diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index b81f3d4c0d..fb28665b71 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -48,6 +48,12 @@
 - Fix the informant column on the Perfomance page showing "Other family member" when `Someone else` is selected for a registration [#6157](https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core/issues/6157)
 - Fix the event name displayed in email templates for death correction requests [#7703](https://github.com/opencrvs/opencrvs-core/issues/7703)
 
+## 1.6.3 Release candidate
+
+### Improvements
+
+- For countries where local phone numbers start with 0, we now ensure the prefix remains unchanged when converting to and from the international format.
+
 ## 1.6.2 Release candidate
 
 ### Bug fixes
diff --git a/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.test.ts b/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.test.ts
index d2c5293f40..e9153a3ee9 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.test.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.test.ts
@@ -16,5 +16,10 @@ describe('phone number conversion from international format back to local format
     expect(convertToLocal('+260211000000', 'ZMB')).toBe('0211000000')
     expect(convertToLocal('+358504700715', 'FIN')).toBe('0504700715')
     expect(convertToLocal('+237666666666', 'CMR')).toBe('666666666')
+    expect(convertToLocal('+8801700000000', 'BGD')).toBe('01700000000')
+    expect(convertToLocal('+260211000000')).toBe('0211000000')
+    expect(convertToLocal('+358504700715')).toBe('0504700715')
+    expect(convertToLocal('+237666666666')).toBe('666666666')
+    expect(convertToLocal('+8801700000000')).toBe('01700000000')
   })
 })
diff --git a/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.ts b/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.ts
index c17758fbaa..3c3f2de432 100644
--- a/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.ts
+++ b/packages/client/src/forms/register/mappings/query/registration-mappings.ts
@@ -97,28 +97,36 @@ export const certificateDateTransformer =
 
 export const convertToLocal = (
   mobileWithCountryCode: string,
-  alpha3CountryCode: string
+  alpha3CountryCode?: string
 ) => {
   /*
    *  If country is the fictional demo country (Farajaland), use Zambian number format
    */
-
-  const countryCode = countryAlpha3toAlpha2(alpha3CountryCode)
+  const phoneUtil = PhoneNumberUtil.getInstance()
+  const number = phoneUtil.parse(mobileWithCountryCode)
+  const countryCode = alpha3CountryCode
+    ? countryAlpha3toAlpha2(alpha3CountryCode)
+    : phoneUtil.getRegionCodeForNumber(number)
 
   if (!countryCode) {
     return
   }
 
-  const phoneUtil = PhoneNumberUtil.getInstance()
-
   if (!phoneUtil.isPossibleNumberString(mobileWithCountryCode, countryCode)) {
     return
   }
-  const number = phoneUtil.parse(mobileWithCountryCode, countryCode)
-
-  return phoneUtil
+  let nationalFormat = phoneUtil
     .format(number, PhoneNumberFormat.NATIONAL)
     .replace(/[^A-Z0-9]+/gi, '')
+
+  // This is a special case for countries that have a national prefix of 0
+  if (
+    phoneUtil.getNddPrefixForRegion(countryCode, true) === '0' &&
+    !nationalFormat.startsWith('0')
+  ) {
+    nationalFormat = '0' + nationalFormat
+  }
+  return nationalFormat
 }
 
 export const localPhoneTransformer =
@@ -131,7 +139,9 @@ export const localPhoneTransformer =
   ) => {
     const fieldName = transformedFieldName || field.name
     const msisdnPhone = get(queryData, fieldName as string) as unknown as string
-
+    if (!msisdnPhone) {
+      return transformedData
+    }
     const localPhone = convertToLocal(msisdnPhone, window.config.COUNTRY)
 
     transformedData[sectionId][field.name] = localPhone