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Area code 816

Area code 816 serves Missouri, including Kansas City, Saint Joseph and Lees Summit (Central time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947 and shares its area with 975.

Numbers starting with 816 drew 2,068 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 818 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so an 816 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
Missouri(kansas City, MO--KS Msa) and Kansas City, MO-KS Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Central
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
Same area as 975
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
785 of 792held by 52 carriers
Projected to run out
2Q 2069NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 816 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 816. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

2,068

FCC complaints since November 2023

818

Different 816 numbers reported

2,618

FCC complaints naming an 816 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202311
December 20237
January 202413
February 20246
March 202413
April 202419
May 202415
June 202414
July 202425
August 202428
September 202439
October 202431
November 202423
December 202425
January 202528
February 202520
March 202519
April 202528
May 202523
June 202515
July 202518
August 202526
September 202523
October 20250
November 202510
December 202511
January 202614
February 202612
March 202620
April 202613
May 202628
June 202687
July 202642
August 202642
September 202636
October 202625

What people said 816 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,277 of 2,068 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other883
Medical and prescriptions304
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends203
Dropped call or no message148
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)142
Home improvement and cleaning28

Most reported 816 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 816

NANPA lists 73 rate centers for 816. 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.
  • Kansas City442
  • Saint Joseph40
  • Lees Summit20
  • Belton17
  • Liberty16
  • Blue Springs15
  • Cameron13
  • Excelsior Springs8
  • Harrisonville8
  • Odessa8
  • Kearney7
  • Smithville7
  • Ferrelview6
  • Richmond6
  • Adrian5
  • Agency5
  • Farley5
  • Greenwood5
  • Holden5
  • Oak Grove5
  • Archie4
  • Buckner4
  • Freeman4
  • Grain Valley4
Show all 73 rate centers

Henrietta, Kingsville, Lawson, Lonejack, Platte City, Cleveland, Drexel, East Atchison, East Lynne, Garden City, Holt, Lathrop, Maysville, Orrick, Peculiar, Plattsburg, Pleasant Hill, San Antonio, Savannah, Stewartsville, Strasburg, Union Star, Wellington, Amazonia, Avenue City, Bolckow, Camden Point, Clarksdale, Cosby, De Kalb, Dearborn, Easton, Edgerton, Fillmore, Gower, Hamilton, Helena, Kidder, Kingston, Lake Lotawana, Leavenworth Lansing, Missouri City, Osborn, Rosendale, Rushville, Trimble, Turney, Weston, Whitesville.

Phone companies holding 816 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 74% 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 52 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Southwestern Bell219
Aerial Communications, Inc.83
Onvoy, LLC - MO69
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - IL60
Embarq Missouri, Inc. dba Centurylink - MO47
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - MO43
Teleport Communications America, LLC - MO31
Brightspeed of East Missouri, LLC27

When today's 816 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200115
200210
20032
20043
20052
20065
20071
20083
20092
20104
201117
20126
201312
201423
20155
201612
201711
20189
201920
202010
202124
202211
202319
202412
20258

Check an 816 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 Missouri

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