---
title: "Unwanted-call complaints in FCC data"
url: "https://lookvalid.com/research/phone-complaints-fcc.md"
canonical_url: "https://lookvalid.com/research/phone-complaints-fcc"
last_updated: "2026-10-19"
type: "reference"
summary: "LookValid's copy of the FCC consumer complaint data, dated October 17, 2026, holds 987,161 unwanted-call complaints that name 719,132 different caller numbers."
related: ["https://lookvalid.com/research.md", "https://lookvalid.com/research/us-phone-numbering-landscape.md", "https://lookvalid.com/research/email-authentication-census.md"]
---

# Unwanted-call complaints in FCC data

LookValid's copy of the FCC consumer complaint data, dated October 17, 2026, holds 987,161 unwanted-call complaints that name 719,132 different caller numbers.

Published 2026-10-19. Data collected or dated 2026-10-17.

## Findings

- The file holds 987,161 complaints on 719,132 reported numbers (n = 719,132 numbers), with reports dated from October 31, 2014 to October 17, 2026.
- 636,601 numbers (88.5%) were reported once, while 82,531 numbers (11.5%) were reported more than once and account for 350,560 of the 987,161 complaints (35.5%).
- 368 numbers have 51 or more complaints each, together 36,371 complaints (3.7%); the most complaints on one number is 715.
- Unwanted Calls is the most common issue label (786,468 complaints on 617,353 numbers), and Prerecorded Voice is the most common call type label (537,965 complaints on 333,402 numbers).
- Of the 469 area codes with a reported number (n = 987,160 complaints on +1 numbers), area code 800 has the most complaints (21,057); the 25 largest area codes hold 21.7% of them.
- 2018 is the year in which the most reported numbers got their first complaint (94,134 of 719,132 numbers).

## Definitions

- Complaint: one consumer report filed with the FCC about an unwanted call or message that gave a caller ID number. Complaints are unverified reports from consumers. They are not findings by the FCC about any caller.
- Reported number: a caller ID number that appears in at least one complaint. The file holds one row per reported number, so every count of numbers below counts rows.
- Repeat number: a reported number that appears in more than one complaint.
- Issue label: the FCC category the consumer chose for the complaint. This file keeps three: Unwanted Calls, Robocalls and Telemarketing.
- Call type label: the FCC description of how the contact arrived, such as Prerecorded Voice or Text Message. A number can carry several labels, so label rows overlap and do not add up to the totals.
- Area code (NPA): the first three digits after the +1 country code. The state shown for an area code is the state most often listed for that area code in the NANPA central office code file.
- Year of first report and year of latest report: the calendar year of the earliest and the newest complaint on a number. The file keeps these two dates per number, not a date for every complaint.

## Reported numbers by how many complaints name them

| Complaints on the number | Numbers | Share of numbers | Complaints | Share of complaints |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | 636,601 | 88.5% | 636,601 | 64.5% |
| 2 | 45,100 | 6.3% | 90,200 | 9.1% |
| 3 to 5 | 25,693 | 3.6% | 92,244 | 9.3% |
| 6 to 10 | 7,247 | 1.0% | 53,793 | 5.4% |
| 11 to 50 | 4,123 | 0.6% | 77,952 | 7.9% |
| 51 or more | 368 | 0.1% | 36,371 | 3.7% |

n = 719,132 reported numbers and 987,161 complaints, FCC data copy dated October 17, 2026.

## Reported numbers by year of first report and year of latest report

| Year | Numbers first reported | Complaints on those numbers | Numbers last reported | Complaints on those numbers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2014 | 4,421 | 21,984 | 3,092 | 4,008 |
| 2015 | 53,726 | 133,007 | 49,741 | 100,415 |
| 2016 | 57,571 | 106,785 | 57,456 | 111,621 |
| 2017 | 82,096 | 126,414 | 82,663 | 132,974 |
| 2018 | 94,134 | 126,331 | 95,297 | 134,026 |
| 2019 | 68,204 | 82,397 | 68,880 | 86,932 |
| 2020 | 63,615 | 70,709 | 64,227 | 77,171 |
| 2021 | 68,865 | 75,016 | 69,340 | 79,588 |
| 2022 | 48,107 | 52,403 | 48,362 | 54,608 |
| 2023 | 41,433 | 44,913 | 41,433 | 47,094 |
| 2024 | 44,015 | 49,275 | 44,387 | 51,662 |
| 2025 | 44,680 | 47,342 | 45,317 | 50,862 |
| 2026 | 48,265 | 50,585 | 48,937 | 56,200 |

n = 719,132 reported numbers. Complaint columns count all complaints on a number, whatever year they were filed, under the single year of its first or latest report. Reports run to October 17, 2026, so the last year is partial.

## Complaints by issue label and by call type label

| Label | Kind | Numbers carrying it | Complaints on those numbers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Unwanted Calls | Issue | 617,353 | 786,468 |
| Telemarketing | Issue | 81,039 | 213,769 |
| Robocalls | Issue | 40,387 | 151,340 |
| Prerecorded Voice | Call type | 333,402 | 537,965 |
| Live Voice | Call type | 255,354 | 434,527 |
| Abandoned Calls | Call type | 107,854 | 241,130 |
| Text Message | Call type | 60,402 | 76,801 |
| Autodialed Live Voice Call | Call type | 4,479 | 46,076 |
| Email | Call type | 131 | 913 |

n = 719,132 reported numbers. A number can carry several labels, so rows overlap and do not sum to the totals.

## The 25 area codes with the most complaints

| Area code | Reported numbers | Complaints | Share of complaints on +1 numbers |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 800 (no state in the NANPA file) | 8,278 | 21,057 | 2.13% |
| 202 (DC) | 10,699 | 17,361 | 1.76% |
| 855 (no state in the NANPA file) | 7,527 | 12,581 | 1.27% |
| 888 (no state in the NANPA file) | 7,503 | 12,277 | 1.24% |
| 866 (no state in the NANPA file) | 6,519 | 11,163 | 1.13% |
| 844 (no state in the NANPA file) | 6,415 | 10,439 | 1.06% |
| 877 (no state in the NANPA file) | 6,200 | 10,235 | 1.04% |
| 206 (WA) | 5,151 | 7,983 | 0.81% |
| 833 (no state in the NANPA file) | 5,765 | 7,297 | 0.74% |
| 646 (NY) | 4,112 | 7,253 | 0.73% |
| 201 (NJ) | 4,230 | 7,024 | 0.71% |
| 303 (CO) | 5,710 | 6,982 | 0.71% |
| 210 (TX) | 4,745 | 6,844 | 0.69% |
| 213 (CA) | 3,907 | 6,625 | 0.67% |
| 407 (FL) | 4,307 | 6,617 | 0.67% |
| 315 (NY) | 4,698 | 6,466 | 0.66% |
| 360 (WA) | 4,337 | 6,419 | 0.65% |
| 720 (CO) | 4,593 | 6,366 | 0.64% |
| 323 (CA) | 4,219 | 6,325 | 0.64% |
| 978 (MA) | 5,546 | 6,283 | 0.64% |
| 702 (NV) | 4,300 | 6,277 | 0.64% |
| 415 (CA) | 4,201 | 6,223 | 0.63% |
| 217 (IL) | 5,121 | 6,041 | 0.61% |
| 516 (NY) | 4,187 | 5,982 | 0.61% |
| 480 (AZ) | 4,321 | 5,959 | 0.60% |

n = 987,160 complaints on 719,131 numbers with a +1 country code. Area code is read from the number the consumer reported, which may be spoofed.

## Method

1. The script reads LookValid's local copy of the FCC consumer complaint data, built October 17, 2026, and the NANPA central office code file dated October 17, 2026. It reads them read-only and downloads nothing.
2. The copy keeps complaints in three FCC issue labels (Unwanted Calls, Robocalls, Telemarketing) that gave a caller ID number. 17,994 complaints whose caller ID was not a valid number were left out when the copy was built, and they are not in any count here.
3. Complaints are grouped per reported number. Counts of numbers count rows, and counts of complaints add each row's complaint count.
4. Area codes are the three digits after +1. States come from the NANPA code file by majority of rows for that area code.
5. No individual number is written to the data file, the CSV or the page. Every row is an aggregate.
6. The script is in the downloads below. Run it with Node 22 or newer against a data folder that holds the two files.

## What this cannot show

- The script reads a local table that LookValid builds from the FCC complaint file, and that table is not part of the download. The script shows the method and the arithmetic, and the CSV holds every aggregate count used on this page.
- Complaints are unverified consumer reports. They are not a measure of how many calls were made, and they are not a verdict on any caller or number.
- Only consumers who chose to file are counted, and only complaints that gave a usable caller ID number. Calls from numbers nobody reported, and complaints with no number, are absent.
- The file keeps a first and a latest report date per number, not a date for every complaint. Complaints by calendar year cannot be computed exactly, so the year table places each number under one year.
- Caller ID can be spoofed, so a reported number, and its area code, may not belong to the party that made the call. Area code counts do not show where callers or consumers are.
- The file keeps three FCC issue labels only. Other FCC complaint categories are not in it.
- Label counts overlap because a number can carry several labels, so they describe labels on numbers, not a split of the complaints.

## Downloads

- Aggregate counts (CSV): https://lookvalid.com/research/phone-complaints-fcc.csv (Counts only: complaints per number, years, labels and the 25 largest area codes. No phone numbers and no personal data.)
- Script (Node): https://lookvalid.com/research/phone-complaints-fcc.mjs (Reads the FCC complaint file and the NANPA file from a data folder and rewrites the data file and CSV.)

## Questions

### Does a number with many complaints mean the caller broke a rule?

No. Complaints are unverified consumer reports. A large count shows that many people reported the number, not that anyone has found the caller at fault.

### Does a number with no complaints mean it is safe?

No. A number missing from the file may be new, may never have been reported, or may have been reported without a usable caller ID. The file cannot say anything about it.

### Why is the area code not the caller's location?

The area code is part of the number the consumer saw on caller ID, and caller ID can be spoofed or the number can belong to a mobile phone that moved. It describes the number, not where the call was made from.

## Sources

- [FCC Consumer Complaints open data, dataset 3xyp-aqkj (US Government work, public domain), LookValid copy built October 17, 2026](https://opendata.fcc.gov/d/3xyp-aqkj), read 2026-10-18
- [NANPA central office code report (North American Numbering Plan Administrator), file date October 17, 2026](https://reports.nanpa.com/), read 2026-10-18

## Related

- [LookValid research](https://lookvalid.com/research.md)
- [US phone numbering landscape from NANPA files](https://lookvalid.com/research/us-phone-numbering-landscape.md)
- [Email authentication census of 3,000 domains](https://lookvalid.com/research/email-authentication-census.md)