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Before You Call Back

Area code 202

Area code 202 serves District of Columbia, including Washington Zone 1 (Eastern time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947 and shares its area with 771.

Numbers starting with 202 drew 3,095 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 4,736 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 202 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
District of ColumbiaWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
Same area as 771
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
784 of 792held by 37 carriers
Projected to run out
1Q 2100NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 202 numbers

Reports where the number on the consumer's caller ID (or, for the FCC, the number the caller asked them to call back) starts with 202. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

FTC reports, Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026

3,095

FCC complaints since November 2023

4,736

Different 202 numbers reported

5,436

FCC complaints naming a 202 number, by month

November 2023 to October 2026. Source: FCC Consumer Complaints Data.

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202332
December 202334
January 202479
February 202463
March 202471
April 2024106
May 2024137
June 2024188
July 2024381
August 2024184
September 2024261
October 2024399
November 2024181
December 202484
January 2025104
February 202592
March 202591
April 202556
May 202581
June 2025109
July 202587
August 202560
September 202569
October 202511
November 202553
December 202599
January 202669
February 202662
March 202685
April 2026117
May 202683
June 2026111
July 2026182
August 2026204
September 2026209
October 2026376

What people said 202 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,355 of 3,095 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other1,150
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends1,052
Dropped call or no message334
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)182
Lotteries, prizes, and sweepstakes75
Medical and prescriptions35

Most reported 202 numbers

Numbers with at least five reports from three or more places in the last twelve months. Many of them are likely spoofed.

Places served by 202

NANPA lists 1 rate center for 202. A rate center is the town or district a block of numbers is tied to for billing; sorted here by how many exchanges each holds.
  • Washington Zone 1784

Phone companies holding 202 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 56% of these exchanges are pooled: their numbers are handed out in blocks of 1,000 to other carriers, so the holder below is not always the company serving a given number.

Exchanges held, top 8 of 37 carriers

NANPA central office code assignments, file of November 11, 2026.

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Verizon Washington DC, Inc.327
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - DC88
Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, LLC55
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - DC53
Metropcs, Inc.42
Onvoy, LLC - DC34
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC33
Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - DC29

When today's 202 exchanges were assigned

Exchanges still assigned, by year of assignment. Exchanges returned since are not counted.

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200112
20024
20031
20043
20058
200622
20078
200819
200914
201020
201131
201211
201313
201418
201519
201613
20177
201813
201916
202030
202116
20233
20241
20262

Check a 202 number

A check shows the carrier and rate center of the number's exchange and every FTC and FCC report about that exact number. Why the number on screen can be fake.

Other area codes in District of Columbia

NANPA area code database and central office code file of November 11, 2026; FCC complaints November 1, 2023 to November 11, 2026; FTC reports August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. How the data is used.

Official sources (7)Show