Calling to Macau
- A leading '+' in the phone number means 'dial your country's exit code'.
- Calling from a mobile phone: dial from on the country where you're currently located.
- Calling from a VoIP or satellite phone: dial from on the country where the phone is registered.
… to a mobile (cellular) phone or text (sms)
Use the same call sequence.
Mobile phone numbers begin with ‘6’.
When calling a mobile phone user, dial to the country where the mobile phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a VoIP phone
Use the same call sequence.
When calling a VoIP phone user, dial to the country where the VoIP phone is registered, regardless of where the person is roaming.
… to a satellite phone
Macau does not have a country-specific satellite phone system.
Most satellite phones operate on their country code – calls to these satellite phones follow their call sequence.
… sending a fax
Use the same call sequence.
Calling within Macau (domestic dialing)
There is no trunk prefix used when calling within Macau. Dial all phone numbers as they are listed.
Local calling (within the same area code)
Dial all eight digits of the phone number.
| eight digits |
| local phone number |
Long distance calling (to a different area code)
Dial all eight digits of the phone number.
| eight digits |
| local phone number |
Mobile calling (to or from a mobile phone)
Dial all eight digits of the phone number.
| eight digits |
| local phone number |
Macau’s phone numbers explained
Number details
Macau’s phone numbers are eight digits.
The first digit of the phone number designates whether the phone is a land-line (fixed line) or mobile phone number. Land-line phones begin with ’28’.
Mobile numbers being with digit ‘6’.
An example of a Macanese phone number
The Macau Museum lists its phone number in Macau as (853) 2835 7911.
Number explanation
| 853 | 28 | 35 7911 |
| country code for Macau | designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | remainder of the phone number |
Local example – calling from another location in Macau
Dial all eight digits of the local phone number.
| 28 | 35 7911 |
| designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | remainder of the phone number |
Moblie example – calling from a mobile phone (including a foreign mobile phone roaming in Macau)
Dial all eight digits of the local phone number.
| 28 | 35 7911 |
| designates a land-line (fixed line) phone number | remainder of the phone number |
International exmaple – calling from outside Macau (including calls from China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Portugal)
To call from outside Macau, dial the exit code of the country the call is dialed from, followed by Macau’s country code of ‘853’, followed by the local phone number.
| exit code | 853 |
| exit code of the country the call is dialed from | country code for Macau |
Calling from Macau
’00’ is used as an exit code when dialing an international phone call from Macau.
Dial calls to China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Portugal this way as well.
Sources and more resources
- Bureau of Telecommunications Regulation – Macau’s telephone systems regulator.
- ITU (International Telecommunications Union) – United Nations specialized agency for information and communications technologies.
- International Telecommunications Union – DIALLING PROCEDURES (INTERNATIONAL PREFIX, NATIONAL (TRUNK) PREFIX AND NATIONAL (SIGNIFICANT) NUMBER) (IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITU-T RECOMMENDATION E.164 (11/2010)) – A collection of dialing procedures for all countries and regions of the world. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
- International Telecommunications Union – Macau (country code +853) National Numbering Plan – Details of Macau’s telephone numbering plan as submitted to the ITU. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
- Wikipedia – Telephone numbers in Macau – Wikipedia entry for telephone number data for Macau. Includes specific number ranges for each city as well as detail on calling procedures.
- BT – The Phonebook – Macau – Entry for Macau in the British Telecom international directory.