North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
208
In service
United States · since 1947

Idaho (statewide)

Area code 208 serves the entire state of Idaho, overlaid statewide by 986. It was one of the original 1947 area codes and Idaho's sole code for 70 years.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Idaho (statewide)
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1947
Projected exhaust
2060 Q1

Status, dates and counts are read from NumberResearch (NANPA / CNAC / FCC records). Assignment records show initial assignees, not the carrier serving a number today.

A · Where it is

Where 208 is

All of Idaho..

Communities served wholly or partly by 208:

BoiseNampaMeridianIdaho FallsCoeur d'Alene
B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 208 was split from, spawned, or shares its area with. A split divides the map and changes some numbers; an overlay shares the same ground and changes none — what's the difference?

Overlay · 2016 986 Idaho (statewide overlay) 986 overlaid the entire 208 area (statewide) beginning 2016-11-05.
What's changing. Overlaid statewide by 986; ten-digit dialing mandatory since 2017-08-05.
C · History

How 208 got here

1947
Established as one of the original North American area codes, covering all of Idaho.
Source: Wikipedia
2016-11-05
Area code 986 entered service; permissive dialing period began.
Source: Wikipedia
2017-08-05
Ten-digit dialing became mandatory throughout Idaho.
Source: Wikipedia
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
800
Prefixes available
0
Thousands-blocks assigned
3,562

Prefix-assignment counts describe allocation to carriers, not how many individual numbers are in use. Full technical records: NumberResearch ↗.

Compare 208 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia ↗
Area codes 208 and 986
NumberResearch.org ↗
Live status, dates, assignment counts and exhaust forecast — data as of 2026-09-18 (CC BY 4.0).

Place, relationships and history above are compiled by North American Numbers from the sources listed and last checked 2026-09-18. A check date is not an expert review — see how this is made. Flag an error.