Area Code 463 – Tacuarembo

Overview of Area Code 463 (Tacuarembó, Uruguay)

Area code 463 is a geographic National Destination Code (NDC) assigned to the department of Tacuarembó in north-central Uruguay. It is part of the country's public switched telephone network (PSTN) and is administered under the national numbering plan overseen by Unidad Reguladora de Servicios de Comunicaciones (URSEC). The code serves the capital city of Tacuarembó, as well as smaller towns and rural localities within the department, including Paso de los Toros, San Gregorio de Polanco, and Ansina.

Geographic Coverage and Administrative Jurisdiction

Tacuarembó is one of Uruguay's 19 departments, bordered by Rivera to the north, Salto and Paysandú to the west, Río Negro and Durazno to the south, and Cerro Largo to the east. The area code 463 covers the entire department, which is characterized by its rolling plains and livestock farming. The main urban center, Tacuarembó city, is the administrative capital and the largest population hub within the code's coverage area.

Dialing Formats and Caller Instructions

For local callers within Uruguay (excluding the same area code), the national trunk prefix 0 is used before the area code. Thus, to call a fixed line in Tacuarembó from another department, you would dial:
0 463 XXX XXX (where X represents the subscriber number).

For international callers, the country code for Uruguay is +598. Therefore, the international dialing format becomes:
+598 463 XXX XXX.

Note that the subscriber number for fixed lines in Uruguay is typically 6 digits long, making the complete national significant number (NSN) 8 digits (area code + subscriber number). When dialing from within the same area code, it is possible to omit the area code and dial only the 6-digit subscriber number, depending on the operator's local dialing rules.

Overlay Considerations and Numbering

As of the latest URSEC updates, there is no overlay code for Tacuarembó; 463 remains the sole geographic code for the department. However, due to the growth of VoIP and mobile services, some numbers may be routed over IP networks, but the dialing format remains unchanged. It is important to note that mobile numbers in Uruguay always begin with the digit 9 and are non-geographic, so they are not assigned to area code 463.

Practical Tips for Callers

When calling from abroad, always replace the leading zero of the national trunk prefix with the international access code (e.g., 011 from the US, 00 from most European countries) followed by 598. For example, to call a number in Tacuarembó from the United States, you would dial:
011 598 463 XXX XXX.

For travelers within Uruguay, public payphones and mobile phones require the full national format (0 463 XXX XXX) when dialing from a different area code. If you are unsure about the subscriber number length, it is always safe to use the full international format, which is unambiguous.