Area code 862

Area code 862 at a glance

862 is one of 10 geographic area codes serving New Jersey; NANPA records its in-service date as December 29, 2001. It is an overlay: 862 and 973 cover the same territory, so neighbors on the same street can have different area codes. It is in the Eastern time zone. The places with the most assigned exchanges include Newark, Passaic, Paterson, Bloomfield, and Morristown. By population, its largest named places are Newark, Paterson, Passaic, Bloomfield, and Belleville.

Places served by 862

862 holds 6.9% of the 5,628 central office codes assigned in New Jersey, the 7th most of the state's 10 codes. 29 Census places could be matched to rate centers with 862 exchanges; the most populous are Newark (317,000), Paterson (160,000), Passaic (70,722), and Bloomfield (55,416). For a storefront or service area inside 862, the place pages show which prefixes are rated local there.

How calls are dialed in 862

According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 862 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as ten digits (area code plus number). Ten-digit local dialing means the area code is part of how customers save and recognize your number, so print it in full everywhere. NANPA's dialing-plan note for this code reads: "Calls between the 973 and 862 NPAs can be dialed as 10D. 1+10 digit permissible at service provider discretion."

Phone companies in area code 862

50 carriers hold the 390 central office codes assigned in 862. Omnipoint Communications, INC. - NJ has the most, with 70 (18%). 383 of the codes (98%) are pooled, meaning the code holder shares blocks of 1,000 numbers with other carriers instead of using all 10,000 itself. Numbers can move between carriers through porting, so a code's holder tells you where the block started, not where every number lives now.

Where 862 numbers are rated

NANPA assigns each central office code to a rate center, the local calling area that decides whether a call is local or toll. 862 has codes in 40 rate centers. The table lists the rate centers with the most codes, with the matching Census place where the abbreviation could be matched.

862 code assignments over time

An area code has 800 possible central office codes that start with 2 through 9, a few of which are reserved (such as N11 service codes and 555). 390 are assigned in 862, 49% of 800. 168 were assigned in 2020 or later.

Using area code 862 for business calls

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in area code 862, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.