GOV.UK Design System Phone numbers pattern
Documents collecting phone numbers only when genuinely needed, offering contact choice, clear UK, international, or mobile labels, purpose hints, type tel, autocomplete tel, field-specific errors, familiar entry formats, avoiding input masks, avoiding confusing reformatting, and careful tel link behavior.
What this source can teach
Use this source to compare a documented solution with the task and states in your own product.
- Start with the original. Open the source and find the guidance or example relevant to your task.
- Trace the connection. Use the claim notes below to see how this site applies the source to specific patterns.
- Check the setting. Compare the source's platform, people, and constraints with your own decision.
Pattern Decisions This Source Supports
| Pattern | Supported decision | Required contract | Claim note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confirm phone | Choose confirm phone when the product must prove that the user can receive a time-limited text-message or voice code at an already captured number. | The confirmation page states why phone access is required, what channel was used, and what phone number is being confirmed when disclosure is safe. | GOV.UK phone-number guidance supports collecting phone details only when needed and separates phone entry from access confirmation. |
| Phone number entry | Choose phone number entry when the product genuinely needs a telephone route for calls, SMS messages, identity recovery, service contact, delivery coordination, support callbacks, or account verification. | Users can type, paste, autofill, edit, select, undo, and correct the phone value through native input behavior. | GOV.UK supports needed-only collection, contact choice, clear UK/international/mobile labels, purpose text, type tel, autocomplete tel, specific errors, familiar formats, avoiding masks, and avoiding confusing reformatting. |
Comparisons supported by this source
- Confirm phone vs phone number entry vs confirm email vs two-factor authentication
GOV.UK phone-number entry guidance separates collecting phone details from proving access to the phone.
- Phone number entry vs text input vs input mask vs inline validation vs error summary
GOV.UK supports only collecting needed phone numbers, contact choice, clear number type and purpose, type tel, autocomplete tel, specific errors, avoiding input masks, and avoiding confusing reformatting.
Evidence Role
This source is treated as pattern-library evidence. Its value comes from the specific claims and setting described above.
Publisher: GOV.UK Design System. Last checked: .