Test Phone Numbers by Country: A Safe Reference for QA
Officially reserved test phone numbers for the US, UK, Germany, France, and more — plus Twilio magic numbers — so your tests never reach a real handset.
· 7 min read
Pick the wrong test phone number and your SMS test pings a stranger at 3am. Most countries reserve specific ranges for fiction, drama, and testing — this page collects them, plus the magic numbers Twilio and other carriers ship for sandbox use.
Why you cannot just make one up
Random phone numbers almost always belong to a real person somewhere. Telecom regulators in most countries publish reserved ranges that will never be assigned to a real subscriber — these are the only numbers safe to use in fixtures, demo data, screenshots, and tests.
United States and Canada
The North American Numbering Plan reserves the 555-0100 to 555-0199 range in every area code for fictitious use. Examples: +1 (212) 555-0123, +1 (415) 555-0188, +1 (416) 555-0145. The broader 555 prefix outside this range is partially assigned, so stick to the -01XX block.
United Kingdom
Ofcom reserves 07700 900000 to 07700 900999 for drama and testing. Examples: +44 7700 900123, +44 7700 900456. For landlines, the (0)20 7946 0000 to 0999 range is reserved in London, and equivalent 01632 ranges exist regionally. Avoid Premium Rate (09XX) entirely.
Germany
Bundesnetzagentur reserves the 0152 28817xxx range and parts of 0157 for testing. The full reserved fiction list is published annually — for stable choices use +49 152 28817386 and similar 0152/0157 numbers within the reserved blocks. For landlines, +49 30 23125 xxx (Berlin reserved) is safe.
France
ARCEP reserves +33 6 39 98 xx xx and +33 9 80 xx xx xx for fiction. Examples: +33 6 39 98 12 34, +33 9 80 11 22 33. Numbers in the 06 39 98 range are explicitly published as 'numbers reserved for fictional use in audiovisual and literary works'.
Other major markets (quick reference)
Australia: +61 491 570 156 to 159 (ACMA fictional use range). Spain: +34 600 ranges flagged in CNMC's reserved list. Italy: AGCOM publishes a fiction range starting 0002 for landline drama use. Japan: Ministry of Internal Affairs reserves +81 90-XXXX-XXXX in narrow ranges; safest is to use Twilio test numbers. Brazil: Anatel reserves 4002-XXXX patterns for advertising.
Always check the regulator's current published list before going to production with a fixed test number.
Twilio and SMS provider magic numbers
Twilio's sandbox accepts 'magic' numbers that always succeed or fail in specific ways: +1 500 555 0001 (always passes verification), +1 500 555 0002 (always fails), +1 500 555 0003 (returns 'invalid number'). MessageBird, Vonage, and Plivo all ship similar test numbers — check each provider's docs for the current set.
Keep your safe numbers in one place
Copying these from the regulator's PDF every sprint is friction. Keep five or six per country in a TestAssets list grouped by locale and paste them straight into any signup or 2FA form from the browser, desktop, or mobile autofill. Your tests stay safe; nobody's grandma gets a 3am verification code.