209
Area code
CA
United States geographic area code, in service since 1958-01-01. Part of the 209/350 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Split from 415. Created 559. Created 350. Overlaid with 350 .
Statusin service
Introduced1958-01-01
JurisdictionCA, US
Local dialing1+10D
Time zonePacific
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 101% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%800 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%
Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-04-19, most recent 2025-01-28.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “CA” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | PACIFIC BELL | 181 | 22.6% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC | 128 | 16% |
| 03 | ONVOY, LLC - CA | 76 | 9.5% |
| 04 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - CA | 71 | 8.9% |
| 05 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 69 | 8.6% |
| 06 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - CA | 42 | 5.3% |
| 07 | METROPCS, INC. | 26 | 3.3% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - CA | 21 | 2.6% |
| 09 | COMCAST PHONE OF CALIFORNIA, LLC | 18 | 2.3% |
| 10 | U.S. TELEPACIFIC CORP. DBA TPX COMMUNICATIONS | 15 | 1.9% |
Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.
Change history
Recorded events for this NPA- 2022-06-06 NPA 350 to Overlay NPA 209 (California)
- 1958-01-01Area code 209 entered service (created from 415).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-06-06 | PL-594 ↗ | NPA 350 to Overlay NPA 209 (California) |
| 2021-01-08 | PL-556 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) – supersedes PL-544 |
| 2020-08-17 | PL-544 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline |