but the subscriber part comes from ranges that regulators keep unassigned for fiction and documentation. They are not allocated to anyone.
Can I use these numbers for SMS verification or WhatsApp?
No. They cannot receive SMS or calls, so a verification code would be lost, and creating accounts with numbers you don’t own breaks most services’ terms. Use a number you control, or your SMS provider’s test mode for your own app.
Is 555-1234 a fake number?
Not necessarily. In the North American Numbering Plan only 555-0100 through 555-0199 are reserved for fiction; other 555 numbers can be assigned to real services. That is why this generator only produces 555-01xx numbers.
Is it legal to use a fake phone number?
Using a fictional number in a film, a book, test data or a demo is legal — that is what the ranges are for. Giving a false number to deceive someone, for example to obtain a service or get around a check, can break the law or the service’s terms.
Why can’t I generate numbers for other countries?
Only a few regulators publish ranges for fiction: NANPA (US and Canada), Ofcom (UK), ACMA (Australia), Arcep (France) and the Bundesnetzagentur (Germany). Elsewhere any valid-looking number could belong to someone.