Trade between Britain and the Netherlands runs on short distances and long relationships, from the freight crossing between Harwich and the Hook of Holland to the Rotterdam importers who buy from UK manufacturers. Yet a Dutch buyer who wants to ring a British supplier still has to dial +44, which since Brexit means a call to a country outside the EU on their international tariff. That small step is enough for many to send an email instead, or to call a competitor whose number starts with +31.

A Dutch phone number removes that step, because the buyer rings a +31 number billed like a domestic call and reaches your team in the UK. For a British company the useful questions are which Dutch number it can hold on a UK address, what it costs in pounds, and how a team in Hull, London or Glasgow answers those calls well. This guide covers each of them, and the available numbers are listed on the Dutch phone number page.

Why Dutch buyers call a +31 number sooner than +44

Dutch B2B buyers are direct and practical, and they expect a supplier to be easy to reach. Many of them speak excellent English, so the barrier for a UK company is rarely the language. It is the number, because an international code signals extra cost, a supplier that sits outside the market and a call that may land in a different working day.

A +31 number on your website, in Google Ads, on quotes, in trade directories and in your account manager’s email signature turns each of those into an invitation to call. Calls still reach your team in the UK, while the caller deals with what looks like a supplier that operates in the Netherlands. For logistics firms, wholesalers and software companies that compete with Dutch rivals, that is often the difference between an enquiry and silence.

Which Dutch number a UK company can hold

Ofcom lets a company register a UK number on its own address in any country, and the Netherlands does the same for its nationwide ranges. The ACM, the Autoriteit Consument & Markt, allows 085 and 088 numbers, and 0800 freephone numbers, to be registered on the customer’s own company address in any country, so a UK limited company can hold one on its British registered office.

Geographic numbers work differently. Under the vestigingseis, an establishment requirement, a city code such as Amsterdam 020 or Rotterdam 010 must be tied to the end user’s address inside that numbering zone. A UK company with a Dutch branch or warehouse can take the matching city number; without one, 085 or 088 gives you a +31 identity across the whole country. Dutch businesses and public bodies use these ranges widely, so callers treat them as normal Dutch business numbers.

What a Dutch number costs from the UK

CallFactory prices its UK plans in pounds. The Market test plan gives you one local or national number abroad, such as an 085 number, for £220 a year, prepaid, forwarded to one mobile or landline with a welcome message and voicemail included. It is a low-risk way to publish a Dutch number and see how many calls it brings in.

When the calls grow, the Customer Service plan at £43 a month or £430 a year adds freephone numbers abroad, several calls at once, a selection menu, a queue and opening hours, with up to eight people answering on one number. Per-minute rates depend on the country and number type and are quoted on request, which is worth checking for an 0800 line because the receiving company pays for those calls.

Answering Dutch calls from a UK office

The Netherlands is one hour ahead of the UK all year, so a buyer who calls at 8:30 in Rotterdam reaches your office at 7:30. Calendar-based call routing decides what happens then: the call can ring a colleague who starts early, a mobile, or a Dutch message that gives your hours, and the same schedule handles Dutch public holidays such as King’s Day.

A short Dutch welcome from the text-to-speech assistant confirms that the caller has reached the right company, and a two-language selection menu lets them choose Dutch or English. You decide where each option lands, whether that is your sales desk in the UK, a Dutch-speaking colleague working from home, your own call centre, an external one, or voicemail that is emailed to the team. Call forwarding delivers each call over the fixed and mobile network, or over VoIP if your team answers on a softphone. ## How CallFactory registers and routes the number CallFactory is a licensed telecom provider in 15 countries with its own intelligent IVR platform, so the routing is set up and changed by the team that runs it. It prepares the ACM registration, including the in-zone address for a geographic number, and keeps the subscriber record as the operator of record.

Calls to the number run over a premium fixed-network route rather than the cheapest internet path, so the line stays clear on the calls where orders, delivery slots and contract terms are agreed. CallFactory has been operating since 2001, and after more than 25 years the Dutch registration is routine, with numbers usually active within 24 working hours of complete documents.

Getting started from the UK

Decide first whether you need a city identity or a national one. Without a Dutch address, an 085 or 088 number on the Market test plan is the simplest start; with a Dutch branch, you can add the city code that matches it. Send your company registration and tax details, plus the in-zone address for a geographic number, and choose where calls should ring and what callers hear first.

You can compare the numbers and plans on the Dutch phone number page and start the order there. If you want a record of what was agreed, call recording works on the same line.