Getting a local number in another city

What the area code tells people

The area code is often the first thing people notice about a phone number, before the name next to it. A code they know places the business in their area. For a business that serves customers in a city where it has no office, a number in that city's area code gives those customers a local number to call.

It also helps when the number is passed along or written down: a local code is one part of the number people already know.

The number does not tie you to the city

A phone number does not have to be answered where its area code is. A number on a mobile or internet phone service rings wherever the phone or app is, and a number can also forward its calls to a phone you already have.

A cloud phone service can hold numbers from several area codes on one account, so one office can answer calls for more than one city.

Calls stay local for nearby callers

Each number belongs to a rate center, the area phone companies use to decide whether a call is local or long distance. A caller near that rate center makes a local call to the number, wherever the business picks it up.

Callers on mobile plans with nationwide calling pay the same either way, but the area code still tells them where the business is.

Source: NANPA: area code relief frequently asked questions

Choosing the area code

Pick the code your customers in that city already see on their own phones. In a city with an overlay, every code in the group is local. In Chicago, for example, 872 overlays 312 and 773, so a number in any of the three is a local Chicago number.

If your customers are spread across a region with several area codes, choose the code of the place most of them deal with, which is often the central city.

The 312 area code

Source: NANPA planning letter PL-390: 872 to overlay the 312 and 773 area codes (Illinois)

Before you put it to work

• Decide where calls should ring, and at what hours.
• Record a greeting that names the business, so callers know they reached the right place.
• Use the number the same way on your website, your listings and your ads.
• Keep the account number and transfer PIN for the number somewhere safe, in case you move it to another service later.

Keeping your number when you move