813 Area Code: Tampa, 656 Overlay and History

The essentials

813 area code: quick facts

How 813 became Tampa's code

1. January 1953: Area code 813 opens (FCC). The PSC says it was introduced in 1953 when 305 needed relief because of growth in demand for numbers, and that it was the second area code assigned in Florida. It was first assigned to 16 counties stretching from Pasco County to the inland portion of Monroe County.
2. May 1995: Area code 941 opens (FCC). The PSC says 813 was split twice, creating 941 and 727. NANPA's 1994 planning letter index lists a letter titled "NANP-Split of 813 (Florida) Numbering Plan Area (NPA)" dated September 1994; its text was not read for this guide.
3. Early 1998: NANPA's letter of April 21, 1998 says the industry had approved an overlay for 813 in January, and that the plan was superseded by a geographic split approved by the PSC.
4. July 1998 to February 1999: Area code 727 opens (FCC: July 1998). NANPA says 813 stayed in Hillsborough and East Pasco Counties, with 727 for Pinellas and West Pasco Counties. Permissive dialing was to begin July 1, 1998, with mandatory dialing on February 1, 1999.
5. April 2019: NANPA forecasts a need for relief for 813, according to the PSC.
6. September 16, 2019: An industry meeting reviews five relief options. On October 28, 2019, NANPA files a petition with the PSC.
7. February 6 and 7, 2020: PSC staff hold customer workshops in Tampa and St. Petersburg.
8. March 31, 2020: The PSC approves an all-services overlay (NANPA). The written order is issued April 10, 2020, and the consummating order is filed May 4, 2020.
9. April 17, 2021: Permissive 10-digit dialing begins.
10. January 22, 2022: Ten-digit dialing becomes mandatory for local calls.
11. February 22, 2022: The earliest date a 656 central office code could be activated (NANPA). The FCC table lists 656 as opening in February 2022.

Where area code 813 is used

The PSC says 813 serves all of Hillsborough County, the City of Oldsmar in Pinellas County, and the central and southeastern portions of Pasco County. NANPA, writing in December 2020, describes the greater metropolitan area of Tampa and names the cities of Oldsmar, Temple Terrace, Plant City, and Zephyrhills. Its rate center map labels Tampa North, Central, South, East, and West, along with Zephyrhills and Plant City.

Pinellas County is mostly 727. The 1998 NANPA letter assigned Pinellas and West Pasco Counties to 727, and Oldsmar is the only Pinellas city the PSC names as using 813. Which code serves the northeastern part of Pasco County is not stated in the PSC or NANPA documents used here. Per Wikipedia, which is not confirmed by the regulator, it is 352. Confirm a specific address with your phone provider before you assume its area code.

Why 813 needed relief, and why an overlay was chosen

In the PSC's account, NANPA forecast in April 2019 that 813 would need relief and projected that its supply of central office codes (the three-digit prefixes that follow an area code) would run out in the third quarter of 2022. The PSC order says NANPA did not recommend a geographic split. Under industry guidelines, the two halves of a split should have area code life expectancies within 10 years of each other, and a split of 813 would have exceeded that limit.

An industry meeting on September 16, 2019 reviewed five options. The PSC order gives the projected life of each:

Option 5 would have lasted longest, but the PSC said it would also force 10-digit dialing on customers who otherwise would not be affected for another 28 years or more. The PSC agreed with the industry that the better approach was to limit how many customers must change their dialing, and approved option 1. The PSC held workshops in Tampa on February 6, 2020 and in St. Petersburg on February 7, 2020. It reports that no customers attended either workshop and that it later received one comment, favoring option 1.

The order also notes the older practice of giving carriers numbers in blocks of 10,000. Thousand-block pooling, used to conserve numbers, now allocates blocks of 1,000 and lets unused blocks be reclaimed.

Neighboring area codes

The PSC order and NANPA's map show 727, 863, and 941 as 813's neighbors, and NANPA's map also labels 352. The table shows what the official sources say about each. Where only Wikipedia describes the territory, the table says so.

The 656 overlay and what it changes

An overlay adds a second area code to the same geographic area. The PSC says current customers keep their existing area code and number, while new customers or customers adding lines would receive the new code. It also says the FCC requires 10-digit dialing for all local calls once an overlay is in place.

• Existing numbers: they do not change. A Florida agency notice for elevator providers, based on the industry notice, says the price of a call, the coverage area, and other rates and services do not change, and that a local call stays local.
• Same territory: NANPA says 656 serves the same geographic area as 813.
• When 656 is assigned: the PSC ordered that 656 central office codes be available only when all assignable 813 prefixes have been assigned. NANPA gave February 22, 2022 as the earliest activation date.
• Current status: the sources checked do not say how many 813 numbers remain or whether 656 numbers are being issued today.

Time zone and daylight saving time

Area code 813 uses Eastern Time. The tz database zone table lists America/New_York, labeled "Eastern (most areas)," and it has no separate Florida entry. Florida does have places in two time zones: federal rule 49 CFR 71.5 describes the Eastern and Central boundary in Florida as running from the Apalachicola River to the west line of Gulf County, in the Panhandle. 49 CFR 71.4 defines the Eastern zone as the area east of the 71.5 boundary line. Nothing in the sources checked puts any part of 813 in the Central zone.

Daylight saving time starts at 2:00 a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ends at 2:00 a.m. on the first Sunday of November. The NIST page says these rules were enacted by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, and that time zones and daylight saving time are regulated by the U.S. Department of Transportation. In 2026, NIST gives March 8 and November 1 as the change dates.

How to dial an 813 number

North American numbers have three parts: a country code, a three-digit area code, and a seven-digit local number. NANPA says the ITU assigned country code 1 to the NANP area.

Since January 22, 2022, local calls within the 813 and 656 area must be dialed with 10 digits. Toll calls use 1 plus 10 digits, and operator-assisted calls (credit card, collect, third party) use 0 plus 10 digits. NANPA adds that 1 plus 10 digits is also permitted for local calls at each provider's discretion. The PSC order says a caller who dials fewer than 10 digits hears a recorded message that the area code is required. You can still dial three digits for 911, and for 211, 311, 411, 511, 611, 711, and 811 where they are available.

The Florida agency notice for elevator providers says equipment programmed to dial only seven digits had to be updated to dial 10 digits (or 11 with the leading 1) for all calls in the 813 and 656 area. Phones, fax machines, alarms, and similar equipment that store seven-digit numbers may need the same check.

Caller ID and scams with an 813 number

The FTC warns that "Scammers can make any name or number show up on your caller ID." The FTC calls this spoofing. Scammers can also match the first six digits of your own number, which the FTC calls neighbor spoofing.

• If you pick up and do not recognize the caller, the FTC advises that you hang up.
• Letting an unknown local-looking call go to voicemail is one option.
• The FTC says call blocking is your best defense against unwanted calls.

An 813 number shows the code that was assigned, not who is calling or where they are. The sources checked do not say that 813 numbers are targeted more than other codes. Because 656 shares the same territory, an 813 or 656 caller ID is not a reliable sign that the caller is in Tampa.

Business numbers in the 813 area

The PSC describes 813 by county, not by city, and the territory spans Hillsborough County, one Pinellas city, and part of Pasco County. A business with offices in both Tampa and Pinellas County may therefore hold both 813 and 727 numbers, since 727 covers Pinellas apart from Oldsmar.

Because 813 and 656 share one territory and the PSC says local calls require 10 digits, route calls by team or extension, not by area code. Which code a new line receives depends on the provider and its number inventory, so ask before you plan a campaign or print a number on materials.

Important: Whether a specific 813 number can be assigned to your business depends on your phone provider and its current inventory. This guide does not make claims about availability.

Before you use an 813 number

• Confirm the number is available from your provider, and get its terms in writing.
• Ask who owns the number and whether it can be moved to another provider if you switch.
• Ask whether a new line would be an 813 or a 656 number.
• Use 10-digit dialing on every system, including phone systems, fax machines, alarms, call forwarding, and voicemail. Seven-digit local calls have not been completed since January 22, 2022.
• Print the full 10-digit number on stationery, cards, and advertising.
• Route calls by team or extension, because 813 and 656 share one territory.
• Check each site's address. The PSC names counties and one city, so confirm the code with your provider, especially near the Pinellas and Pasco County lines.
• Plan for caller ID. An 813 number does not prove who is calling, and neighbor spoofing copies the first six digits of your own number.

Related guides and tools

• 305 area code guide: Miami, the Florida code whose growth led to the creation of 813 in 1953.
• 404 area code guide: Atlanta, another Southeast metro code that now shares its territory with overlays.
• Browse all U.S. area code guides, including codes that do not have their own guide yet.
• Business phone system and call routing for local numbers in Tampa.

Frequently asked questions