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Home > Guides > Dialing international fax
From the US or Canada, dial 011, then the country code, then the fax number with its leading trunk zero dropped. One limit to know up front: LetterAgent only sends faxes to US and Canadian numbers, so an international destination means doing this from a phone line or fax machine yourself.
| Step | What to dial | Example: fax to London, UK |
|---|---|---|
| 1. International exit code | 011 (tells the network you are leaving North America) | 011 |
| 2. Country code | The destination country's code, e.g. 44 for the UK | 011-44 |
| 3. The fax number, minus the trunk zero | Most countries write domestic numbers with a leading 0 that must be dropped when dialing from abroad | 011-44-20-7946-0018 (from domestic 020 7946 0018) |
The leading zero in numbers like 020 (London) or 030 (Berlin) is a "trunk prefix": a signal used only inside that country's own phone network to say "this call stays domestic." Once you are dialing internationally, the country code replaces that signal. Keep the zero and the foreign network will not recognize the number; the call fails or reaches the wrong place. The one exception is Italy, whose numbers begin with a zero that is actually part of the number, so you keep it.
A few countries have no trunk zero at all in how their numbers are written, so there is nothing to drop. The rule of thumb: look up the number in international format, which is written with a plus sign (like +44 20 7946 0018), replace the plus with 011, and keep everything else exactly as written.
Dialing an international fax from a machine is the same as dialing it from a phone, with one addition: listen for the dial tone and the handshake. The steps:
If you store the number in the machine's speed dial, save it in the full international form. Machines that let you type a plus sign usually translate the plus into 011 automatically, but most North American machines expect you to type the 011 literally.
Yes. The US and Canada share the North American Numbering Plan, so both use 011 as the international exit code, and calls between the two countries are dialed like domestic long-distance calls (1 + area code + number) with no exit code at all. This is one reason the instructions look identical whether you are faxing from Ohio or Ontario.
Three traps account for most failures. First, long-distance blocking: many office phone systems and residential plans block international calls by default, so the fax never leaves the building; the fix is asking the phone administrator or carrier to allow the destination. Second, time-of-day: the destination machine must be on and answering, so factor in the time zone difference rather than faxing into the middle of their night. Third, cost: international fax calls are billed as international voice calls for every minute the machines are connected, and a long document at a slow connection speed adds up, so confirm the per-minute rate with your carrier before sending anything thick.
Also worth knowing: some countries' fax networks run on older equipment, and error correction can struggle over long international hops. If a fax to a particular country keeps failing halfway, try sending at a lower resolution or in fewer pages per attempt; shorter calls have fewer chances to drop.
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