File:Area code 571.png, 400px, alt=area codes 571 and 703, The red-colored area is the northern region of the Commonwealth of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

served by area code 703 and its overlay code 571. poly 391 103 368 103 343 148 324 152 325 160 317 164 309 174 311 177 302 178 364 181 385 161

Area codes 757 and 948 Image:Area code 757.png, The area colored red indicates the southeast corner of Virginia served by area code 757 poly 60 2 11 58 12 78 32 106 40 109 45 105 68 123 73 119 95 128 97 122 126 124 132 110 127 103 139 79 154 79 176 42 197 41 217 1 250 ...

poly 394 103 364 103 339 86 325 57 310 58 306 53 308 34 306 20 301 15 293 0 345 0 369 82 395 83

Area codes 410 and 443 Area codes 410, 443, and 667 are telephone area codes serving the eastern half of the U.S. state of Maryland, including the Baltimore metropolitan area and the Eastern Shore. The 410 area code is the original area code, while the 443 and 667 co ...

poly 169 1 171 31 216 10 239 7 254 22 275 22 264 31 276 42 290 30 291 29 303 40 294 51 288 75 316 88 324 100 329 93 324 56 314 58 305 52 308 36 305 17 294 1

Area codes 240 and 301 image:Area code 301.png, 300px, alt=area codes 240 and 301 possibly 308. These numbers are related to the main zip codes of Maryland., Maryland consists of the red and blue areas. The red area indicates area codes 240 and 301. This map is clickabl ...

poly 95 0 71 22 67 17 52 28 48 38 53 48 45 51 42 43 34 42 24 74 11 77 11 93 31 127 38 132 42 127 66 143 72 136 92 147 95 141 125 143 132 130 124 124 135 98 153 98 174 63 195 63 213 22 246 34 262 27 263 32 275 24 253 21 238 8 216 9 171 30 170 0

Area code 304 Area codes 304 and 681 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the entirety of the U.S. state of West Virginia. The numbering plan area was established in October 1947 with area code 304, as one of the eighty-si ...

poly 276 42 292 30 303 39 289 54

Area code 202 Image:Area code 202.svg, 350px, The red area is the District of Columbia, served by area code 202. poly 0 50 49 54 103 84 111 88 101 107 118 130 143 139 179 140 211 188 238 203 260 240 259 248 248 250 255 262 253 357 1 357 Area codes 571 and 7 ...

poly 112 180 111 171 131 166 136 169 150 165 163 169 180 139 186 138 187 135 185 127 213 88 231 89 234 92 233 129 241 127 240 135 247 136 265 144 253 155 253 162 267 167 272 162 279 164 284 159 288 159 288 156 306 167 315 168 311 174 306 179

Area code 434 Image:Area code 434.png, The area colored red indicates the geographical region of Virginia served by area code 434 poly 64 0 54 9 40 24 28 57 13 58 12 77 31 106 40 109 48 106 68 123 75 117 96 127 99 121 126 122 134 110 126 103 137 78 156 78 17 ...

poly 0 181 0 161 43 127 67 145 73 135 87 145 90 153 87 159 110 170 112 180

Area code 276 Area code 276 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of Virginia. It was established by a split of area code 540 on September 1, 2001. Prior to October 2021, area code 276 had telephone numbers ass ...

poly 273 38 264 44 266 58 276 58 279 67 285 69 283 77 291 84 252 108 230 86 214 87 184 127 188 136 184 140 177 140 162 168 149 165 136 170 126 166 111 171 87 158 88 152 85 144 93 147 93 141 123 143 131 131 124 125 135 98 155 98 175 62 195 62 214 22 247 34 261 28 265 32

Area code 540 Image:Area code 540.png, 400px, The area colored red indicates the northern region of Virginia served by area code 540 poly 391 103 368 103 343 148 324 152 325 160 317 164 309 174 311 177 302 178 364 181 385 161 Area codes 757 and 948 poly 3 ...

poly 292 84 252 109 235 92 232 127 240 125 242 137 246 135 265 144 251 155 253 162 267 166 274 162 279 165 287 159 288 156 305 166 314 167 317 161 326 160 323 151 342 148 325 122 330 115

Area code 804 Image:Area code 804.png, The area colored red indicates the geographical region of Virginia served by area code 804 poly 64 0 54 9 40 24 28 57 13 58 12 77 31 106 40 109 48 106 68 123 75 117 96 127 99 121 126 122 134 110 126 103 137 78 156 78 177 ...

#poly 272 39 263 44 267 56 276 59 281 67 287 70 292 54

Area codes 703 and 571 File:Area code 571.png, 400px, alt=area codes 571 and 703, The red-colored area is the northern region of the Commonwealth of Virginia served by area code 703 and its overlay code 571. poly 391 103 368 103 343 148 324 152 325 160 317 164 309 174 ...

desc top-left Area codes 703 and 571 are telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, rea ...

s in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international callin ...

(NANP) for

Northern Virginia Northern Virginia, locally referred to as NOVA or NoVA, comprises several counties and independent cities in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is a widespread region radiating westward and southward from Washington, D.C. Wit ...

, including the

independent cities An independent city or independent town is a city or town that does not form part of another general-purpose local government entity (such as a province). Historical precursors In the Holy Roman Empire, and to a degree in its successor states ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Fairfax Fairfax may refer to: Places United States * Fairfax, California * Fairfax Avenue, a major thoroughfare in Los Angeles, California * Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, centered on Fairfax Avenue * Fairfax, Georgia * Fairfax, Indiana * Fa ...

Falls Church Falls Church is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,658. Falls Church is included in the Washington metropolitan area. Taking its name from The Falls Church, an 18th-century Churc ...

, Manassas, and

Manassas Park Manassas Park is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. Manassas Park is bordered by the city of Manassas, Virginia, Manas ...

, as well as all of Arlington and

counties and parts of Fauquier,

Loudoun Loudoun ( gd, Lughdan) is a parish in East Ayrshire, Scotland and lies between five and ten miles east of Kilmarnock. The parish roughly encompasses the northern half of the Upper-Irvine Valley and borders Galston Parish (which encompasses the ...

, and

Prince William William, Prince of Wales, (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982) is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. Born in London, William was educat ...

counties. Area code 703 was created as one of the eighty-six

original North American area codes The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947, following the demonstration of regional Operator Toll Dialing during the World War II period. The program had the goal of speedin ...

in October 1947, and originally served the entire Commonwealth of

. Area code 571 was created on March 1, 2000, to form an

overlay plan Overlay may refer to: Computers *Overlay network, a computer network which is built on top of another network *Hardware overlay, one type of video overlay that uses memory dedicated to the application *Another term for exec, replacing one process ...

with 703. The headquarters for The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company of Virginia was at 703 East Grace Street, Richmond, Virginia.

History

On June 24, 1973, area code 703 underwent its first split, when the eastern portion of the state became

area code 804 Image:Area code 804.png, The area colored red indicates the geographical region of Virginia served by area code 804 poly 64 0 54 9 40 24 28 57 13 58 12 77 31 106 40 109 48 106 68 123 75 117 96 127 99 121 126 122 134 110 126 103 137 78 156 78 177 ...

. Permissive dialing of 703 continued across the Commonwealth until January 1, 1974. 703 was restricted to the northern and western regions of Virginia—from Arlington in the north to the

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

and

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

border—while everything from Danville eastward was reassigned to 804. Normal practice calls for the largest city in the original numbering plan area to retain the old area code during a split. However,

C&P Telephone The Chesapeake and Potomac Telephone Company, usually known as C&P Telephone, is a former d/b/a name for four Bell Operating Companies providing service to Washington, D.C., Maryland, West Virginia, and Virginia. Today, three of the companies ar ...

wanted to spare the large number of federal agencies in Northern Virginia the expense and burden of having to change their numbers. A similar decision was made almost two decades later when

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

area code 301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 ( CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less frequently, year 1054 ...

was split;

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and points east were assigned to

area code 410 __NOTOC__ Year 410 ( CDX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year after the Consulship of Honorius and Theodosius (or, less frequently, year 116 ...

in order to allow federal agencies on the Maryland side of the metro to keep their current numbers. From 1947 to 1990, it was possible for telephone users in the northern Virginia portion of 703 to dial any number in the

Washington metropolitan area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...

with only seven digits. While the Washington metro area is split between three area codes—

301 __NOTOC__ Year 301 (Roman numerals, CCCI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Postumius and Nepotianus (or, less freque ...

, the District's

202 Year 202 (Roman numerals, CCII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Antoninus (or, less frequently, year 955 '' ...

, and 703—it was a single local calling area. Every number in the Maryland and Virginia portions of the metro area was protected from assignment in the District's 202, essentially making 202 an

overlay Overlay may refer to: Computers *Overlay network, a computer network which is built on top of another network *Hardware overlay, one type of video overlay that uses memory dedicated to the application *Another term for exec, replacing one process ...

for the entire metro. One consequence of this was that no central office prefix could be duplicated anywhere in the Washington metro area. For instance, if a 1-202-574 number was in use in the District or a 1-301-574 was in use on the Maryland side of the metro, the corresponding 1-703-574 number could only be used in areas considered a safe distance from the Washington metro area, such as Roanoke and the

Tri-Cities Tri-Cities most often refers to: *Tri-Cities, Tennessee, United States *Tri-Cities, Washington, United States Tri-City, Tricity or Tri-Cities may also refer to: Populated places Americas Canada *Tri-Cities (British Columbia), consisting of Co ...

. By the end of the 1980s, the Washington area was running out of numbers, so the partial overlay of 202 was ended in 1990. However, it soon became apparent that breaking seven-digit dialing in the Washington area would not free up enough numbers to keep up with demand on either side of the

Potomac River The Potomac River () drains the Mid-Atlantic United States, flowing from the Potomac Highlands into Chesapeake Bay. It is long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map. Retrieved Augus ...

. With this in mind, on June 19, 1995, most of the western portion of the old 703 area code was split off into the new

area code 540 Image:Area code 540.png, 400px, The area colored red indicates the northern region of Virginia served by area code 540 poly 391 103 368 103 343 148 324 152 325 160 317 164 309 174 311 177 302 178 364 181 385 161 Area codes 757 and 948 poly 3 ...

, and 703 was restricted to northern Virginia. The same issue had forced the split of

from 301 four years earlier. The 1995 split was intended to be a long-term solution. However, within four years, 703 was close to exhaustion due to the proliferation of cell phones, fax machines, and pagers, as well as northern Virginia's explosive growth. To solve this problem, area code 571 was introduced on March 1, 2000, as an overlay to 703. Area code 571 serves most new telephone numbers; while it is primarily associated with

mobile telephone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

lines, it is also used for new

landline A landline (land line, land-line, main line, home phone, fixed-line, and wireline) is a telephone connection that uses metal wires or optical fiber telephone line for transmission, as distinguished from a mobile cellular network, which uses ...

numbers, including the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

upon moving to Alexandria; the

Transportation Security Administration The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that has authority over the security of transportation systems within, and connecting to the United States. It was created ...

, which was created in 2001 and has its headquarters in Arlington; and the

Fairfax County Public Schools The Fairfax County Public Schools system (FCPS) is a school division in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. It is a branch of the Fairfax County government which administers public schools in Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax. FCPS's headqu ...

, which moved its headquarters to the Falls Church area in 2006. Even with the end of seven-digit dialing, much of the inner ring of the Washington metro area, including the bulk of the 703/571 territory, is still a local calling area spanning the District itself and much of the Maryland side. With few exceptions, no long-distance charges are applied from one portion of the metro area to the other.

Local service providers

Although former competitors Bell Atlantic (a former

Baby Bell The Regional Bell Operating Companies (RBOC) are the result of '' United States v. AT&T'', the U.S. Department of Justice antitrust suit against the former American Telephone & Telegraph Company (later known as AT&T Corp.). On January 8, 19 ...

) and GTE had assigned geographical monopolies varying by region in Virginia, they merged in the late 1990s to form

Verizon Verizon Communications Inc., commonly known as Verizon, is an American multinational telecommunications conglomerate and a corporate component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is headquartered at 1095 Avenue of the Americas in ...

, now the dominant local telephone service provider throughout Virginia, including both of these area codes. Over 85% of all telephone numbers in both of these area codes are served by Verizon, a regulated monopoly. However, mobile telephone service is provided with numbers assigned these area codes by various operators such as

AT&T AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile tel ...

and

T-Mobile T-Mobile is the brand name used by some of the mobile communications subsidiaries of the German telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom AG in the Czech Republic (T-Mobile Czech Republic), Poland (T-Mobile Polska), the United States (T-Mobile ...

, in addition to

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the divi ...

. Competition in the local telephone service market within these area codes has been joined by

cable television Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...

operators such as

Cox Communications Cox Communications, Inc. (also known as Cox Cable and formerly Cox Broadcasting Corporation, Dimension Cable Services and Times-Mirror Cable) is an American digital cable television provider, telecommunications and home automation services. It i ...

Comcast Comcast Corporation (formerly known as American Cable Systems and Comcast Holdings),Before the AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corpora ...

, and Verizon Fios, which provide local telephone service running over their own broadband

fiber optic An optical fiber, or optical fibre in Commonwealth English, is a flexible, transparent fiber made by drawing glass (silica) or plastic to a diameter slightly thicker than that of a human hair. Optical fibers are used most often as a means to ...

telecommunication networks (which also provide cable television and high-speed internet services).

Dialing requirements

Because of the overlay of 703 and 571,

10-digit dialing Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telep ...

is mandatory even for local calls; cellphone callers do the same on all direct-dialed calls. Long-distance calls are dialed as eleven digits, using the prefix ''1'', but for landline-based phones only.NANP Administration System: Area Code 703

Service area

Area code 703 and the overlay area code 571 serve the following

cities A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

and towns in Virginia:

, Annandale,

Ashburn __NOTOC__ Ashburn may refer to: Places Canada *Ashburn, Ontario United States *Ashburn, Georgia *Ashburn, Chicago, Illinois, a community area **Ashburn (Metra), a Metra station serving the area * Ashburn, Missouri * Ashburn, Virginia, an unincorpo ...

Burke Burke is an Anglo-Norman Irish surname, deriving from the ancient Anglo-Norman and Hiberno-Norman noble dynasty, the House of Burgh. In Ireland, the descendants of William de Burgh (–1206) had the surname ''de Burgh'' which was gaelicised ...

, Centreville,

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department **US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missou ...

Dale City Dale City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Prince William County, Virginia, United States, located 25 miles south west of Washington, D.C. It is an annex of Woodbridge, Virginia. As of 2017, the total population was 73,384. The community is ...

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper Fr ...

Great Falls Great may refer to: Descriptions or measurements * Great, a relative measurement in physical space, see Size * Greatness, being divine, majestic, superior, majestic, or transcendent People * List of people known as "the Great" *Artel Great (born ...

, Groveton,

Herndon Herndon may refer to: People * Herndon (surname), an American surname * Herndon Davis (1901–1962), American artist, journalist, illustrator, and painter Places in the United States Communities * Herndon, California, an unincorporated commun ...

, Lake Ridge, Leesburg, Lorton, Manassas,

McLean MacLean, also spelt Maclean and McLean, is a Goidelic languages, Gaelic surname Mac Gille Eathain, or, Mac Giolla Eóin in Irish language, Irish Gaelic), Eóin being a Gaelic form of Johannes (John (given name), John). The clan surname is an A ...

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

, North Springfield, Oakton, Occoquan, Reston, South Riding,

Springfield Springfield may refer to: * Springfield (toponym), the place name in general Places and locations Australia * Springfield, New South Wales (Central Coast) * Springfield, New South Wales (Snowy Monaro Regional Council) * Springfield, Queenslan ...

, Sterling,

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, West Springfield, and

Woodbridge Woodbridge may refer to: Places Australia *Woodbridge, Western Australia formerly called ''West Midland'' *Woodbridge, Tasmania Canada *Woodbridge, Ontario England *Woodbridge, Suffolk, the location of ** Woodbridge (UK Parliament constituency ...

, plus all or part of these counties: Arlington,

, and

References

NANP Administration System: Area Code 703 from Phonelookupmate.com

703 Area Code , Counties , Cities

External links