Toll-free area codes

The seven codes in service

NANPA marks 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, 833 as in-service non-geographic toll-free codes.1 The FCC's toll-free data also names these seven codes.2 A code being in service does not mean a particular number in that code is available.

Dates are from the FCC's numbering-resource utilization report, which records when each code went into effect.2

Why there are seven

AT&T introduced toll-free service in 1967. In 1993 the FCC changed the routing procedures so that toll-free numbers became portable: a customer could switch service providers and keep the number. Demand then outran the 800 code, and new codes were opened one after another, the most recent being 833 in June 2017. The FCC's report describes 888 as making it possible to assign about 8 million new numbers.2

The same report counted about 41.2 million working toll-free numbers at the end of 2018, up from about 3.2 million in 1993.2 That growth explains why a toll-free number you want may be taken in 800 but free in 833, and why the code carries no meaning about quality or age beyond the pool it was drawn from. Every toll-free code works the same for callers; only the digits differ.

How toll-free numbers are controlled

Federal rules define a toll-free number as one for which the subscriber pays the toll charges on completed calls, and add that the subscriber's geographic location has no bearing on which toll-free number it can obtain.3 The subscriber chooses a Responsible Organization, or RespOrg, to manage its records in the toll-free database, and a Toll Free Numbering Administrator runs that database day to day.3

Three rules matter when you shop for a number. RespOrgs must not reserve numbers without an identified subscriber who agrees to be billed, which is the rule against warehousing.4 Subscribers must not acquire more toll-free numbers than they intend to use, and the rules also bar acquiring a number to sell it for a fee, called number brokering.5 And toll-free numbers must be made available on an equitable basis, which the FCC may implement by competitive bidding, first-come first-served assignment or another method.6 A reseller promising an exclusive "vanity" number should be able to explain how it was lawfully obtained.

Questions to ask before you take a toll-free number

• Who is the RespOrg, and can you change it? The RespOrg manages your number's records in the toll-free database, so a provider that will not release the record holds the number hostage.3
• Who pays for calls? By definition the subscriber pays the toll charges on completed calls, so ask for the per-minute rate that applies to calls forwarded to mobiles before you publish the number.3
• How was the number obtained? Numbers are assigned on an equitable basis; brokered or hoarded numbers breach the rules.56
• Is it a number you can replace? If the code will be printed on vehicles and signage, ask how the provider handles a move to another RespOrg later. The porting guide and the porting-time article set out the timings for ordinary numbers; toll-free moves follow a different route.
• Do callers need it? Many callers now pay nothing extra for a call to a local number, so a toll-free line is mainly a signal that you serve a wide area. If your customers are in one place, a code from that region's page may read as more trustworthy.

Choosing between local and toll-free

A local code belongs to a geographic numbering area. A toll-free code does not identify one state, province or territory.1 If your callers expect a number tied to a particular locality, start with that region's area-code page. If you prefer a number that is not tied to one locality, pick a toll-free number in the app.

Auto Attendant works with a local or toll-free business number, with the same spoken menu ringing your team's mobiles. The price is $29 a month for the whole company. If you already publish a toll-free number, read how to keep your number before changing it: moving a toll-free number changes its RespOrg rather than running an ordinary port, as the RespOrg and toll-free number glossary entries explain. Our local versus toll-free guide explains the wider choice, and the international toll-free checklist covers callers outside North America.