North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
256
In service
United States · since 1998

Huntsville

Serves northern and east-central Alabama including Huntsville, Decatur, the Shoals, Gadsden and Anniston. Created March 23, 1998, as a split from 205, it is overlaid by 938.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Huntsville
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1998
Projected exhaust
2043 Q2

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 256 is

North and northeast Alabama; 24 counties fully or partially, including Madison, Limestone, Jackson, Cullman and Talladega..

Communities served wholly or partly by 256:

HuntsvilleDecaturFlorenceMuscle ShoalsGadsdenAnnistonAlexander CitySylacauga
B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 256 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?

Split from · 1998 205 Birmingham 256 split off from 205 in 1998.
Overlay · 2010 938 Huntsville (overlay) 938 added as an all-services overlay of the 256 region.
What's changing. Overlaid by 938 since 2010; ten-digit dialing required.
C · History

How 256 got here

1998-03-23
Created as a split from 205; permissive dialing of 205 continued through September 28, 1998.
Source: Wikipedia
2010-07-10
Overlay code 938 established; ten-digit dialing mandatory.
Source: Wikipedia
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
800
Prefixes available
0
Thousands-blocks assigned
3,916

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

Compare 256 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia ↗
Area codes 256 and 938
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.