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Main Index

Current Numbering (North America)

• Map: Map of area codes and time zones for 2017 (PNG format) (map updated 2017‑03‑08, text updated 2017‑06‑10)
• New codes: Table of New area codes (overlays and splits), showing the dates, cities, and test numbers (after 2016‑01‑01), updated 2017‑06‑10
• By state: Tables of Cities and area codes, up to date and accurate, now with time zones! (Listed by state / province / country / territory), updated 2017‑06‑10. The listings are now divided as follows. US States: AK to CT, DC to LA, MA to OR, PA to WY; Canada (English / français); Other NANP locations and nearby non-NANP country codes
• By area code: Area Code Locator guide — Now with Time Zones! — area codes listed numerically with major cities, updated 2017‑06‑10
• En español: Localizador de Códigos de Área, con husos horarios, actualizado 2017‑06‑10; (indicativos regionales, claves LADA de los EE.UU. y de Canada)
• En français: Localisateur des Indicatifs Régionaux, avec fuseaux horaires, mise à jour 2017‑06‑10
• Non-geographic: List of Non-geographic codes (toll-free, information services, etc.) in North America, updated 2017‑06‑10.
• Overlays: List of overlay area codes, updated 2017‑06‑10

International Information

• New! • Nouveau! • Nuevo! • Новинка! • 新！ • 新しい！ • الجديد! • Νέο! • Mpya! • नया!
  World: Telephone and Internet Country Codes in 10 Languages (en fr es ru zh ja ar el sw hi) [2012‑10‑23]
• New! • الجديد! • جدید! • نیا! • חדש! • ניו!
  World: Telephone and Internet Country Codes, specially formatted for "right-to-left" languages (ar-Arabic fa-Farsi ur-Urdu he-Hebrew yi-Yiddish) [2014‑02‑08]
• World: International telephone and Internet country codes, updated 2014‑02‑08 — in English, optimized for Google Translate to: af be bg ca cs cy da de et fi ga gl hr ht hu id is it ko lt lv mk ms mt nl no pl pt ro si sk sq sr sv th tl/fil tr uk vi
• Africa: Map and comprehensive multilingual listing of telephone country codes, city codes, Internet country codes, and time zones for Africa, updated 2014‑08‑04, plus a special update page on Ghana's 2010 renumbering — new numbers in effect 2010‑08‑01, updated 2014‑04‑11. NOTE: Mobile telephone numbers in GN Guinea (+224) changed on 2013‑04‑01; details (English • Français) on the Africa page.
• Caribbean: Table of information about area codes in the Caribbean and other nearby regions, updated 2016‑10‑08.
• Caribbean: Map of Caribbean area codes • New map with time zones, map updated 2016‑01‑01, text updated 2016‑10‑08.

History and Evolution

• New! When did that area code (NPA) begin? List of NPA in-service dates, numerically by NPA or chronologically by effective date
• Table of the original 86 area codes from 1947
• Map of the original 86 area codes
• 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 2015‑09‑22
• 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 2000‑12‑30

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 2015‑09‑21
• "Old News" — listing of splits begun from 1995‑01‑01 through 2013‑12‑31
• Editorial commentary and explanatory notes about the area code split/overlay table, updated 2003‑10‑28

Other Information & Fun Stuff

• Methods of relief (realignment, split, 3-way split, overlay) for area codes that are filling up, 1999‑10‑08
• Future expansion of North American numbering, updated 2001‑07‑01
• My original proposal for future expansion
• "Why not just go to 8-digit local numbers now?" (a frequently asked question)
• "Why do we need so many new area codes?"
• Just for fun — mnemonics for area codes (for example, 859 = UKY for the University of Kentucky)
• An article about me from the New York Times (1997‑12‑28)
• An article I wrote about Local Number Portability and Number Conservation issues (1998‑11‑02)
• 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 (provided without warranty)

Administrivia

• Site feedback
• Copyright notice (updated and clarified 2006‑03‑23)
• Privacy policy (updated 2017‑03‑12) (note: LincMad.com does not use cookies)
• Google Ads privacy policy
• Links to other related sites (Note: these sites are maintained by other people or companies.)

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 1990's, 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.

These pages are designed with limited graphics to speed loading times. The tables of information require a browser that supports HTML tables. Almost all browsers do, but text-based browsers (e.g., Lynx) may display the information in a jumbled form. The maps are displayed as GIF or PNG images, which can be displayed on any graphical browser.

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