Major changes to U.S. local calling:
If you currently dial just 7 digits for a local call, that may be
changing soon. Details of
“The Big 10D”
(coming in 2021–2022): will you be changing
to 10‑digit local calls?
(updated 2021-07-05)
Map:Map
of area codes and time zones
for 2020 (selected for use by the U.S. State Department!)
(map updated
2020-10-29,
text updated
2021-07-21)
New codes:
Table of
New area codes,
showing the dates, cities, and test numbers
(after
2018-01-01),
updated
2021-07-21
Upcoming:
table of
Planned Area Codes Not Yet in Service(similar to NANPA’s “Planned NPAs Not Yet in Service”
page, only with accurate and up-to-date information),
updated
2021-07-21
Non-geographic:
List of
Non-geographic
codes (toll-free, information services, etc.)
in North America, updated
2021-04-11.
Overlays:
List of
overlay area codes,
updated
2021-07-21
International Information
Nueva numeración en
México
en 2019 •
new numbering in
Mexico in 2019
[español • English]
Những thay đổi lớn đối với số điện thoại tại
Việt Nam
trong năm 2017 và 2018
Major changes to telephone numbers in
Vietnam in 2017 and 2018
Changements majeurs à la numérotation téléphonique
vietnamienne
en 2017 et 2018
[vi=Tiếng Việt • en=English • fr=français]
World:
Telephone and Internet Country Codes, specially formatted for
“right-to-left” languages
(ar-Arabicfa-Farsiur-Urduhe-Hebrewyi-Yiddish)
[2014-02-08]
World:
International telephone and Internet
country codes,
updated 2021-04-12 —
in English,
optimized for Google Translate
Africa:
Map and comprehensive multilingual listing of telephone country codes,
city codes, Internet country codes, and time zones for
Africa,
updated 2020-12-16,
map updated
2019-11-22. Highlights:
Major changes/changements majeures in
CI
Côte d’Ivoire
(+225)
2021-01-31;
(details in English & français)
Almost all fixed (landline) telephone numbers in
ZW
Zimbabwe
(+253) in 2019
(details in English & Shona)
GH Ghana (+233)
overhauled its telephone numbering in 2010.
Details in English, français & Hausa, updated
2020-10-10.
Caribbean:
Table of information about area codes in the
Caribbean
and other nearby regions, updated
2019-05-01.
Caribbean:Map of Caribbean
area codes •
New map with time zones,
map updated
2021-04-23,
text updated
2021-04-23.
Map of area codes from the most stable period, the
1970s
Table of the
evolution
of the original area codes to their present form, updated
2021-03-17
International
kickback numbers
(used for phone sex, telesleaze, etc.)
— numbers to watch out for on your phone bill,
or block from your PBX!
(provided without warranty), updated
2021-03-14(Note: this list is not being kept up to date)
Moderately Recent Events
Cumulative listing
of all area code splits from 1980 to present.
(Got an old number and don’t know the new area code? Try this listing!)
Updated
2021-03-08(Note: there have been no splits since 2007.)
“Old News”
— listing of splits begun from
1995-01-01
through
2017-12-31
Proposal regarding area code relief in the 714 and 949 NPAs in
Orange County,
California
(1998-09-14)
Excerpts from the
FCC Regulations
related to telephone numbering administration.
(Due to substantial changes, the excerpts have been
replaced with links to the official texts.)
Links to
other related sites
(Note: these sites are maintained by other people or companies.)
[updated 2021-03-13]
Site overview
This site contains information about the
North American Numbering Plan,
the telephone numbering scheme that serves the United States, Canada,
and several other countries and territories in the region.
The NANP divides the participating countries into area codes, each of which
is a three-digit number. Within each area code, a telephone number is always
7 digits, except for special codes like the 911 emergency number.
In the late 1990s, the NANP added new area codes at a rate unprecedented in
its 50-year history, with demand fueled primarily by the outdated system of
allocating blocks of numbers to telephone companies.
More efficient allocation methods, coupled with consolidation in the
telecommunications industry, have slowed the flood of new area codes to
barely a trickle, from 45 in 1997 to only 3 in 2007.
Notably, the introduction of new area codes has shifted decisively from
traditional area code splits to overlays. As of mid-2013, there are no
area code splits pending or planned anywhere in the NANP!
This site contains information about the original area codes from 1947,
their evolution to the current state, and future developments, including
area code splits and area code overlays.
The site underwent a major overhaul in early 2021. Most of the
changes are “under the hood” (full HTML5 compliance and much
greater use of Unicode instead of ASCII भ escapes),
but several of the graphics have been updated, particularly with
an eye to making them more friendly to people with Color Vision
Deficiency (“color blindness”), and the logo has been refreshed.
Most of the changes are complete, but a few laggards will be
brought into the 21st century in the coming weeks.
The Unicode came in particularly handy for the
world.html
page, which now contains text in over 200 languages in three dozen
character sets. I’m phasing in SVG graphics to replace many of the
older PNG/GIF graphics, providing dramatically better quality at
arbitrary scales. I continue to closely monitor US and Canadian
regulators’ websites for any updates, and keep my ear to the ground
for any credible rumors from other sources. I also receive regular
updates from the ITU on international numbering. I hope you find
the information here useful for all your telephony needs.
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