Area code lookup: state, cities, time zone and overlays for any area code
An area code lookup tells you where a North American phone number was issued. Enter a code such as 437 or a full number to get its state or province, largest cities, time zone and overlay codes, or type a state or city to list its codes. It can't tell you the carrier or line type.
Sample result
Area code 415 was issued in California, on Pacific Time.
- Area code
- 415
- Time zone
- Pacific Time
- Overlays
- 628
What this means for you
Knowing where a code was issued helps you pick call times; people can keep a number when they move.
- State or province for every North American code
- Time zone, overlays and largest rate centers
- Reverse search by state or city
- Bulk mode for a pasted list or CSV
- NANPA
- Bulk
- Time zone
By SimpleVerifier Team · Last updated · Runs in your browser; nothing you paste is sent to us
How do I look up an area code?
- Type an area code, a phone number in any format, a US state or Canadian province (name or abbreviation such as TX or ON), or a city name, and press Look up.
- Read the result: location, the largest rate centers or exchange areas, time zone, overlay codes and when the code went into service. Each code links to its own page.
- For a list, switch to A list of numbers and paste numbers one per line, or upload a CSV; the phone column is found automatically.
- Download the CSV with area code, location, country, time zone, overlays and the largest rate centers added to every line.
Example
- You enter
(415) 555-0132, or just the area code415.- You get
- Area code 415 is in California, United States, on Pacific Time, with overlay code 628, plus its largest rate centers and a link to its own page.
- Limits
- One code, place or number per lookup, or a pasted list or CSV for bulk; uploaded files can be up to 25 MB and nothing is sent to a server.
How do I look up an area code?
Type the three digits, or paste the whole number, into the box above. A North American number is 10 digits after the country code +1, and the first three are the area code: in (512) 555-0123 it's 512, which is Texas, centred on Austin. The tool reads any common format, including +1, dots and brackets.
Each result links to a page for that code, such as area code 212, with the local time, dialling examples and the full list of its largest rate centers. The full list of area codes is grouped by state, province and country.
What area codes are in my state or city?
Type the state or province, or its two-letter abbreviation, and you get every area code in service there; Texas has 29. Type a city and the tool finds the codes whose largest rate centers carry that name, so Toronto returns 416, 437, 647 and 942.
Cities usually have more than one code because of overlays: when a code runs out of numbers, a new one is added over the same area instead of splitting it. New numbers in that area can then get either code, which is why neighbours can have different area codes.
What is an overlay area code?
An overlay is a second or third area code covering the same area as an existing one. NANPA, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator, adds one when the existing code is close to running out of prefixes, which its NPA reports track code by code. The older code keeps its numbers; new ones may get the overlay.
Overlays are why most of the US and Canada dial 10 digits for local calls: with two codes in one area, seven digits no longer identify a number. The tool shows each code's overlay partners, and the dialling plan NANPA lists for it on the code's own page.
Where does the area code data come from?
From the numbering administrators' own files. The location, overlays, in-service date and dialling plan come from NANPA's NPA database. The cities come from the prefix files: NANPA's central office code assignments for the US, which record each prefix's rate center, and the Canadian Numbering Administrator's CO code status file for Canada, which records exchange areas.
A rate center is the local billing area a prefix belongs to, usually named after its main town. The tool lists each code's 12 largest by number of prefixes, which is a good guide to where its numbers are, though not a map of its boundary. Caribbean codes such as 876 (Jamaica) have no public prefix file, so only the country and time zone are shown.
Area code lookup or reverse phone lookup: which do I need?
| Area code lookup (this tool) | Live carrier lookup | |
|---|---|---|
| Where the number was issued | Yes, state or province and rate center | Usually |
| Time zone and overlays | Yes | Rarely |
| Mobile, landline or VoIP | No | Yes |
| Current carrier | No | Yes, after porting |
| Cost | Free, in your browser | Per lookup |
Who uses this tool, and for what?
- Sales and call teams
- Group a lead list by state and province before a calling block, and spot Caribbean codes that are international calls before an autodialler reaches them.
- SMS teams
- See which countries a list really covers: a Canadian or Caribbean number has the same +1 shape as a US one but different texting rules and costs.
- Recruiters and support desks
- Work out where an unknown caller or applicant's number was issued, and what time it is there, before calling back.
- Data teams
- Add location, time zone and overlay columns to a CRM export in one pass, in the browser, before routing or reporting by region.
What can’t this tool tell you?
- An area code is where a number was issued. People keep mobile numbers when they move, so it isn't where the person is now.
- It can't tell you the carrier, whether a number is a mobile, landline or VoIP line, or whether it's in service.
- City search covers each code's 12 largest rate centers or exchange areas, so a small town may not appear even though its numbers use the code.
- Caribbean and Atlantic codes have no public prefix file, so only the country and time zone are shown for them.
- The data is a snapshot of NANPA's and CNAC's files on the dates shown on each code's page, refreshed monthly.
Common questions
- What is my exact area code?
- It's the first three digits of your 10-digit number, after the +1 country code. Type your number above and the tool shows the code, where it was issued and its time zone.
- Is area code and zip code the same?
- No. An area code is the first three digits of a phone number and covers a numbering area; a zip code is a postal code. Their boundaries don't line up, and one zip code can sit in more than one area code.
- Do mobile numbers have area codes?
- Yes. In the US and Canada mobiles, landlines and VoIP numbers all use the same area codes and look the same, so the area code can't tell you which kind of line a number is.
- Can area codes start with 1 or 0?
- No. North American area codes start with a digit from 2 to 9, because a leading 1 or 0 is used for long-distance and operator dialling. The same rule applies to the three-digit prefix after the area code.
- How were area codes determined?
- The first codes were set in 1947, when the North American Numbering Plan began; NANPA's database still lists 86 codes in service from that year. Codes added since come from splits and overlays, planned by NANPA as areas run out of numbers.
- Is area code 604 an international call?
- No. 604 is Vancouver, Canada, which is part of the same numbering plan as the US, so you dial 1-604 and the number. Whether your plan charges extra for calls to Canada is up to your carrier.
- Is area code 833 toll-free?
- Yes. 833 is one of the North American toll-free codes, with 800, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888. Toll-free codes aren't tied to a place, so they have no state or time zone.
Sources
Embed this tool on your site
Paste this code into any page to give your readers the area code lookup for free. The frame resizes to fit and works on light and dark pages. Keep the link under it so readers can find the full guide. More tools to embed are on the embeddable tools page.
<iframe src="https://simpleverifier.com/embed/tools/area-code-lookup" title="Area code lookup by SimpleVerifier" data-sv-embed="area-code-lookup" width="100%" height="640" loading="lazy" allow="clipboard-write" style="border:0;width:100%;max-width:760px;display:block"></iframe>
<p style="margin:6px 0 0;font-size:13px"><a href="https://simpleverifier.com/tools/area-code-lookup">Free area code lookup by SimpleVerifier</a></p>
<script>(function(){if(window.__svEmbed)return;window.__svEmbed=1;window.addEventListener("message",function(e){if(e.origin!=="https://simpleverifier.com")return;var d=e.data;if(!d||d.type!=="simpleverifier:embed-height"||typeof d.slug!=="string"||typeof d.height!=="number"||!isFinite(d.height))return;var f=document.querySelectorAll("iframe[data-sv-embed]");for(var i=0;i<f.length;i++){if(f[i].contentWindow===e.source){f[i].style.height=Math.min(Math.max(Math.ceil(d.height),200),4000)+"px";}}});})();</script>The numbering plan only knows what a range was issued for.
In the US and Canada mobiles and landlines share the same prefixes, and anywhere a number can be ported or reassigned the range stops telling the whole story. A live carrier lookup asks the network data instead, which is what the Email + Phone plan adds.
- 5,000 live carrier lookups a month: real line type, including US numbers
- Carrier name for every number looked up
- Upload a CSV up to 100,000 rows; emails in the same file get a mailbox check
One plan, cancel anytime, no contract. Sign in with Google and your first 100 email checks are free, no card. The free tools stay free either way.