The

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

telephone numbering plan A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, reach ...

is the system used for assigning telephone numbers in Belize. *

Telephone country code A telephone country code is a country-specific telephone number prefix for international direct dialing (IDD), a system for reaching telephone service subscribers in foreign areas via international telecommunication networks. Country codes are de ...

: 501 *

International call prefix International direct dialing (IDD) or international subscriber dialling (ISD) is placing an International call, international telephone call, dialed directly by a telephone subscriber, rather than by a switchboard operator, telephone operator. Sub ...

: 00 *National significant numbers (NSN): seven digits.

Changes in late 2005

International dialing format: +501 ZNY XXXX, where:

Changes in early 2005

Two new User Group/Platform classifications for N were introduced in 2005 in the National Destination Code (NDC) for the implementation of Speednet's CDMA mobile cellular network: :6 = Prepaid :7 = Postpaid Mobile

Mobile service

The format is: ZNY XXXX, where: ZNY = Destination Code :Z = 6 – Countrywide Mobile Roaming :N = 6 – Prepaid/Payphone :N = 7 – Postpaid Mobile

Changes in 2004

Fixed network

GSM mobile prepaid services

:The format is: ZNY XXXX, where: ::ZNY = National Destination Code (NDC) ::Z = 6 (countrywide mobile roaming) ::N = 2 (prepaid) ::Y = 0, 1 The PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) with “0” as second digit, and mobile numbers with “0”or “2” as second digit, are restricted from accepting collect calls.

Changes in 2002

National numbering plan

The revised national numbering plan was designed and designated with: :NDC SN ''or'' ZNY XXXX where: :ZNY = National Destination Code (NDC) :Z = (1 – 9) Geographic or District Code :N = (0 – 9) User Group / Platform Code :Y = (0 – 9) (Carry over first digit from existing and virtual five-digit number – YXXXX) :XXXX = Subscriber Number (SN)

0)0000 – (9)9999 A bracket is either of two tall fore- or back-facing punctuation marks commonly used to isolate a segment of text or data from its surroundings. They come in four main pairs of shapes, as given in the box to the right, which also gives their n ...

Assignment

ZNY XXXX ZNY where:
Z = Geographic or district code (1 – 9) :0 – Reserved :1 – Reserved :2 –

Belize District Belize is a district of the nation of Belize. Its capital is Belize City. Geography Most of the Belize District is in the east central mainland of Belize; the Belize District also includes various offshore islands, including Ambergris Caye ...

:3 –

Orange Walk District Orange Walk is a Districts of Belize, district in the northwest of the nation of Belize, with its district capital in Orange Walk Town. Demographics Main settlements The Orange Walk District, with an area of 1,829 square miles (4,636 square km), ...

:4 –

Corozal District Corozal is the northernmost Districts of Belize, district of the nation of Belize. The population was 46,071 in 2024. The district capital is Corozal Town. Pre-Columbian Maya civilization, Maya ruins are found in Corozal at Santa Rita ruins, Sa ...

:5 –

Stann Creek District Stann Creek is a district in the south east region of Belize. According to the 2022 census, the district had a population of 48,162 people. Its capital is the town of Dangriga, formerly known as "Stann Creek Town." Stann comes from "stanns," or s ...

:6 – Countrywide Mobile Roaming by all mobile service providers :7 – Toledo District :8 –

Cayo District Cayo is a district located in the west part of Belize, and it contains the capital, Belmopan. It is the most extensive, second-most populous and third-most densely populated of the six districts of Belize. The district's capital is the town of S ...

(including

Belmopan Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the continental Americas (by population) and the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and San Ignacio. Fou ...

San Ignacio San Ignacio (the Spanish language name of St. Ignatius (disambiguation), St. Ignatius) is a common toponym in parts of the world where that language is or was spoken: Argentina * San Ignacio, Argentina, Misiones Province * San Ignacio Miní, a ...

and Benque Viejo) :9 – Reserved ::N = User Group/Platform classification/Identification for the respective service providers, where N = 0 – 9 For example: :0 = PrePay (e.g. Prepaid/Pay phone for a specified service provider) :1 = Mobile (e.g. Mobile for a specific service provider) :2 = PSTN (e.g. Public Switched Telecommunication Network for a specific service provider) :3 = Reserved :4 = Reserved :5 = Reserved :6 = Reserved :7 = Reserved :8 = Reserved :9 = Reserved ::Y = First digit of a virtual five-digit subscriber number and/or first digit of present five-digit subscriber numbers – (0 – 9) XXXX = Subscriber numbers (0000 – 9999) :Potential numbers with 0000 and 9999 will be reserved :Assigned numbers will start from 00010 :Assigned numbers will stop at 99998 :Subscribers/Customers will be required to dial seven (7) digits for all local calls whether within the same area or district or to another area or district.

Application and examples

Present number for :Customer in

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize. It was once the capital city, capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2022 census, Belize City has a population of 63,999 people. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, which is a ...

– 02 24940 ::

– 08 22692 ::Service being provided by BTL’s – PSTN New number :Belize City – 222 4940 ::Belmopan – 822 2692 ::Middle digit “2” identifies BTL’s Public Switch Telecommunication Network (PSTN). Present number for :Customer in Belize City – 02 24940 ::Belmopan – 08 22692 ::Service being provided by the PSTN of another service provider New Number :Belize City – 242 4940 ::Belmopan – 842 2692 ::Middle digit “4” identifies other service provider’s Public Switch Telecommunication Network (PSTN). Mobile Cellular : Belize Telecommunication Ltd present number: 0149076 :New number will be 614 9076 – Country wide. :Number digit “1” identifies Belize Telecommunication Ltd. :Mobile cellular service by another service provider for same subscriber will be 654 9076. :Number digit “5” identifies the other service provider. :The choice of dialling the middle digit “1” or middle digit “5” will be that of the consumer and would be based on service cost and interconnection arrangements.

Changes prior to spring 1996

Approx 1996 to April 2002

As of early 1996,

AT&T AT&T Inc., an abbreviation for its predecessor's former name, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the w ...

and other reliable sources indicated that Belize had recently changed its switching arrangements for incoming international calls so that all locations in the country required an area code to be dialed. The area codes were still of varying length, followed by numbers of a more fixed length than before. Belize City now required an area code of 2 in order to be dialed, while the digit 0 was deleted from all other area codes when calling from outside the country.

was 2, Caye Caulker was 22, Ladyville was 25, San Pedro was 26, Burrell Boom was 28, and other outlying areas around Belize City were 21. Presumably, no Belize City number would begin with 1, 2, 5, 6 or 8 in order to avoid confusion in the switch (e.g. 28-8012 could be mistaken as 2-88012).

Pre-1996 (approximate)

Prior to this change, and starting at least no later than 1980, Belize City was dialed as +501 then the local five digit number. Other locations were dialed as +501, then an area code starting with 0, then the local number. The arrangement indicated that incoming international calls reached the Belize City exchange, from which a further call was dialed as if the international caller was in Belize City. The telephone network was developed during the late 1960s and 1970s with installation of modern exchanges to replace older networks, and to tie them together into a long-distance network using area codes. Neither the local numbers nor the area codes were of standard length, though larger towns tended to have a single digit after the 0. Rural areas outside of a town usually had a separate area code, longer than that of the town, but beginning with the same digit. For example,

Orange Walk Town Orange Walk is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is located on ...

was 03, but its suburbs and outlying area was 031; no Orange Walk telephone number would begin with 1.

References

{{North America topic, Telephone numbers in

Telecommunications in Belize