111 – Who Runs It, What It Costs & Is It Safe?

Short code: 111
Type: Short dial code
Operated by: NHS (NHS 111 / NHS 24 in Scotland)
Cost: Free
Category: Emergency and public services
Verified: 13 August 2026

What 111 is for

NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day. Advisers assess what you need and can arrange a call back from a nurse or doctor, book you into an urgent treatment centre, or send an ambulance.

Selecting the mental health option connects you to urgent mental health support. There is also an NHS 111 British Sign Language service.

What it costs

Free. Free from landlines and mobiles across the UK.

Call 111 — how it works

Dial 111, free, from any UK phone.
Or start online at 111.nhs.uk if you are in England.
Call 999 if someone is seriously ill or injured, or their life is at risk.

Is 111 safe, and is it spoofed?

A short code cannot be spoofed in the way an ordinary phone number can, because you are the one starting the conversation. The risk runs the other way: fraudsters send texts that claim to be from a service like this one and ask you to reply or tap a link.

If a text or call is trying to rush you, threaten you, or get a password, one-time code or payment out of you, it is a scam whatever number it shows. Read our guide to the UK number ranges scammers use and how to spot a smishing text, and forward anything suspicious free to 7726.

Where this came from

We do not guess short codes. Every entry in this directory was checked against the organisation that runs the code, or against gov.uk or the regulator:

NHS – Urgent support (Every Mind Matters)

Checked against this source on 13 August 2026. Short codes and their charges do change — if the operator’s page now says something different, believe the operator.

Checking an ordinary number instead

Short codes are not in Ofcom’s numbering data — only full UK numbers are. If it is a normal 01, 02, 03, 07, 08 or 09 number you want to identify, put it into the phone number checker and you will get its type, its area and the provider Ofcom allocated the range to.

Other UK short codes

999 · Emergency services (and emergencySMS by text)101 · Police non-emergency 105 · Power cut helpline 116 123 · Samaritans 18000 · Relay UK – emergency calls 18001 · Relay UK – make a relayed call

All verified UK short codes › · UK area codes › · UK network operators ›

111 — frequently asked questions

Is 111 free?

Free. Free from landlines and mobiles across the UK.

Who runs 111?

NHS (NHS 111 / NHS 24 in Scotland). 111 is the NHS number for urgent medical help that is not a 999 emergency, including urgent mental health support. We verified this against the operator's own published information on 13 August 2026; the sources are linked on this page.

Is 111 a scam number?

No. A short code cannot be spoofed in the way an ordinary phone number can, because you are the one starting the conversation. The risk runs the other way: fraudsters send texts that claim to be from a service like this one and ask you to reply or tap a link.

I got a text from a short code I do not recognise – what should I do?

Do not tap any link in it and do not reply unless you are certain who the sender is. If it is marketing from a company you know, replying STOP to the short code shown in the message opts you out free. If it is unsolicited, forward it to 7726 free of charge and delete it - replying to an unknown sender only confirms your number is live.

111 — NHS urgent medical help