Looking for more information on "The 809 Scam"? See the telesleaze page.
Starting in 1958, several island countries and territories in the Caribbean and adjacent areas of the Atlantic were assigned North American area code 809. Area code 809 was nearing its capacity in the mid-1990's, so new area codes were assigned in 1995, 1996, and 1997, with the end result that each country or separate territory now has its own area code. The Dominican Republic retained area code 809. St. Vincent and the Grenadines has finally ended permissive dialing, as of 1999-05-31. Only the Dominican Republic continues to use area code 809. All numbering (assignment of prefixes) within the Caribbean region of the NANP will now be handled by the telecom ministries of the various countries and territories. Puerto Rico overlaid 939 onto its 787 area code in 2001 and the Dominican Republic overlaid 829 onto its 809 area code in 2005; however, there are not expected to be any further area code splits in the region for many years.
The chart below shows the area codes in the NANP Caribbean. The two-letter abbreviation before the name of the island is its ISO country code, used for Internet domains. The permissive and mandatory dates of these area codes are no longer shown; the latest was 1999-05-31.
| NPA | Island | Spells |
|---|---|---|
| +1 264 | AI Anguilla | ANG |
| +1 268 | AG Antigua & Barbuda | ANT |
| +1 242 | BS Bahamas | BHA |
| +1 246 | BB Barbados | |
| +1 441 | BM Bermuda (Atlantic) | |
| +1 284 | VG British Virgin Islands | BVI |
| +1 345 | KY Cayman Islands | |
| +1 767 | DM Dominica | ROS |
| +1 809 & +1 829 | DO Dominican Republic [*] | |
| +1 473 | GD Grenada & Carriacou | GRE |
| +1 876 | JM Jamaica | |
| +1 664 | MS Montserrat | MO I |
| +1 787 & +1 939 | PR Puerto Rico [*] | PT R |
| +1 869 | KN St. Kitts & Nevis | |
| +1 758 | LC St. Lucia | S LU |
| +1 784 | VC St. Vincent & the Grenadines | SVG |
| +1 868 | TT Trinidad & Tobago | T'n'T |
| +1 649 | TC Turks & Caicos Islands | |
| +1 340 | VI U.S. Virgin Islands |
PR Puerto Rico added area code +1 939 as an overlay of
+1 787 on 2001-09-15.
DO Dominican Republic added area code +1 829 as
an overlay of +1 809 on 2005-08-01.
The mnemonic ROS for +1 767 DM Dominica comes from the name of the capital city, Roseau.
Also see the map of the new area codes in the Caribbean region.
Many islands in the Caribbean host various sexually-oriented "chat lines" and other services. For information about this practice and the specific prefixes involved, see the page on international kickback numbers. (The listing of prefixes there is provided entirely without warranty.) Note that the telesleaze page itself contains no sexual content, and is safe for children.
Three U.S. territories in the Pacific (GU Guam, MP the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and AS American Samoa) recently converted from international country codes to North American area codes. Guam changed from +671 to +1 671, the CNMI changed from +670 to +1 670, and American Samoa changed from +684 to +1 684. The change in American Samoa is mandatory as of 2005-04-02. For North American callers, change the "011" prefix to "1" (e.g., 1-671 instead of 011-671); from all other countries, add the country code "1" after the international dialing prefix. There was no change to the existing 7-digit numbering structure within each territory. The change in AS American Samoa does not affect WS the Independent State of Samoa (formerly known as Western Samoa), country code +685.
The old country codes +670, +671, and +684 are discontinued. The +670 country code has now been assigned to TL East Timor; +671 is available for reassignment, and +684 will be available in 2007.
Several other islands in the Caribbean or other areas adjacent to the North American Numbering Plan area, have their own international country codes, rather than North American area codes in country code 1. Those country codes are summarized in the chart below.
| Country or Territory | Code |
|---|---|
| AW Aruba (Netherlands) | +297 |
| CU Cuba | +53 |
| GP French Antilles (Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin) | +590 |
| HT Haiti | +509 |
| GL Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland, Denmark) | +299 |
| MH (Rep. of the) Marshall Islands | +692 |
| MQ Martinique (France) | +596 |
| MX Mexico | +52 |
| FM (Federated States of) Micronesia | +691 |
| AN Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten) | +599 |
| PM St. Pierre & Miquélon (France) | +508 |
| AS American Samoa (U.S.) (see note above) | +1 684 |
| WS Independent (Western) Samoa | +685 |
| TL East Timor | +670 |
MH The Marshall Islands, FM Micronesia, and WS+AS Samoa are in the Pacific Ocean. TL East Timor is north of Australia, between the Pacific and Indian Oceans. PM St. Pierre and Miquélon are off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. GL Kalaallit Nunaat (a.k.a. Greenland) is in the far north Atlantic Ocean. CU Cuba, the French (GP) and Netherlands (AN) Antilles, HT Haiti, and MQ Martinique are in the Caribbean. The French Antilles include Guadeloupe, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Martin. The Netherlands Antilles include Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba, and Sint Eustasius. The island of St. Martin is divided between the French (+590) and Netherlands (+599) Antilles.
Calling from North America, these locations are dialed as 011 plus the country code plus the local number. From outside North America, substitute the appropriate international dialing prefix (most commonly 00).
For information about other international country codes and numbering, see the listing of all country codes here on this site, or visit the World Telephone Numbering Guide, maintained by Dave Leibold.
Return to LincMad's Telephone Area Code page
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