One of the original 1947 North American area codes, 703 now serves Northern Virginia, the densely populated inner suburbs of Washington, D.C. It shares its territory with overlay 571.
The essentialsNumbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Northern Virginia
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1947
Projected exhaust
2031 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 703 is
Arlington and Fairfax counties plus parts of Fauquier, Loudoun, and Prince William counties in Northern Virginia..
Communities served wholly or partly by 703:
AlexandriaArlingtonFairfaxFalls ChurchManassasManassas Park
Coextensive with overlay 571; the two codes serve the identical geography.
B · Relationships
How it relates to other codes
The codes 703 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?
Spawned · 1973804RichmondEastern two-thirds of Virginia split off from 703 into 804.
Spawned · 1995540Roanoke / Shenandoah ValleyWestern/central Virginia split off from 703 into 540, restricting 703 to Northern Virginia.
Overlay · 2000571Northern Virginia (overlay)571 overlaid on the same 703 territory; both serve identical geography.
What's changing. Overlaid with 571 (same geography). 10-digit dialing mandatory.
C · History
How 703 got here
1947-10
Established as one of the original North American area codes, initially covering all of Virginia.
Source: Wikipedia
1973-06-24
Eastern two-thirds of Virginia split off as area code 804; 703 retained by Northern Virginia to spare federal agencies renumbering.
Source: Wikipedia
1995
Western portion split off as area code 540 (day reported as 1995-06-19 by one source; 1995-07-15 by another — UNVERIFIED).
Source: Wikipedia
2000-03-01
Area code 571 introduced as an overlay of 703; 10-digit dialing became mandatory.
Source: Wikipedia
D · Capacity
How full it is
Prefixes assigned
800
Prefixes available
0
Thousands-blocks assigned
1,901
Prefix-assignment counts describe allocation to carriers, not how many individual numbers are in use. Full technical records: NumberResearch ↗.
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.
North American Numbers