Area Code for Seattle

Seattle’s primary area code is 206 — one of the original 1947 NANP codes, now joined by the 564 overlay that activated on June 10, 2025.

But Seattle’s telephone geography is larger than one city code. The Eastside tech corridor (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland) runs on 425. South Sound and Tacoma are 253. And 206’s new overlay partner 564 is already being assigned to new lines.

This guide covers every Seattle-area code with history, regional maps, notable companies, spam alerts, and how to claim a verified local number for your business.

What’s the area code for Seattle?

Seattle proper is served by two area codes under the North American Numbering Plan (NANP):

Code	Established	Coverage	Notes
206	1947	Seattle city, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Mercer Island, Bainbridge Island, Vashon Island	Original NANP code; cultural identity of Seattle
564	June 10, 2025	Overlay of entire 206 territory	New lines may get 564 once 206 numbers exhaust; both are local to each other

The surrounding metro adds two more codes:

Code	Established	Coverage	Notes
425	April 25, 1997	Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, Bothell, Everett, South Snohomish County	Split from 206; home to Microsoft, Costco
253	April 25, 1997	Tacoma, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Pierce County, South King County	Split from 206 same day as 425

All four codes share Pacific Time (PT) — UTC−8 in winter, UTC−7 in summer.

Quick rule: a 206 number is Seattle city. A 425 number is the Eastside or South Snohomish. A 253 number is Tacoma or South Sound. A 564 number is also Seattle — just newer.

Seattle area codes by region

Downtown Seattle and city neighborhoods (206)

Area code 206 covers Seattle’s full city limits plus several close-in suburbs and islands.

Downtown and central Seattle:

• Downtown / CBD — Seattle’s central business district; Pike Place Market, waterfront
• South Lake Union (SLU) — Amazon’s main campus; dense tech and biotech
• Capitol Hill — arts, nightlife, tech startups, Swedish Medical Center
• Ballard — maritime industry, breweries, tech offices
• West Seattle — residential; West Seattle Bridge corridor
• Fremont — Adobe, smaller tech firms, the Fremont Troll

Close-in suburbs and islands (still 206):

• Shoreline and Lake Forest Park (immediately north)
• Mercer Island (Lake Washington)
• Bainbridge Island (ferry commute to downtown)
• Vashon Island (rural ferry community)
• Parts of Burien and Des Moines (northern portions)

Eastside tech corridor (425)

Area code 425 covers the I-90 and SR-520 Eastside — the highest concentration of technology employment in the Pacific Northwest outside downtown Seattle.

Key 425 cities:

• Bellevue — Seattle’s second downtown; major headquarters cluster
• Redmond — Microsoft campus (1 Microsoft Way); Nintendo of America HQ
• Kirkland — Google’s Kirkland Engineering Center; Valve Corporation (game developer)
• Sammamish — residential; tech workers
• Issaquah — Costco HQ (999 Lake Drive, Issaquah)
• Bothell — biotech cluster; Google and pharma offices
• Renton (north) — Boeing 737 manufacturing

South Sound (253)

Area code 253 covers Tacoma and the South King / Pierce County corridor.

• Tacoma — Port of Tacoma (third-largest on West Coast); UW Tacoma
• Federal Way — corporate services, distribution centers
• Auburn / Kent — logistics, Boeing suppliers
• Renton (south) — mixed 206/253 at city boundary

History of Seattle area codes

1947 — 206 covers all of Washington. AT&T engineers design the NANP and assign 206 to the entire state of Washington. One code, one state.

1957 — 509 splits off eastern Washington. Population growth in western Washington concentrates traffic. Area code 509 is split off for the eastern two-thirds of the state in a flash-cut, roughly following the Cascade Mountains. Seattle keeps 206.

January 15, 1995 — 360 peels off western Washington. Fax machines, pagers, and early Internet modems exhaust number capacity in the western WA suburbs. Area code 360 is created for western Washington outside Seattle and Tacoma — covering Olympia, Bellingham, Vancouver WA, and the Olympic Peninsula.

April 25, 1997 — The big three-way split. 206’s remaining territory is carved into three: Tacoma and south get 253; the Eastside and South Snohomish get 425; Seattle city and its closest suburbs keep 206. This is the modern map.

2017 — Mandatory 10-digit dialing across western Washington. As the WUTC prepares for 564, all western Washington local calls switch to mandatory 10-digit dialing — you must dial the area code even for a neighbor.

June 15, 2023 — WUTC approves 564 expansion to 206. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission approves expanding 564 (already overlaying 360 since 2017) to also overlay 206. Docket: UT-230108.

June 10, 2025 — 564 overlay activates in Seattle. Providers begin assigning 564 numbers in the 206 territory once all 206 central office codes are allocated. Existing 206 numbers are unchanged.

The NANPA tracks all US numbering at nationalnanpa.com. The WUTC’s official announcement lives at utc.wa.gov.

206 as Seattle and Pacific Northwest identity

Area code 206 is more than a routing prefix — it is a regional identity marker.

Tech: the 206 vs 425 divide

Amazon’s main campus is in South Lake Union, squarely in 206. Its main switchboard — 206-266-1000 — is one of the most recognizable 206 numbers in business. Microsoft, by contrast, sits in Redmond under 425. The 206 vs 425 split maps cleanly to Seattle-city tech vs Eastside-suburb tech.

Expedia Group (1111 Expedia Group Way W), Nordstrom (1617 6th Ave), Zillow (1301 2nd Ave), and F5 Networks (801 5th Ave) all headquarter in Seattle proper under 206.

Retail: Starbucks stays 206

Starbucks’s original Pike Place Market store opened in 1971 — and its corporate headquarters remains in Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood under a 206 number. The brand’s Seattle roots are inseparable from the 206 code.

Sports: the 206 and 253 crowd

Seattle’s major sports teams play inside 206 territory: the Seahawks (Lumen Field), Mariners (T-Mobile Park), and Kraken (Climate Pledge Arena) all sit within Seattle city limits. Tacoma Rainiers (Mariners AAA affiliate) operate under 253.

Music: grunge was 206

The Seattle grunge scene that produced Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains centered on Capitol Hill and the Central District — both firmly 206. The Crocodile (2200 2nd Ave) and other landmark venues are 206 addresses. The area code carries weight for any brand wanting Pacific Northwest creative credibility.

Seattle area code spam and scams

Seattle-area codes — particularly 206 — are heavily spoofed by scammers using “neighbor spoofing” to display a local number and increase answer rates.

Common scam patterns targeting 206 numbers:

• IRS impersonation — callers spoofing 206 claim a federal lawsuit or arrest warrant for unpaid taxes. The IRS never initiates contact by phone. See IRS guidance on tax scams.
• Fake Microsoft tech support — callers claim your Windows PC is infected and needs immediate remote access. Scammers exploit Microsoft’s Redmond proximity (425/206) to appear credible.
• Amazon account fraud — robocalls claim an unauthorized purchase was made on your account and demand verification. Amazon never calls customers unsolicited about purchases.
• Apple/iCloud breach robocalls — high-volume automated calls claiming your iCloud has been compromised; instruct you to call back and press 1.
• Social Security suspension — callers claim your SSN has been “suspended” due to criminal activity.

STIR/SHAKEN and what it means for your business number

STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited / Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) is the FCC-mandated caller authentication framework deployed across US carriers. Each call receives an attestation level: A (fully verified), B (partial), or C (gateway/unverified).

Spoofed scam calls typically receive C-attestation or none — triggering “Spam Likely” on modern smartphones. When you obtain a Seattle 206 or 564 number through DialPhone, outbound calls carry A-attestation, the highest trust level. Your calls display as verified rather than flagged.

See the FCC’s spoofing guidance at fcc.gov/consumers/guides/spoofing-and-caller-id.

For the full technical explainer, see our STIR/SHAKEN glossary entry.

How to get a Seattle business phone number

Getting a Seattle 206 or 564 number for your business takes under 10 minutes through a cloud VoIP provider. No Seattle office required.

Step 1: Choose your Seattle area code. For city presence, select 206 — the established identity code. If 206 inventory is limited, 564 covers identical territory and is treated as a local Seattle number.

Step 2: Sign up with a VoIP provider. DialPhone lets you search available Seattle numbers during signup. You can filter by area code and select your preferred number.

Step 3: Route the number to your team. Assign the Seattle number to your mobile, desktop app, or a shared team queue. Configure a voicemail greeting, call menu, or AI receptionist as needed.

Step 4: Set outbound caller ID. Configure your Seattle number as the outbound caller ID so calls you make display the local number — not an 800 number or personal cell.

Step 5: Port existing numbers if needed. Already have a Seattle number with another carrier? Bring it to DialPhone through number porting — typically 2–5 business days for US local numbers.

See DialPhone pricing for plan details, or start a free trial to claim your Seattle number today.

Famous companies in Seattle area codes

Seattle’s area code geography maps directly to its economic footprint — one of the most valuable in the world.

206 — Seattle city headquarters:

• Amazon — HQ at 410 Terry Ave N, South Lake Union; main: 206-266-1000
• Starbucks — HQ at 2401 Utah Ave S, SoDo; original store at Pike Place Market
• Nordstrom — HQ at 1617 6th Ave, downtown Seattle
• Expedia Group — HQ at 1111 Expedia Group Way W, Interbay neighborhood
• Zillow — HQ at 1301 2nd Ave, downtown Seattle
• F5 Networks — HQ at 801 5th Ave, downtown Seattle
• Boeing (Renton assembly, original manufacturing) — historical 206 footprint; corporate HQ relocated to Arlington, VA

425 — Eastside headquarters:

• Microsoft — HQ at 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond; 425 is Microsoft’s home code
• Nintendo of America — HQ in Redmond, 425
• Costco — HQ at 999 Lake Drive, Issaquah; 425
• Valve Corporation — Bellevue; 425
• Google Kirkland Engineering Center — 425

The Washington industry mix — dominated by Technology, Aerospace, and Retail — means a Seattle-region area code carries B2B authority that few US metros can match.

Seattle area code FAQ

Seattle area code FAQ

What is the area code for Seattle? +

The primary area code for Seattle is 206. It has served the city since 1947, making it one of the original NANP area codes in the United States.

As of June 10, 2025, Seattle also has a second code: 564, which overlays the entire 206 territory. New subscribers in Seattle may receive a 564 number when 206 numbers are exhausted. Both codes serve the same geography — calls between 206 and 564 numbers are local.

What is the 564 area code in Seattle? +

Area code 564 is an overlay code approved by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC) to supplement 206 as Seattle-area numbers run out.

The 206/564 overlay went live on June 10, 2025. Existing 206 numbers did not change. New lines and second numbers in Seattle may now be assigned 564. The code previously overlaid 360 (western Washington outside Seattle) starting in 2017.

What area code is the Eastside (Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland)? +

The Eastside — including Bellevue, Redmond, Kirkland, Sammamish, Issaquah, and Bothell — uses area code 425. It was created on April 25, 1997, when 206 was split three ways to relieve number exhaustion.

425 is home to Microsoft (headquarters: 1 Microsoft Way, Redmond) and Costco (headquarters: Issaquah), among hundreds of Eastside tech and retail companies.

What area code is Tacoma and South Sound? +

Tacoma and the South Sound region use area code 253. It was split from 206 on April 25, 1997, at the same time as 425.

253 covers Tacoma, Federal Way, Auburn, Kent, Renton (south), and much of Pierce County and South King County. It is a separate code from Seattle's 206 — a Tacoma business number is 253, not 206.

Why does Seattle have two area codes (206 and 564)? +

206 is running out of available number combinations. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) projected 206 would exhaust its number pool by the end of 2025 due to population growth and the proliferation of mobile devices, second lines, and IoT devices.

Rather than force a disruptive geographic split (which would require some customers to change their numbers), the WUTC approved 564 as an overlay. No existing number changes — only new subscribers receive 564.

Are calls from 206 or 564 numbers spam? +

Not inherently. Legitimate businesses and residents use both codes. The issue is spoofing — scammers fake a local 206 caller ID to boost answer rates. Common 206-spoofed scams include IRS impersonation, fake Microsoft tech support, Amazon account fraud, and Apple/iCloud breach robocalls.

STIR/SHAKEN caller authentication is the FCC-mandated framework that combats spoofing. When you get a Seattle number through DialPhone, calls carry A-attestation — the highest trust level — so your number displays as verified, not flagged as spam.

Can I get a Seattle 206 number without a physical Seattle office? +

Yes. Cloud VoIP providers assign virtual 206 (or 564) numbers to any business, regardless of location. The number routes to any device — mobile, desktop app, or team queue — anywhere in the US.

DialPhone assigns available Seattle numbers in minutes with no hardware, no Seattle office, and no long-term contract. Outbound calls display your Seattle number as caller ID.

What companies are in the 206 area code? +

Many of the world's most recognizable companies headquarter in Seattle's 206 area code: Amazon (South Lake Union campus, 206-266-1000), Starbucks (SoDo headquarters), Nordstrom, Expedia Group, Zillow, and F5 Networks.

Microsoft is the notable exception — it sits in Redmond under the 425 Eastside code. Costco (Issaquah) is also 425.

Get a Seattle business number

A verified 206 or 564 number builds immediate Pacific Northwest credibility — whether you’re entering the Seattle market or a local business that wants verified calls rather than screened ones.

DialPhone provides Seattle numbers with STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation, AI receptionist, call recording, and SMS — all on a single plan with no hardware.

Start your free trial → | See all plans →

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Related resources:

• 206 area code landing page
• Washington area codes
• DialPhone business phone
• AI receptionist
• Number porting guide