Guide
The 0843 and 0844 prefixes: what they are and who uses them
Since 2018 call-centre calls in Italy have two prefixes of their own: 0843 for statistical surveys, 0844 for market research, advertising and sales. The person called knows who is calling before answering.
Updated on 5 October 2026
What the decision says
AGCOM Decision 156/18/CIR of 26 September 2018, implementing Law no. 5 of 2018, adds two notional districts to the Italian numbering plan, valid throughout Italy:
- 0843: calls for statistical surveys;
- 0844: calls for market research and for advertising, sales and commercial communication.
Numbers with these prefixes are assigned to carriers in blocks of one hundred.
The number is always shown
A call centre calling Italian landlines or mobiles always presents its calling number and cannot hide it. If it does not use 0843 or 0844, it presents another number allowed by the numbering plan, and that number must be possible to call back.
What calling back costs
For the person calling back, a call to a 0843 or 0844 number costs the same as a call to a landline in their own district, and it is included in minute bundles.
What does not change
The prefix says who is calling. The called person’s consent and the Italian public opt-out register (Registro pubblico delle opposizioni) remain separate rules.
With Mercurion
We activate 0843 and 0844 numbers, and other Italian numbers, through a partner carrier, together with the routes and the SIP trunk needed to use them.
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