How to get the MCC and MNC from a phone number (and why the prefix can be wrong)

To get the MCC and MNC of a phone number, run a number portability (MNP) lookup or an HLR (home location register) lookup on the number in E.164 format. This is often called an MCC/MNC lookup or MNC lookup. Both checks return the code of the network that serves the number today, for example 23410 (MCC 234, MNC 10). The digits of the number alone only tell you which network the number range was allocated to. For numbers that have been ported to another operator, that answer is usually wrong. If you need the code of your own phone, Android apps can read it from the SIM, while iOS no longer exposes it.

#Which method gives which answer?

There are four ways to get an MCC/MNC, and they answer different questions. Pick the one that matches the question you have.

Most teams need the MNP lookup for routing and analytics. Add the HLR lookup when you also need to know whether the phone is live, and use prefix tables only as a free first guess. Landlines and most VoIP numbers have no MCC/MNC at all, because they are not on a mobile network.

#What are the MCC and MNC?

The mobile country code (MCC) and mobile network code (MNC) together identify one mobile network. They are defined in ITU-T Recommendation E.212 (ITU, 2024). The MCC has three digits. The MNC has two or three digits, depending on the country. Written together, they form a five- or six-digit code such as 23410 or 310260. That code is also the first part of every SIM card's IMSI, which is how a network recognises which operator a SIM belongs to. Our MCC and MNC glossary entry covers the basics.

The MCC is not the country calling code. The calling code comes from ITU-T E.164, the numbering plan you dial. The MCC comes from a different plan, and the two rarely match:

Watch out for coincidences: +234 is Nigeria's calling code, but 234 is also a UK MCC. Two more details trip people up. One calling code can cover several countries: +1 includes the United States, Canada and much of the Caribbean, each with its own MCC. And one country can hold several MCCs, as the United States does. Source: Mobile country code, Wikipedia (2026), which compiles the ITU list.

#Can you get the MCC and MNC from the digits alone?

Only the original one. Regulators allocate blocks of numbers to operators, and many publish those allocations, for example the UK's Ofcom numbering data. Map the number's prefix to its block, and the block to the operator's MCC/MNC, and you know which network the number started on.

That is also how open-source libraries work. Google's libphonenumber can return a carrier name for a mobile number, and its documentation says plainly that this is the carrier the range was originally assigned to, not necessarily the current one. It returns a name, not an MCC/MNC. Its getSafeDisplayName method (PhoneNumberToCarrierMapper) returns an empty string in countries where numbers can be ported, precisely because the name may be out of date there.

The problem is mobile number portability. Many countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, India, Brazil and every EU member state, let subscribers keep their number when they switch operator. After a port, the prefix still points to the old network while a different network serves the number. A prefix table can't tell the two apart, so it can be wrong for any ported number, and it is wrong silently. In the United States and Canada, ported numbers are routed by a local routing number (LRN) rather than by their digits. The mobile number portability atlas lists where portability exists. Our post on why carrier lookups go wrong after a port explains the mechanics.

Prefix data is still useful as a free first pass: it tells you the country, whether the range is mobile, and the likely network for numbers that were never ported. Just don't route money on it.

#How do you find the current MCC and MNC of any number?

Use a lookup that asks the porting data or the network itself.

MNP lookup. A number portability lookup checks the porting records for the number and returns the network that serves it now. With MobileValidate's MNP lookup you get three fields: porting (ported or not_ported), mcc_mnc (the current network code) and country (the country of that network). This is the right tool for SMS routing, per-network delivery reports and refreshing the operator stored in your customer records. It costs less than an HLR lookup.

HLR lookup. An HLR lookup asks the number's home network directly. It returns the same current mcc_mnc, plus the network name, and adds whether the phone is reachable right now and whether it is roaming. Use it when you also need to know that the number is live, for example before an OTP or before an expensive message. Mobile numbers only: landlines and most VoIP numbers have no home register to ask.

In both cases you pay only for conclusive answers, and unknown is always free. For the MNP lookup, a number it can't place on a network comes back as unknown. For the HLR lookup, a number the network reports as not assigned (invalid) is a conclusive answer and is billed. See pricing for the current real-time and bulk prices.

What about our carrier lookup? It returns the line type (mobile, fixed line, VoIP and more), the current carrier name and the original carrier when they differ. It is the check to use for sorting a list by line type (currently in beta), but it does not return an MCC/MNC code. When you need the code, use MNP or HLR.

#How do you read the MCC and MNC of your own phone?

This only works for the device your code runs on, never for someone else's number.

• Android. TelephonyManager has two methods. getSimOperator() returns the MCC+MNC of the operator that issued the SIM. getNetworkOperator() returns the MCC+MNC of the network the phone is registered on right now. When the phone is roaming, the two usually differ. On dual-SIM phones, call createForSubscriptionId() first to pick the SIM.
• iOS. Apple deprecated CTCarrier in iOS 16 with no replacement. According to the iOS 16.4 release notes, apps built with the iOS 16.4 SDK or later get static placeholder values (65535 for the codes, -- for the name) instead of real data. If your iOS app needs the network, ask your backend to look up the user's number instead.

#Example: get the MCC/MNC with an API call

With a test key, +447700900006 returns a ported number and +447700900001 a number that was never ported. Test calls are free. See test mode.

curl https://api.mobilevalidate.com/v1/lookup \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $MOBILEVALIDATE_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"numbers": ["+447700900006"], "checks": ["mnp"]}'

Response (excerpt, test mode):

{
  "e164": "+447700900006",
  "country": "GB",
  "checks": {
    "number.mnp": {
      "status": "completed",
      "attributes": {
        "porting": "ported",
        "mcc_mnc": "23410",
        "country": "GB"
      },
      "billed": false
    }
  }
}

In live mode, billed is true for this answer.

mcc_mnc is one string. The first three digits are always the MCC, and the rest is the MNC, so splitting is safe as long as you keep it a string:

function splitMccMnc(code) {
  // "23410" -> { mcc: "234", mnc: "10" }; "310260" -> { mcc: "310", mnc: "260" }
  if (!/^\d{5,6}$/.test(code)) return null;
  return { mcc: code.slice(0, 3), mnc: code.slice(3) };
}

def split_mcc_mnc(code: str):
    # "23410" -> ("234", "10"); "310260" -> ("310", "260")
    if not (code.isdigit() and len(code) in (5, 6)):
        return None
    return code[:3], code[3:]

This rule works for a five- or six-digit mcc_mnc code. It does not work for a raw IMSI, where the MNC length can't be told from the digits alone; that needs a per-country table.

For lists, upload a CSV as a bulk job and you get the same fields for every row. The API, SDKs and MCP server use the same check names.

#How do you turn an MCC/MNC into an operator name?

Look it up in a published MCC/MNC list. The ITU publishes the official assignments in its Operational Bulletin as annexes to E.212, and community-maintained lists such as Wikipedia's mobile network code tables are easier to search. A few well-known United States examples:

If you want the name and the code in one call, the HLR lookup returns both mcc_mnc and network. The MNP lookup returns only the code, which is all a routing table needs.

#What are the most common MCC/MNC mistakes?

1. Storing the code as a number. MNC 01 and MNC 001 are different codes, and an integer column turns both into 1. Keep MCC, MNC and the combined code as strings.
2. Using the calling code as the MCC. +44 is not 044. Map countries to MCCs with a table, never by reusing the dialling code.
3. Assuming the MNC is always two digits. The United States, Canada, India and others use three-digit MNCs for some or all networks. Split by "first three digits, then the rest", not by a fixed length.
4. Expecting every brand to have its own code. Many virtual operators (MVNOs) run on a host network's MNC and show the host's code. Larger MVNOs with their own SIMs and core network have their own MNC. So the MNC tells you the network, not always the brand on the customer's bill.
5. Treating a stored MCC/MNC as permanent. Ports happen every day. Re-check numbers before they drive a routing or fraud decision, and compare the new code with the one you stored: a change you didn't expect can be a sign of a port-out scam.

Two special ranges are worth knowing too. MCC 001 is reserved for test networks. MCC 901 is a shared international code for networks that don't belong to one country, such as satellite, in-flight and maritime services and some global IoT SIM operators.

#Which method should you use?

Check only numbers you have a lawful reason to process, such as your own customers and people who gave you their number. The acceptable use policy applies to every lookup.

To try it, create a free test key and run the request above, or read HLR vs MNP vs number validation to compare the three checks in more depth.