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Before You Call Back

Area code 206

Area code 206 serves Washington, including Seattle, Bainbridge Island and Des Moines (Pacific time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947 and shares its area with 564.

Numbers starting with 206 drew 1,923 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 1,203 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 206 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
Washington(seattle--Bellevue--Everett, WA Pmsa) and Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Pacific
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
Same area as 564
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
752 of 792held by 52 carriers
Projected to run out
4Q 2081NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 206 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 206. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

1,923

FCC complaints since November 2023

1,203

Different 206 numbers reported

2,699

FCC complaints naming a 206 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202330
December 202326
January 202434
February 202417
March 202415
April 202426
May 202450
June 202426
July 202451
August 202450
September 202431
October 202455
November 202435
December 202454
January 202552
February 202541
March 202535
April 202538
May 202536
June 202531
July 202540
August 202543
September 202529
October 20250
November 202514
December 202515
January 202614
February 202624
March 202625
April 202631
May 202626
June 202624
July 202652
August 202621
September 202639
October 202649

What people said 206 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,030 of 1,923 reports were robocalls.

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SubjectReports
Other807
Dropped call or no message239
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)223
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends195
Home improvement and cleaning132
Medical and prescriptions82

Most reported 206 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 206

NANPA lists 5 rate centers for 206. 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.
  • Seattle676
  • Bainbridge Island28
  • Des Moines21
  • Richmond Beach19
  • Vashon8

Phone companies holding 206 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 55% 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 52 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Qwest Corporation243
T-Mobile USA, Inc.95
Onvoy, LLC - WA72
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC58
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - WA57
Level 3 Communications, LLC - WA34
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC33
Electric Lightwave LLC dba Allstream25

When today's 206 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200115
20022
20043
20051
20066
20077
20089
20093
20102
20117
201210
20139
201415
201512
201623
201713
20186
201917
202016
202116
202213
20237
20246
20258
20262

Check a 206 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 Washington

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