276
Area code
Statusin service
Introduced2001-09-01
JurisdictionVA, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 48.9% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%387 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 2001-03-08, most recent 2026-08-20.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “VA” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | UNITED TELEPHONE-SOUTHEAST-VA DBA CENTURYLINK-VA | 46 | 11.9% |
| 02 | ONVOY, LLC - VA | 33 | 8.5% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - VA | 29 | 7.5% |
| 04 | VERIZON VIRGINIA, INC. | 27 | 7% |
| 05 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 23 | 5.9% |
| 06 | BRIGHTSPEED OF VIRGINIA, LLC | 21 | 5.4% |
| 07 | VERIZON SOUTH, INC. - VA | 18 | 4.7% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - VA | 15 | 3.9% |
| 09 | FRACTEL, LLC | 15 | 3.9% |
| 10 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - VA | 14 | 3.6% |
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- 2001-09-01Area code 276 entered service (created from 540).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| 2002-03-28 | PL-319 ↗ | 540/276 NPA Split - Extended Permissive For Additional Wireless Codes (Virginia) |
| 2001-06-07 | PL-285 ↗ | Correction 540/276 NPA Split (Virginia) |
| 2001-05-01 | PL-275 ↗ | 540 NPA Split; Creating 276 NPA (Virginia) |