+506
International Call Prefix
00
Number plan type
closed
As of 2010 the government body in charge of allocations is the Superintendencia de Telecomunicaciones SUTEL.[1]
Prefix 00 was reserved for international calls, while prefix 9 was assigned to special numbers, such as 911. Toll-free numbers start with 800 followed by 7 digits while premium-rate numbers start with 900 followed by 7 digits.
Before 1994, all phone numbers in Costa Rica were six digits long. The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad, which at that time had the monopoly on telecommunications, introduced a system in which the telephone numbers in every province were assigned a prefix to make them 7 digits long.This numbering system was effective for some time. However, the boom of mobile phone customers since the introduction of GSM around 2000 and the expansion of metropolitan areas caused a serious shortage of available numbers. Thus many GSM-based customers used numbers starting with 3 and many residents of San Jose province had telephone numbers starting with prefixes other than 2.
Since March 20, 2008, a renewed numbering system added the prefix 2 for all landlines and 8 for all mobile phone numbers. This system was implemented in order to face the introduction of 1.5 million 3G W-CDMA customers in Q1 2009. The transition to 8-digit numbers was heavily publicized in Costa Rican media. However, the change caused considerable confusion among foreigners. Also, all calls dialed using the old 7-digit version of the phone number are automatically redirected to a voice message with information about the change.
In 2010, after the end of the government monopoly in telecommunications, prefixes 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 were assigned to private operators.
8-digit numbers are commonly written one of two ways: "xxxxxxxx" or "xxxx-xxxx"
| Number Range[2] | Type of Service | Province | Provider |
|---|---|---|---|
| 21XX-XXXX | VoIP | Countrywide | Kölbi |
| 22XX-XXXX | Fixed | San Jose and Heredia | GrupoICE |
| 24XX-XXXX | Alajuela | ||
| 25XX-XXXX | Cartago, San Jose and Heredia | ||
| 2511-XXXX | Reserved to Universidad de Costa Rica | ||
| 26XX-XXXX | Guanacaste, Central and North Puntarenas | ||
| 27XX-XXXX | Limon and South Puntarenas Province | ||
| 3XXX-XXXX | Reserved for private mobile services | Countrywide | Unallocated |
| 4XXX-XXXX | VoIP | Multiple private operators | |
| 4070-XXXX | InterPhone | ||
| 500X-XXXX to 504X-XXXX | Mobile GSM | MVNO's | |
| 570X-XXXX to 571X-XXXX | Tuyo | ||
| 6XXX-XXXX | Liberty | ||
| 7XXX-XXXX | Claro | ||
| 8XXX-XXXX | GrupoICE - Kölbi |
| Class | Length or Range | Type | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Services | 1XXX | Service Provider, Government and Services | 1110, 1113, 1115, 1118, 1119, 1124, 1134, 1155, 1187, 1193, 1197, 1199, 1719, 1720 | |
| Special Services | 18XX,19XX | Outbound call operator selection | 1901, 1902, 1903, 1908 | |
| SMS Services | 4 Digit | 3rd Party SMS Content Providers | 7777 | |
| 800 Toll Free Numbers | 10 Digits | 3rd Party Company or Organization | 800-286-0101 | |
| 900 and 905 Premium-Toll Numbers | 10 Digits | 3rd Party Company or Organization | 900-365-4632 |