Unwanted sales calls could soon become much easier to identify in Spain. From 17 October 2026, commercial phone calls in Spain will have to use a new 400 telephone number range, making it possible to recognise a sales call before answering it.

At the same time, France has taken a considerably tougher approach. From 11 August 2026, unsolicited commercial phone calls in France are generally prohibited unless the consumer has given prior consent.

The changes in Spain and France represent two very different approaches to tackling the same problem: the seemingly endless stream of unwanted sales calls.

Spain introduces the 400 phone number

From 17 October 2026, companies covered by the Spanish rules will have to use numbers beginning with 400 when making commercial calls.

The new numbers will contain nine digits, following Spain’s normal national numbering format, but the first three digits will always be 400.

The Spanish Government says the change is designed to make commercial calls easier for consumers to identify and to prevent ordinary geographical or mobile numbers being used to disguise sales calls.

In other words, if your Spanish mobile rings in the future and the caller ID starts with:

400 XXX XXX

you should immediately know that it is a commercial call.

That doesn’t necessarily mean it is a scam. It simply means the call is being made for commercial purposes.

Why is Spain introducing 400 numbers?

One of the problems with today’s system is that businesses can make legitimate commercial calls using ordinary Spanish telephone numbers.

A call might appear to come from a normal geographical number, or even a mobile number. Unless you recognise the number, there is no obvious way of knowing whether it is a friend, a local business, a genuine customer-service call or a salesperson.

The Spanish telecoms regulator and government want to make that distinction much clearer.

The official resolution creating the 400 range says that using ordinary numbering for commercial calls makes it difficult for consumers to identify the nature of the call and also makes supervision of telephone numbering more difficult.

The new system therefore creates a dedicated block of numbers specifically for commercial calls.

You won’t be able to call a 400 number back

There is another interesting feature of the Spanish system.

The new 400 numbers are outgoing only.

If a company calls you from a 400 number, you cannot simply press redial and call that number back. Incoming calls to the 400 range are prohibited.

This is intentional.

The Government says the restriction is designed partly to reduce the possibility of fraud and to prevent the 400 range becoming another confusing telephone channel where consumers might be encouraged to call back.

It also means that a 400 number should not be confused with a normal customer-service telephone number.

If you need to contact a company, you should use the company’s published customer-service number rather than attempting to return a 400 commercial call.

Can you block all 400 phone calls?

Potentially, yes.

One of the most useful parts of the new system is that Spanish telephone operators may offer customers the option of disconnecting commercial calls made through the 400 range.

That could make life considerably easier for people who simply don’t want sales calls.

Instead of having to block individual numbers every time a new salesperson calls, you could potentially ask your operator to block the entire commercial-call service.

Exactly how individual operators implement this will become clearer as the October launch approaches.

What about companies calling from normal mobile numbers?

This is one of the biggest changes.

Once the new system is fully operational, companies covered by the legislation cannot simply choose another Spanish telephone range for commercial calls.

The official Spanish resolution states that, after the six-month implementation period, commercial calls must be made through the 400 range.

That means the familiar situation where a sales call appears to come from an ordinary Spanish mobile number should become much less common for legitimate businesses.

It also gives consumers a useful warning sign.

If somebody claims to be making a commercial call on behalf of a company but is using a normal Spanish mobile or geographical number, it could be worth treating the call with extra caution.

Of course, scammers don’t necessarily follow the rules. The 400 system is therefore not a guarantee that every non-400 call is safe.

400 does not mean customer service

It is also important not to confuse commercial calls with customer-service calls.

The 400 range is specifically for outgoing commercial calls. It is not intended to replace normal customer-service telephone numbers.

For example, if you contact your bank, energy company, telecommunications provider or insurance company because you have a problem with an existing service, you will still use the appropriate customer-service number.

The new 400 range is about the company contacting you for commercial purposes.

Spain is also tackling fraudulent SMS

The telephone-number changes are part of a wider effort to make commercial communications easier to identify and to reduce fraud.

Spain is also introducing measures concerning commercial SMS messages, including a CNMC database designed to help verify the origin of commercial messages.

The aim is to make it harder for criminals to impersonate banks, energy companies, delivery companies and other organisations through fraudulent SMS messages.

This is particularly important because telephone scams are no longer restricted to voice calls. A fake SMS followed by a convincing telephone call can be considerably more effective than either technique on its own.

France has gone much further

While Spain is making commercial calls easier to identify, France has taken a much more aggressive approach.

From 11 August 2026, France introduced a new system requiring businesses to obtain prior consent from consumers before making unsolicited telemarketing calls.

That effectively changes France from an opt-out approach to an opt-in system.

Previously, French consumers could register with the country’s Bloctel service to indicate that they did not want telemarketing calls.

The problem was that unwanted calls continued to be a major nuisance.

The new French rules turn the principle around.

Instead of saying:

“Don’t call me because I opted out.”

the basic principle becomes:

“Don’t call me unless I have agreed to be contacted.”

There are exceptions, including certain existing business relationships and situations where the consumer has specifically authorised marketing contact.

France has introduced substantial fines

The French legislation isn’t simply relying on companies voluntarily complying.

Businesses breaching the rules can face fines of up to €375,000, while individuals can face fines of up to €75,000.

That gives French authorities considerably more leverage against companies that continue making unsolicited marketing calls.

It also represents a significant change in the relationship between consumers and telemarketers.

Spain vs France: which system is better?

The two countries are taking noticeably different approaches.

Spain is making commercial calls identifiable.

France is trying to prevent unsolicited commercial calls altogether.

Spain’s system could therefore be described as:

“Tell me it’s a sales call, then let me decide whether to answer.”

France’s system is closer to:

“Don’t call me unless I’ve already agreed to hear from you.”

For consumers, the French approach is obviously more restrictive for telemarketers. However, the Spanish 400 system has an important advantage: it should make legitimate commercial calls immediately recognisable and could allow consumers to block the entire category through their telephone operator.

What should Spanish consumers expect?

The big date to remember is:

17 October 2026

From that date, the new Spanish 400 numbering system should be fully operational for commercial calls.

So if you receive a call beginning 400, you will know that it is a commercial call.

You won’t be able to call the number back, and depending on your telephone operator, you may be able to request that commercial calls using the 400 range are blocked altogether.

For anyone who receives regular unwanted sales calls, that could be a very welcome change.

It won’t eliminate telephone scams overnight, because criminals can ignore the rules, spoof numbers or operate from outside Spain. But it should make legitimate commercial calls considerably easier to identify.

And that is an important step.

Instead of wondering “Who is calling me?”, Spanish consumers will increasingly be able to look at their screen and immediately know:

“It’s a commercial call. Do I want to answer it?”

France, meanwhile, has decided that consumers shouldn’t have to make that decision nearly as often in the first place.

The two approaches will be worth watching as both countries begin enforcing their new rules.