Overview[1]#

Integrated Circuit Card Identifier (ICCID) are stored in the SIM/UICC cards and are also engraved or printed on the card body during a process called personalisation.

Integrated Circuit Card Identifier is defined by the ITU-T recommendation E.118 as the Primary Account Number.

Integrated Circuit Card Identifier layout is based on ISO/IEC 7812. According to E.118, the number is up to 22 digits long, including a single check digit calculated using the Luhn Algorithm.

However, the GSM Phase 1[8] defined the ICCID length as 10 octets (20 digits) with operator-specific structure.

The number is composed of the following subparts:

• Issuer Identification Number (IIN) - Maximum of seven digits:
  • Major Industry Identifier (MII), 2 fixed digits, 89 for Telecommunication purposes.
  • Mobile Network Code (MNC), 1–4 digits, as defined by ITU-T recommendation E.164
• Home Location Register - 2 digits
• Individual Account Identification Number - length is variable, but every number under one IIN will have the same length. This Account Number must be a Unique Identifier within a Issuer Identification Number
• Check Digit - Single digit calculated from the other digits using the Luhn Algorithm.

With the GSM Phase 1 specification using 10 octets into which ICCID is stored as packed BCD, the data field has room for 20 digits with hexadecimal digit "F" being used as filler when necessary.

In practice, this means that on GSM SIM cards there are 20-digit (19+1) and 19-digit (18+1) Integrated Circuit Card Identifiers in use, depending upon the issuer. However, a single issuer always uses the same size for its ICCIDs.

To confuse matters more, SIM factories seem to have varying ways of delivering electronic copies of SIM personalization datasets. Some datasets are without the ICCID checksum digit, others are with the digit.

As required by E.118, The ITU regularly publishes a list of all internationally assigned Issuer Identification Number codes in its Operational Bulletins.

More Information#

There might be more information for this subject on one of the following:

• ICCID
• Issuer Identification Number
• Major Industry Identifier
• Mobile Network Code
• Mobile Station International Subscriber Directory Number
• Subscriber Identification Module

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• [#1] - Subscriber_identity_module - based on information obtained 2016-08-15