Skip to content
Before You Call Back

Area code 803

Area code 803 serves South Carolina, including Columbia, Rock Hill and Orangeburg (Eastern time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947 and shares its area with 839.

Numbers starting with 803 drew 1,983 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 780 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so an 803 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
South Carolina(charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, NC--SC Msa) and Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
Same area as 839
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
784 of 792held by 53 carriers
Projected to run out
2Q 2046NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 803 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 803. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

1,983

FCC complaints since November 2023

780

Different 803 numbers reported

2,600

FCC complaints naming an 803 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202321
December 202312
January 202425
February 202418
March 202416
April 202425
May 202425
June 202441
July 202430
August 202422
September 202416
October 202432
November 202423
December 202413
January 202532
February 202523
March 202517
April 202522
May 202525
June 202517
July 202532
August 202512
September 202514
October 20250
November 202515
December 202520
January 202617
February 202618
March 202613
April 202615
May 202619
June 202620
July 202629
August 202630
September 202620
October 202633

What people said 803 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,406 of 1,983 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other655
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends487
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)296
Medical and prescriptions178
Dropped call or no message141
Home improvement and cleaning49

Places served by 803

NANPA lists 82 rate centers for 803. 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.
  • Columbia251
  • Rock Hill42
  • Orangeburg38
  • Aiken32
  • North Augusta25
  • Sumter20
  • Camden19
  • Lancaster16
  • Barnwell15
  • Newberry15
  • North Sumter15
  • Chester14
  • Lexington13
  • York12
  • Batesburg11
  • Beech Island10
  • Fort Mill9
  • Hampton9
  • Bishopville8
  • Chapin Little Mountain South8
  • Manning8
  • Winnsboro8
  • Allendale7
  • Clover7
Show all 82 rate centers

Denmark, Johnston, Lake Wylie, Springfield Salley, Eastover, New Ellenton, Bamberg, Bath, Bishopville Rural, Blackville, Edgefield, Graniteville, Lake Wylie West, North Manning, Prosperity, Saint Matthews, Sharon, Shaw Air Force Base Heights, Summerton, Whitmire, Chapin Little Mountain North, Hickory Grove, Holly Hill, Jackson, Mill Creek, Oakland, Pelion, Pocalla, Santee, Stateburg, Bowman, Branchville, Cameron, East Sumter, Ehrhardt, Elloree, Estill, Eutawville, Fairfax, Fort Lawn, Gilbert, Heath Springs, Kershaw, Lewisville, Lynchburg, Mayesville, North Summerton, Olar, Pinewood, Pond Branch, Ridge Spring, Ridgeway, Swansea, Wagener, Great Falls, North, Norway, Williston.

Phone companies holding 803 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 68% 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 53 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Bellsouth Telecomm Inc dba Southern Bell Tel & Tel173
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - SC111
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - GA80
Suncom dba T-Mobile USA44
Paetec Itel, LLC40
Level 3 Communications, LLC - SC32
Onvoy, LLC - SC29
Frontier Communications of the Carolinas Inc. - SC23

When today's 803 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200126
200227
200316
200413
200515
20069
200713
200824
200917
20109
201112
20128
201310
201414
201511
201616
201723
201814
201912
202010
20218
20221
20239
20262

Check an 803 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 South Carolina

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