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Area code 216

Area code 216 serves Ohio, including Cleveland, Terrace and Independence (Eastern time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947.

Numbers starting with 216 drew 2,185 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 1,043 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 216 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
OhioCleveland, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
None: the only code for its area
Local calls
Dial 7 digits
Exchanges in use
613 of 792held by 41 carriers
Projected to run out
1Q 2047NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 216 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 216. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

2,185

FCC complaints since November 2023

1,043

Different 216 numbers reported

2,819

FCC complaints naming a 216 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202321
December 20237
January 202423
February 202413
March 202442
April 202423
May 202421
June 202436
July 202434
August 202438
September 202439
October 202474
November 202431
December 202416
January 202558
February 202533
March 202532
April 202533
May 202522
June 202529
July 202537
August 202544
September 202531
October 20253
November 20258
December 202527
January 202621
February 202617
March 202614
April 202614
May 202613
June 202618
July 202625
August 202634
September 202628
October 202664

What people said 216 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,322 of 2,185 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other985
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)247
Dropped call or no message232
Medical and prescriptions207
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends200
Home improvement and cleaning95

Most reported 216 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 216

NANPA lists 4 rate centers for 216. 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.
  • Cleveland485
  • Terrace54
  • Independence41
  • Montrose (cuyahoga)33

Phone companies holding 216 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 59% 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 41 carriers

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

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Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Ohio Bell Tel CO211
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - OH84
T-Mobile USA, Inc.64
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - IL31
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC - OH29
Onvoy, LLC - OH29
Spok, Inc.24
Teleport Communications America, LLC - OH24

When today's 216 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200118
20029
20037
20042
20052
20073
20081
20091
20105
20114
20126
20135
201416
201513
20165
20174
20185
20199
202014
202118
20224
20237
20249
202510
20267

Check a 216 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 Ohio

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