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Before You Call Back

Area code 551

Area code 551 serves New Jersey, including Jersey City, Hackensack and Bayonne (Eastern time). It has been in service since December 29, 2001 and shares its area with 201.

Numbers starting with 551 drew 1,537 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 483 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 551 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
New JerseyNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
December 29, 2001Created from 201
Overlay
Same area as 201
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
300 of 792held by 29 carriers
Projected to run out
3Q 2053NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 551 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 551. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

1,537

FCC complaints since November 2023

483

Different 551 numbers reported

1,829

FCC complaints naming a 551 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202315
December 202310
January 202411
February 20249
March 20246
April 20249
May 202410
June 202411
July 20248
August 20249
September 202416
October 202418
November 202421
December 202410
January 202512
February 202512
March 202512
April 202515
May 202514
June 202515
July 202512
August 20256
September 20258
October 20250
November 20259
December 20258
January 20267
February 202610
March 202614
April 202614
May 202616
June 202612
July 202617
August 202618
September 202636
October 202637

What people said 551 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,048 of 1,537 reports were robocalls.

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SubjectReports
Other621
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)528
Dropped call or no message108
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends104
Medical and prescriptions25
Warranties and protection plans20

Most reported 551 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 551

NANPA lists 23 rate centers for 551. 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.
  • Jersey City53
  • Hackensack47
  • Bayonne31
  • Union City24
  • Ramsey20
  • Fair Lawn17
  • Cliffside14
  • Kearny11
  • Ridgewood10
  • Closter8
  • Rutherford8
  • Englewood6
  • Leonia6
  • Westwood6
  • Wyckoff6
  • Dumont5
  • Oakland5
  • Park Ridge5
  • Teaneck5
  • Cragmere4
  • Hasbrouck Heights4
  • Oradell4
  • Xxxxxxxxxx1

Phone companies holding 551 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 98% 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 29 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Onvoy, LLC - NJ71
Omnipoint Communications, Inc. - NJ67
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - NJ44
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - DC27
Fractel, LLC16
Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - NJ15
Ton80 Communications, LLC10
Cablevision Lightpath, Inc. - NJ9

When today's 551 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
20016
200211
20053
20062
20073
20081
20121
201416
201521
201617
201712
201829
201911
202024
202134
202227
202323
202424
202516
20267

Check a 551 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 Jersey

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