Area Code 31 – Central Bohemian Region

Geographic Significance and Coverage

The +420 31 area code is a geographic National Destination Code (NDC) within the Czech numbering plan, administered by the Czech Telecommunication Office (ČTÚ). It serves the Central Bohemian Region, specifically the area around the city of Benešov and its surrounding districts. This includes towns such as Vlašim, Týnec nad Sázavou, and Bystřice. The code covers a mix of urban and rural communities, with a strong historical association with the Benešov District.

Dialing Formats and Procedures

When calling a landline in the Benešov area from within the Czech Republic, subscribers must dial the national trunk prefix 0, followed by the area code 31 and the subscriber's seven-digit number. The complete national format is 0 31 XXX XXXX. For example, a local number might be dialed as 031 123 4567.

For international callers, the Czech Republic uses the country code +420. Since the Czech Republic adopted a closed dialing plan in 2002, the trunk prefix 0 is not used when dialing from abroad. Therefore, international callers must dial +420 31 XXX XXXX (or +42031XXXXXXX in E.164 format). For instance, a call from the United States would be placed as 011 420 31 123 4567.

Numbering and Overlay Considerations

Subscriber numbers within the 31 area code are seven digits long, and the total length of a national significant number (NSN) is nine digits, including the area code. Currently, there is no overlay code in the Benešov region; the 31 code is the sole geographic code for this area. However, due to the increasing demand for telecommunication services, ČTÚ periodically reviews numbering resources. Should a new code be introduced in the future, ten-digit dialing would become mandatory, but as of now, local calls within the same area code can be made using only the seven-digit subscriber number.

Caller Instructions

Local callers (within the 31 area code) can dial the seven-digit subscriber number directly without the area code. National callers from other parts of the Czech Republic must dial 0 31 followed by the subscriber number. International callers must use the full international format: +420 31 followed by the subscriber number. It is important to note that the Czech Republic does not use a separate trunk prefix for international calls; callers should replace the leading 0 with +420 when dialing from abroad.

This area code is part of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and is also used for Voice over IP (VoIP) services that provide fixed-line numbers in the region. Mobile numbers in the Czech Republic are non-geographic and begin with 6, 7, or 9, so they are not affected by this code.