973
Area code
NJ
United States geographic area code, in service since 1997-06-01. Part of the 862/973 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced1997-06-01
JurisdictionNJ, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern
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 2001-01-05, most recent 2026-08-25.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “NJ” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | VERIZON NEW JERSEY, INC. | 341 | 42.7% |
| 02 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - NJ | 76 | 9.5% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - NJ | 53 | 6.6% |
| 04 | OMNIPOINT COMMUNICATIONS, INC. - NJ | 48 | 6% |
| 05 | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC | 44 | 5.5% |
| 06 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - NJ | 31 | 3.9% |
| 07 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 30 | 3.8% |
| 08 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - DC | 26 | 3.3% |
| 09 | AT&T - LOCAL | 17 | 2.1% |
| 10 | METROPCS, INC. | 16 | 2% |
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- 1999-02-01 Jeopardy Conservation Procedures Announced for New Jersey NPA 973 jeopardy
- 1997-06-01Area code 973 entered service (created from 201).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-05-08 | PL-277 ↗ | NPA 551 To Overlay NPA 201; NPA 862 To Overlay NPA 973; and NPA 848 To Overlay NPA 732 (New Jersey) |
| 1999-02-01 | PL-151 ↗ | Jeopardy Conservation Procedures Announced for New Jersey NPA 973 |
| 1997-01-23 | PL-036 ↗ | NANP-Split of 201 (New Jersey) Numbering Plan Area (NPA) |