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Before You Call Back

Area code 212

Area code 212 serves New York, including New York City Zone 01 (Eastern time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947 and shares its area with 332, 646 and 917.

Numbers starting with 212 drew 480 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 867 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 212 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
New YorkNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
Same area as 332, 646, 917
Local calls
Dial 1 + 10 digits
Exchanges in use
784 of 792held by 20 carriers
Projected to run out
1Q 2057NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 212 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 212. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

480

FCC complaints since November 2023

867

Different 212 numbers reported

762

FCC complaints naming a 212 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202325
December 202366
January 202442
February 20243
March 20246
April 202419
May 202450
June 202486
July 202477
August 202455
September 202445
October 202470
November 202459
December 202418
January 202519
February 202522
March 202515
April 20258
May 202530
June 202521
July 20259
August 20257
September 20255
October 20250
November 20253
December 20259
January 20268
February 202610
March 202615
April 20264
May 20267
June 20269
July 202616
August 20269
September 20263
October 20266

What people said 212 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 173 of 480 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other196
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends152
Dropped call or no message39
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)20
Vacation and timeshares15
Medical and prescriptions13

Most reported 212 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 212

NANPA lists 1 rate center for 212. 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.
  • New York City Zone 01784

Phone companies holding 212 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 18% 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 20 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Verizon New York, Inc.630
Tc Systems, Inc. - NY50
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC30
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC - NY20
Paetec Itel, LLC11
Level 3 Communications, LLC - NY9
Level 3 Telecom of New York, LP - NY8
Rcn Telecom Services, Inc. - NY6

When today's 212 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
20013
20031
20101
20191
20227
20232

Check a 212 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 New York

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