Skip to content
Before You Call Back

Area code 949

Area code 949 serves California, including Irvine, Saddleback Valley and Newport Beach (Pacific time). It has been in service since April 18, 1998.

Numbers starting with 949 drew 3,327 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 1,430 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 949 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
California(riverside--San Bernardino, CA Pmsa) and Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Pacific
In service since
April 18, 1998Created from 714
Overlay
None: the only code for its area
Local calls
Dial 1 + 10 digits
Exchanges in use
747 of 792held by 37 carriers
Projected to run out
3Q 2029NANPA forecast 2026.2, relief planning under way

Complaints about 949 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 949. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

3,327

FCC complaints since November 2023

1,430

Different 949 numbers reported

3,562

FCC complaints naming a 949 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202328
December 202326
January 202426
February 202427
March 202436
April 202444
May 202462
June 202453
July 202465
August 202438
September 202426
October 202434
November 202423
December 202419
January 202534
February 202520
March 202524
April 202545
May 202537
June 202548
July 202523
August 202544
September 202531
October 20252
November 20258
December 202529
January 202627
February 202623
March 202631
April 202631
May 202638
June 202634
July 202644
August 202636
September 202670
October 2026182

What people said 949 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 2,369 of 3,327 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)1,175
Other1,145
Dropped call or no message300
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends267
Home improvement and cleaning88
Medical and prescriptions39

Most reported 949 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 949

NANPA lists 7 rate centers for 949. 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.
  • Irvine284
  • Saddleback Valley148
  • Newport Beach101
  • Capistrano Valley93
  • Laguna Beach69
  • Trabuco32
  • Rancho Viejo20

Phone companies holding 949 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 72% 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 37 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Pacific Bell184
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - CA89
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC73
T-Mobile USA, Inc.68
Onvoy, LLC - CA47
Fractel, LLC36
Level 3 Communications, LLC - CA35
Comcast Phone of California, LLC29

When today's 949 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200130
20028
20042
20068
20072
20087
20093
20105
20118
20127
201310
201416
201519
201619
20179
20189
201918
202036
202129
202222
202318
202422
202511
202621

Check a 949 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 California

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