850
Area code
FL
United States geographic area code, in service since 1997-06-23. Part of the 448/850 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1997-06-23
JurisdictionFL, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern / Central
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 100.9% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%799 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 2001-01-02, most recent 2023-07-11.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “FL” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | CENTURYLINK OF FLORIDA, INC. (CENTRAL) | 136 | 17% |
| 02 | BELLSOUTH TELECOMM INC DBA SOUTHERN BELL TEL & TEL | 90 | 11.3% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - FL | 87 | 10.9% |
| 04 | ONVOY, LLC - FL | 61 | 7.6% |
| 05 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - GA | 52 | 6.5% |
| 06 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 41 | 5.1% |
| 07 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - FL | 41 | 5.1% |
| 08 | POWERTEL JACKSONVILLE LICENSES, INC. | 29 | 3.6% |
| 09 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - FL | 26 | 3.3% |
| 10 | CONSOLIDATED COMMUNICATIONS OF FLORIDA COMPANY | 26 | 3.3% |
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- 2019-12-31 NPA 448 to Overlay NPA 850 (Florida)
- 1997-06-23Area code 850 entered service (created from 904).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-12-04 | PL-551 ↗ | NPA 448 to Overlay 850 (Florida) supersedes PL534 |
| 2019-12-31 | PL-534 ↗ | NPA 448 to Overlay NPA 850 (Florida) |
| 1997-05-12 | PL-059 ↗ | NANP-Split of 904 (Florida) Numbering Plan Area (NPA) |