773
Area code
IL
United States geographic area code, in service since 1996-10-12. Part of the 773/872 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Split from 312.
Statusin service
Introduced1996-10-12
JurisdictionIL, US
Local dialing1+10D
Time zoneCentral
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 2001-02-02, most recent 2026-08-19.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “IL” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | ILLINOIS BELL TEL CO | 257 | 32.1% |
| 02 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 169 | 21.1% |
| 03 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 84 | 10.5% |
| 04 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - IL | 59 | 7.4% |
| 05 | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC | 38 | 4.8% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - IL | 36 | 4.5% |
| 07 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 33 | 4.1% |
| 08 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - IL | 23 | 2.9% |
| 09 | ONVOY, LLC | 16 | 2% |
| 10 | SPOK, INC. | 13 | 1.6% |
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- 1996-10-12Area code 773 entered service (created from 312).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2009-08-10 | PL-392 ↗ | NPA 872 to Overlay NPA 312 and 773 (Illinois) |
| 2009-06-15 | PL-390 ↗ | NPA 872 to Overlay NPA 312 and 773 (Illinois) |
| 1999-10-24 | PL-195 ↗ | NPA 872 to Overlay NPAs 312 and 773 (Illinois)NPA 464 to Overlay NPA 708NPA 331 to Overlay NPA 630 |
| 1996-02-29 | IL-96-02-014 ↗ | NANP-Split of 312 (Illinois) Numbering Plan Area (NPA) |