---
title: "Area code 217: Illinois, United States"
url: "https://lookvalid.com/area-code/217.md"
canonical_url: "https://lookvalid.com/area-code/217"
last_updated: "2026-10-23"
type: "reference"
summary: "Area code 217 serves Illinois, United States. Number formats, numbering rules, a live phone validator and the other codes in Illinois."
---

# Area code 217: Illinois, United States

Area code 217 serves Illinois, United States. Number formats, numbering rules, a live phone validator and the other codes in Illinois.

NANPA lists 786 central office codes (prefixes) in use in area code 217, held by 51 holders across 265 rate centers.
Illinois Bell Tel holds the most prefixes, 129 (16%). 70% of the prefixes are pooled, which means their thousands-blocks can belong to different companies.
The FCC unwanted-call data has 6,041 complaints on file for 5,121 numbers in 217, most often filed as "Unwanted Calls". These are consumer reports, not findings.

## Facts

- In service since: 1947-01-01
- Time zone: Central (C)
- Assigned overlays: 447 (2021-03-27)
- Prefixes in use: 786
- Pooled prefixes: 552 (70%)
- Rate centers: 265
- Companies holding prefixes: 51
- Assignment dates on file: 2001-03-12 to 2024-12-13 (210 prefixes)
- ZIP codes in its places: 237

## Rate centers

| Rate center | Prefixes | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| SPRINGFLD | 91 | 12% |
| CHAMPAURBN | 81 | 10% |
| DECATUR | 44 | 6% |
| DANVILLE | 27 | 3% |
| QUINCY | 25 | 3% |
| MATTOON | 24 | 3% |
| JACKSONVL | 21 | 3% |
| LINCOLN | 14 | 2% |
| 257 other rate centers | 459 | 58% |

## Carriers

| Holder | Prefixes | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Illinois Bell Tel | 129 | 16% |
| Frontier North | 114 | 15% |
| New Cingular Wireless PCS | 72 | 9% |
| Level 3 Communications | 59 | 8% |
| Verizon Wireless | 51 | 6% |
| Illinois Consolidated Tel | 45 | 6% |
| 45 other carriers | 316 | 40% |

A prefix holder is the company a code was assigned to, not necessarily a number's current carrier, because numbers can be ported to another company.

## History

- 1947-01-01: Area code 217 went into service.
- 2021-03-27: Area code 447 went into service as an overlay in the same area as 217.

## Nearest area codes

The area codes closest to 217, measured between the centers of the ZIP code places they serve, are 309 (about 75 miles), 314 (about 100 miles), 557 (about 100 miles), 618 (about 104 miles) and 636 (about 116 miles).

## ZIP codes

237 ZIP codes fall in places that have a rate center in this area code. The places with the most are Decatur, IL (6 ZIP codes), Quincy, IL (3 ZIP codes) and Danville, IL (2 ZIP codes). A ZIP code and an area code are unrelated systems, so a ZIP code can sit in more than one area code and an area code spans many ZIP codes.

## Complaints on file

6,041 complaints for 5,121 numbers. Numbers whose latest complaint falls in each year:

- 2023: 1,498
- 2024: 493
- 2025: 197

## Questions

### Where is area code 217?

NANPA assigns area code 217 to Illinois, United States.

### In which state does area code 217 sit?

Illinois. 217 is one of 17 area codes the NANPA table assigns to the state.

### Which places does area code 217 cover?

The places with the most ZIP codes among the rate centers in 217 are Decatur, IL, Quincy, IL and Danville, IL. The rate center list on this page shows all of them.

### Who owns area code 217?

NANPA assigns area codes. Within 217, Illinois Bell Tel holds the most prefixes, 129 prefixes or 16%.

### Which time zone does 217 use?

The NANPA NPA report lists the time zone for 217 as Central (C).

### What year did 217 enter service?

The NANPA NPA report gives an in-service date of 1947-01-01, so 217 has been in use since 1947.

### Does area code 217 have an overlay?

Yes. 447 (in service 2021-03-27) shares the same area with 217, so numbers from all of them are local to each other.

### Which area codes are nearest to 217?

The area codes closest to 217, measured between the centers of the ZIP code places they serve, are 309 (about 75 miles), 314 (about 100 miles), 557 (about 100 miles), 618 (about 104 miles) and 636 (about 116 miles).

### How many prefixes does area code 217 have?

NANPA's report dated 2026-10-17 lists 786 prefixes in service in 217, spread over 265 rate centers and 51 holders.

### Are there complaints about 217 numbers?

The FCC data on file has 6,041 complaints for 5,121 numbers in 217. They are unverified consumer reports. A number with no complaints on file is not proven safe.

Sources: NANPA central office code report dated 2026-10-17; NANPA NPA report dated 2026-10-18; FCC unwanted-call complaints, data fetched 2026-10-17; ZIP code places from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).