Are 0845 numbers free?

No. They carry a service charge of up to about 7p a minute plus your provider's access charge.

What is the access charge?

The part of the price your own phone provider sets for calls to service numbers. It is on your provider's price list.

084 and 087 numbers: business rate numbers

Calls to 084 and 087 numbers have two parts: a service charge that goes to the company you call, and an access charge from your own provider.

Check a number

Ofcom's plan caps the service charge at 5.833p a minute (excluding VAT) for 0843, 0844 and 0845, and 10.83p for 0870 to 0873. GOV.UK rounds these to up to 7p and up to 13p a minute. The access charge depends on your provider.

An unexpected text or missed call asking you to ring an 084 or 087 number is worth checking before you call: look up the organisation's own number instead.

What it costs to call

Approximate costs from GOV.UK. Check with your provider.
Number	From a landline	From a mobile
0843, 0844, 0845	up to 7p a minute plus your provider's access charge	up to 7p a minute plus your provider's access charge
0870, 0871, 0872, 0873	up to 13p a minute plus your provider's access charge	up to 13p a minute plus your provider's access charge

0843, 0844, 0845 in Ofcom's data

Ofcom lists 2,121 blocks: 2,055 allocated to 222 providers and 66 free, protected or quarantined (files of 2026-09-04).

Largest range holders for 0843, 0844, 0845, by blocks allocated
Range holder	Blocks
Vodafone Ltd (C&W)	302
BT	150
TalkTalk Communications Limited	134
GCI Network Solutions Limited	84
Virgin Media Limited	75

0870 to 0873 in Ofcom's data

Ofcom lists 1,964 blocks: 1,825 allocated to 190 providers and 139 free, protected or quarantined (files of 2026-09-04).

Largest range holders for 0870 to 0873, by blocks allocated
Range holder	Blocks
Vodafone Ltd (C&W)	218
BT	140
GCI Network Solutions Limited	126
TalkTalk Communications Limited	122
Virgin Media Limited	79

Example format: 0845 123 4567. Type any number into the number checker to see its range; paste a message into the scam text checker.

Frequently asked questions

Are 0845 numbers free?: No. They carry a service charge of up to about 7p a minute plus your provider's access charge.
What is the access charge?: The part of the price your own phone provider sets for calls to service numbers. It is on your provider's price list.

Sources

Cost: 0843, 0844, 0845: GOV.UK, Call charges and phone numbers (costs "approximate"; check with your provider): "0843, 0844, 0845 | Business rate numbers | up to 7p and your phone company’s access charge" — https://www.gov.uk/call-charges, read on 2026-09-29
Cost: 0870, 0871, 0872, 0873: GOV.UK, Call charges and phone numbers (costs "approximate"; check with your provider): "0870, 0871, 0872, 0873 | Business rate numbers | up to 13p and your phone company’s access charge" — https://www.gov.uk/call-charges, read on 2026-09-29
Numbering plan (1): Ofcom, The National Telephone Numbering Plan, version with effect from 22 April 2025 (read from the Internet Archive copy of 27 Sep 2026): "0843, 0844 and 0845: Non-Geographic Numbers. The applicable Service Charge must not exceed 5.833 pence per minute, exclusive of VAT" — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/phones-telecoms-and-internet/information-for-industry/numbering/other/national-numbering-plan.pdf, read on 2026-09-29
Numbering plan (2): Ofcom, The National Telephone Numbering Plan, version with effect from 22 April 2025 (read from the Internet Archive copy of 27 Sep 2026): "0870, 0871, 0872 and 0873: Non-Geographic Numbers. The applicable Service Charge must not exceed 10.83 pence per minute, exclusive of VAT" — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/siteassets/resources/documents/phones-telecoms-and-internet/information-for-industry/numbering/other/national-numbering-plan.pdf, read on 2026-09-29
Range data: Ofcom numbering data files S1, S3, S5, S7, S8, S9 (ofcom.org.uk, Download numbering data) as downloaded by Ofcom on 2026-09-04, copied unchanged from the Number::Phone data-files mirror, commit b842859. Ofcom: "We publish data on which UK telephone numbers are available for allocation or are allocated, and aim to update these files every Wednesday." — https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/phone-numbers/numbering-data; mirror: https://github.com/DrHyde/perl-modules-Number-Phone-data-files, read on 2026-09-29

Last updated 2026-09-29. Independent information service. Number data from Ofcom shows the original range holder; numbers can be ported or spoofed. Not affiliated with Ofcom, the FCA, the ICO or any police service.