business phone · 8 min read
Area Code for Tampa, FL
Tampa area codes explained: 813 (1953), 656 overlay (2022), 727 (St. Pete) and 941 (Sarasota). History, coverage, scam patterns, and business numbers.
Tampa runs on two area codes simultaneously. 813 has anchored Hillsborough County since 1953 — one of Florida’s oldest codes and the one that gave the city its nickname “The 813.” 656 arrived on February 22, 2022 as a full overlay when 813 central office prefixes were exhausted by seventy years of growth.
Cross the bay to Pinellas County and the code switches to 727 — St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Largo have used it since 1999. Drive south along the Gulf Coast into Manatee and Sarasota counties and you hit 941, carved from 813 in 1995.
Understanding which code covers which territory matters if you’re choosing a local business number, screening an incoming call, or just trying to understand why a Florida number looks unfamiliar on your screen.
What’s the area code for Tampa?
Tampa and Hillsborough County are served by two active area codes that cover exactly the same geographic territory:
| Code | Established | Coverage | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 813 | 1953 | Hillsborough County, Oldsmar (Pinellas), central/SE Pasco County | Original code; primary Tampa identity |
| 656 | Feb 22, 2022 | Same as 813 (all-services overlay) | Added when 813 neared exhaustion |
| 727 | Feb 1, 1999 | Pinellas County (St. Pete, Clearwater, Largo) + western Pasco | Split from 813 |
| 941 | May 28, 1995 | Sarasota, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, Gulf Coast south | Split from 813 |
An overlay means the new code covers the same geography without forcing existing customers to change numbers. 813 and 656 are full overlays — both ring the same Hillsborough County territory.
10-digit dialing (area code + seven-digit number) is mandatory throughout the 813/656 overlay region. All local calls require the full 10 digits.
Tampa Bay area codes by region
813 and 656 blanket Tampa and Hillsborough County. The adjacent bay and Gulf Coast areas use different codes depending on county.
| Area | County | Area Code(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Downtown Tampa | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | CBD, government, finance, healthcare |
| Ybor City | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | Historic Cuban cigar district; entertainment |
| South Tampa / Hyde Park | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | Upscale residential, Bayshore Boulevard |
| Westshore / Airport district | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | Business corridor, TPA, major hotels |
| USF area / Temple Terrace | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | University of South Florida, tech park |
| Brandon / Riverview | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | Suburban growth corridor, SE Hillsborough |
| Plant City | Hillsborough | 813, 656 | Agricultural, Strawberry Festival HQ |
| Oldsmar | Pinellas | 813, 656 | Exception: stayed in 813 after 1999 split |
| St. Petersburg | Pinellas | 727 | Downtown St. Pete, Pier District, museums |
| Clearwater | Pinellas | 727 | Clearwater Beach, Scientology HQ |
| Largo / Dunedin | Pinellas | 727 | Pinellas County suburbs |
| Sarasota / Bradenton | Manatee / Sarasota | 941 | Arts hub, Gulf beaches, retirees |
| Fort Myers / Naples | Lee / Collier | 941 | Southwest FL Gulf Coast |
For most businesses anchoring in Tampa, an 813 number covers the entire Hillsborough County market.
A 727 number signals St. Pete and Pinellas identity — ideal for businesses serving the beach communities and downtown St. Pete arts district.
History of Tampa area codes
The story of Tampa’s area codes is the story of Florida’s population explosion — and the telephone system scrambling to keep up.
1947. AT&T launched the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) with Florida receiving a single area code: 305, covering every city from Pensacola to Key West.
1953. The western Gulf Coast peninsula became the state’s second area code: 813. The new code stretched from Pasco County all the way south to Collier County, covering Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Lakeland — the entire western half of the state.
1965. Northern Florida (Jacksonville, Tallahassee, Gainesville) was carved off to become area code 904. For twelve years — 1953 to 1965 — only 305 and 813 served all of Florida.
May 28, 1995. Thirteen counties south and east of Hillsborough — from Manatee County down to Collier County — split from 813 to form area code 941. Sarasota, Fort Myers, and Naples moved to 941 after 42 years under 813.
February 1, 1999. Most of Pinellas County and western Pasco County split from 813 to form area code 727. St. Petersburg, Clearwater, and Largo got their own code after sharing 813 with Tampa since 1953. Oldsmar, a small Pinellas city, remained in the 813 footprint.
March 31, 2020 / February 22, 2022. The Florida Public Service Commission approved a new all-services overlay on March 31, 2020. Area code 656 went live on February 22, 2022, once every available 813 central office prefix was assigned. The NANPA administered the relief; the Florida PSC approved it for the state.
813 as Tampa Bay identity
No area code in Florida carries more regional swagger than 813.
“The 813.” Tampa residents have adopted the area code as the city’s nickname — a shorthand for Tampa pride that appears on murals, merchandise, and social media. August 13 (8/13) is celebrated as 813 Day across the city, recognized by the Tampa Bay History Center as a cultural milestone.
Sports dynasties. The 813 is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Super Bowl LV champions in 2021, playing at Raymond James Stadium), the Tampa Bay Lightning (back-to-back NHL Stanley Cup champions in 2020 and 2021, playing at Amalie Arena), and the Tampa Bay Rays (MLB, Tropicana Field in St. Pete — technically 727, but the “Tampa Bay” brand is anchored in the 813 market).
Ybor City. Tampa’s National Historic Landmark District and the birthplace of the American cigar industry. Cuban, Spanish, and Italian immigrant workers made Ybor the cigar capital of the world from the 1880s through the 1930s, producing over 500 million cigars annually at peak. The 813 carries that heritage.
MacDill AFB. MacDill Air Force Base, at the southern tip of Tampa peninsula, hosts US Central Command (CENTCOM) and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM) — two of the most powerful military commands in the world, both dialing 813.
Port Tampa Bay. The largest port in Florida by tonnage, handling phosphate, petroleum, and container cargo. The port’s 813 presence anchors Tampa’s identity as a working port city — unusual for a Sun Belt metro dominated by services.
Tampa area code spam and scams
The 813 and 656 codes surface regularly in Florida-specific fraud patterns.
Sheriff and court impersonation. The most acute 813 scam threat: callers posing as Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies, claiming the victim has an active warrant or missed jury duty. The HCSO documented over $1,000,000 stolen through these scams in the first months of 2025 alone. The real HCSO never demands immediate payment by phone.
Snowbird-season delivery fraud. Florida’s snowbird influx (October through April) spikes fake package delivery scams — callers impersonating UPS, FedEx, or USPS with phishing links, targeting the temporary residents who are expecting shipments to their Florida addresses.
Hurricane recovery fraud. After major storm seasons, scammers activate 813 numbers to impersonate insurance adjusters, FEMA representatives, or roofing contractors. Tampa Bay’s coastal exposure makes this pattern predictable every hurricane season.
Medicare and health insurance fraud. Callersmart data shows health insurance calls represent 18.49% of 813 spam reports — the single largest category. Medicare/Medicaid impersonation adds another 5.11%.
Neighbor spoofing. Scammers display a local 813 or 656 caller ID even when the call originates overseas, because local Florida numbers have significantly higher answer rates than out-of-state calls.
The FCC notes that caller ID spoofing is technically trivial. The defense for legitimate businesses is STIR/SHAKEN — a carrier-level authentication protocol (learn how it works) that cryptographically verifies your outbound calls as genuinely originating from the number shown.
DialPhone applies STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation to all 813 and 656 numbers. A-attestation (the highest level) signals to receiving carriers that the call is fully verified, dramatically reducing the chance your business calls get labeled “Spam Risk.”
How to get a Tampa business phone number
An 813 or 656 number signals local Tampa presence to customers across Florida and nationally. You do not need a Tampa office to obtain one.
Step 1: Choose a cloud VoIP provider with 813 and 656 inventory, STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation, and the routing features your business needs. See DialPhone business phone.
Step 2: Search available inventory. Filter by 813 or 656. 813 carries stronger brand recognition — “The 813” is a cultural identity. 656 often has higher number availability and equal routing validity.
Step 3: Assign and configure the number. Route to mobile, desktop app, or a team queue. Set business hours, auto-attendant greetings, and after-hours voicemail.
Step 4: Enable STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation. Essential for 656 numbers especially — new overlays can receive transient spam flags from carrier analytics databases during their first weeks in service.
Step 5: Consider an AI receptionist. Tampa Bay’s healthcare, finance, and real estate economy generates high inbound call volume. DialPhone’s AI receptionist handles after-hours calls, appointment booking, and FAQs — keeping every 813 call answered even when your team is offline.
View current rates at DialPhone pricing or start a free trial. You can also port an existing Tampa number — US local ports typically complete in 2 to 5 business days.
Famous companies in Tampa Bay area codes
The 813 footprint hosts a concentrated cluster of national corporate names.
Bloomin’ Brands (HQ Tampa, 813) owns Outback Steakhouse, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Bonefish Grill, and Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse — one of the world’s largest casual dining groups with over 1,450 restaurants across 47 countries.
TECO Energy (HQ Tampa, 813) is the major energy utility serving Tampa Bay, operating Tampa Electric and Peoples Gas through its Hillsborough County operations center.
The Mosaic Company (HQ Tampa, 813) is one of the world’s largest producers of concentrated phosphate and potash crop nutrients. Florida’s phosphate belt, anchored in the 813/863 footprint, is among the most important agricultural inputs in global food supply.
Jabil (HQ St. Petersburg, primary 727; major Tampa operations) is a Fortune 500 manufacturing services company with over 260,000 employees in 30 countries, headquartered in the Tampa Bay metro.
WellCare Health Plans (HQ Tampa, 813) is a major managed-care organization serving Medicaid and Medicare populations, with its Florida headquarters firmly in the 813 footprint.
HSN (Home Shopping Network) (HQ St. Petersburg, 727) — now part of Qurate Retail — pioneered televised retail from its St. Pete studios, making 727 the area code of America’s first TV shopping network.
Raymond James Financial (HQ St. Petersburg, 727) is one of the largest independent broker-dealer networks in the US, with its headquarters dialing 727 across the bay from Tampa.
Sykes Enterprises / Foundever (HQ Tampa, 813) is a global business process outsourcing company providing customer experience services to Fortune 500 companies from its 813 headquarters.
Tampa area code FAQ
Tampa area code FAQ
What is the area code for Tampa?
Tampa's primary area code is 813, established in 1953. Area code 656 was added on February 22, 2022 as an all-services overlay for the same geographic territory — Hillsborough County, Oldsmar in Pinellas County, and the central and southeastern portions of Pasco County.
Both 813 and 656 are valid Tampa area codes. 813 is the dominant cultural identity; 656 has equal routing validity and typically has higher number availability.
Is Tampa in the 813 or 727 area code?
Tampa is in area code 813 (and overlay 656). Area code 727 covers the other side of Tampa Bay — St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and Pinellas County.
The two codes are neighbors separated by Old Tampa Bay. A 727 number signals Pinellas County / St. Pete identity. For businesses primarily serving Tampa and Hillsborough County, 813 is the right anchor code.
When was area code 656 added to Tampa?
Area code 656 began service on February 22, 2022. The Florida Public Service Commission approved the all-services overlay on March 31, 2020, and the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA) authorized the relief when 813 central office prefixes were nearly all assigned.
Only new lines provisioned after February 22, 2022 may receive 656 numbers. Existing 813 holders were not required to change.
What area code is St. Petersburg, Florida?
St. Petersburg and Clearwater use area code 727. The code went live on February 1, 1999 when Pinellas County split from 813 after 46 years of sharing the same code with Tampa.
The split was driven by the explosive growth of cell phones, pagers, fax machines, and dial-up internet in the late 1990s, which exhausted available 813 number blocks. Western Pasco County also moved to 727 in the same split. Oldsmar, though in Pinellas County, remained in the 813 footprint.
What area codes are near Tampa?
Tampa Bay and southwest Florida are served by several codes. 813 and 656 cover Tampa / Hillsborough County. 727 covers St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Largo, and Pinellas County. 941 covers Sarasota, Bradenton, Fort Myers, Naples, and the Gulf Coast from Manatee County south to Collier County. 863 covers Lakeland and Polk County. 352 covers Hernando County, Citrus County, and parts of Pasco County to the north.
For a business serving the full Tampa Bay metro, an 813 anchor number covers the largest single market.
Are 813 and 656 calls safe to answer?
Most calls from 813 and 656 are legitimate. The most common spam patterns from these codes include health insurance solicitations, auto warranty calls, Medicare/Medicaid fraud, and sheriff or court impersonation scams.
Scammers use neighbor spoofing — faking a local 813 or 656 caller ID even when the call originates overseas — because local numbers have higher answer rates. Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office has documented over $1 million stolen through warrant and jury summons scams in 2025 alone. Legitimate businesses using STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation have their calls cryptographically verified by carriers.
Why does my new 656 number show as Spam Risk?
When 656 activated in February 2022, some carrier call-analytics databases had not yet mapped the new overlay code. New 656 numbers were occasionally flagged as Spam Risk during the early months after launch — the same issue that affected 689 (Orlando) in 2019.
The fix is STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation: your VoIP provider cryptographically signs outbound calls so receiving carriers verify them as genuine. DialPhone applies A-attestation to all 813 and 656 numbers, which eliminates the false spam label problem for new 656 lines.
How do I get a Tampa 813 business phone number?
Sign up with a cloud VoIP provider that offers 813 and 656 inventory, STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation, and the call routing features your business needs. No Tampa office address is required.
Filter available inventory by area code 813 or 656. 813 carries stronger brand recognition; 656 often has wider availability. To port an existing Tampa number, submit a Letter of Authorization and a recent phone bill. US local ports typically complete in 2 to 5 business days.
Get a Tampa business number
An 813 or 656 number is live in under 10 minutes with DialPhone — no Tampa office required, STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation included, and an AI receptionist available for the healthcare, finance, and real estate calls that define Tampa Bay business.
About the author
Growth Operations Lead at DialPhone
Darshan leads Growth Operations at DialPhone, where he owns three interconnected programs: the comparison content operation, the open VoIP Pricing Dataset, and the test-call methodology used to verify every pricing claim published on the site.
His research process starts with hands-on product trials and live vendor quotes — not marketing pages. Pricing figures are cross-checked against actual invoices and re-verified on a rolling quarterly cycle, with the underlying dataset kept public for independent re-verification. That dataset now covers 40+ VoIP and virtual-number providers across the US and Canada market.
Darshan also leads DialPhone's AI receptionist evaluation program, running structured test-call scenarios across English, Spanish, and French to assess transcription accuracy, intent routing, and escalation behavior. Methodology notes and raw scoring are archived in the research section.
For factual corrections or dataset discrepancies, Darshan can be reached at the DialPhone editorial address. Verified corrections are published as errata with a changelog date — no silent edits.