0116 Area Code: Leicester Dialling Guide

If you’ve received a call from a number starting with 0116, it’s from Leicester — one of the largest and most diverse cities in the East Midlands. The 0116 area code is the primary dialling code for Leicester and its immediate suburbs, serving a population of over 500,000 people across the city and surrounding urban fringe. Whether you’re trying to identify a missed call, planning to dial a Leicester number, or looking for a local business number, this guide covers everything you need to know about the 0116 telephone code.

What Area Is 0116?

The 0116 dialling code covers Leicester city centre and extends into the neighbouring towns and suburbs that form the greater Leicester urban area. It’s the sole area code for one of the UK’s top ten most populous cities and an important economic hub in the heart of England.

Areas covered by the 0116 phone code include:

• Leicester city centre — the commercial, cultural, and administrative heart of Leicestershire
• Oadby — a residential suburb south-east of the city, home to the University of Leicester’s Botanic Garden
• Wigston — a town immediately south of Leicester with a strong local identity
• Braunstone — a large suburb to the south-west of the city
• Glenfield — a village to the north-west, home to Glenfield Hospital
• Beaumont Leys — a residential area and shopping district in north-west Leicester
• Birstall — a suburb to the north, known for the Highcross shopping centre nearby
• Evington — an eastern suburb with a popular country park
• Thurmaston — a village to the north-east on the A607 corridor
• Humberstone — an eastern area close to Leicester’s outer ring road

So if someone asks “where is 0116?” or “what area code is 0116?”, the answer is Leicester and its immediate urban surroundings in the county of Leicestershire.

Towns and Areas Using the 0116 Code

The 0116 area code UK coverage is concentrated on the Leicester urban area itself rather than extending deep into the county. Leicestershire’s market towns each have their own dialling codes. The 0116 zone follows the built-up area of Leicester fairly closely, covering districts with LE postcodes in the city centre and inner suburbs.

Leicester is a city with a rich industrial and cultural heritage. It’s the site of the discovery of Richard III’s remains, home to Leicester City Football Club and the Leicester Tigers rugby union team, and a major centre for textiles, engineering, and food manufacturing. The 0116 telephone code is as closely associated with the city as its famous Clock Tower.

History of the 0116 Area Code

The 0116 area code was introduced on 16 April 1995 as part of the national PhONEday renumbering. Before that date, Leicester’s area code was 0533. The PhONEday change replaced the leading 05 with 01 and restructured the code to 0116, while also changing local numbers from six to seven digits by prepending a “2” — so a number like 0533 123456 became 0116 2123456.

This explains why most Leicester local numbers begin with a 2, and why some people search for “01162 area code” — the “2” is actually the first digit of the local number, not part of the area code. The area code is strictly 0116, and the local number is seven digits long.

Going further back, Leicester was originally allocated the STD code 0533 when subscriber trunk dialling was rolled out across the UK in the 1960s and 1970s. The city has always had a single unified area code, unlike some larger cities that went through split-code phases.

How to Dial 0116 Numbers

Dialling a Leicester number is straightforward regardless of where you’re calling from:

• From within Leicester on a landline: You can drop the 0116 prefix and dial just the seven-digit local number. However, including the full area code also works.
• From a UK mobile or another UK area: Dial the full number including the area code, e.g. 0116 XXX XXXX.
• From outside the UK: Replace the leading 0 with the UK country code +44. A Leicester number becomes +44 116 XXX XXXX.

All 0116 numbers consist of a four-digit area code plus a seven-digit local number, giving eleven digits in total. Calls to 0116 numbers are charged at standard UK geographic rates and are typically included in mobile and landline bundles.

Getting a Leicester Business Number

A 0116 phone number gives your business a local Leicester identity that resonates with customers across the East Midlands. Whether you’re a start-up, a remote team, or an established company wanting to expand into the Leicester market, a local number builds trust and makes it easier for customers to get in touch.

You don’t need a physical Leicester office to use a 0116 number. With modern VoIP technology, you can get a virtual Leicester number that routes calls to any device, anywhere. Virtual 0116 numbers start from just £6/month.

A virtual 0116 number can forward to your mobile, route to your team via a cloud phone system, or integrate with your existing communications platform. Features like auto-attendant menus, voicemail-to-email, call recording, and call analytics come as standard with most VoIP providers.

For broader business telecoms advice, see our comparison of the best business phone line providers across the UK.

Related Area Codes Near Leicester

Leicester sits at the centre of the East Midlands, surrounded by towns and cities with their own dialling codes. Here are the neighbouring area codes:

• 01509 — Loughborough, a university town 11 miles to the north
• 01455 — Hinckley, a market town to the south-west near the Warwickshire border
• 01858 — Market Harborough, a market town to the south-east
• 01664 — Melton Mowbray, famous for pork pies and Stilton cheese, to the north-east
• 01530 — Coalville, to the north-west near the National Forest
• 01455 — Lutterworth, further south on the M1 corridor (shares the Hinckley code)

For guides on other nearby city area codes, see our articles on the 0115 area code for Nottingham and the 0121 area code for Birmingham — Leicester’s two closest major-city neighbours.

Frequently Asked Questions