History of Caribbean Telephone Codes & Area Code 809
Starting in 1958, several island countries and territories in the Caribbean
and adjacent areas of the Atlantic were assigned North American
area code 809.
Area code 809 was nearing its capacity in the mid-1990s, so new area codes were
assigned in 1995, 1996, and 1997, with the end result that each country or
separate territory now has its own area code. Only the Dominican Republic retained
area code 809. All numbering (assignment of prefixes) within the Caribbean region
of the NANP is now handled by the telecom ministries of the various countries
and territories.
Puerto Rico overlaid 939 onto its 787 area code in 2001. The Dominican
Republic overlaid 829 onto its 809 area code in 2005 and added 849 in 2009.
Jamaica overlaid 658 onto its 876 area code in 2019.
However, there are not expected to be any further area code splits
in the region for many years.
An additional island — actually,
half an island — joined the NANP in 2011.
See the information on 🇸🇽 Sint Maarten below.
The chart below shows the area codes in the NANP Caribbean.
The two-letter abbreviation before the name of the island is its
ISO country code,
used for Internet domains.
Time zones are shown in the same format used on the
“Locator” page
(list of all NANP area codes in numerical order).
To convert to international time format (offset from UTC/GMT), subtract
12 hours from the time shown.
For example, 7:00 (Eastern Standard Time) is
UTC–05:00.
TC
🇹🇨 Turks & Caicos Islands
(Note:
The Turks & Caicos changed time zone in 2015,
but changed back in 2018.)
+1 649
8:00
VI
🇻🇮 U.S. Virgin Islands
+1 340
Time Zones
The locations shown that observe Daylight Saving Time,
do so on the U.S./Canadian schedule, from the second Sunday of March
until the first Sunday of November; for example,
from
until ,
or
from
until .
WS Samoa observed DST on very different
dates, because it is in the southern hemisphere. However, Samoa ended
Daylight Saving Time in 2021.
Cuba formerly used different dates, but has moved its schedule
to the same dates used in the U.S.
The other islands listed above observe standard time year-round.
To convert to international time zone notation (offset from UTC/GMT),
subtract 12 hours from the time shown here; for example,
7:00 (Eastern Standard Time) corresponds to
UTC–05:00.
🇲🇽 In 2022, MX Mexico eliminated Daylight Saving Time
in most of the country. The northwestern state of Baja California,
as well as border municipalities within approximately 20 km of the
U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico, observe DST on the U.S./Canadian schedule.
Those communities are in the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León,
and Tamaulipas.
(Note that the municipality of Ocampo, Coahuila, abuts the U.S. border
but also extends more than 200 km into the interior.)
Also, the southeastern state of Quintana Roo moved an hour to the east,
into Zona Sureste, which corresponds to U.S. Eastern Standard Time
(7:00, or UTC–05:00).
🇹🇨 TCTurks & Caicos changed time zone in 2015 from
Eastern Standard Time with Daylight Saving Time, to Atlantic Standard
Time without DST. However, in 2018, they changed back to Eastern
Standard Time with DST.
🇰🇾 The KYCayman Islands
proposed observing DST, beginning in 2016, but the proposal was never
implemented. The Caymans are on Eastern Standard Time, year-round.
🇼🇸 WSIndependent Samoa
changed its time zone at the end of 2011.
At the end of 2011, Samoa crossed the International Date Line,
changing its standard time zone from
UTC–11:00 to
UTC+13:00;
in LincMad notation, it changed from
[ 2:00 • 1:00 ] to
[ 26:00 • 25:00 ].
Locally, there was no
.
Because it is in the Southern Hemisphere, Samoa observed DST
beginning on the last Sunday in September and
ending on the first Saturday in April.
However, since 2021, Samoa does not observe DST, so it is now
[ 25:00 ](UTC +13:00)
year-round.
The time zone change does not affect American Samoa,
which remains in UTC–11:00 (1:00).
Thus, it is always the same time in
Samoa and American Samoa, but on different dates.
Click here for the current date and time in
Samoa and
American Samoa.
Overlays and Other Notes
🇸🇽 SXSint Maarten
was part of
AN the Netherlands Antilles,
country code +599.
However, Sint Maarten has transitioned to a new separate status
within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The new ISO country code (and thus Internet domain) has been
assigned and is now active;
the telephone code changed to country code +1, city code 721.
Calling from North America, 011-599-5xx-xxxx
has changed to 1-721-5xx-xxxx.
The telephone numbering switchover was originally scheduled for
,
mandatory on
,
but was postponed until
(permissive),
(mandatory).
You must now use
+1 721 for
Sint Maarten.
These changes do not affect
MF (French) Saint-Martin.
The former 🇳🇱 ANNetherlands Antilles
has two other new ISO
country codes assigned,
some of which have been activated for the Internet.
The Caribbean Netherlands, also known as the
BES islands
(🇧🇶 Bonaire, Sint Eustasius,
& Saba)
have been assigned BQ,
and 🇨🇼 Curaçao is now using
CW.
The .an domain has been
discontinued, and .bq
has not yet been activated, so for the time being use
.nl (Netherlands) for
the BES islands.
No plans have been announced to change the
+599 telephone country
code for CW Curaçao and
BQ BES islands.
🇵🇷 PRPuerto Rico
added area code +1 939
as an overlay of +1 787
on .
🇩🇴 DODominican Republic added area code
+1 829
as an overlay of
+1 809 on
,
and area code
+1 849
as a further overlay on
.
🇯🇲 JMJamaica
added area code
+1 658
as an overlay of
+1 876 on
.
Mandatory 10-digit dialing began
.
(Jamaica postponed the implementation of the 658 overlay to
allow more time for businesses to update their equipment to
accommodate 10-digit dialing.
Finally, in ,
the first actual 658 numbers were assigned.)
The mnemonic ROS
for +1 767🇩🇲 DMDominica
comes from the name of the capital city, Roseau.
The mnemonic BIM for
+1 246BBBarbados
is a local nickname for the island.
Also see the map
of area codes and time zones in the Caribbean region.
Many islands in the Caribbean used to host various sexually-oriented
“chat lines” and other services. For information about this practice
and the specific prefixes involved, see the page on international
kickback numbers.
(The listing of prefixes there is provided entirely without warranty.)
Note that the telesleaze page itself contains no sexual content,
and is safe for children.
Three U.S. territories in the Pacific
(GU Guam,
MP the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and
AS American Samoa)
recently converted from international country codes
to North American area codes.
🇬🇺 Guam changed from
+671 to
+1 671,
the 🇲🇵 Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
(CNMI)
changed from +670 to
+1 670, and
🇦🇸 American Samoa changed from
+684 to
+1 684.
Calling from North America, change the “011” prefix to “1”
(e.g., 1-671 instead of 011-671);
from all other countries, add the country code “1” after the
international dialing prefix. There was no change to the existing
7-digit
numbering structure within each territory.
The change in 🇦🇸 AS
American Samoa’s telephone code does not affect
🇼🇸 WS the Independent State of
Samoa(formerly known as Western Samoa),
country code +685.
The old country codes +670,
+671,
and +684
are discontinued.
Country code +670
has now been assigned to
🇹🇱 TLTimor-Leste (East Timor);
+671 and
+684
are available for reassignment.
Several other islands in the Caribbean or other areas adjacent to the
North American Numbering Plan area, have their own international country codes,
rather than North American area codes in country code 1.
Those country codes are summarized in the chart below.
Time Zone January • July
Country or Territory
Code
8:00
🇦🇼 AWAruba (Netherlands)
+297
8:00
(BQ)Caribbean Netherlands (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, Saba, or
BES islands)
(use AN)
ANSint Maarten(Dutch half of St. Martin);
use +1 721 only
+599
8:00
🇸🇽 SXSint Maarten(Dutch half of St. Martin)
+1 721
21:00
🇹🇱 TLTimor-Leste (East Timor)
+670
Additional Notes
Time Zones are shown as noted under the first table.
🇵🇲 PMSt. Pierre & Miquelon
observe DST on the same schedule as the USA and Canada.
🇨🇺 CUCuba
has changed its dates for DST, and now uses the same schedule as its neighbors.
MH The Marshall Islands,
FM Micronesia, and
WS+AS Samoa
are in the Pacific Ocean.
TL Timor-Leste (East Timor)
is north of Australia, between the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
PM St. Pierre and Miquelon
are off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada.
GL Kalaallit Nunaat
(a.k.a. Greenland) is in the far north Atlantic Ocean.
CU Cuba,
the French and Netherlands Antilles,
HT Haiti, and
MQ Martinique
are in the Caribbean.
The French Antilles include
GP Guadeloupe,
BL Saint Barthélemy, and
MF Saint-Martin.
However, for internet domains, use either
.gp or
.fr (France).
The Netherlands Antilles included
CW Curaçao;
BQ Bonaire, Sint Eustasius, and Saba;
and SX Sint Maarten,
but were dissolved as a political entity on
.
The new ISO codes (Internet country codes) have been assigned:
.cw and
.sx have been activated, but
.bq
has not yet been activated on the Internet;
.an
is still in use during the changeover.
Calling from North America, these locations are dialed as 011 plus the
country code plus the local number. From outside North America, substitute the
appropriate international dialing prefix (most commonly 00).
