If you've received a call from a number starting with 817 — or you're looking to establish a local business presence in North Texas — understanding what the 817 area code represents is essential. Covering Fort Worth and a broad stretch of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, area code 817 is one of Texas's most recognized and historically significant phone prefixes.
Whether you're a business owner, a consumer trying to verify an incoming call, or a company expanding into the Lone Star State, this guide walks you through everything you need to know: where 817 is located, which cities it covers, what time zone it operates in, and how to get a local 817 number for your business.
Area code 817 is a North American Numbering Plan (NANP) telephone area code assigned to the Fort Worth region of Texas. Established in 1953, it was one of the original area codes created to serve the state and remains one of the most widely recognized numbers associated with the Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) Metroplex.
The code primarily serves Tarrant County — home to Fort Worth — along with portions of several surrounding counties. As the population in this region grew rapidly through the latter half of the 20th century, demand for new phone numbers increased, leading to the introduction of an overlay code, 682, in 2000. Today, both area codes serve the same geographic territory, and 10-digit dialing is mandatory for all local calls within the region.
The 817 area code is administered by the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA) and serves a combined metro population of over 1.7 million people.
Area code 817 spans a wide geographic area in North Central Texas, covering more than 37 cities across multiple counties. Fort Worth is the anchor city, but the code reaches well beyond city limits.
Major cities served by the 817 area code include:
Counties covered by the 817 area code: Tarrant, Johnson, Parker, Hood, Wise, Denton (partial), Dallas (partial), and Erath (partial). This broad coverage makes 817 one of the most strategically valuable local area codes in Texas for businesses looking to connect with DFW-area customers.
The 817 area code falls entirely within the Central Time Zone (CT). Standard Time (CST) runs UTC−6:00 from November through March, and Daylight Saving Time (CDT) runs UTC−5:00 from March through November.
Texas observes Daylight Saving Time, so clocks in the 817 region move forward one hour in spring and back one hour in fall — consistent with the rest of the Central Time Zone. When scheduling calls or meetings with contacts in Fort Worth or Arlington, keep in mind that the region is one hour behind Eastern Time and one hour ahead of Mountain Time.
For businesses operating across multiple time zones, this is a key scheduling consideration — and a reason why having a local 817 number helps signal to customers that you're operating in their time and on their terms.
As the Dallas-Fort Worth region experienced explosive growth through the 1990s and 2000s, the existing pool of 817 phone numbers began to run low. To meet demand without disrupting existing subscribers, regulators introduced area code 682 as an overlay in 2000.
An overlay means that both area codes — 817 and 682 — serve the exact same geographic territory. Unlike a geographic split (where different parts of a region get different codes), an overlay simply adds a new pool of numbers on top of the existing one. New customers and businesses in the Fort Worth area may receive either a 682 or an 817 number.
Key implications of the overlay:
Like most US area codes serving large metropolitan areas, the 817 code has been used by scammers who spoof local numbers to make calls appear more trustworthy. This is not unique to 817 — it's a nationwide problem — but the Dallas-Fort Worth region is frequently targeted due to its size and economic activity.