Editing ITU prefix

{{Short description|Radio and television call sign prefix}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2020}}
The [[International Telecommunication Union]] (ITU) allocates [[call sign|call sign prefix]]es for [[radio station|radio]] and [[television station|television]] stations of all types.<ref name="Appendix 42">{{Cite web|last=GLAD|date=2020-12-07|title=Table of International Call Sign Series (Appendix 42 to the RR)|url=https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/call_sign_series.aspx|access-date=2020-12-07|website=International Telecommunication Union}}</ref> They also form the basis for, but may not exactly match, [[aircraft registration]] identifiers. These prefixes are agreed upon internationally, and are a form of [[country code]]. A call sign can be any number of letters and numerals but each country must only use call signs that begin with the characters allocated for use in that country.

With regard to the second and/or third letters in the prefixes in the list below, if the country in question is allocated all callsigns with A to Z in that position, then that country can also use call signs with the digits 0 to 9 in that position. For example, the [[United States]] is assigned KA&ndash;KZ, and therefore can also use prefixes like K1 or K9.

While ITU prefix rules are adhered to in the context of international broadcasting, including [[amateur radio]], it is rarer for countries to assign [[broadcast call signs]] to conventional AM, FM, and television stations with purely domestic reach; the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], [[Japan]], [[South Korea]], the [[Philippines]], and [[Argentina]] are among those that do. Canada presents one notable exception to the ITU prefix rules: Since 1936, it has used ''CB'' for its own [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] stations, whereas Chile is officially assigned the CB prefix. [[Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada]]'s broadcasting rules indicate this is through a "special arrangement", without elaborating.<ref>{{cite web |title=Broadcasting Procedures and Rules |date=19 January 2021 |url=https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/spectrum-management-telecommunications/en/licences-and-certificates/broadcasting/broadcasting-procedures-and-rules-bpr/bpr-1-general-rules |publisher=Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada}}</ref> In any case, the two countries are geographically separate enough to prevent confusion; Canada's [[shortwave radio|shortwave]] broadcasters and amateur radio stations have always used one of its assigned ITU prefixes.

==Unallocated and unavailable call sign prefixes==
{{further|Non-ITU prefix}}
'''Unallocated:''' The following call sign prefixes are available for future allocation by the ITU. (''x'' represents any letter; ''n'' represents any digit from 2&ndash;9.)

* E8, E9, H5, J9, O''n'', S4, T9*, U''n'', V9, X''n'', YZ*, Z4&ndash;Z7, Z9, 4N*.

(* Indicates a prefix that has recently been returned to the ITU.)<ref group="Note">T9 is the former prefix of [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]; it moved to E7 on 7 August 2007. YZ and 4N belonged to [[Yugoslavia]], along with 4O (which went to successor state [[Montenegro]]) and YT and YU (which went to successor state [[Serbia]]).<sup>{{Cite web |title=ITU Okays Montenegro, Serbia Call Sign Prefix Agreement |author=The ARRL Letter |url=https://www.eham.net/article/16670 |date=2007-05-17 |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=eHam.net}}</sup></ref>

'''Unavailable:''' Under present ITU guidelines the following call sign prefixes shall not be allocated.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/res-13.pdf |title= RES13-1 RESOLUTION 13 (Rev.WRC-97) Formation of call signs and allocation of new international series |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221008043453/https://life.itu.int/radioclub/rr/res-13.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-08|work=Volume 3 - Resolutions and Recommendations – Edition of 2008
 |publisher=International Telecommunication Union|access-date=2023-05-04}}</ref> They are sometimes used unofficially – such as [[amateur radio]] operators operating in a disputed territory or in a nation state that has no official prefix (e.g. S0 in [[Western Sahara]] or station '''1A0''' at [[Sovereign Military Order of Malta|Knights of Malta]] headquarters in [[Rome]]). (''x'' represents any letter; ''n'' represents any digit from 2&ndash;9.)

* ''nn'', ''x''0, ''x''1, 0''x'', 1''x'', Q''x''.
* no prefixes beginning with '''Q''' are used—they may be confused with [[Q code]]s. Note that this applies to prefixes only - suffixes are the responsibility of the allocating country.
* no prefixes with the digits '''1''' or '''0''' are used—they may be confused with the letters '''I''' or '''O'''.
* two digit prefixes (''nn'') are not as yet considered by the ITU.

== Allocation table ==
{{Gridded chart of ITU prefixes}}<br />
{{ITU prefixes by nation}}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
! '''Call Sign Series'''
! '''Allocated to'''
|-
| AA&ndash;AL
| [[United States]]
|-
| AM&ndash;AO
| [[Spain]]
|-
| AP&ndash;AS
| [[Pakistan]]
|-
| AT&ndash;AW
| [[India]]
|-
| AX
| [[Australia]]
|-
| AY&ndash;AZ
| [[Argentina]]
|-
| A2
| [[Botswana]]
|-
| A3
| [[Tonga]]
|-
| A4
| [[Oman]]
|-
| A5
| [[Bhutan]]
|-
| A6
| [[United Arab Emirates]]
|-
| A7
| [[Qatar]]
|-
| A8
| [[Liberia]]
|-
| A9
| [[Bahrain]]
|-
| B
| [[China]]
|-
| B (BM-BQ, BU-BX)
| [[Taiwan]]
|-
| CA&ndash;CE
| [[Chile]]
|-
| CF&ndash;CK
| [[Canada]]
|-|
| CL&ndash;CM
| [[Cuba]]
|-
| CN
| [[Morocco]]
|-
| CO
| [[Cuba]]
|-
| CP
| [[Bolivia]]
|-
| CQ&ndash;CU
| [[Portugal]]
|-
| CV&ndash;CX
| [[Uruguay]]
|-
| CY&ndash;CZ
| [[Canada]]
|-
| C2
| [[Nauru]]
|-
| C3
| [[Andorra]]
|-
| C4
| [[Cyprus]]
|-
| C5
| [[The Gambia]]
|-
| C6
| [[The Bahamas]]
|-
| C7
| ''[[World Meteorological Organization]]''<ref group="Note" name="international">Series allocated to an international organization.</ref>
|-
| C8&ndash;C9
| [[Mozambique]]
|-
| DA&ndash;DR
| [[Germany]]
|-
| DS&ndash;DT
| [[South Korea]]
|-
| DU&ndash;DZ
| [[Philippines]]
|-
| D2&ndash;D3
| [[Angola]]
|-
| D4
| [[Cape Verde]]
|-
| D5
| [[Liberia]]
|-
| D6
| [[Comoros]]
|-
| D7&ndash;D9
| [[South Korea]]
|-
| EA&ndash;EH
| [[Spain]]
|-
| EI&ndash;EJ
| [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]
|-
| EK
| [[Armenia]]
|-
| EL
| [[Liberia]]
|-
| EM&ndash;EO
| [[Ukraine]]
|-
| EP&ndash;EQ
| [[Iran]]
|-
| ER
| [[Moldova]]
|-
| ES
| [[Estonia]]
|-
| ET
| [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| EU&ndash;EW
| [[Belarus]]
|-
| EX
| [[Kyrgyzstan]]
|-
| EY
| [[Tajikistan]]
|-
| EZ
| [[Turkmenistan]]
|-
| E2
| [[Thailand]]
|-
| E3
| [[Eritrea]]
|-
| E4
| [[Palestinian Authority]]
|-
| E5
| [[Cook Islands]]
|-
| E6
| [[Niue]]<ref group="Note" name="provisional">Provisional allocation in accordance with No. S19.33: (Between radiocommunication conferences, the Secretary-General is authorized to deal with questions relating to changes in the allocation of series of call signs, on a provisional basis, and subject to confirmation by the following conference.)<sup>{{Cite web |title=Recent Changes |url=https://www.itu.int:443/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/recent_changes.aspx |access-date=2023-05-05 |website=ITU |language=en-US}}</sup></ref>
|-
| E7
| [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
|-
| F
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| G
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| HA
| [[Hungary]]
|-
| HB
| [[Switzerland]]
|-
| HB (HB0, HB3Y, HBL)
| [[Liechtenstein]] (uses prefixes allocated to Switzerland)
|-
| HC&ndash;HD
| [[Ecuador]]
|-
| HE
| [[Switzerland]]
|-
| HF
| [[Poland]]
|-
| HG
| [[Hungary]]
|-
| HH
| [[Haiti]]
|-
| HI
| [[Dominican Republic]]
|-
| HJ&ndash;HK
| [[Colombia]]
|-
| HL
| [[South Korea]]
|-
| HM
| [[North Korea]]
|-
| HN
| [[Iraq]]
|-
| HO&ndash;HP
| [[Panama]]
|-
| HQ&ndash;HR
| [[Honduras]]
|-
| HS
| [[Thailand]]
|-
| HT
| [[Nicaragua]]
|-
| HU
| [[El Salvador]]
|-
| HV
| [[Vatican City]]
|-
| HW&ndash;HY
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| HZ
| [[Saudi Arabia]]
|-
| H2
| [[Cyprus]]
|-
| H3
| [[Panama]]
|-
| H4
| [[Solomon Islands]]
|-
| H6&ndash;H7
| [[Nicaragua]]
|-
| H8&ndash;H9
| [[Panama]]
|-
| I
| [[Italy]]
|-
| JA&ndash;JS
| [[Japan]]
|-
| JT&ndash;JV
| [[Mongolia]]
|-
| JW&ndash;JX
| [[Norway]]
|-
| JY
| [[Jordan]]
|-
| JZ
| [[Indonesia]]
|-
| J2
| [[Djibouti]]
|-
| J3
| [[Grenada]]
|-
| J4
| [[Greece]]
|-
| J5
| [[Guinea-Bissau]]
|-
| J6
| [[Saint Lucia]]
|-
| J7
| [[Dominica]]
|-
| J8
| [[Saint Vincent and the Grenadines]]
|-
| K
| [[United States]]
|-
| LA&ndash;LN
| [[Norway]]
|-
| LO&ndash;LW
| [[Argentina]]
|-
| LX
| [[Luxembourg]]
|-
| LY
| [[Lithuania]]
|-
| LZ
| [[Bulgaria]]
|-
| L2&ndash;L9
| [[Argentina]]
|-
| M
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| N
| [[United States]]
|-
| OA&ndash;OC
| [[Peru]]
|-
| OD
| [[Lebanon]]
|-
| OE
| [[Austria]]
|-
| OF&ndash;OJ
| [[Finland]]
|-
| OK&ndash;OL
| [[Czech Republic]]
|-
| OM
| [[Slovakia]]
|-
| ON&ndash;OT
| [[Belgium]]
|-
| OU&ndash;OZ
| [[Denmark]]
|-
| PA&ndash;PI
| [[Netherlands]]
|-
| PJ
| [[Netherlands]] – [[Dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles|Former]] [[Netherlands Antilles]]
|-
| PK&ndash;PO
| [[Indonesia]]
|-
| PP&ndash;PY
| [[Brazil]]
|-
| PZ
| [[Suriname]]
|-
| P2
| [[Papua New Guinea]]
|-
| P3
| [[Cyprus]]
|-
| P4
| [[Aruba]]
|-
| P5&ndash;P9
| [[North Korea]]
|-
| R
| [[Russia]]
|-
| SA&ndash;SM
| [[Sweden]]
|-
| SN&ndash;SR
| [[Poland]]
|-
| SSA&ndash;SSM
| [[Egypt]]<ref group="Note" name="half-series">Half-series allocation.</ref>
|-
| SSN&ndash;SSZ
| [[Sudan]]<ref group="Note" name="half-series"/>
|-
| SU
| [[Egypt]]
|-
| SV&ndash;SZ
| [[Greece]]
|-
| S2&ndash;S3
| [[Bangladesh]]
|-
| S5
| [[Slovenia]]
|-
| S6
| [[Singapore]]
|-
| S7
| [[Seychelles]]
|-
| S8
| [[South Africa]]
|-
| S9
| [[São Tomé and Príncipe]]
|-
| TA&ndash;TB&ndash;TC
| [[Turkey]]
|-
| TD
| [[Guatemala]]
|-
| TE
| [[Costa Rica]]
|-
| TF
| [[Iceland]]
|-
| TG
| [[Guatemala]]
|-
| TH
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| TI
| [[Costa Rica]]
|-
| TJ
| [[Cameroon]]
|-
| TK
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| TL
| [[Central African Republic]]
|-
| TM
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| TN
| [[Republic of the Congo]]
|-
| TO&ndash;TQ
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| TR
| [[Gabon]]
|-
| TS
| [[Tunisia]]
|-
| TT
| [[Chad]]
|-
| TU
| [[Ivory Coast]]
|-
| TV&ndash;TX
| [[France]] ''(and its [[French Overseas department|Overseas departments]]/[[French overseas territories|territories]])''
|-
| TY
| [[Benin]]
|-
| TZ
| [[Mali]]
|-
| T2
| [[Tuvalu]]
|-
| T3
| [[Kiribati]]
|-
| T4
| [[Cuba]]
|-
| T5
| [[Somalia]]
|-
| T6
| [[Afghanistan]]
|-
| T7
| [[San Marino]]
|-
| T8
| [[Palau]]
|-|
| UA&ndash;UI
| [[Russia]]
|-
| UJ&ndash;UM
| [[Uzbekistan]]
|-
| UN&ndash;UQ
| [[Kazakhstan]]
|-
| UR&ndash;UZ
| [[Ukraine]]
|-
| VA&ndash;VG
| [[Canada]]
|-
| VH&ndash;VN
| [[Australia]]
|-
| VO
| [[Canada]] (formerly [[Dominion of Newfoundland]])
|-
| VP&ndash;VQ
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| VR
| [[Hong Kong]] ([[Special administrative regions of China]])
|-
| VS
| [[United Kingdom]]
|-
| VT&ndash;VW
| [[India]]
|-
| VX&ndash;VY
| [[Canada]]
|-
| VZ
| [[Australia]]
|-
| V2
| [[Antigua and Barbuda]]
|-
| V3
| [[Belize]]
|-
| V4
| [[Saint Kitts and Nevis]]
|-
| V5
| [[Namibia]]
|-
| V6
| [[Federated States of Micronesia]]
|-
| V7
| [[Marshall Islands]]
|-
| V8
| [[Brunei]]
|-
| W
| [[United States]]
|-
| XA&ndash;XI
| [[Mexico]]
|-
| XJ&ndash;XO
| [[Canada]]
|-
| XP
| [[Denmark]]
|-
| XQ&ndash;XR
| [[Chile]]
|-
| XS
| [[China]]
|-
| XT
| [[Burkina Faso]]
|-
| XU
| [[Cambodia]]
|-
| XV
| [[Vietnam]]
|-
| XW
| [[Laos]]
|-
| XX
| [[Macao]] ([[Special administrative regions of China]])
|-
| XY&ndash;XZ
| [[Myanmar|Burma]]
|-
| YA
| [[Afghanistan]]
|-
| YB&ndash;YH
| [[Indonesia]]
|-
| YI
| [[Iraq]]
|-
| YJ
| [[Vanuatu]]
|-
| YK
| [[Syria]]
|-
| YL
| [[Latvia]]
|-
| YM
| [[Turkey]]
|-
| YN
| [[Nicaragua]]
|-
| YO&ndash;YR
| [[Romania]]
|-
| YS
| [[El Salvador]]
|-
| YT&ndash;YU
| [[Serbia]]
|-
| YV&ndash;YY
| [[Venezuela]]
|-
| Y2&ndash;Y9
| [[Germany]]
|-
| ZA
| [[Albania]]
|-
| ZB&ndash;ZJ
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| ZK&ndash;ZM
| [[New Zealand]]
|-
| ZN&ndash;ZO
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| ZP
| [[Paraguay]]
|-
| ZQ
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| ZR&ndash;ZU
| [[South Africa]]
|-
| ZV&ndash;ZZ
| [[Brazil]]
|-
| Z2
| [[Zimbabwe]]
|-
| Z3
| [[North Macedonia]]
|-
| Z8
| [[South Sudan]]<ref group="Note" name="provisional"/>
|-
| 2
| [[United Kingdom]] ''(and its [[British overseas territories|overseas territories]]/[[Crown dependency|Crown dependencies]])''
|-
| 3A
| [[Monaco]]
|-
| 3B
| [[Mauritius]]
|-
| 3C
| [[Equatorial Guinea]]
|-
| 3DA&ndash;3DM
| [[Eswatini]]<ref group="Note" name="half-series"/>
|-
| 3DN&ndash;3DZ
| [[Fiji]]<ref group="Note" name="half-series"/>
|-
| 3E&ndash;3F
| [[Panama]]
|-
| 3G
| [[Chile]]
|-
| 3H&ndash;3U
| [[China]]
|-
| 3V
| [[Tunisia]]
|-
| 3W
| [[Vietnam]]
|-
| 3X
| [[Guinea]]
|-
| 3Y
| [[Norway]]
|-
| 3Z
| [[Poland]]
|-
| 4A&ndash;4C
| [[Mexico]]
|-
| 4D&ndash;4I
| [[Philippines]]
|-
| 4J&ndash;4K
| [[Azerbaijan]]
|-
| 4L
| [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]]
|-
| 4M
| [[Venezuela]]
|-
| 4O
| [[Montenegro]]
|-
| 4P&ndash;4S
| [[Sri Lanka]]
|-
| 4T
| [[Peru]]
|-
| 4U
| ''[[United Nations]]''<ref group="Note" name="international"/>
|-
| 4V
| [[Haiti]]
|-
| 4W
| [[Timor-Leste]]
|-
| 4X
| [[Israel]]
|-
| 4Y
| ''[[International Civil Aviation Organization]]''<ref group="Note" name="international"/>
|-
| 4Z
| [[Israel]]
|-
| 5A
| [[Libya]]
|-
| 5B
| [[Cyprus]]
|-
| 5C&ndash;5G
| [[Morocco]]
|-
| 5H&ndash;5I
| [[Tanzania]]
|-
| 5J&ndash;5K
| [[Colombia]]
|-
| 5L&ndash;5M
| [[Liberia]]
|-
| 5N&ndash;5O
| [[Nigeria]]
|-
| 5P&ndash;5Q
| [[Denmark]]
|-
| 5R&ndash;5S
| [[Madagascar]]
|-
| 5T
| [[Mauritania]]
|-
| 5U
| [[Niger]]
|-
| 5V
| [[Togo]]
|-
| 5W
| [[Western Samoa]]
|-
| 5X
| [[Uganda]]
|-
| 5Y&ndash;5Z
| [[Kenya]]
|-
| 6A&ndash;6B
| [[Egypt]]
|-
| 6C
| [[Syria]]
|-
| 6D&ndash;6J
| [[Mexico]]
|-
| 6K&ndash;6N
| [[South Korea]]
|-
| 6O
| [[Somalia]]
|-
| 6P&ndash;6S
| [[Pakistan]]
|-
| 6T&ndash;6U
| [[Sudan]]
|-
| 6V&ndash;6W
| [[Senegal]]
|-
| 6X
| [[Madagascar]]
|-
| 6Y
| [[Jamaica]]
|-
| 6Z
| [[Liberia]]
|-
| 7A&ndash;7I
| [[Indonesia]]
|-
| 7J&ndash;7N
| [[Japan]]
|-
| 7O
| [[Yemen]]
|-
| 7P
| [[Lesotho]]
|-
| 7Q
| [[Malawi]]
|-
| 7R
| [[Algeria]]
|-
| 7S
| [[Sweden]]
|-
| 7T&ndash;7Y
| [[Algeria]]
|-
| 7Z
| [[Saudi Arabia]]
|-
| 8A&ndash;8I
| [[Indonesia]]
|-
| 8J&ndash;8N
| [[Japan]]
|-
| 8O
| [[Botswana]]
|-
| 8P
| [[Barbados]]
|-
| 8Q
| [[Maldives]]
|-
| 8R
| [[Guyana]]
|-
| 8S
| [[Sweden]]
|-
| 8T&ndash;8Y
| [[India]]
|-
| 8Z
| [[Saudi Arabia]]
|-
| 9A
| [[Croatia]]
|-
| 9B&ndash;9D
| [[Iran]]
|-
| 9E&ndash;9F
| [[Ethiopia]]
|-
| 9G
| [[Ghana]]
|-
| 9H
| [[Malta]]
|-
| 9I&ndash;9J
| [[Zambia]]
|-
| 9K
| [[Kuwait]]
|-
| 9L
| [[Sierra Leone]]
|-
| 9M
| [[Malaysia]]
|-
| 9N
| [[Nepal]]
|-
| 9O&ndash;9T
| [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]]
|-
| 9U
| [[Burundi]]
|-
| 9V
| [[Singapore]]
|-
| 9W
| [[Malaysia]]
|-
| 9X
| [[Rwanda]]
|-
| 9Y&ndash;9Z
| [[Trinidad and Tobago]]
|}

==See also==
<!-- Please respect alphabetical order -->
* [[Aircraft registration]]
* [[Amateur radio call signs]]
* [[Call-sign allocation plan]]
* [[Multiservice tactical brevity code]]
* [[Non-ITU prefix]]

==Notes==
<references group="Note"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{cite web|url=https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/call_sign_series.aspx?lng=E |title=ITU table of international callsigns}}

{{Telecommunications}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Itu Prefix}}
[[Category:Call signs]]
[[Category:Amateur radio call signs]]
[[Category:Prefixes]]