Country code and phone number format for shipping from Brazil

A country code is the prefix that comes before a phone number on international calls, written with a plus sign: +55 for Brazil, +1 for the United States and +351 for Portugal. On an international shipment, the receiver's phone number goes in full, with country code, area code and number, so the courier can reach whoever is receiving.

The classic mistake is to copy the number as it appears on a business card. "(212) 555-0147" looks complete to someone in New York and is only half the information for an international shipping system. Without +1 in front, nobody knows where that number belongs.

Why is the receiver's phone number required on an international shipment?

Because delivery depends on talking to someone. The courier calls to arrange a time, to say nobody answered the door or to explain that duties must be paid before release. An incomplete number turns each of these moments into a wasted attempt.

With DHL Express, when delivery is to a home address, the receiver gets email or SMS updates on the shipment and can use On Demand Delivery to change the date, redirect the parcel or collect it at a service point. Source: DHL Express Service and Rate Guide 2026, Brazil.

Without the right mobile number, that message never arrives. The guide to DHL tracking in Brazil shows how receivers follow each step.

The phone number also appears on the documents. The commercial invoice template in the same guide has a phone field for both shipper and receiver, next to the address and postal code.

What are DDI and DDD in Brazil?

DDI stands for Discagem Direta Internacional (international direct dialling) and, in everyday Brazilian usage, means the country code. DDD stands for Discagem Direta à Distância, the area code inside Brazil. The country has 67 numbering areas, each with its own national code, the DDD. Source: Anatel (Brazil's telecoms regulator), FAQ on tariff areas, 2026.

To call abroad from Brazil, Anatel describes the sequence: international prefix 00, carrier selection code, country code, area code (if any) and number. On a shipping form, only the country code, area code and number belong. The 00 and the carrier code are dialling instructions, not part of the phone number.

What is Brazil's country code and how do you write a Brazilian number?

For Brazil, use +55. After it come the two-digit DDD and the local number. Brazilian mobile numbers have nine digits and start with 9, a rule Anatel extended to every mobile number in the country through Resolution 553 of December 2010.

A São Paulo mobile looks like this in international format: +55 11 9NNNN-NNNN, with N standing for each digit. Leave out the zero you would dial before the DDD on a domestic long-distance call, and the carrier code. This is the format to give suppliers and customers abroad when they ship to you in Brazil.

What is the area code system in the United States?

The United States uses country code +1, shared by 20 countries in the North American Numbering Plan, including Canada, the Bahamas, Jamaica and the Dominican Republic. Source: NANPA, the plan's administrator, October 2026.

Within that plan, every number has ten digits: a three-digit area code followed by a seven-digit local number, in the NXX-NXX-XXXX pattern. A Manhattan number reads +1 212 555 0147.

Those three area digits are what Brazilians often call the "DDD of the US", and they change from city to city.

Since +1 covers all 20 countries in the plan, the address is what tells you whether the number is American or Canadian. The guide to US state abbreviations for shipping shows how to build the city, state and ZIP code line.

What are the country codes for the most common destinations?

Country codes are set by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) in the list under Recommendation E.164, updated through amendments in the ITU Operational Bulletin. The table brings together the destinations that come up most in shipments from Brazil.

Source: ITU, list of country codes assigned under Recommendation E.164, accessed October 2026.

How do you fill in the receiver's phone number without errors?

Treat the phone number the way you treat the address: get it in writing and check it before you create the shipment.

1. Ask for the number already in international format, starting with +.
2. Check that the country code matches the country in the address. A +44 on a shipment to Portugal may be legitimate, but it deserves a question.
3. Prefer a mobile. It receives SMS updates and is usually with the person at delivery time.
4. Use only digits, the plus sign and spaces. Brackets, full stops and dashes vary from system to system.
5. For a business delivery, give the number of the person receiving, not the switchboard.

Run the same check on the postal code.

A right address with a wrong phone number still ends in a wasted attempt, and the reverse is also true. The guide to postal codes for international shipping shows the formats by country. If you already ship regularly, the guide to exporting with DHL lays out the process from pickup to delivery.

Frequently asked questions about country codes for shipping from Brazil

Sources

• UIT/ITU: List of ITU-T Recommendation E.164 assigned country codes
• Anatel: FAQ on tariff areas (in Portuguese)
• Anatel: Ninth digit rollout, Resolution 553/2010 (in Portuguese)
• NANPA: About the North American Numbering Plan
• DHL Express: Service and Rate Guide 2026, Brazil

Give every international shipment the right contact details

A full country code, area code and number are what let the courier complete delivery on the first attempt. Together with an address in the destination's format, the shipment leaves ready.

With a business account you can save your customers' contacts abroad, create shipments with phone and address already checked and track every shipment in one place. Open a DHL Express business account and ship from Brazil with the right details from the first box.