Freephone, 0800 and premium-rate numbers in France: the rules for 08 numbers

Ten-digit numbers beginning with 08, known as “special numbers” (numéros spéciaux), and some short numbers are used for value-added services (SVA, services à valeur ajoutée). Since a reform that came into force in October 2015, the Arcep explains, their price clearly separates two components: the price of the call and the price of the service, which is set by the service provider. This gives three families.

Free-of-charge numbers, from 0800 to 0805: the call is neither billed nor deducted from call allowances, whether it is made from a landline or a mobile. Standard-rate numbers, from 0806 to 0809: the call is billed like a call to an ordinary landline number, and is therefore included in unlimited plans, and the service is free. Premium-rate numbers, beginning with 081, 082 and 089: a surcharge, which pays the service provider, is added to the normal price of the call and is billed on top of any plan.

The surcharge caps depend on the number range. According to the Arcep’s table (page updated on 14 September 2026), they range from a maximum of €0.05 per minute or €0.125 per call excluding VAT for 081 numbers, up to €0.667 per minute or €2.50 per call excluding VAT for 089 numbers. The surcharge is billed per call or per second from the first second, regardless of the time of day, and it is the same for a given number with every operator.

“Numéro vert” (literally “green number”) is the historical name, still in common use, for free numbers beginning with 080. The Arcep was still using it in quotation marks in 2009, referring to numbers beginning with 080, known as “numéros verts”, as opposed to “azur” numbers beginning with 081, which carried a surcharge at the time. In its numbering plan, the regulator now refers to free-of-charge special voice numbers.

The colour green has survived in signage. At the initiative of the sector’s trade association, and together with the Arcep, the DGE (the French Directorate General for Enterprise), the DGCCRF (the French consumer protection authority) and consumer associations, operators and service providers drew up a graphic charter that assigns a colour to each family: green for free numbers, with the wording “Service & appel gratuits” (free service and call); grey for standard-rate numbers, with “Service gratuit + prix appel” (free service + call price); purple for premium-rate numbers, with the service price followed by “+ prix appel” (+ call price). The charter states that it applies only to SVA numbers, and in no case to numbers beginning with 09.

For premium-rate numbers, the Arcep states that the price is given in a free price-information message played at the start of the call. Operators’ bills must clearly show the amount of calls to these numbers, and itemised bills must list each one with the number, duration and price. A reverse directory, set up by operators and service providers at surmafacture.fr, lets you find the holder of a number and its price.

For a business that publishes an 08 number, the practical rule is to display the label (cartouche) matching its pricing wherever the number appears: website, quotes, invoices, vehicles, adverts. A free number shown without any indication, or a premium-rate number presented as an ordinary number, is confusing.

Article L. 121-16 of the French Consumer Code (Code de la consommation) is unambiguous: the telephone number intended to receive a consumer’s call to obtain the proper performance of a contract concluded with a business, or the handling of a complaint, cannot be premium-rate, and this number must be stated in the contract and in correspondence. The article sits in the section of the code devoted to premium-rate numbers, among prohibited commercial practices.

Providers of electronic communications services have a stricter obligation, under Article L. 224-38: their after-sales, technical support and complaints services must be reachable on a non-geographic, fixed, non-premium-rate number, and a call made from their own network cannot cost anything until the subscriber has been put through to someone who handles their request.

In practice, in France, a customer service, after-sales or complaints line can use a free number (0800 to 0805), a standard-rate number (0806 to 0809), a landline number beginning with 01 to 05 or a 09 number, but not a premium-rate number. This ban protects consumers and covers calls relating to the performance of a contract or to a complaint. Premium-rate numbers, for their part, are used to sell a service by phone, such as information services, weather forecasts or ticket purchases, to use the Arcep’s examples.

A free number sends a strong message: the call costs the customer nothing. The cost of the calls does not disappear, though, and you need to ask the operator how it is billed to the business. This choice suits services that want to remove any barrier to calling, such as a support line, an information line or a campaign. A standard-rate number, from 0806 to 0809, gives a national identity without a surcharge, with the call still included in the caller’s plan.

A landline number beginning with 01 to 05, or a 09 number, costs the caller the price of a normal call; 09 numbers have never been tied to an area, and since 1 January 2023 numbers beginning with 01 to 05 no longer impose any geographical location requirement. This is often the simplest choice for a small business; the specifics of 09 numbers are covered in our dedicated guide. A premium-rate number only makes sense if the call itself is the service being sold, and never for consumer calls relating to a contract or a complaint.

Whatever number you choose, the answering behind it matters as much as its price. With Alyas, the principle is to forward the line you already use to an AI voice agent, depending on your operator’s call forwarding options, with the setup checked before going live. The agent answers 24 hours a day, announces that it is an AI and that the call is recorded, answers from your information, collects contact details or books an appointment if Google Calendar or Cal.com is connected, and transfers the call to your transfer number if the caller asks. The trial lasts 10 days, with no credit card required.