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Area code 540

Area code 540 serves Virginia, including Roanoke, Fredericksburg and Harrisonburg (Eastern time). It has been in service since July 15, 1995 and shares its area with 826.

Numbers starting with 540 drew 2,976 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 996 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 540 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
Virginia(richmond, VA Metropolitan Statistical Area) and (washington, DC--MD--VA--WV Pmsa)
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
July 15, 1995Created from 703
Overlay
Same area as 826
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
786 of 792held by 54 carriers
Projected to run out
4Q 2053NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 540 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 540. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

2,976

FCC complaints since November 2023

996

Different 540 numbers reported

3,630

FCC complaints naming a 540 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202338
December 202370
January 202429
February 20249
March 202410
April 202416
May 202411
June 202423
July 202421
August 20249
September 202420
October 202428
November 202424
December 202415
January 202523
February 202530
March 202517
April 202529
May 202516
June 202531
July 202518
August 202514
September 202548
October 20251
November 202516
December 20258
January 202617
February 202630
March 202636
April 202691
May 202630
June 202667
July 202644
August 202640
September 202627
October 202622

What people said 540 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 2,178 of 2,976 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other1,170
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)626
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends447
Medical and prescriptions248
Dropped call or no message192
Warranties and protection plans54

Most reported 540 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 540

NANPA lists 117 rate centers for 540. 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.
  • Roanoke105
  • Fredericksburg63
  • Harrisonburg43
  • Winchester38
  • Culpeper33
  • Staunton29
  • Blacksburg21
  • Christiansburg18
  • Radford18
  • Stafford18
  • Warrenton18
  • Waynesboro17
  • Rocky Mount13
  • Front Royal12
  • Chancellor11
  • Edinburg11
  • Lexington11
  • Salem11
  • Bedford10
  • Luray9
  • Covington8
  • Dahlgren8
  • Hartwood7
  • Louisa7
Show all 117 rate centers

Mineral, Orange, Pearisburg, Pulaski, Dublin, Stone Mountain, Berryville, Buena Vista, Madison, Mount Gilead, Stephens City, Washington, Burnt Chimney, Catoctin, Elkton, Gordonsville, Marshall, Middleburg, Remington, Spotsylvania, The Plains, Troutville, Bluemont, Bridgewater, Broadway, Calverton, Clifton Forge, Ferrum, Glasgow, King George, Narrows, Natural Bridge, Shawsville, Shenandoah, Shenandoah Park, Stanley, Unionville, Ballard, Bent Mountain, Blue Grass, Boones Mill, Boyce, Brokenburg, Brownsburg, Buchanan, Craigsville, Criglersville, Deerfield, Edom, Fincastle, Floyd, Gainesboro, Gore, Greenwood, Grottoes, Hot Springs, Keezletown, Mcclung, Mcdowell, Mcgaheysville, Mill Gap, Monterey, Montvale, Mount Solon, Mountain Grove, New Castle, Raphine, Sperryville, Union Hall, Upperville, Weyers Cave, Williamsville, Woodstock, Alum Ridge, Basye, Bergton, Crows Hematite, Dayton, Eagle Rock, Fort Valley, Hinton, Locust Grove, Mount Jackson, New Hope, New Market, Newport, Oriskany, Paint Bank, Pembroke, Potts Creek, Strasburg, Toms Brook, Willis.

Phone companies holding 540 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 80% 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 54 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Verizon Virginia, Inc.155
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - VA79
Omnipoint Communications Cap Operations, LLC69
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - DC66
Level 3 Communications, LLC - VA50
Verizon South, Inc. - VA (contel)35
Onvoy, LLC - VA30
Brightspeed of Virginia, LLC28

When today's 540 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200142
200226
20039
200410
20055
20067
20076
200818
200917
201011
201112
20125
20137
20147
20158
20168
201715
201838
201915
202024
202123
20229
20238

Check a 540 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 Virginia

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