Chennai Dialing Instructions

To make an international telephone call to Chennai, India from any country worldwide, please follow the dialing procedure shown below.

Dial Chennai, India

Note that the dialing steps are somewhat different depending on whether you are dialing a Chennai landline phone or a Chennai mobile phone

Dialing steps may also be affected if you are calling Chennai using a calling card or VoIP phone service.

Click here for dialing steps by country for selected countries.

Steps to Dial Chennai, India from Any Country

Follow this basic dialing procedure to place an international long-distance call from any country worldwide to a landline or mobile phone number in Chennai, India.

The procedure outlined below is most applicable to direct international dialing from a landline or mobile phone in the home or office. Dialing procedures may differ when using a calling card or a VoIP internet calling service.

1. Dial international access code / IDD:   xxx 

Dial your country's international access code (aka IDD) to initiate a phone call to Chennai.

Lookup the international access code / IDD for your country here.

Note that some mobile operators do not require dialing an IDD for certain calls and/or allow use of substitute characters (such as '+') in lieu of dialing an IDD. As well, in many cases you don't dial an IDD when using a calling card or VoIP service.

2. Dial India country code:  91 

Dial country code +91 to reach any location in India. Country codes are also known as ISDs or international subscriber dialing codes.

3. Remove '0' if one precedes your number

If your Chennai phone number starts with a '0' - e.g., 044 - 44481800, delete the '0'. The '0' is a national direct dial (NDD) code and is used only for calls within India.

4. Determine if calling to landline or mobile phone

Landline and mobile phone numbers are slightly different in Chennai, as elsewhere in India. All India numbers are 10-digits, but landline numbers are 8-digits and require a separate 2-digit area code. Mobile numbers are 10-digits and do not require the area code. Check here to learn how to tell a landline phone number from a mobile phone number.

5. If calling a Chennai landline phone number...

a. Dial the 2-digit Chennai area code:  44 

Chennai proper has only one area code. Nearby areas may use other codes.

b. Dial an 8-digit local subscriber number:  xxxx xxxx

All landline phones in Chennai proper have an 8-digit local subscriber number.

6. If calling a Chennai mobile phone number...

Simply dial the 10-digit mobile number:  9x xxx xxxxx

All mobile phones in Chennai have 10-digits and start with '9'. No area code should be dialed.

Lookup a Chennai phone number

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Steps to Dial Chennai from a Specific Country

Follow the links below for country-specific dialing instructions for calling Chennai landline and mobile phones. These pages include originating country access codes and other information.

Call Chennai from Australia
Call Chennai from Canada
Call Chennai from Dubai / UAE
Call Chennai from Germany
Call Chennai from New Zealand
Call Chennai from Saudi Arabia
Call Chennai from the UK
Call Chennai from the USA

more countries...

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Dialing Tips

  • If you are in an office or building with a main switchboard or PBX, make sure you have a live outside line by dialing '9' or similar
  • Some mobile carriers provide shortcuts for making international calls - generally, by changing if or how an IDD is dialed. E.g., In the US, t-mobile allows you to dial a '+' instead of an IDD when calling international numbers.
  • Most calling cards do not require an IDD - but generally do require dialing of additional access numbers and identifying codes
  • Most VoIP services do not require an IDD - but VoIP dialing procedures vary widely, so check dialing for your service carefully
  • Make sure you don't have an extra '0' in your number (see step #3)

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